I have let this topic roll around in my head for several weeks now. A month ago I completely changed my cleaning chemistry so I had to get comfortable with the new chemistry before I could type intelligently on on the topic. So, I'll describe what I did use for about the last 5 years and I'll describe what I'm using now. For real, never be afraid to change your mind.
First some chemistry basics and vocabulary words.
surfactants - compound that lowers the surface tension of a liquid and lowers the interfacial tension between 2 liquids and a solid, such as dirt in soap enhanced water. It makes the water more watery, thinner.
emulsion - a mixture of 2 or more unblendable liquids, like vinegar and oil don't mix but when an emulsifier is added the two come together. Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, lemon and vinegar with an egg yolk emulsifier. Soap in water emulsifies the dirt molecules and makes it disperse into the water and the water carries the dirt away in a rinse. Laundry soap does the same thing adding the surfactant to make the water more watery to get into the fibers.
volatile - evaporates quickly and is easily breathed. Chemistry finds it's way to the bloodstream easily through the lungs.
disinfectant - applied to nonliving objects to reduce the possibility of infection.
antimicrobial - applied to living tissue to reduce the possibility of infection.
antibacterial - have been proven to act against bacteria.
antiseptic - opposing sepsis, putrefaction or decay by preventing or arresting the growth of microorganisms on living tissue.
Water and agitation/motion do the cleaning. The water washes and rinses with a swish or a swipe. Anything added to the water is there only to enhance the water. The ratio of cleaner to water should be very slight. Any cleaner added to the water will only be effective is evenly dispersed in the water.
Imagine water molecules washing along and encountering something grimy. It takes some time for the water molecules to soak in and break it up. Time is a key ingredient to the cleaning equation.
So, here's the line ups
chlorine bleach, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, borax, oxalic acid, oil soap (dish soap etc) you could even throw lemon juice and salt in there as well as a long list of specialty chemicals like triclosan as an antibacterial and dichlorobenzene in air fresheners.
Let's look at what we need to clean away
fluffy dust, fluffy dust left over time with gravity and changes in temperature and moisture making grime, oily hand print type grime, the biologicals being mites and spiders, bacteria, virus, mold and pollen, kitchen spills that often occur outside the kitchen and finally general dirt and pollution in from the outside.
Most of the biologicals and dust are taken care of with good dusting and vacuuming technique. Dusting requires only a cloth barely damp with water. Don't bother with any dusting aid chemistry. If your furniture warrants it, wipe it down once or twice a year with wood furniture oil. That's it. Dusting is all tool and technique and a slight bit of water. Why waste money, time and added chemical exposure using anything but water?
So that realistically leaves grime, bacteria, virus and mold, kitchen spills and mud in from outside.
What you use is of maximum importance, you are bringing these substances into your home and depending on them to keep you safe and to not cause harm nor to waste your time. The dollars that you spend on these products is also of maximum importance. Consider them to be dollar votes cast in favor of how these products are manufactured, packaged, shipped, advertised and the health and safety practices of the companies involved. That is really huge and do not take this for granted nor think it doesn't matter. Consider how much money manufacturers spend on advertising, packaging and shipping purely to get you to buy the product. The more you know about a product the better decision you will make, the more mindful your vote.
Looking back at the line up
Chlorine - The ways and means of "bleaching" have been around since ancient times, chlorine was first used to bleach textiles in the late 1700 and in photography in early 1800 and as an antiseptic by mid 1800. The US started using it to purify drinking water and to make PVC pipe (poly vinyl chloride) in early 1900. It was used as chemical warfare about that same time. It is heavier than air so it collects in poorly ventilated areas and it becomes toxic to humans at only 30 ppm. that's parts per million. Chlorine at levels used for disinfecting water supplies is safe for humans however other material in the water could react with the chlorine and create by-products that are harmful to human health, such as uric acid or ammonia for instance.
Ammonia has been used since Roman times in salt form and was first industrially used by the Germans in World War I as an explosive when their supplies were cut off. It has a lot of industrial uses because it is so far to the "base" side of the pH scale. It is this extreme that is the basis of it's toxicity and it's cleaning ability. By raising the pH of the water with ammonia, cells take damage, and eventually organisms die. It also has the ability to make fats and oils more soluble in water and ammonia being extremely volatile, evaporates quickly and is lighter than air. Ammonia fumes are harmful to human eyes and respiratory system and digestive tracts when inhaled.
Both of these chemicals are deadly poisons and have been in our homes and our lives for about 3 or 4 generations now, long enough for the results of long term exposure to low level doses to reveal themselves. I'm no chemist but I want more alternatives. These products have terrible side effects if misused and I'm ready to leave 20TH century ideas behind. Both of these cleaning products kill off bacterials, they do so by poisoning them.
Hydrogen peroxide is an effective oxidizer, meaning it takes electrons from other substances. It kills biologicals by chemically burning them. This leaves much less residue and household strength (3 to 10%) hydrogen peroxide is only mildly harmful if it comes in contact with mucus membranes. This solution can harm living tissue if left on contact for a prolonged period or with frequent usage. It is an effective bleaching agent and antiseptic given enough time to work. Recently, there has been a movement away from chlorine and toward hydogen peroxide in waste water management since it's been found to be just as effective as chlorine with notible benefits to downstream operations. The downside to hydrogen peroxide is that it is rather unstable, meaning it loses it effectiveness when exposed extremes of temperature or light, so it requires storage in the brown bottle.
The rest of the common cleaning line up are generally nontoxic. A significant dose of borax could do damage to skin and respiratory tracts, ingestion can lead to vomiting, diarrhea and stomach bleeding. The main toxicity of oxalic acid is that it damages the kidneys if it ingested by supersaturating urine with calcium oxolate, the mineral most common in kidney stones. Both borax (found in any number of household scrubs) and oxalic acid (Bar Keepers' Friend) have a bleaching effect, do a great job at scrubbing but require significant rinsing. There is a large family of "salts" baking soda, washing soda, etc, the upside to them being they neutralize the action of acids and bases, the two opposites of the pH scale. Baking soda neutralizes the acids in our mouths and acts as an antiseptic, it also acts as a deodorant by neutralizing the odor causing chemistry.
So then, the internet is full of information on all of these chemicals, so I won't go on and on. Up until a month ago, I was using Soft Scrub which is bleach based, common glass cleaner which is ammonia based, vinegar and water mixed to 1/4 vinegar to 3/4 water and I carried Comet scrubbing powder, bleach again, in case of a really tough stain on a tub or sink. Having the bleach cleaners and ammonia cleaners in the same room made me nervous much less in the same cleaning caddy, but I was really mindful that they never came together on the same cleaning cloth nor on paper towels in the same trash can. I mixed well about 1 tablespoon of Soft Scrub to 16 oz of water in a squirt bottle and used that to clean tub, tile, kitchen and bath sinks and toilet. I never used glass cleaner on the bathroom mirror because 1) it's not necessary, I use water or water on a cloth with a small squirt of the soapy water and dry it by hand and 2) I didn't want it near the bleach based cleaner I was using. Both chemistries are volatile, evaporating quickly and I held my breath if I could smell the bleach as it was. No way was I going to allow them to mix in the air. I used glass cleaner mixed about 1/4 cleaner to 3/4 water in a squirt bottle to clean hard floors. The fact that it evaporates quickly is a bonus when mopping hardwood floors as hard wood hates water. I also carried Murphy's Oil Soap mixed way down with water, around 1/2 tablespoon per half gallon for tile floors. Enough soap to assist the water, but not enough to make the floor slippery. One teaspoon soap per 16 oz water is a rich mixture and good for attacking hand prints on wood work when squirted onto a damp cleaning cloth. The emulsifying and surfactant properties of just about any soap, hand soap, dish soap, etc are all about the same in my experience and really, it takes very little soap to assist the water to clean up grime, whether it be from hands and feet on woodwork and floors, water and impurities from the air condensing on bathroom walls, kitchen spills from coffee on the wall near the door or grease on the stove top or a sink full of dishes. Hot water, a little soap (honestly one part dish soap per a hundred parts water is plenty of soap to wash your greasiest dishes, less if you don't cook with meats and oils on occasion) and good timing take care of most cleaning tasks. The most important aspect of cleaning is to do it often and soon. Don't let the coffee spills, catsup drips or soap scum built up in the bathroom set for too long before you wipe it up. The longer it sits, the more the moisture in each "soil" evaporates, the longer gravity works on the solid molecules left behind, the tighter they adhere to surface that needs to be cleaned, the more it attracts more "dirt".
I used squirt bottles instead of spray bottles because the more dangerous of the chemicals are already volatile and when you spray with a spray bottle, the chemistry hangs in the air right where you are about to lean into to wipe. There is no need for the chemistry to even diffuse into the air, it only needs to be applied to the surface to be cleaned or to the cleaning cloth and I usually squirted it onto the cloth. I was extremely anti-spray bottle since the spray device can be poorly made on cheaper packaging and don't recycle well.
Now, I use a hydrogen peroxide based commercial cleaner in spray bottles, the oil soap blend I used before and the vinegar water mix both in squirt bottles. I ditched the Comet for Bar Keepers Friend, so I carry no more bleach nor ammonia and I couldn't be happier. The manufacturer I buy the hydrogen peroxide based cleaner from has found a way to make the peroxide more stable so it isn't light sensitive but it still must not be frozen. It comes in a concentrate and is diluted way down for use and is called Envirox 118. It is in use in many hospitals, schools, restaurants and other food service areas. I'm not sure if there are any household cleaners available based on peroxide yet, I haven't seen any, but the internet has many cleaning websites that champion the use of household peroxide for cleaning and personal care. Here are a few websites I've found useful.
http://www.enviroxclean.com/about-us/the-envirox-story/
http://www.mamashealth.com/ has very good cleaning chemistry information
http://greengoeswitheverything.com/ this book is excellent!
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hydrogen-peroxide.htm
next I'll continue with chemistry and discuss other green cleaners and more about my new cleaning style.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Late February, home psychology
It is Late February, still deep winter but the daylight is lengthening, the hardwood trees are awake and maples are being tapped for sap to make syrup. I really like February even though it can be extremely Wintery outside. Houseplants can be soothing this time of year. They are responding to the increased daylight and many bloom right about now. Most houseplants enjoy watering more when they are blooming but keep in mind the worst thing for a houseplant it to over water it.
