House Cleaning Tips
CLEAN YOUR FRIDGE before it really gets full. Heave out any mouldy or suspect leftovers and wipe the interior with a bicarbonate solution (1 tblspn to 1 liter water); this doesn’t leave the smell commercial cleaners do. If fridge odor is strong, place 1 tspn pure vanilla essence on a saucer in the middle of the fridge for about 48 hours. A lump of charcoal placed in the egg rack will absorb odors and help to keep the fridge sweet smelling as well.
MOTHS ESCAPING FROM THE PANTRY mean it’s time to rotate store cupboard foods. Before your big holiday shop, turf out everything that’s past its expiry date, wipe down the shelves with a damp cloth, move food that needs to be used quickly to die front of the shelf (or give to charity) and fill the back with newly bought food.
RECYCLE YOUR GARBAGE all year round but especially at holiday time when we consume so much. Save all paper, recyclable plastic drink bottles, aluminum beer cans and glass jars and wine bottles - and don’t forget the vegetable scraps for the compost bin.
HAVE A MEDICINE CUPBOARD CLEANOUT before the house gets filled with kids at holiday time. Young children have itchy fingers and can easily think pills are sweets, so dispose of everything that’s out of date or surplus to requirements. Lock away medicines or, if that’s not possible, make sure they are well out of reach of children.
WHEN UNEXPECTED GUESTS ARRIVE, freshen up the spare sheets by soaking a handkerchief in perfume and popping it in with any ’stale-smelling’ sheets in the clothes-drier for about 10 minutes or so.
PARTIES CAN BE A PLEASURE for your home if you tackle the lingering smells of cigarettes and alcohol immediately. Strategically-placed bowls of charcoal in several rooms will absorb any unsavory smells before they become firmly lodged in the carpet and curtains.
THE SWEET SMELL OF HOME can be yours by wiping perfume onto blades of an electric fan and turning them on. Or dab perfume onto the filter pad of the vacuum cleaner, onto a light bulb, or heat eau-de-cologne in a burner.
MAKE MOSQUITOES GO AWAY by keeping bowls of potted basil in the rooms they usually invade. Another handy strategy is to light candles, particularly those scented with citronella - this helps to keep mozzies away.
ANTS AND SUMMER GO TOGETHER, so try one of these remedies instead of pungent chemical sprays. Place a cut lemon where they enter; sprinkle dried coffee grounds around outside doors; place whole cloves around kitchen cupboards and under sink; mix 1 cup sugar and 2 cups borax in ajar and sprinkle around the foundations of the house. If all else fails, get the kids to draw a chalk line around the house because ants don’t like crossing chalk.
FLIES IN THE KITCHEN are a health hazard, so leave crushed mint on the bench, add a couple of camphor balls to the kitchen bin, put bay leaves on pantry shelves, or add lavender oil to a piece of sponge rubber and leave in the kitchen, adding a little water daily and oil twice weekly.
MICE RUNNING RAMPANT often responds better to a peanut butter-baited trap than a cheese one.
KEEP CUT FLOWERS FRESH by removing foliage which will be under water and cutting stems on a large slant to create the greatest possible surface area for water absorption. Wrap stems in tin foil and put into lukewarm water with either a pinch of salt, an aspirin, or 2 tspns each of white vinegar and white sugar combined.
BATHROOM AND TOILET ODOURS don’t need to be doused with the smell of bleach to eradicate them. Try sprinkling a few drops of strawberry or raspberry essence into your floor cleaning solution.
SPILLS AND STAINS OCCUR ANY TIME, but especially when the house is full of kids and guests. Be prepared with stain removers like soda water or salt to mop up red wine, and borax for soaking away beer and coffee.
ORGANISE YOUR HOLIDAY TIME with ‘in’ days and ‘out’ days. Cooking, sewing and entertaining are great for the ‘in’ days when you plan to stay at home, and ‘out’ days are perfect for sport, shopping, visiting and other appointments. You’ll make a lot more satisfying use of your precious time with a little forward planning.
THINK OF SOMEONE ELSE and have a pre-Christmas clear-out of outgrown toys and clothes, and other rarely used household items. Take them to the nearest charity bin or charity shop for someone else’s enjoyment.
MOULD LOVES SUMMER AND RAIN, so take the time to pack away winter clothes properly to leave more space in your wardrobe for extra air flow; this helps to prevent mould spores settling on your clothes.
BE PREPARED FOR SUMMER’S STING with essential products like ice packs for bad cases of sunburn, strains and nosebleeds; bicarbonate of soda for insect stings and bites; and turpentine for removing ticks.
HOLIDAY CARE FOR INDOOR PLANTS if you’re away means putting them in the bath with water and covering with a sheet of plastic punctured with air holes.
GOING ON HOLIDAY means locking away ladders and garden equipment that might help a burglar get into your house, checking window and door locks, canceling the paper delivery and maybe even hanging old clothes on the line to make the place looked lived in. A timer for switching lights on and off and a large pair of men’s shoes at the back door are good ideas, too.
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diyhouserepair.net » Cesspools and Septic tanks — May 10, 2009 @ 8:41 am
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By plumber plymouth, November 28, 2009 @ 10:19 am
good post! was actually looking for something else on plumbing on a google search and found your article, much more interesting than what I was looking for lol, thanks, bp.