Household Hints
THOSE OLD WIVES' TALES AND BELOW-STAIRS TRICKS WHICH DO WORK, EVEN TODAY!
We all know them – those old wives' tales which sound completely off-the-wall but actually do work. The trick is knowing which ones to rely upon and which to give a well-deserved thumbs-down.
Even in this age of convenience where machines can do (almost!) anything about the house, there are still household tasks where elbow grease and some below-stairs secrets from an age with little man-made help, produce the best results.
Let's look at some worth trying... AIR PURIFIERS
Victorians filled their homes with potted plants – for good reason. Then wallpapers, paint, the cleaning materials they had, often contained lead, arsenic, and a range of other 'nasties'. Those days may be long gone
but even now our homes could be harbouring a variety of unhealthy invisible toxins (chemical compounds found in emissions from paint, plastics, carpets, cleaning solutions, or building materials) we may not even know are there, doing us harm. Research shows air inside our homes can be the most polluted we breathe!
Three of the worst offenders are formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene so why not use nature to help keep your home as 'clean' as possible with some really powerful air purifying plants?
Amongst the varieties which naturally remove pollutants from the air are:-
Peace Lilies; Dracaena; Chrysanthemum; Bamboo Palm; Golden Pothos; Areca Palm; Chinese Evergreen; Ficus Elastica; or Hedera Helix.
With all that choice and more, you are certain to find plants which are easy on the eye and good for your lungs – for maximum air quality, create groupings of several plants rather than scatter
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them individually – but if you have pets, do remember to check which could be harmful if ingested.
BICARBONATE OF SODA, VINEGAR and LEMON
Between Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Powder), Vinegar and Lemon Juice, there was almost no cleaning task which couldn't be tackled successfully by the 'in-betweenies' and housemaids and with little else available to use, just as well!
Their popularity today as cleaning agents possibly owes as much to their cheapness as their ability to do the job but research consistently shows that the many and varied claims surrounding their effectiveness are based in fact.
Vinegar is effective because it is so acidic and can react with alkaline whereas baking soda acts as a neutraliser, working with both acids and alkaline and maintaining a happy balance whilst Lemon Juice is a natural mild disinfectant.
Vinegar has long been a 'go-to' for sparkling clean windows; mirrors; glass vases; or cleaning the family silver along with Lemon Juice. Amongst the many uses for baking powder are removing burns from the bottom of pans or stains from floors; neutralising bad odours and tackling grease fires in the kitchen; mixed into a paste and applied with an old toothbrush, it keeps tile grouting and bath surrounds clean and
fresh...and Lemon Juice is the perfect way to keep your copper shiny and bright; remove water spotting from knives; scrubbing down and removing stains from your wooden chopping boards or butcher's blocks – just rub a cut lemon over the surface..
Why not give them a try and maybe discover some new uses for these seemingly magic cure-alls?
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