If you are the primary care giver for your home and there are others in your household, I hope you are not doing all the work yourself. You're not doing the others any favors by sparing them this good, honest work. Everyone needs to have an understanding of what it takes to get a person through their day. If a person walks on the floor, pulls food from the fridge or wears clothes they need to "get it" that they contribute to the dirt on the floor therefore they should contribute to cleaning the floor, they need to take their turn cleaning the fridge and of course they need to wash their own clothes. I'm going to offer some suggestions for getting everyone in your household to do their fair share of housekeeping. But first I'll list a few great, sweeping generalities concerning human psychology. I'll link to websites that I have found helpful.
* it has only been a couple generations since one of the dominate family dynamics was fear. For instance, parents raised children using fear as the primary motivator for good behavior. Wives were afraid to displease their husbands for fear of punishment or abandonment, etc. Husbands were afraid that all their hard work was going unappreciated or wasn't enough. Mothers didn't discipline their half grown sons for fear of backlash. Fathers didn't allow their daughters to socialize for fear of her being seduced away or for bringing shame to herself and the family. Fear as the primary tool in family dynamics doesn't fly anymore in a civilized society and is gradually being replaced with a general understanding of human psychology. It's a long slow process, especially since human psychology isn't taught until college (so few of us get there) or until you reach a crisis and end up in counselling (so many of us do get there and many more need it and never get it). Fortunately, we are all much more similar than dissimilar and there are many commonalities which pertain to all human beings. There are lots of great books on the topic of psychology so it's up to each of us to educate ourselves and try to leave fear mongering and being fearful behind. Here are a few concepts that seem to common to us all.
* anyone well rewarded will continue that behavior and anyone only punished for bad behavior will soon make their goal "to avoid" punishment instead of "to do" the desired behavior. Even worse, anyone may begin to expect punishment and accept it as deserved or inevitable.
* since home and family provide the safety and comfort we all need, it often happens that people behave very differently at home or in the company of their family than they do out in the big world. Everyone has a more adult aspect of themselves and an immature, "baby self". When we are safe and comfortable, the baby self that has been sorely put upon all day by the big world comes out and whines and cries or shuts themselves off to pout. This is especially true of those going through a stressful transition such as: losing your job and looking for work, having to accept aging whether you are no longer a kid and now have responsibilities or are no longer able to work as hard as you used to. This must be where "you always hurt the ones you love" comes from. The rest of the family have to trust that this baby self isn't the whole person and give them what they need to vent, either personal and conversational space, your attention and compassion, etc. to get past it. If this baby self persists into real anger, depression or some other extreme, the family needs to get more serious about finding the cause and the cure. This is especially true of teens going through adolescence. Anthony Wolf's book "I'd Listen to my Parents if They'd Just Shut Up" is a great resource. I read this one cover to cover. http://www.anthonywolf.com/index.php?page=books
* There has to be a family culture of rules and these are different from chores. Everybody must obey all the rules. "Use indoor voices when you are indoors","Putting stuff away when you are done with them", "Turn off electrical appliances when you are done with them and turning off lights when you leave the room" are rules. I'd say established bedtimes are one of the few rules that don't apply to everyone equally but they are rules that need to be followed. Parents get to make the rules not because "they are always right" nor because "might makes right" but because they ARE the Parents. Parents are not always right but they are The Parents and that is what gives them the right to decide the rules. It's their job, their responsibility and their decisions are based on love, experience, necessity, maturity and economics. There is no better way to describe it. Once you get the rules established and your role as Parent and that you are committed to being the best parent you can be are understood, then the more democratic process of dividing up the chores can begin. (democratic -as defined by "being available to the masses and favoring social equality")
So, now I'll get more specific about getting help with the household chores.
* Visible chore charts are a very useful tool and I suggest they be home made and the family as a group help make it. That way it's clear to everyone that this is a family event. Also, if Dad for instance works long and hard out in the big world, he may get a pass on most chores, but he will still have to abide by the "put stuff away when you're done with it" rule. If everyone is having their input respected, then everyone will be on board with who gets the pass and who does what and how often. There are two basic schools of thought on chores for the big kids and adults. Each person do what they are best at and do it all the time or each person takes a turn at each chore even if they suck at it. I like the latter, because it gives the parent the chance to praise the effort even if it isn't done well at first and to help each other with techniques. Everyone gets a chance to do a chore they hate and that is good for the soul. "What a relief it will be next week when I go back to dish washing, this vacuuming sucks." About.com has some good information on this topic. http://housekeeping.about.com/od/involvingfamily/a/12tipschrcharts.htm
* as primary care giver to your home and if you aren't getting any good response to your requests for help, you have to choose your battles. Decide what you need to delegate and be firm and consistent about it. No need to get angry or upset, just stick to your guns. For example, with a calm, matter-of-fact tone say "I'm not going to continue doing your laundry. I will show you how to do it but I am not going to do your laundry any more." You will likely be drawn into a heated discussion on this but don't let that happen. End the conversation by walking away after you have made your statement. You've said what you needed to say. If the other person persists with "why" or makes excuses why they can't do it, don't be standing there for this person to address this to you. It's not your problem. Let the baby self of this person rant or whine, but they'll be doing it to thin air or to themselves. This baby self may need to have dirty laundry reach a crisis point before they get on board with doing their own laundry. You can help this come quicker by offering to show them how if they really don't know. Be careful not to demean or talk down to this person, even a full grown person can be "overwhelmed and feel uncertain" doing something they've never done before, especially if you've been doing it the whole time. This "overwhelmedness and uncertain feeling" can play out as timidity, ignoring it, indignation, combativeness, resentment or railing against the injustice of it all. Let it all wash past you. This is their baby self coming through so recognize it for what it is. Don't let it draw you into a war of words, you must be the calm, patient adult of this mini relationship event. Offer to do laundry together at first or offer to schedule each person their choice of laundry day or laundry time, but if you don't get cooperation you'll have to let their dirty laundry pile up. That sucks for you, but it is the cure. If you get half hearted cooperation, sincerely be vocally appreciative for that and you'll have to decide to just accept it or to insist on full cooperation. Make your statement, don't be drawn into a discussion you won't win, leave the others with your decision and stick to it, be willing to work with them toward your goal and be happy and helpful about it, but be clear on what will happen. Namely, you have delegated this chore to them and you aren't doing it anymore.
* big encouragement for small attempts generate enthusiasm for the next step especially if you have started teaching your kids to do chores early. For instance, praise them for matching up the socks with it in mind that eventually they will be doing their own laundry. Don't wait on teaching your child a new chore until you think your child can do it right. We learn what we practice. Present the chore as "I am going to show you how to do this." Encourage them to do what they can but be clear that the family needs them to keep trying till they get it. Try not to judge, just encourage and teach by demonstration. Don't just tell them to "figure it out". That's cruel, show them how you'd do it then once they learn your way, suggest they find their own way to get the same result.
*telling a kid to "clean his room" will not enable him to do it if he really doesn't know what that means. You will have to be really specific and first show them, then help them do it, then they will be able to do it themselves. This could take months but you knew that. Be really careful to not demean them if you've not gotten around to this earlier and you actually have a pretty big kid that you have to help clean up their room. Likely, they will resent like hell you even being in their room. At this point, you have to establish that "yes, this is your room and your privacy is something you want. If you want your privacy you have to earn it since your room still exists in "our" house." Set a rule, such as if any smell what so ever leaves their room and comes into the hallway, Mom is going to come in and throw out anything that stinks. Or, if the doors do not swing open the entire way or close entirely, Dad is going to come in and throw stuff away until the doors do open and close all the way. Doors do need to open and close the whole way or it is a safety hazard. I know a boy teen who snuck a teen girl up to his room for some teen sex. Mom found them out, called the girls' Mom and asked if her daughter is on birth control because she's having sex with my son. Then she took the door off of his bedroom. That's OK. The only thing a Parent can't do is withhold food as punishment, use physical or verbal violence or lock the child in or out. (there may be others but they've escaped me at present) The point is, you are the Parent and you get to make the rules. Their rule became if you are going to have sex you have to find a way to do it out there, not in "our" house. That will be your right once you are an adult and supporting yourself or making a substantial contribution to the financial upkeep of this household. She did return the door to his room for his 18th birthday as his only present and the joy and appreciation in his face was beautiful to behold.
* I'm big on safety first and if you have kids toys all over the floor and in the bathtub and you've been stepping over them this whole time, you have gotten used to a very unsafe environment. It's a safety hazard to have anything on the floor that can be tripped over, whether they be toys, electrical cords, clothes and shoes, etc. You are teaching your children that the world is full of material objects with no consequences attached. That is really irresponsible. The worst black eye I ever saw was on a mom's face after she tripped and fell in the night after getting her feet tangled up on a train set. Please, please, please don't let anyone set anything on the stairs. Imagine a fully geared fireman rushing into your own smoke filled house going from room to room to find your child. Is this fireman going to get through the whole house without being compromised by stuff in the way? Use this image as the inspiration for teaching your children to put their belongings where they belong and for you to teach by example and do the same. Make it clear that there is a place for everything and everything needs to be in it's place unless you are using it. When you are done, put it away. Make "if you don't take care of your stuff, you'll lose it" a promise to keep. It certainly will apply when they get out in the big world. If you don't keep up with the payments on your car it WILL be repossessed. If you don't keep up with the maintenance of your boat it WILL break down. If you can't take care of it, you shouldn't have it. Learning this the hard way is unnecessary if you start with the little things. Put your crayons back in the box and put the box of crayons where they go and they will always be there when you want them. No wasted time looking, no frustration wondering where they are. No big mess pulling everything out to find the #@(#ing crayons. If there are more things than there are places to put them the real problem is clutter that I will talk about around Spring Cleaning time. In the meantime do the best you can and hope you don't have a fire.
