Spring Cleaning Tip: How to Clean Windows

To look their best windows should be cleaned twice a year. Here are some useful tips on how to do it.

• Wash one side of a window with horizontal strokes and the other side with vertical strokes so you can easily tell which side of the window has a streak.
• Use a squeegee on a long handle or a sponge/squeegee combination to prevent streaks on large windows.
• Eliminate tiny scratches on glass by polishing the affected areas with toothpaste or glass wax.
• Direct sunlight dries cleaning solutions quickly so don't clean on hot, sunny days.
• Use a cotton swab to clean corners. ­ ­
• To give an extra shine to window glass, polish it with well-washed cotton T-shirts or old cloth diapers.

How to Save Water

Water seems abundant but is it really? Here are a few tips on how to conserve water in your home and help save the planet...

1. Check faucets and pipes for leaks. A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.

2. Check your toilets for leaks. Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.

3. Install water-saving shower heads. Inexpensive water-saving low-flow shower heads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long, hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off.

4. Install faucet aerators. All household faucets should be fit with aerators. This single best home water conservation method is also the cheapest!

5. Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush. There is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.

6. When washing dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing. If your have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water.

7. Use your dishwasher and clothes washer for only full loads. Automatic dishwashers and clothes washers should be fully loaded for optimum water conservation.

National Pet Day - April 11, 2012

Tomorrow is National Pet Day. Honor your pet by preparing them for disasters. Here are a few tips from Ready Ga...

Start with the basics – Prepare your pets just like you would your two-legged family members. Create a Ready kit and include basic items such as food and water for three days, medication and important documents like rabies vaccination forms. You may also want to include an extra collar with an ID tag, an extra harness or leash and familiar items such as favorite toy, bed or crate to reduce stress.

Arrange a safe haven – There are two things to keep in mind: If it isn’t safe for you, it isn’t safe for your pets. Also, if you have to evacuate, most public shelters cannot accept animals. Make a plan detailing where to take your pet during an emergency. Try to locate a hotel or shelter that would accept you and your pet. Or consider a boarding facility. You could also ask neighbors, or friends and relatives outside of your immediate area if they could be a temporary caregiver for your pet.

Stay put and stay safe – At the first sign of a warning or storm disaster, always bring your pets indoors. Make sure that all of your pets wear collars and tags with up-to-date identification in case you have to evacuate immediately. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe place for them, is likely to result in them being injured, lost or worse. Stay informed by monitoring a local radio station, TV station or NOAA Weather Radio for the latest information, and follow the directions of local officials when told to evacuate.

Carpet Cleaning For Dummies

Now there's a how-to guide for cleaning your carpet! If you've ever felt overwhelmed by keeping your carpet clean and beautiful...this book is for you.

Sponsored by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) and HousekeepingChannel.com, Carpet Cleaning Tips For Dummies, is published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. The book is available for $2.00 and can be ordered online or by contacting CRI's Publication Department at 706-428-2114. Order your copy online today!

Stay Cool and Save Money This Summer

The summer heat is here but it's only April. To help you and your family stay cool, comfortable and save energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program suggests a few simple steps...

The average American home spends almost 20 percent of its utility bill on cooling. Increased energy production to run cooling systems raises your costs and contributes to pollution that adversely affects the quality of the air we breathe. Here are seven simple ways to help protect your wallet and the environment:

1. Use Ceiling Fans Optimally. Run your ceiling fan to create a cool breeze. If you raise your thermostat by only two degrees and use your ceiling fan, you can lower cooling costs by up to 14 percent. Remember that ceiling fans cool you, not the room, so when you leave the room make sure to turn off the fan.
2. Maximize Shade. Pull the curtains and shades closed before you leave your home to keep the sun’s rays from overheating the interior of your home. If you can, move container trees and plants in front of sun-exposed windows to serve as shade.

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Spring Cleaning Strategy

March is the time of year to think about spring cleaning your home. It's an opportunity for you to freshen up your house after a long dark winter.

Domestic cleaning, daily or weekly, will maintain your home and keep it in a good condition all the year round. But once a year, normally spring time, every home should undergo a thorough spring clean getting into those corners you do not get to during your normal regular schedule.

Planning and taking a strategic approach is key to successful spring cleaning. Without a plan it is all too easy to miss things. Take a walk around your home, room to room, with pen and paper in hand, and survey, analyse, and note down what needs doing, what are the real problem areas. This will ensure you do not miss anything significant. Things to record are what clutter needs tidying away, do your curtains and carpets need cleaning, what is the condition of your oven, do your cupboards need a good tidy.

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Spring Cleaning Tip: Get Rid of Dustmites

Exposure to dust mite and pet allergens are widely accepted to be the most important causes of indoor allergies. Here are a few tips to help you combat these culprits...

1. HUMIDITY LEVEL: Dust mites thrive in moist conditions. Make sure your home is too dry for the mites to survive. Maintain a humidity level of between 40 and 50 per cent, and don’t use a humidifier, even in the winter. Consider purchasing a hygrometer to monitor the level of moisture.
2. MATTRESS & PILLOW COVERS: Cover your mattress and pillows in mite-proof covers. Plastic is best for containing mites, but not the most comfortable. A more comfortable option is tightly woven fabric covers, which are usually made from polyester or a cotton/poly blend and are designed to hold up to frequent washings.

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Spring Cleaning Tip: Mattress Cleaning

Spring is here! While you are getting in the mood for Spring cleaning and making your list, don't forget about your Mattresses.

Most people don't realize that you can have your mattresses professionally cleaned!

Read the following articles...

Mattress Cleaning

How to Care for Your Mattress

Are Refurbished Mattresses Really a Bargain?

Spring Cleaning Tip: Laundry Time Savers

1. Attach a stain stick to the inside top of the bathroom hamper rub the stick on any stains when you undress. If clothes don't get washed for a day or two, they're pretreated.
2. Put everything that can't be machine-dried into a large mesh bag. You won't have to sort through wet clothes when you transfer everything to the dryer, and you won't mistakenly include an item that can't take the heat.
3. Before you machine-wash shirts and blouses, button alternate buttons starting with the third one from the top. Arms won't tangle in the wash, and damp shirts can be slipped right onto hangers. Or, if you machine-dry a shirt, hang it immediately and give it a shot of spray starch on the collar and cuffs. That may be all it needs to look presentable.

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Pollen Survival Guide From WebMD

Check Out These Tips From WEBMD...

Springtime brings not just deliciously longer days, warmer weather, balmy breezes and blooming flowers. For people with allergies, it means the return of pollen. Pollen and allergies don't mix.

There's not much you can do to avoid pollen altogether -- after all, it's produced by grasses, trees, flowers and weeds -- but you can minimize the misery. Here's your springtime pollen survival guide.

Can You Really Avoid Pollen?

Be realistic. "Complete avoidance of pollen is impractical," says Daniel Waggoner, MD, an allergist in Mystic, Conn., tells his patients. "In Connecticut, spring brings tree pollens. Late spring and summer brings grass pollens. Late summer and fall brings weed pollen."

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