HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Tizer]

Kev, the Daily Express already knew...
`Britain set for SNOW as sudden stratospheric warming sends FREEZING Arctic wind to UK' LINK
...but I got it from a more reliable source, weather expert Paul Simons in The Times!

[Stanley]

Today's tip is ignore weather forecasts from Express and Mail, seek out more reliable sources!
Tiz went for the Times, I went to the Met office itself.....

[Tizer]

[Stanley]

I've heard about them before but never seen it happen. I once saw a tide of rats in Manchester and have never forgotten it. They were abandoning the stables in the old London Road Station which was being redeveloped. There were thousands of them! I was on the way though Manchester on my way to London, the fastest route in pre-motorway days in the middle of the night with no traffic. I was flagged down by a beat bobby who jumped in the cab with me for safety and told me what was coming. We both agreed that nobody would ever believe us......

[Stanley]

Thinking again about the report on the damaging effects of chemical sprays and aerosols, there is much to be said for my regular morning routine of bleaching my pot, the outlet of the tap, the handle, the overflow pipe and in the process my scotch bright pad and washing up brush. Everything including the sink itself and the waste pipe cleaned and sterilised and no appreciable chemicals released into the air. It's cheap as well! The scotch pad is used for the counter top as well. I know it's an oldie but that's today's tip. Nothing better than a clean kitchen sink! (Unless it's an equally clean lavatory....)

[Stanley]

Writing yesterday's tip reminds me that I have been cleaning the Formica surfaces in the kitchen with Scotch Bright and diluted bleach for twenty years and they are as good today as when they were made. My cleaning regime hasn't damaged them. So don't be afraid of doing the same with yours, Formica and its modern variations is incredibly tough stuff!

[Stanley]

I think I have formulated Stanley's Law of Housework. It's a version of Parkinson's Law. "Housework expands to fill the amount of time allotted to it." Most of mine is done when the spirit (or the level of muck) moves me. That doesn't include the scheduled time taken up by routine tasks.
I once knew a household where the housewife made her husband's life a misery, her version of cleanliness demanded the laying of newspapers on the floor to walk on after vacuuming each day.
Today's tip is avoid excesses like that!

[Marilyn]

You live alone, so all the stains or mess are yours alone. No one to blame.
Some husbands are serial-mucker-uppers! My husband, love him as much as I do, is a classic example. It starts when he brings me coffee in bed every morning ( which he insists on doing)...and then he goes in the shower and I get up and wipe up the track of spilled coffee all the way back to the kettle. Luckily it's all tiled flooring.
I know, it's the thought that counts. So I say nothing...
But I can't deny it's annoying.

[Tizer]

I'm a bit surprised Stanley isn't already onto this BBC item...
`The dirtiest place in your kitchen might surprise you...' LINK

[Stanley]

I hadn't see it Tiz but it's quite right. However they missed the outlet of the tap! I don't bleach my wiper but change it for a freshly laundered one as soon as it gets damp, at least once a day. The tea towel is dangerous as well...... I don't dry dishes, just let them air dry.
On the whole, my aim isn't to eliminate bacteria because as they say, many are beneficial. Just attack areas where the more harmful are likely to be. After all, the air is loaded with fungi spores and bacteria.
A parallel matter is showering or bathing too much. Why wash off the natural protective coating that your skin harbours? People are obsessed with body odours but fail to recognise that most are caused by the use of harsh chemicals that destroy our natural defences, the flora and fauna that our mothers donate when we are born. The best way to make sure your armpits are smelly is to spray them regularly with 'deodorant'. Florence Nightingale was right when she said that given privacy and a quart of water anyone can maintain personal hygiene! I realise that if you live in a very hot climate this advice can be modified for comfort but in our temperate conditions you are safe following her dictum.

[Stanley]

If your small bottle of Earex has an expiry date of October 2016 and has been kept in the fridge my opinion is that you can safely ignore it as it is simply Glycerol BP, Urea Hydrogen Peroxide 5%. both of which have a far longer shelf life. It's working and my ears haven't dropped off yet.....

[Tizer]

But has it been previously opened? My experience with the urea peroxide ear drops is that the peroxide quickly breaks down once the bottle has been opened. The remaining glycerol can help lubricate the ear wax's travel out of the ear but it's the peroxide that first breaks up the mass. The bottom line, though, is `if it works for you, then OK'!

[Stanley]

You could be right Tiz but as you say, after a week of daily doses I can report far lower levels of wax, improved hearing and splendidly well lubricated ear lobes! Hopefully the mobile cells (LINK) in my ears are now finding it easier to shift the wax and muck out!
Isn't the human body a wonderful thing!