* Consider the vacuum cleaner to be a power tool, (which it is) and suggest to your teen that the vacuum is the gateway to the ultimate power tool, the family car. How they treat the vac will show the parents how they will treat the car. Do they slam it around with a bad attitude? Will they forget to change the bag or otherwise not maintain the machine? I thought this was a great idea when it occurred to me. You have to show them how to safely and effectively use and maintain this important piece of equipment so refer them to my blogs from the last week of December and the first two weeks of January where I went over why to vacuum and vacuuming technique in exquisite detail.
So, I guess that's enough for now. Cheezy peezy, it's almost 4 o'clock. It's taken me about 6 hours to get this post composed and typed. If there is even one piece of information here that improved the quality of life for anyone out there, then my goal was accomplished.
My next topic will be on cleaning chemistry. Don't miss it, it's really important.
If you are the primary care giver for your home and there are others in your household, I hope you are not doing all the work yourself. You're not doing the others any favors by sparing them this good, honest work. Everyone needs to have an understanding of what it takes to get a person through their day. If a person walks on the floor, pulls food from the fridge or wears clothes they need to "get it" that they contribute to the dirt on the floor therefore they should contribute to cleaning the floor, they need to take their turn cleaning the fridge and of course they need to wash their own clothes. I'm going to offer some suggestions for getting everyone in your household to do their fair share of housekeeping. But first I'll list a few great, sweeping generalities concerning human psychology. I'll link to websites that I have found helpful.
* it has only been a couple generations since one of the dominate family dynamics was fear. For instance, parents raised children using fear as the primary motivator for good behavior. Wives were afraid to displease their husbands for fear of punishment or abandonment, etc. Husbands were afraid that all their hard work was going unappreciated or wasn't enough. Mothers didn't discipline their half grown sons for fear of backlash. Fathers didn't allow their daughters to socialize for fear of her being seduced away or for bringing shame to herself and the family. Fear as the primary tool in family dynamics doesn't fly anymore in a civilized society and is gradually being replaced with a general understanding of human psychology. It's a long slow process, especially since human psychology isn't taught until college (so few of us get there) or until you reach a crisis and end up in counselling (so many of us do get there and many more need it and never get it). Fortunately, we are all much more similar than dissimilar and there are many commonalities which pertain to all human beings. There are lots of great books on the topic of psychology so it's up to each of us to educate ourselves and try to leave fear mongering and being fearful behind. Here are a few concepts that seem to common to us all.
* anyone well rewarded will continue that behavior and anyone only punished for bad behavior will soon make their goal "to avoid" punishment instead of "to do" the desired behavior. Even worse, anyone may begin to expect punishment and accept it as deserved or inevitable.
* human beings naturally seek emotional safety and comfort of the family. That is what gives us the confidence to express our individuality. Generally, everyone wants to know what benefit they have for the group. Being confident that they are helpful and useful through their efforts creates self esteem, exercises the mind and social skills and decreases the risk of anxiety and depression. "Raising Compassionate, Courageous Children in a Violent World" by Janice Cohn, PhD is a good resource and is quoted at WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/chores-for-children
* since home and family provide the safety and comfort we all need, it often happens that people behave very differently at home or in the company of their family than they do out in the big world. Everyone has a more adult aspect of themselves and an immature, "baby self". When we are safe and comfortable, the baby self that has been sorely put upon all day by the big world comes out and whines and cries or shuts themselves off to pout. This is especially true of those going through a stressful transition such as: losing your job and looking for work, having to accept aging whether you are no longer a kid and now have responsibilities or are no longer able to work as hard as you used to. This must be where "you always hurt the ones you love" comes from. The rest of the family have to trust that this baby self isn't the whole person and give them what they need to vent, either personal and conversational space, your attention and compassion, etc. to get past it. If this baby self persists into real anger, depression or some other extreme, the family needs to get more serious about finding the cause and the cure. This is especially true of teens going through adolescence. Anthony Wolf's book "I'd Listen to my Parents if They'd Just Shut Up" is a great resource. I read this one cover to cover. http://www.anthonywolf.com/index.php?page=books
* There has to be a family culture of rules and these are different from chores. Everybody must obey all the rules. "Use indoor voices when you are indoors","Putting stuff away when you are done with them", "Turn off electrical appliances when you are done with them and turning off lights when you leave the room" are rules. I'd say established bedtimes are one of the few rules that don't apply to everyone equally but they are rules that need to be followed. Parents get to make the rules not because "they are always right" nor because "might makes right" but because they ARE the Parents. Parents are not always right but they are The Parents and that is what gives them the right to decide the rules. It's their job, their responsibility and their decisions are based on love, experience, necessity, maturity and economics. There is no better way to describe it. Once you get the rules established and your role as Parent and that you are committed to being the best parent you can be are understood, then the more democratic process of dividing up the chores can begin. (democratic -as defined by "being available to the masses and favoring social equality")
So, now I'll get more specific about getting help with the household chores.
* Visible chore charts are a very useful tool and I suggest they be home made and the family as a group help make it. That way it's clear to everyone that this is a family event. Also, if Dad for instance works long and hard out in the big world, he may get a pass on most chores, but he will still have to abide by the "put stuff away when you're done with it" rule. If everyone is having their input respected, then everyone will be on board with who gets the pass and who does what and how often. There are two basic schools of thought on chores for the big kids and adults. Each person do what they are best at and do it all the time or each person takes a turn at each chore even if they suck at it. I like the latter, because it gives the parent the chance to praise the effort even if it isn't done well at first and to help each other with techniques. Everyone gets a chance to do a chore they hate and that is good for the soul. "What a relief it will be next week when I go back to dish washing, this vacuuming sucks." About.com has some good information on this topic. http://housekeeping.about.com/od/involvingfamily/a/12tipschrcharts.htm
* as primary care giver to your home and if you aren't getting any good response to your requests for help, you have to choose your battles. Decide what you need to delegate and be firm and consistent about it. No need to get angry or upset, just stick to your guns. For example, with a calm, matter-of-fact tone say "I'm not going to continue doing your laundry. I will show you how to do it but I am not going to do your laundry any more." You will likely be drawn into a heated discussion on this but don't let that happen. End the conversation by walking away after you have made your statement. You've said what you needed to say. If the other person persists with "why" or makes excuses why they can't do it, don't be standing there for this person to address this to you. It's not your problem. Let the baby self of this person rant or whine, but they'll be doing it to thin air or to themselves. This baby self may need to have dirty laundry reach a crisis point before they get on board with doing their own laundry. You can help this come quicker by offering to show them how if they really don't know. Be careful not to demean or talk down to this person, even a full grown person can be "overwhelmed and feel uncertain" doing something they've never done before, especially if you've been doing it the whole time. This "overwhelmedness and uncertain feeling" can play out as timidity, ignoring it, indignation, combativeness, resentment or railing against the injustice of it all. Let it all wash past you. This is their baby self coming through so recognize it for what it is. Don't let it draw you into a war of words, you must be the calm, patient adult of this mini relationship event. Offer to do laundry together at first or offer to schedule each person their choice of laundry day or laundry time, but if you don't get cooperation you'll have to let their dirty laundry pile up. That sucks for you, but it is the cure. If you get half hearted cooperation, sincerely be vocally appreciative for that and you'll have to decide to just accept it or to insist on full cooperation. Make your statement, don't be drawn into a discussion you won't win, leave the others with your decision and stick to it, be willing to work with them toward your goal and be happy and helpful about it, but be clear on what will happen. Namely, you have delegated this chore to them and you aren't doing it anymore.
* big encouragement for small attempts generate enthusiasm for the next step especially if you have started teaching your kids to do chores early. For instance, praise them for matching up the socks with it in mind that eventually they will be doing their own laundry. Don't wait on teaching your child a new chore until you think your child can do it right. We learn what we practice. Present the chore as "I am going to show you how to do this." Encourage them to do what they can but be clear that the family needs them to keep trying till they get it. Try not to judge, just encourage and teach by demonstration. Don't just tell them to "figure it out". That's cruel, show them how you'd do it then once they learn your way, suggest they find their own way to get the same result.
*telling a kid to "clean his room" will not enable him to do it if he really doesn't know what that means. You will have to be really specific and first show them, then help them do it, then they will be able to do it themselves. This could take months but you knew that. Be really careful to not demean them if you've not gotten around to this earlier and you actually have a pretty big kid that you have to help clean up their room. Likely, they will resent like hell you even being in their room. At this point, you have to establish that "yes, this is your room and your privacy is something you want. If you want your privacy you have to earn it since your room still exists in "our" house." Set a rule, such as if any smell what so ever leaves their room and comes into the hallway, Mom is going to come in and throw out anything that stinks. Or, if the doors do not swing open the entire way or close entirely, Dad is going to come in and throw stuff away until the doors do open and close all the way. Doors do need to open and close the whole way or it is a safety hazard. I know a boy teen who snuck a teen girl up to his room for some teen sex. Mom found them out, called the girls' Mom and asked if her daughter is on birth control because she's having sex with my son. Then she took the door off of his bedroom. That's OK. The only thing a Parent can't do is withhold food as punishment, use physical or verbal violence or lock the child in or out. (there may be others but they've escaped me at present) The point is, you are the Parent and you get to make the rules. Their rule became if you are going to have sex you have to find a way to do it out there, not in "our" house. That will be your right once you are an adult and supporting yourself or making a substantial contribution to the financial upkeep of this household. She did return the door to his room for his 18th birthday as his only present and the joy and appreciation in his face was beautiful to behold.
* I'm big on safety first and if you have kids toys all over the floor and in the bathtub and you've been stepping over them this whole time, you have gotten used to a very unsafe environment. It's a safety hazard to have anything on the floor that can be tripped over, whether they be toys, electrical cords, clothes and shoes, etc. You are teaching your children that the world is full of material objects with no consequences attached. That is really irresponsible. The worst black eye I ever saw was on a mom's face after she tripped and fell in the night after getting her feet tangled up on a train set. Please, please, please don't let anyone set anything on the stairs. Imagine a fully geared fireman rushing into your own smoke filled house going from room to room to find your child. Is this fireman going to get through the whole house without being compromised by stuff in the way? Use this image as the inspiration for teaching your children to put their belongings where they belong and for you to teach by example and do the same. Make it clear that there is a place for everything and everything needs to be in it's place unless you are using it. When you are done, put it away. Make "if you don't take care of your stuff, you'll lose it" a promise to keep. It certainly will apply when they get out in the big world. If you don't keep up with the payments on your car it WILL be repossessed. If you don't keep up with the maintenance of your boat it WILL break down. If you can't take care of it, you shouldn't have it. Learning this the hard way is unnecessary if you start with the little things. Put your crayons back in the box and put the box of crayons where they go and they will always be there when you want them. No wasted time looking, no frustration wondering where they are. No big mess pulling everything out to find the #@(#ing crayons. If there are more things than there are places to put them the real problem is clutter that I will talk about around Spring Cleaning time. In the meantime do the best you can and hope you don't have a fire.
