A home is an oasis and a haven for many people. But a lot of common errors are committed that might eventually destroy a house. These are 12 things not to do in order to maintain a tidy and functional home.
1. Use Cleaners with Caution
When used on an inappropriate surface, most cleaners—even multi-surface cleaners—can harm furniture and other home items. For instance, grout in bathtubs, showers, floors, and countertops shouldn’t be cleaned with toilet bowl cleansers. The strong acid content of these cleansers will eventually erode the caulking. Try a homemade solution instead, made with dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. Just make up a mixture, let it soak for at least five minutes, and then use a grout brush or an old toothbrush to scrape the dirt away.
2. Avoid Direct Spraying
It takes a lot of energy to clean surfaces like floors, counters, and appliances, and it is annoying when dirt seems to be left behind. But it can be a film that the cleaners left behind instead of dirt or grime. Instead of spraying the area, use a towel or mop to directly avoid any leftover film or stickiness.
3. Take a Shower Before Leaving
After taking a shower, walking about drenched spreads bacteria far and wide. It may eventually begin to distort the floor or leak beneath, which would lead to the growth of mold. It’s preferable to completely dry off before getting out of the bath or shower.
4. Humidity in Hardwood
Just like dripping shower water can harm the floor, using excessive amounts of water when mopping the floors can also be harmful. In particular, excessive moisture exposure causes warping and damage to hardwood flooring. Try using an oil soap and water mixture or a cleaner designed specifically for hardwood floors while mopping them, being careful not to soak the floors completely in water.
5. Remember the Fan
Most bathrooms and kitchens include exhaust fans, which are functional fixtures. They not only assist prevent mold growth but also purify the air by eliminating contaminants. After a steamy bath or shower, exhaust fans assist remove moisture from the bathroom, which is fantastic news for those who live in extremely humid areas.
6. Wetness in Unexpected Areas
Although most people are aware that bathrooms are ideal sites for mold to develop due to the high volume of water and steam used there, other areas may also be home to some rather unsavory microorganisms. Bacteria thrive in warm, humid, and dark environments. Therefore, the ideal environments for the growth of bacteria and mold are found in toilet or toothbrush holders. Before storing them, it’s a good idea to let them air dry to reduce the formation of bacteria and dangerous pathogens. Another material that provides the perfect habitat for bacterial growth is fabric. Towels should therefore be hung to dry rather than placed in a basket or on the ground. Additionally, to avoid bacterial development, hand towels, rugs, and show towels should be cleaned or sterilized every few weeks.
7. Use Vinegar With Caution
Although vinegar is a great cleaner substitute, some gadgets may be harmed by it. For instance, the high acidity of vinegar might harm dishwasher rubber components. Using vinegar on granite countertops is another situation where it’s not the best cleaning option because it can remove the sealant.
8. Most People Get in bed too early.
Even though making the bed every morning is a wonderful habit, you should hold off for a little bit. Before making the bed, give it a little time to air out to reduce the growth of bacteria and odor-causing bacteria as well as perspiration accumulation.
9. Making Use of a Sponge
Meats and vegetables, in particular, contain a multitude of dangerous bacteria that can spread from one surface to another and land on sponges and wash towels. Consequently, hydrogen peroxide is a more efficient way to eradicate bacteria from cutting boards and won’t contaminate sponges or other areas in the kitchen.
10. Keep the Sun Out of Your Home
Unquestionably, the sun is a superpower that nourishes both our bodies and souls. Doctors advise wearing sunscreen because, well, it’s quite harmful. However, furniture can also sustain damage from the sun’s rays. To avoid overexposing furniture to the sun, it is therefore a good idea to close curtains and blinds when leaving the house.
11. Using a Sweep rather than a Vacuum
Using a broom to sweep the floor might aid in removing some dust and pet hair. Nevertheless, extra dust is frequently dispersed when cleaning and then emptying a dustpan. Instead, even on hard floors, a vacuum will gather dust and debris.
12. Avoid overfilling anything
It’s easy to overstock pantries, closets, and storage beneath the house with all of your favorite items. But this could lead to a lot of issues with your house. Airflow can be obstructed by overcrowding, which is inefficient and expensive. However, it can also retain moisture, harming the structural integrity of the house. Moreover, excessive weight in closets might result in similar issues since it can harm the walls.
Why Were Olympic Athletes & Other Celebs Spotted with Dark Red Circles on Their Bodies?
This year’s Olympics are now in full swing and it’s all eyes on the athletes.
From archery and shooting to athletics and gymnastics, there’s all kind of sports taking place across Paris, France, at the moment.
One fan-favorite sport to watch is the swimming, and this year there’s a whopping 854 athletes from 187 different countries competing.
But there’s a common theme you might have spotted with some of the swimmers and that’s the unusual dark red circles they have on their backs.
While it might look like they’ve had a fight with an octopus and lost, there’s a very different reason for the odd markings.
It turns out that the large spots are from cupping therapy – an ancient healing technique that involves placing cups on the skin to create suction and increase blood flow to the area.
The unconventional method is supposed to help with muscle recovery and is used as a type of deep tissue massage.
Some athletes were spotted with cupping therapy bruises back at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and it’s still seemingly popular now.
Gymnast Alexander Naddour told USA Today back in 2016 that cupping was supposedly the ‘secret’ to his health.
He added: “It’s been better than any money I’ve spent on anything else.”
Away from the Games, basketball player Kyle Singler has also praised cupping therapy.
“The bruises do look more intense than what they actually feel like, but the benefit from it is really great,” he previously insisted.
Singler continued to tell Sports Illustrated: “You’re not necessarily getting the immediate response that you might want but over time it does help with recovery and loosening tissue and stuff like that.”
But does cupping therapy actually work according to experts? It’s seems as if the jury’s still out.
According to Harvard Health, some studies have found that cupping might provide some relief for a number of musculoskeletal and sports-related conditions. The quality of this evidence was ‘limited’, however.
Elsewhere a 2022 review found that wet (as opposed to dry cupping) was effective for lower back pain.
While the bruises people get from cupping are pretty gnarly, the therapy is generally seen as safe to practice – even if people aren’t 100 percent on how affective it is.
“Most experts agree that cupping is safe. As long as those treated don’t mind the circular discolorations (which fade over a number of days or weeks), side effects tend to be limited to the pinch experienced during skin suction,” Harvard Health explains.
“It’s quite unusual that cupping causes any serious problems (though, rarely, skin infections have been reported).”
There you have it, folks.
Leave a Reply