[Stanley]

It's as well to keep track of your Damart balaclava when Arctic blasts threaten. Don't do what I did, find it, put it away safe and then forget where the bloody thing is. (I've just had a thought, it could be in the Damart drawer in my dresser.....)
I don't know about you but every now and then, particularly with tools, a particular item might go missing even though you are sure you still have it. It's a mystery, or Gremlins!

[Tizer]

I often can't find something in the garage/shed and inevitably it's because I put it somewhere safe so I wouldn't lose it!

[Stanley]

That's the most dangerous thing of the lot to do. Mind you, the balaclava was in the Damart drawer..... My mother used to cause mayhem when she 'tidied up'.
Today's tip is if your slow cooker goes cold but the pilot light is still on the fuse is OK it's the element that has failed and it's cheaper to buy a new one than have it repaired.

[Marilyn]

I don't know about you but every now and then, particularly with tools, a particular item might go missing even though you are sure you still have it. It's a mystery, or Gremlins!

It's usually Mr Febby!

[Stanley]

One of the advantages of being a singleton Maz.
Later, a further tip re slow cookers. Ever the optimist I switched the cooker on again but put it on 'auto', a switch setting I have never used. It has fired up all right I think. Must be a dodgy switch contact..... Onward and upward!
Later.... the cooker is working OK but is obviously giving notice so I have ordered a new one at a very good price off Amazon.....

[Tizer]

..... My mother used to cause mayhem when she 'tidied up'.

My mother was even worse because she wouldn't have simply moved the item elsewhere in the house, she'd have given it away! My young cousin got many of my Dinky cars. It continued later in life and she gave away some things that we'd have loved to keep. For example, from as early as I can remember there had always been one of those solid brass models of a Blenheim bomber sitting on the dressing table. My father had worked on Blenheims as an armourer at the beginning of the war. It was still there after I'd left home but had gone by the time they moved down to Somerset.

Another household tip is to check that you're cleaning out all the filters regularly on your vacuum cleaner. We hadn't realised our Dyson had two. A few days ago we suddenly found ourselves in a fug of hot plastic smell and Mrs Tiz thought it meant buying a new machine. When we investigated there was a second filter in a more hidden position and it was filthy. No wonder the machine was trying to tell us it needed some TLC!

[Big Kev]

..... My mother used to cause mayhem when she 'tidied up'.

Another household tip is to check that you're cleaning out all the filters regularly on your vacuum cleaner. We hadn't realised our Dyson had two. A few days ago we suddenly found ourselves in a fug of hot plastic smell and Mrs Tiz thought it meant buying a new machine. When we investigated there was a second filter in a more hidden position and it was filthy. No wonder the machine was trying to tell us it needed some TLC!

Would that be the hidden 'lifetime' filter? I had to replace mine, made a world of difference. The 'easy to get to washable sponge filter' gets a wash every month or so

[chinatyke]

That's the most dangerous thing of the lot to do. Mind you, the balaclava was in the Damart drawer..... My mother used to cause mayhem when she 'tidied up'.
Today's tip is if your slow cooker goes cold but the pilot light is still on the fuse is OK it's the element that has failed and it's cheaper to buy a new one than have it repaired.

Are slow cookers like rice cookers? Rice cookers have a thermostat inside the bottom casing. This is usually set at 35-40C. After the pot has finished its boiling cycle, this stat takes over to keep it heated. When the stat fails the boiling cycle still works but the maintaining 40C warm-cycle doesn't. They are not complicated so it might be worth investigating.

[Marilyn]

Is it still under warranty, Stanley?
Might have to go back to your cast iron pot.

[Stanley]

Not sure what a rice cooker is.... The cooker had other faults as well, I've given it some stick! I found exactly the same one at a good price and the advantage is that it means I have a spare pot and lid if I ever drop the current one. Not worth arsing about with the faff of warranties.... (I know, but I like things simple!)

[Tripps]

Not sure what a rice cooker is...

Neither was I till I got one following someone (who knew about such things) falling over laughing at the way I used to cook rice. I'll spare you the method.

Mine as from Gumtree for a fiver - I think a new one is about £20' ish. I don't use it a lot now or eat much bread (thank you Wendyf)

My advice -get one - and buy your rice in 10kg bags from Lidl.

[Tizer]

Would that be the hidden 'lifetime' filter? I had to replace mine, made a world of difference. The 'easy to get to washable sponge filter' gets a wash every month or so

Yes, it must be that one Kev. Probably Dyson hide it so that folk will burn out their machine and buy a new one!