* Consider the vacuum cleaner to be a power tool, (which it is) and suggest to your teen that the vacuum is the gateway to the ultimate power tool, the family car. How they treat the vac will show the parents how they will treat the car. Do they slam it around with a bad attitude? Will they forget to change the bag or otherwise not maintain the machine? I thought this was a great idea when it occurred to me. You have to show them how to safely and effectively use and maintain this important piece of equipment so refer them to my blogs from the last week of December and the first two weeks of January where I went over why to vacuum and vacuuming technique in exquisite detail.
So, I guess that's enough for now. Cheezy peezy, it's almost 4 o'clock. It's taken me about 6 hours to get this post composed and typed. If there is even one piece of information here that improved the quality of life for anyone out there, then my goal was accomplished.
My next topic will be on cleaning chemistry. Don't miss it, it's really important.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Mid-Winter Seasonal Cleaning
It is the 2ND week of February, Happy Valentine's Week. Thankfully, there are tasks that need doing only seasonally and these are the ones I suggest for mid-winter. Let's start at the front door, the back door will get the same treatment.
Entryways see a lot of traffic obviously but they also see a wide range of temperature swings, changing currents of air, more spiders, etc. Using the folded face cloth technique from the 4TH week of January, wipe the walls and woodwork around the doorways. This can be a pretty quick wipe with a merely damp cloth. No need to dwell on it, just a quick wipey-wipey. You are going for dust mostly. Take up all of the mats and small rugs you can pick up and take them outside for a good shake. Mind which way the wind is blowing so it doesn't blow back toward the door. I like to shake the rugs, etc out as I walk backward so I don't get so dirty. After you're done shaking everything out, dust yourself off because now you do have dust on you and you are fixing to take it back inside.
If you've had a "sick house" lately, with colds and sniffles, this a good time to give a quick wipey-wipey to the switch plates, door handles (fridge, cabinets, microwave, etc all have door handles, too) with a disinfectant. A "dis infect ant", by definition destroys micro-organisms found on non-living objects. I will go into cleaning chemistry soon enough, so just go with what you know.
If your winters are cold enough for water to condense on the window sills (I've seen it condense on toilets also) give this area a bit of disinfectant also as this is perfect for mold spores to set up camp. This is a great time to wipe the inside of the windows, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. These areas see a lot of variable humidity, the moisture collects on the relatively cooler window glass and takes impurities from the air with it. What a great time to have clean windows to let the increasing sunlight in.
Run your bed pillows, comforters and stuffed animals through the dryer on hot for 15 or 20 minutes or fluff them out in the below freezing temps or if it is less than 50% humidity. Get them out on the clothes line or shake them out and lay them over the porch railing. You want to get fresh air to flow through the fibers, so fluff them with that in mind. Direct sunlight has a cleansing effect if you live closer to the Equator and don't get the purifying winter weather. Since I'm at 44 degrees latitude here in Auburn, Maine, we don't get the direct sun so much. The goal here is to get dust and dust mites out of your bedding, see 3RD week of January.
Speaking of sunlight, during this time of year (or during the early and late parts of the day in the southern climes) when the sun comes in at a slant, you can really see the dust. I take advantage of the light and wipe the bottom 3 or 4 inches of all the furniture legs because you can really see it. Foot and vacuum traffic through carpeted rooms kick up dust and the heaviest stuff lands quickly, right on the legs of your furniture and baseboards. On hardwood floors, not only does the dust down low show, but the 2 or so inches of floor around the furniture legs shows dust the floor tool doesn't quite reach.
Focus on your vacuuming and dusting techniques as these tasks are especially important when your home is closed off to the weather. Make sure to dust the heat sources, carefully of course, don't wipe your swiffer over the woodstove, OK? Safety First is best accomplished if you can keep your mind on the task at hand. I look at housework (actually almost everything) as a game, just like Minecraft or Grand Theft Auto. You've got a mission, tools to use either poorly or wielded well, time limit is up to you. The foes you are up against are biologicals (mold, bugs, virus, bacteria..) and fluffy stuff (dust, fur, fibers) and grit, grime and goo. "They Are Going Down, kapow!" I'm also big on sound effects so I use them often (uuuurch, vroooom). Avoid the traps and pitfalls, such as knocking something over, missing a spot, tripping over cords and thresholds, getting dizzy from standing up too fast and the worst, bumping your head on something. Oh, don't jam your fingers, either, or cut yourself sliding your hand under the baseboard heat. There's hazards alright, but when you get done, you'll have kicked it and it will stay kicked for days, a week probably and you'll smile as you strut from room to room, "yea, that's right...I kicked it and it looks goood in here".
Another aspect of focusing on technique is to consider the exercise you are getting. It's a good workout IF you are mindful of your posture as you go whipping around, otherwise it's a chore not only for your schedule but for your body. When you are down on hands and knees wiping the edges of the hard floors for instance, be mindful of your back. Slowly, arch up like a cat and drop it down the other way to keep yourself limber. Before you stand up again, sit back with your haunches on your ankles (if you can, safety first) and stretch your arms and shoulders forward, along the floor, child's pose for yoga people. Then slowly come up with your feet firmly under yourself and come straight up using your legs and not your back. Breathe slowly and center yourself. No, really, if you have to stand up and squat down and bend all around doing this housework, you might as well do it with some benefit to your physique and well being. With all of the push-pull of mopping and vacuuming, I go into a mild squat, plie' or horse stance (depending on if you are an athlete, a dancer or practice Tai Chi) and put the handle of the tool at or near waist level and use more leg strength than back strength, then I walk forward and backward about a fast as a bride walks down the aisle. I don't stand in one place, push and pull this weighty power tool back and forth unless I have to get around furniture. My weak link is my lower back so that's how I do it. Take your own weak link, be it knees, wrists, bad attitude... into consideration and use housekeeping to strengthen instead of wearing you out. As you push the vac forward, just slide the nose of the vac up to the wall or couch and hold it there for 2 seconds. The motor is loud and hopefully you are wearing ear plugs, so maybe you can't tell you are slamming the device around. There is no need of that, just put it where you want it, it's your vac, your place, your hands, take it easy and just take care of the task. If you are going to vacuum for more than just a few minutes, consider wearing hearing protection. The vac may not be the loudest noise you'll ever make but it is pretty constant and it's the consistency of the same loud sound that flattens your hearing. Don't do that to yourselves.
I guess that's enough for now, my babies. Next week, I'll put some suggestions out there on how to get housework to be a team sport.
If you've had a "sick house" lately, with colds and sniffles, this a good time to give a quick wipey-wipey to the switch plates, door handles (fridge, cabinets, microwave, etc all have door handles, too) with a disinfectant. A "dis infect ant", by definition destroys micro-organisms found on non-living objects. I will go into cleaning chemistry soon enough, so just go with what you know.
If your winters are cold enough for water to condense on the window sills (I've seen it condense on toilets also) give this area a bit of disinfectant also as this is perfect for mold spores to set up camp. This is a great time to wipe the inside of the windows, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms. These areas see a lot of variable humidity, the moisture collects on the relatively cooler window glass and takes impurities from the air with it. What a great time to have clean windows to let the increasing sunlight in.
Run your bed pillows, comforters and stuffed animals through the dryer on hot for 15 or 20 minutes or fluff them out in the below freezing temps or if it is less than 50% humidity. Get them out on the clothes line or shake them out and lay them over the porch railing. You want to get fresh air to flow through the fibers, so fluff them with that in mind. Direct sunlight has a cleansing effect if you live closer to the Equator and don't get the purifying winter weather. Since I'm at 44 degrees latitude here in Auburn, Maine, we don't get the direct sun so much. The goal here is to get dust and dust mites out of your bedding, see 3RD week of January.
Speaking of sunlight, during this time of year (or during the early and late parts of the day in the southern climes) when the sun comes in at a slant, you can really see the dust. I take advantage of the light and wipe the bottom 3 or 4 inches of all the furniture legs because you can really see it. Foot and vacuum traffic through carpeted rooms kick up dust and the heaviest stuff lands quickly, right on the legs of your furniture and baseboards. On hardwood floors, not only does the dust down low show, but the 2 or so inches of floor around the furniture legs shows dust the floor tool doesn't quite reach.
Focus on your vacuuming and dusting techniques as these tasks are especially important when your home is closed off to the weather. Make sure to dust the heat sources, carefully of course, don't wipe your swiffer over the woodstove, OK? Safety First is best accomplished if you can keep your mind on the task at hand. I look at housework (actually almost everything) as a game, just like Minecraft or Grand Theft Auto. You've got a mission, tools to use either poorly or wielded well, time limit is up to you. The foes you are up against are biologicals (mold, bugs, virus, bacteria..) and fluffy stuff (dust, fur, fibers) and grit, grime and goo. "They Are Going Down, kapow!" I'm also big on sound effects so I use them often (uuuurch, vroooom). Avoid the traps and pitfalls, such as knocking something over, missing a spot, tripping over cords and thresholds, getting dizzy from standing up too fast and the worst, bumping your head on something. Oh, don't jam your fingers, either, or cut yourself sliding your hand under the baseboard heat. There's hazards alright, but when you get done, you'll have kicked it and it will stay kicked for days, a week probably and you'll smile as you strut from room to room, "yea, that's right...I kicked it and it looks goood in here".
Another aspect of focusing on technique is to consider the exercise you are getting. It's a good workout IF you are mindful of your posture as you go whipping around, otherwise it's a chore not only for your schedule but for your body. When you are down on hands and knees wiping the edges of the hard floors for instance, be mindful of your back. Slowly, arch up like a cat and drop it down the other way to keep yourself limber. Before you stand up again, sit back with your haunches on your ankles (if you can, safety first) and stretch your arms and shoulders forward, along the floor, child's pose for yoga people. Then slowly come up with your feet firmly under yourself and come straight up using your legs and not your back. Breathe slowly and center yourself. No, really, if you have to stand up and squat down and bend all around doing this housework, you might as well do it with some benefit to your physique and well being. With all of the push-pull of mopping and vacuuming, I go into a mild squat, plie' or horse stance (depending on if you are an athlete, a dancer or practice Tai Chi) and put the handle of the tool at or near waist level and use more leg strength than back strength, then I walk forward and backward about a fast as a bride walks down the aisle. I don't stand in one place, push and pull this weighty power tool back and forth unless I have to get around furniture. My weak link is my lower back so that's how I do it. Take your own weak link, be it knees, wrists, bad attitude... into consideration and use housekeeping to strengthen instead of wearing you out. As you push the vac forward, just slide the nose of the vac up to the wall or couch and hold it there for 2 seconds. The motor is loud and hopefully you are wearing ear plugs, so maybe you can't tell you are slamming the device around. There is no need of that, just put it where you want it, it's your vac, your place, your hands, take it easy and just take care of the task. If you are going to vacuum for more than just a few minutes, consider wearing hearing protection. The vac may not be the loudest noise you'll ever make but it is pretty constant and it's the consistency of the same loud sound that flattens your hearing. Don't do that to yourselves.
I guess that's enough for now, my babies. Next week, I'll put some suggestions out there on how to get housework to be a team sport.
Monday, January 30, 2012
4th week of January, Dusting Technique
This is the 4th week of January and I'm going to teach you my dusting technique.
Last weeks blog covered the "why" of vacuuming and dusting, especially in the bedrooms. As with vacuuming, dusting is all about knowing how to best use your tools. When dusting, your own hands and a cloth or swiffer duster are your tools. If you look at how your hands are made, you'll notice the finger joints are little "ball and sockets" and they bend forward and back up and not side to side. The wrist moves well all around.
If you were to dust a window sill for instance, with fingers placed on the window sill as on a keyboard, you'll be asking your fingers to slide sideways against their design. If you are just getting up a layer of fluffy dust you won't have to apply much pressure and the dust will wipe right up. If you are looking at a layer of dust that has been there awhile, exposed to wide swings of temperature and humidity such as you find around doors and windows (even closed), the dust will have become grimy and will require more pressure and/or repeated wiping. Your fingers can take a fair amount of side to side but if you keep it up over time you are doing these joints a terrible disservice. Better to use two hands, lay your right fingers flat to get the most coverage per swipe of the cloth and to get the best use of finger strength, then use the left hand to do the pulling. Your right hand only puts pressure down which is what fingers are designed to do and the left hand uses arm/shoulder strength to pull the cloth along. Keep in mind that your fingers are not all the same length and the longest finger often takes the brunt of the action unless you stay focused on what you are doing. Try to use your fingers as a unit instead of as individuals where you can and those finger joints will stay healthy much longer. For table tops etc, use a flat hand and dust from back to front using a downward motion when you get to the edge so you encourage the dust that is being pushed along to settle where it can be vacuumed and not to fly around. Dusting slowly keeps the air from kicking up the dust you are trying to capture.
I use a standard wash cloth and fold it into quarters which is about the size of your flat hand because that is all you can control. Using your thumb, raise up the lead edge of the cloth just a bit and slightly cup your hand. As you move your hand along lower each finger, one by one so you are always wiping with a clean surface. After a wipe or two, look at the cloth and you'll see the stripes of dust made by each finger coming down to hold the cloth against the table. When this square of the cloth is dirty, turn the folded cloth over (so the dirty side is against your hand) and repeat. When that side is dirty, unfold the cloth and refold with those two dirty squares together and put a clean section down. That way the dirty sides of the cloth will not share the dust with a clean side. You will generally get 8 clean sides to work with. That's a lot of dust per cloth with a minimum of streaking because you've always had a clean cloth face down to clean with. I use this technique on windows and mirrors, too.
If you use a swiffer duster make sure you fluff it up according to the directions. If it's not fluffed all the way you won't be getting your time and money's worth. I prefer to use a cloth since I dust many houses a week and it's less expense, but the swiffer dusters do a great job IF * you fluff them up completely, * put a new fluffy on the handle when they get dirty and * dust often. It doesn't take long for dust to lose it's fluffy nature, changes in temperature and humidity (around doors and windows and in the kitchen especially) along with gravity compact the dust and make it sticky so it has to be damp wiped. Dust on headboards and bedside tables also experience a wide swing in humidity levels because we breathe out a lot of moisture and toxins during a nights' sleep which all settle nearby. Using a swiffer is mostly a light wrist action, no need to apply much pressure because the swiffer is designed to get the fluffy stuff. They are great on mini blinds but really, you have to dust at least once a week and more if you are in a more humid place or have great swings of temperature. Once that dust gets grimy on the mini blinds, you'll be wiping them and that is tedious work. Be sure to dust slowly. You don't want to move the air around any more than is necessary because it kicks up dust and you'll be breathing it or causing it to resettle after you've moved on. Also, as you dust along a tabletop for instance, finish with a downward movement as you come off the edge of the table. Then the dust that is airborne will be headed immediately down and not up in your face. Start up high, dust the top of the dresser mirror, then the sides and front of the mirror using a downward stroke, then on to the dresser top, then sides and front of the dresser. Keep your mind on what you are doing and go slowly. If your mind is running on what's for dinner, why this takes so long, look at all those dirty clothes, blah blah, you'll be racing through this task and looking at it like a chore instead of watching the dust piling up on your dusting tool, noticing how beautiful the furniture is when clean, you'll be less likely to miss a spot and more likely to smile at the progress you are making. The down side to the swiffer is the tendency to quick swiff and go. Even with a swiffer, you should pick up everything on each surface and dust under and then dust each thing. Hey, it's your stuff. You have it because you want it, right? Dust it all every week and see how fond of it you are. Also, swiffer is useless on rough surfaces and there are a surprising number and variety of furnishings and curios made of raw wood or unpolished stone and they collect dust like a champ. Use the brush tool on your vac for these things.
Back to cloth dusting...I use a standard wash cloth, barely damp with plain water. I wash my cleaning rags often so the terry cloth wash cloths hold up and with the finished edges they don't shred and tangle in the wash like torn pieces of old toweling do. I've used old t-shirts but the knits tend to hang up on the table and mantle piece edges and I can't control them as well. Microfiber cloths are awesome for dusting and I have a couple of them but there is a trade off to be made. Here is the upside....* they don't leave any lint, * can be very absorbent even absorbing oil, fat and grease and * they clean best without any cleaning solution. * They generate a static charge as you wipe along so they attract dust. * The fibers are so fine that they actually clean on a microscopic level getting bacteria better than terry cloth. * They're very soft and don't scratch unless they have picked up something gritty and the grit can scratch. The downside is... * at first they resist water and if you want a damp cloth or to absorb something watery the microfiber has to be "worked over" to become damp. * They don't do well if dried in the drier so separate them from the other cloths and hang them. * The fine fibers can get clogged with soaps and oils so they need to be completely clean to work properly. * They are made from petrochemicals so they are more flammable than cotton cloth, emit toxic chemicals when they do burn and along with all the other synthetic fabrics that go into our washing machines, they shed microplastic fibers which pass through sewage treatment plants and end up collecting along shorelines and in the marine food chain.
So then, besides the obvious furniture and window sills there is a lot to dust. Baseboards, doors, picture frames, walls...actually pretty much everything collects dust. We can't dust everything all the time so we have to prioritize. I use the floor tool on the vacuum to "dust" the walls twice a year, usually after the worst of the pollen season is over and again in midwinter. Hallways and entryways need weekly attention. Baseboards, especially baseboard heat needs to be dusted weekly along with the furniture. Make sure your cloth is pretty damp when you give the baseboards a swipe, you want to capture as much of this dust as possible. Being close to the floor, the content of this dust has ingredients from outside; dirt, road dust, dried and ground up animal droppings, pesticides, settled pollutants from the air, you get the idea. Vacuuming the baseboards is a good idea, too, less bending over. Most doors have panels with a lip all around and the bottom lips hold a lot of dust. Chairs and couches collect a lot of dust and it's best to vacuum the upholstered furniture and wipe the leather or wooden pieces, but how often? Once a week is best, once a month is better than not at all. If you have to skip some dusting just don't skip the bedroom. Keep those bedside tables uncluttered so you'll be more likely to dust them. Vacuum the lamp shades if they don't wipe well and if your bed doesn't have a headboard, vacuum the wall at the head of your bed more often. Find a routine for yourself, like when you go into the bedroom after washing your face, use the damp hand towel to give the bedside table a wipe before you toss it in the laundry. Don't forget to wipe the sides and back side of the bedside table from time to time. I see a lot of bedside tables that are in the corner of the room with a bed immediately beside and a window with draperies also near this corner, with books, tissues and spare change, kids toys and clothes all piled on with pictures hanging on the wall where you can't possibly reach to dust. If this is your bedroom, you are really working against yourself. Give yourself some empty space to be. If you must have a box of tissues by your bed, you should dust here more often. The action of pulling that tissue through the hole in the tissue box makes a lot of dust. Maybe, as you sit on the edge of the bed before you climb in, take a tissue and give the area a quick wipe with it. It'll leave some lint but at least it's fresh lint and not inhabited by dust mites just yet.
That's enough for now, these are all just suggestions, you know, based on what I've learned over the last dozen years. I'm not telling you how to set up your bedroom but I have also learned that if no one tells you, you might not know these things. Have a good week, my darlings and breathe lots of good, fresh air.
Last weeks blog covered the "why" of vacuuming and dusting, especially in the bedrooms. As with vacuuming, dusting is all about knowing how to best use your tools. When dusting, your own hands and a cloth or swiffer duster are your tools. If you look at how your hands are made, you'll notice the finger joints are little "ball and sockets" and they bend forward and back up and not side to side. The wrist moves well all around.
If you were to dust a window sill for instance, with fingers placed on the window sill as on a keyboard, you'll be asking your fingers to slide sideways against their design. If you are just getting up a layer of fluffy dust you won't have to apply much pressure and the dust will wipe right up. If you are looking at a layer of dust that has been there awhile, exposed to wide swings of temperature and humidity such as you find around doors and windows (even closed), the dust will have become grimy and will require more pressure and/or repeated wiping. Your fingers can take a fair amount of side to side but if you keep it up over time you are doing these joints a terrible disservice. Better to use two hands, lay your right fingers flat to get the most coverage per swipe of the cloth and to get the best use of finger strength, then use the left hand to do the pulling. Your right hand only puts pressure down which is what fingers are designed to do and the left hand uses arm/shoulder strength to pull the cloth along. Keep in mind that your fingers are not all the same length and the longest finger often takes the brunt of the action unless you stay focused on what you are doing. Try to use your fingers as a unit instead of as individuals where you can and those finger joints will stay healthy much longer. For table tops etc, use a flat hand and dust from back to front using a downward motion when you get to the edge so you encourage the dust that is being pushed along to settle where it can be vacuumed and not to fly around. Dusting slowly keeps the air from kicking up the dust you are trying to capture.
I use a standard wash cloth and fold it into quarters which is about the size of your flat hand because that is all you can control. Using your thumb, raise up the lead edge of the cloth just a bit and slightly cup your hand. As you move your hand along lower each finger, one by one so you are always wiping with a clean surface. After a wipe or two, look at the cloth and you'll see the stripes of dust made by each finger coming down to hold the cloth against the table. When this square of the cloth is dirty, turn the folded cloth over (so the dirty side is against your hand) and repeat. When that side is dirty, unfold the cloth and refold with those two dirty squares together and put a clean section down. That way the dirty sides of the cloth will not share the dust with a clean side. You will generally get 8 clean sides to work with. That's a lot of dust per cloth with a minimum of streaking because you've always had a clean cloth face down to clean with. I use this technique on windows and mirrors, too.
If you use a swiffer duster make sure you fluff it up according to the directions. If it's not fluffed all the way you won't be getting your time and money's worth. I prefer to use a cloth since I dust many houses a week and it's less expense, but the swiffer dusters do a great job IF * you fluff them up completely, * put a new fluffy on the handle when they get dirty and * dust often. It doesn't take long for dust to lose it's fluffy nature, changes in temperature and humidity (around doors and windows and in the kitchen especially) along with gravity compact the dust and make it sticky so it has to be damp wiped. Dust on headboards and bedside tables also experience a wide swing in humidity levels because we breathe out a lot of moisture and toxins during a nights' sleep which all settle nearby. Using a swiffer is mostly a light wrist action, no need to apply much pressure because the swiffer is designed to get the fluffy stuff. They are great on mini blinds but really, you have to dust at least once a week and more if you are in a more humid place or have great swings of temperature. Once that dust gets grimy on the mini blinds, you'll be wiping them and that is tedious work. Be sure to dust slowly. You don't want to move the air around any more than is necessary because it kicks up dust and you'll be breathing it or causing it to resettle after you've moved on. Also, as you dust along a tabletop for instance, finish with a downward movement as you come off the edge of the table. Then the dust that is airborne will be headed immediately down and not up in your face. Start up high, dust the top of the dresser mirror, then the sides and front of the mirror using a downward stroke, then on to the dresser top, then sides and front of the dresser. Keep your mind on what you are doing and go slowly. If your mind is running on what's for dinner, why this takes so long, look at all those dirty clothes, blah blah, you'll be racing through this task and looking at it like a chore instead of watching the dust piling up on your dusting tool, noticing how beautiful the furniture is when clean, you'll be less likely to miss a spot and more likely to smile at the progress you are making. The down side to the swiffer is the tendency to quick swiff and go. Even with a swiffer, you should pick up everything on each surface and dust under and then dust each thing. Hey, it's your stuff. You have it because you want it, right? Dust it all every week and see how fond of it you are. Also, swiffer is useless on rough surfaces and there are a surprising number and variety of furnishings and curios made of raw wood or unpolished stone and they collect dust like a champ. Use the brush tool on your vac for these things.
Back to cloth dusting...I use a standard wash cloth, barely damp with plain water. I wash my cleaning rags often so the terry cloth wash cloths hold up and with the finished edges they don't shred and tangle in the wash like torn pieces of old toweling do. I've used old t-shirts but the knits tend to hang up on the table and mantle piece edges and I can't control them as well. Microfiber cloths are awesome for dusting and I have a couple of them but there is a trade off to be made. Here is the upside....* they don't leave any lint, * can be very absorbent even absorbing oil, fat and grease and * they clean best without any cleaning solution. * They generate a static charge as you wipe along so they attract dust. * The fibers are so fine that they actually clean on a microscopic level getting bacteria better than terry cloth. * They're very soft and don't scratch unless they have picked up something gritty and the grit can scratch. The downside is... * at first they resist water and if you want a damp cloth or to absorb something watery the microfiber has to be "worked over" to become damp. * They don't do well if dried in the drier so separate them from the other cloths and hang them. * The fine fibers can get clogged with soaps and oils so they need to be completely clean to work properly. * They are made from petrochemicals so they are more flammable than cotton cloth, emit toxic chemicals when they do burn and along with all the other synthetic fabrics that go into our washing machines, they shed microplastic fibers which pass through sewage treatment plants and end up collecting along shorelines and in the marine food chain.
So then, besides the obvious furniture and window sills there is a lot to dust. Baseboards, doors, picture frames, walls...actually pretty much everything collects dust. We can't dust everything all the time so we have to prioritize. I use the floor tool on the vacuum to "dust" the walls twice a year, usually after the worst of the pollen season is over and again in midwinter. Hallways and entryways need weekly attention. Baseboards, especially baseboard heat needs to be dusted weekly along with the furniture. Make sure your cloth is pretty damp when you give the baseboards a swipe, you want to capture as much of this dust as possible. Being close to the floor, the content of this dust has ingredients from outside; dirt, road dust, dried and ground up animal droppings, pesticides, settled pollutants from the air, you get the idea. Vacuuming the baseboards is a good idea, too, less bending over. Most doors have panels with a lip all around and the bottom lips hold a lot of dust. Chairs and couches collect a lot of dust and it's best to vacuum the upholstered furniture and wipe the leather or wooden pieces, but how often? Once a week is best, once a month is better than not at all. If you have to skip some dusting just don't skip the bedroom. Keep those bedside tables uncluttered so you'll be more likely to dust them. Vacuum the lamp shades if they don't wipe well and if your bed doesn't have a headboard, vacuum the wall at the head of your bed more often. Find a routine for yourself, like when you go into the bedroom after washing your face, use the damp hand towel to give the bedside table a wipe before you toss it in the laundry. Don't forget to wipe the sides and back side of the bedside table from time to time. I see a lot of bedside tables that are in the corner of the room with a bed immediately beside and a window with draperies also near this corner, with books, tissues and spare change, kids toys and clothes all piled on with pictures hanging on the wall where you can't possibly reach to dust. If this is your bedroom, you are really working against yourself. Give yourself some empty space to be. If you must have a box of tissues by your bed, you should dust here more often. The action of pulling that tissue through the hole in the tissue box makes a lot of dust. Maybe, as you sit on the edge of the bed before you climb in, take a tissue and give the area a quick wipe with it. It'll leave some lint but at least it's fresh lint and not inhabited by dust mites just yet.
That's enough for now, these are all just suggestions, you know, based on what I've learned over the last dozen years. I'm not telling you how to set up your bedroom but I have also learned that if no one tells you, you might not know these things. Have a good week, my darlings and breathe lots of good, fresh air.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
3rd week of January, Dust Mites, et al
This is the third week of January, 2012 and I'll talk about dust mites, bed bugs, spiders and how to get rid of them. First, you need to know your enemy. Here is some basic info.
Dust mites are closely related to ticks and spiders so they are built to cling and burrow with pointy legs and even in death do not easily let go. They prefer to consume the dead skin of humans and animals. One gram of dust will house from 500 to 10,000 or more mites and each mite will produce 20 waste droppings per day. A female will produce 40 to 80 eggs in a lifetime spanning 2 to 4 months. That means they hatch, grow, reproduce and die rather quickly. Dead dust mite bodies and their waste contain a protein that causes an allergic reaction. This allergic reaction and nasal polyps can be produced in otherwise non-allergic people. There are a variety of mites that feed on dead plant material (think dried flowers), paper and glue of books. How many books do you have by your bed and how long have they been there? If it collects dust, it collects dust mites. The good news is most mites are between 3 and 10 microns in size and a HEPA filter will pick them up. Since they are usually attached to larger dust particles they do not stay airborne for long, settling on the bed, bedside tables, walls and the floor. Vacuuming is the best way to remove them from your environment. Wash bedding in hot water as they cannot survive temps over 130 to 140 degrees. This is hot enough to scald your hand so follow up with a hot dryer if you don't have your hot water tank set this high. They also die off when the humidity level drops below 50%. This may account for the sniffles some of us get when the colder temps and drier air arrives in the fall/early winter. The humidity drops, they die off en masse, they get kicked up into the air as we make our beds, toss in our sleep, walk through the room or otherwise ruffle the air. We breathe them in and those proteins trigger our histamines to attack and ... we sniffle. There will always be a host of dust mites that live entrenched in your bed pillows, sheets and mattress. The humidity level in your bed stays high enough for them to thrive because we spend enough time in bed keeping it relatively moist through our skin and breathing. Air out your blankets, pillows and comforters in the winter time by taking them outside and shaking them or hang them out in the cold, dry, purifying air (it's the dryness that is effective against them) or run them through a hot dryer for 20 minutes or so where the heat is effective. The heaviness of your older pillows is not not so much from the oils in your hair but the accumulation of the dust mite carcasses and their droppings (YUCK). They love it in there. It's suggested that you buy a new pillow every couple years. You can extend the quality and life of your pillows by fluffing and sanitizing them in the dryer once a month for 20 minutes. I also run the stuffed toys my clients' children sleep with through the dryer to keep their dust mite population down. Items can be put in zip lock bags and frozen to kill the mites but their little dead bodies are still in there.
Bed bugs are nocturnal (they hide when there is light) and like to hide in the folds of fabric and crevices of wood. Preferring to feed on humans, they can live for a year between feedings and most people do not feel bed bugs bite. The severity of welts and itching caused by the bites vary from person to person. After a couple bites most peoples' skins develop an allergic reaction to the bed bug spit and a rash will result. Don't scratch it as it can become infected. They are not known to spread disease and can be seen without magnification, usually about 1/4 inch long. They do not jump or fly but can move quickly along floors, walls and ceilings (CREEPY). Bed bugs can be killed with heat above 120 degrees and they die when sprayed with a solution of 90% or greater isopropyl alcohol but it needs to be directly sprayed on them. Their carcasses may accumulate around a heat source so that is a good place to look for evidence that they have arrived in your space. Vacuuming must be thorough to get rid of them. Seal mattresses and pillows in plastic to ensure any bugs living inside the material do not escape. You would have to vacuum slowly every inch of everything in your space to get rid of them using the crevasse and upholstery tool (not the brush) for maximum suction. I'd call in a pro if I had them. That "living for a year between feedings" factoid means they can hide in a small crack between the floor and baseboard for a year and be all the more hungry for it when they come out. If you have to go somewhere that you suspect may have these bugs, wear light colored clothes so you can see them if they hitch a ride on you. Do not wear cuffed pants and try to sit on wooden chairs and not the upholstered ones. In hotel rooms, put your suitcase in the bathtub while you have a look around the heat source for any dead ones. The mouths and claws of bed bugs are not particularly strong so they don't burrow into mattresses and pillows as effectively as dust mites, but can hide in folds, under buttons and along seams in draperies, mattresses, clothing, suitcases etc and cracks in walls, floors and ceilings. Also to their advantage, they have low genetic diversity meaning that one impregnated female can spawn an infestation because her offspring can mate with one another with no inbreeding side effects. This genetic ability occurs in other non flying bugs that co-habitat with humans, such as cockroaches. They are not attracted to "dirty" places but the instance of infestation in "poorer" environments is a reflection of an inability to pay for eradication and a lack of information about them and a general acceptance of what seems like a hopeless situation. They can show up anywhere, from a city bus to a park bench, a hotel room to the White House.
Spiders, as they relate to housekeeping are not the worst insect to have around. They do a great job of eating other more bothersome insects. However, we don't want our homes all cobwebby and crawling with them either. Chances are, as with dust mites, you won't be able to eradicate them but our goal is to maintain a minimum population. Vacuuming the tops of walls and corners of the ceilings on occasion will help keep their numbers down. Use a floor tool or the brush but often these tools leave marks. I have wrapped the edges of my vac tools with masking tape to keep them from marking walls and baseboards. Besides seeing the spiders and their cobwebs, look for small brown spots on window sills and on floors around doors, windows and the baseboard heat. I haven't actually tested these brown spots to see for sure what they are, but I suspect they are the drippings from a spiders' meal. At first they seem difficult to clean but the key to wiping them us is to allow plain water to soak on the spots for a minute or so, then they wipe easily. It takes time and plain water, no need of cleaners for the most part. Spiders seem to be most prevalent around doors and windows. That's where they get in and also where their food gets in. To clean for looks, you could just dust away the webs but vacuum to get the spiders themselves. They can become entrenched above "drop ceilings" so vacuum often in rooms and up the walls with these suspended tile ceilings.
So then, now our vacuum cleaner bag or dirt container is all full of dead and hopefully dying buglets. Empty the vacuum and take the trash right out or they will just crawl back out of your vacuum. The stale smell a vacuum cleaner sometimes has is the smell of these buglets drying out. Empty the vacuum often and keep it clean inside. There are lots of products that mask the smell but why would you want to do that? The smell is telling you that the inside of your vac is nasty and you need to know this so you can maintain your equipment. I hope that takes care of the "why" to vacuum and dust. Next time, I will talk about our second line of defense against these little beasties and teach you my dusting technique.
Dust mites are closely related to ticks and spiders so they are built to cling and burrow with pointy legs and even in death do not easily let go. They prefer to consume the dead skin of humans and animals. One gram of dust will house from 500 to 10,000 or more mites and each mite will produce 20 waste droppings per day. A female will produce 40 to 80 eggs in a lifetime spanning 2 to 4 months. That means they hatch, grow, reproduce and die rather quickly. Dead dust mite bodies and their waste contain a protein that causes an allergic reaction. This allergic reaction and nasal polyps can be produced in otherwise non-allergic people. There are a variety of mites that feed on dead plant material (think dried flowers), paper and glue of books. How many books do you have by your bed and how long have they been there? If it collects dust, it collects dust mites. The good news is most mites are between 3 and 10 microns in size and a HEPA filter will pick them up. Since they are usually attached to larger dust particles they do not stay airborne for long, settling on the bed, bedside tables, walls and the floor. Vacuuming is the best way to remove them from your environment. Wash bedding in hot water as they cannot survive temps over 130 to 140 degrees. This is hot enough to scald your hand so follow up with a hot dryer if you don't have your hot water tank set this high. They also die off when the humidity level drops below 50%. This may account for the sniffles some of us get when the colder temps and drier air arrives in the fall/early winter. The humidity drops, they die off en masse, they get kicked up into the air as we make our beds, toss in our sleep, walk through the room or otherwise ruffle the air. We breathe them in and those proteins trigger our histamines to attack and ... we sniffle. There will always be a host of dust mites that live entrenched in your bed pillows, sheets and mattress. The humidity level in your bed stays high enough for them to thrive because we spend enough time in bed keeping it relatively moist through our skin and breathing. Air out your blankets, pillows and comforters in the winter time by taking them outside and shaking them or hang them out in the cold, dry, purifying air (it's the dryness that is effective against them) or run them through a hot dryer for 20 minutes or so where the heat is effective. The heaviness of your older pillows is not not so much from the oils in your hair but the accumulation of the dust mite carcasses and their droppings (YUCK). They love it in there. It's suggested that you buy a new pillow every couple years. You can extend the quality and life of your pillows by fluffing and sanitizing them in the dryer once a month for 20 minutes. I also run the stuffed toys my clients' children sleep with through the dryer to keep their dust mite population down. Items can be put in zip lock bags and frozen to kill the mites but their little dead bodies are still in there.
Bed bugs are nocturnal (they hide when there is light) and like to hide in the folds of fabric and crevices of wood. Preferring to feed on humans, they can live for a year between feedings and most people do not feel bed bugs bite. The severity of welts and itching caused by the bites vary from person to person. After a couple bites most peoples' skins develop an allergic reaction to the bed bug spit and a rash will result. Don't scratch it as it can become infected. They are not known to spread disease and can be seen without magnification, usually about 1/4 inch long. They do not jump or fly but can move quickly along floors, walls and ceilings (CREEPY). Bed bugs can be killed with heat above 120 degrees and they die when sprayed with a solution of 90% or greater isopropyl alcohol but it needs to be directly sprayed on them. Their carcasses may accumulate around a heat source so that is a good place to look for evidence that they have arrived in your space. Vacuuming must be thorough to get rid of them. Seal mattresses and pillows in plastic to ensure any bugs living inside the material do not escape. You would have to vacuum slowly every inch of everything in your space to get rid of them using the crevasse and upholstery tool (not the brush) for maximum suction. I'd call in a pro if I had them. That "living for a year between feedings" factoid means they can hide in a small crack between the floor and baseboard for a year and be all the more hungry for it when they come out. If you have to go somewhere that you suspect may have these bugs, wear light colored clothes so you can see them if they hitch a ride on you. Do not wear cuffed pants and try to sit on wooden chairs and not the upholstered ones. In hotel rooms, put your suitcase in the bathtub while you have a look around the heat source for any dead ones. The mouths and claws of bed bugs are not particularly strong so they don't burrow into mattresses and pillows as effectively as dust mites, but can hide in folds, under buttons and along seams in draperies, mattresses, clothing, suitcases etc and cracks in walls, floors and ceilings. Also to their advantage, they have low genetic diversity meaning that one impregnated female can spawn an infestation because her offspring can mate with one another with no inbreeding side effects. This genetic ability occurs in other non flying bugs that co-habitat with humans, such as cockroaches. They are not attracted to "dirty" places but the instance of infestation in "poorer" environments is a reflection of an inability to pay for eradication and a lack of information about them and a general acceptance of what seems like a hopeless situation. They can show up anywhere, from a city bus to a park bench, a hotel room to the White House.
Spiders, as they relate to housekeeping are not the worst insect to have around. They do a great job of eating other more bothersome insects. However, we don't want our homes all cobwebby and crawling with them either. Chances are, as with dust mites, you won't be able to eradicate them but our goal is to maintain a minimum population. Vacuuming the tops of walls and corners of the ceilings on occasion will help keep their numbers down. Use a floor tool or the brush but often these tools leave marks. I have wrapped the edges of my vac tools with masking tape to keep them from marking walls and baseboards. Besides seeing the spiders and their cobwebs, look for small brown spots on window sills and on floors around doors, windows and the baseboard heat. I haven't actually tested these brown spots to see for sure what they are, but I suspect they are the drippings from a spiders' meal. At first they seem difficult to clean but the key to wiping them us is to allow plain water to soak on the spots for a minute or so, then they wipe easily. It takes time and plain water, no need of cleaners for the most part. Spiders seem to be most prevalent around doors and windows. That's where they get in and also where their food gets in. To clean for looks, you could just dust away the webs but vacuum to get the spiders themselves. They can become entrenched above "drop ceilings" so vacuum often in rooms and up the walls with these suspended tile ceilings.
So then, now our vacuum cleaner bag or dirt container is all full of dead and hopefully dying buglets. Empty the vacuum and take the trash right out or they will just crawl back out of your vacuum. The stale smell a vacuum cleaner sometimes has is the smell of these buglets drying out. Empty the vacuum often and keep it clean inside. There are lots of products that mask the smell but why would you want to do that? The smell is telling you that the inside of your vac is nasty and you need to know this so you can maintain your equipment. I hope that takes care of the "why" to vacuum and dust. Next time, I will talk about our second line of defense against these little beasties and teach you my dusting technique.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
2nd Week of January, Why Vacuum...
It's the second week of January, I'll continue my discussion on vacuuming. The 4th week of December post covered vacuuming the kitchen floor and the 1st week of January post covered techniques for vacuuming carpet and choosing the right vac for your home. Today, I'll type about why it's so important and what it is you need to vacuum up.
There is much that's obvious about why to vacuum. Having a clean looking floor means you can think about other things. There is much that cannot be seen without magnification that needs to be eliminated from your living space so good technique is a must. Vacuum cleaners are rated by the volume of air they can move in 1 minute. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are most efficient at 150 cubic feet of air per minute or better and as you recall from last week, the whole reason for the vacuum cleaner is to draw particle laden air through a filter. HEPA filters with adequate air flow trap particles down to .3 microns in size with 99.97% efficiency which covers most air pollutants.
Particle size ranges
From .3 to 1 micron - most bacteria, droplet nuclei (sneeze), cooking oil, most smoke, insecticide dust, face powder, paint pigment.
From 1 to 3 microns - humidifier mist droplets, lead dust, milled flour, some auto emission particles, nebulizer drops
From 3 to 10 microns - mold spores, dust mite body parts and droppings, cat and dog dander (dried saliva from grooming themselves), hair spray, fabric protector, dusting aids (don't bother with these products, Pledge etc are a waste of time and money and have bad chemicals in them, I'll go over dusting at a later date)
Greater than 10 microns - pollen, dust mites, cockroach body parts and droppings, sanding dust, spray paint dust, textile and carpet fibers
Some of these air pollutants are generated inside your home. Some come in your home on your shoes and clothes. They all get kicked up and travel through the air on larger particles of dust so they tend to settle. If you think your air purifiers are getting them, you may need to rethink. An air purifier has to be pretty powerful to circulate the air quickly enough to get them out of the air before they sink. I'm not saying air purifiers are a bad thing, just be realistic about what they can do. If you have a cluttery house, the air is not circulating. The best way to get the pollutants out of your home is to vacuum them up.
Just so you know, some of the things smaller than a HEPA filter can capture are viruses, carbon dust (comes from cutting, grinding or sanding composite materials like in a machine shop), sea salt, combustion smoke (car exhaust) and fine dust from auto tires wearing down on the road. Most of these are so small they can be difficult, even impossible for our lungs to clear out if we breathe them in. If you live on a busy road, I suggest you do not open the windows facing the road during and shortly after the heavy traffic times. You could put a fan in those windows to blow air out. Definitely, my darlings, do not let this pollutant laden air inside.
There are a lot of bagless vacuums out there and I'm not wholly opposed to them, though I prefer to change a bag knowing I'm putting in a clean filter. I've not been overly impressed with the bagless machines I have used as they have not been easy to clean out, the dirt gets into narrow places in the machine and I'm not convinced the filtration systems are that sound. They also tend to be heavy, bulky and difficult to get around furniture. I use an Oreck which is lightweight, has powerful suction and fits under most couches and chairs with legs and it fits between most end table legs. I have used one Dyson vac at a clients' home several years ago. I actually found the suction too much for the area rugs this family had. The suction actually pulled the carpet up into the machine but it would have been suitable for wall to wall carpeting. I found it to be heavy and unwieldy. That said, it was an early version and I wasn't able to use it enough to determine how well it cleaned. I was impressed with how solid the machine seemed and look forward to test driving more Dysons and talking to someone who can tell me how efficient this new filtration design is. If you have a bagless vacuum because changing a bag was inconvenient for you, I hope you are maintaining it. You absolutely must take care of your tools. It's reckless, irresponsible and self defeating to not maintain your machine. I'm starting to preach instead of teach so I'll quit for now.
Next week, I will go into the gory details of dust mites, bed bugs, spiders and how to get rid of them. Be well, my darlings and show your vacuum some love.
There is much that's obvious about why to vacuum. Having a clean looking floor means you can think about other things. There is much that cannot be seen without magnification that needs to be eliminated from your living space so good technique is a must. Vacuum cleaners are rated by the volume of air they can move in 1 minute. HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters are most efficient at 150 cubic feet of air per minute or better and as you recall from last week, the whole reason for the vacuum cleaner is to draw particle laden air through a filter. HEPA filters with adequate air flow trap particles down to .3 microns in size with 99.97% efficiency which covers most air pollutants.
Particle size ranges
From .3 to 1 micron - most bacteria, droplet nuclei (sneeze), cooking oil, most smoke, insecticide dust, face powder, paint pigment.
From 1 to 3 microns - humidifier mist droplets, lead dust, milled flour, some auto emission particles, nebulizer drops
From 3 to 10 microns - mold spores, dust mite body parts and droppings, cat and dog dander (dried saliva from grooming themselves), hair spray, fabric protector, dusting aids (don't bother with these products, Pledge etc are a waste of time and money and have bad chemicals in them, I'll go over dusting at a later date)
Greater than 10 microns - pollen, dust mites, cockroach body parts and droppings, sanding dust, spray paint dust, textile and carpet fibers
Some of these air pollutants are generated inside your home. Some come in your home on your shoes and clothes. They all get kicked up and travel through the air on larger particles of dust so they tend to settle. If you think your air purifiers are getting them, you may need to rethink. An air purifier has to be pretty powerful to circulate the air quickly enough to get them out of the air before they sink. I'm not saying air purifiers are a bad thing, just be realistic about what they can do. If you have a cluttery house, the air is not circulating. The best way to get the pollutants out of your home is to vacuum them up.
Just so you know, some of the things smaller than a HEPA filter can capture are viruses, carbon dust (comes from cutting, grinding or sanding composite materials like in a machine shop), sea salt, combustion smoke (car exhaust) and fine dust from auto tires wearing down on the road. Most of these are so small they can be difficult, even impossible for our lungs to clear out if we breathe them in. If you live on a busy road, I suggest you do not open the windows facing the road during and shortly after the heavy traffic times. You could put a fan in those windows to blow air out. Definitely, my darlings, do not let this pollutant laden air inside.
There are a lot of bagless vacuums out there and I'm not wholly opposed to them, though I prefer to change a bag knowing I'm putting in a clean filter. I've not been overly impressed with the bagless machines I have used as they have not been easy to clean out, the dirt gets into narrow places in the machine and I'm not convinced the filtration systems are that sound. They also tend to be heavy, bulky and difficult to get around furniture. I use an Oreck which is lightweight, has powerful suction and fits under most couches and chairs with legs and it fits between most end table legs. I have used one Dyson vac at a clients' home several years ago. I actually found the suction too much for the area rugs this family had. The suction actually pulled the carpet up into the machine but it would have been suitable for wall to wall carpeting. I found it to be heavy and unwieldy. That said, it was an early version and I wasn't able to use it enough to determine how well it cleaned. I was impressed with how solid the machine seemed and look forward to test driving more Dysons and talking to someone who can tell me how efficient this new filtration design is. If you have a bagless vacuum because changing a bag was inconvenient for you, I hope you are maintaining it. You absolutely must take care of your tools. It's reckless, irresponsible and self defeating to not maintain your machine. I'm starting to preach instead of teach so I'll quit for now.
Next week, I will go into the gory details of dust mites, bed bugs, spiders and how to get rid of them. Be well, my darlings and show your vacuum some love.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
1st Week of January 2012, Vacuum Carpet Technique
It's the first week of January, 2012. Here in the frozen north, the weather has finally turned really cold and wintery. Tending the wood stove has been added to the regular chore list. The house is all buttoned up. This new year, new season is a great time to type about vacuuming and vacuum cleaners. Last week, I typed a bit about hard floor vacuuming. Today I may waver off topic a bit but for the most part, I'll be discussing "upright vacuums on carpet and why".
First off, "the right tool for the right job" is of maximum importance. A vacuum is a power tool, just like a drill or a weed whacker. You can hurt yourself, damage the machine or wreck something in your house if you mishandle it. If you don't do a very good job vacuuming your health will suffer for it....and they cost a lot of money. You really want to get the right vac for you and your floors. Go to a vacuum cleaner store, talk to a vacuum cleaner person about your floors and test drive a couple. Then buy one based on believable information and not just the advertising on the outside of the box. Many vacuums have really short handles, a lot are really flimsy and some are insanely loud. You want to know these things before you buy one.
Basically, there are upright and cannister types of vacuums and generally, the cannisters are best for hard floors and the uprights are really best for carpet. There are some successful cross-overs, it depends on what the specific needs are. In my case, the vacuum has to be durable enough for commercial work and as light as possible. You maybe need something to do upholstery and carpeted stairs, get into tight corners and around a lot of furniture (think dining room), maybe someone in your household is allergic. Once you get your parameters established, you can choose your tool and the general rule applies, although there are some exceptions, an upright is really best for carpets.
Here are the basic techniques to keep in mind when vacuuming the carpet.
* Vacuum slowly. Picture in your mind what is actually happening on the carpet. It's all thick with dust, the dust is all tangled up in carpet fibers. The brush and the suction come along, but really how deep into the carpet does the suction reach? Does the action of the bristles throw larger debris out of the "suction sweet spot"? If you vacuum slowly you will give the suction time to work on getting everything loosened from the carpet fibers. Sand and grit is made of rock so it's relatively heavy and generally round which are two strikes against it going up the suction easily. If you are listening past the noise of the vac motor and can hear the suction, you can hear the sand and more solid bits going up. The bristles actually kick up a lot of dust, etc. If you vac faster than it can be pulled in, you are really making the air quality worse and not getting the vacuuming done.
* pulling the vac gets better results than pushing it. The bristles rotate to toss the debris behind it. Pulling the vac makes the most of that situation. Ladies, I've found if I hold the handle lower, near my center of gravity and pull the vacuum stepping backward while leaning backward, it pulls less on my lower back. I can't speak to how best for a guy with an upper body center of strength to vacuum other than to say bend your knees if the handle is a bit too short. I actually go into the "horse stance" from Tai Chi, the point here is you might as well get comfortable, because it takes time to do a good job. Figure you are going to spend half an hour vacuuming a normal sized room with wall to wall carpet; nice thick carpet but not shaggy with a normal amount of furniture.
* Keep in mind where the vacuum blows the air out. All that suction is going somewhere. If it is blowing behind you, be aware that you might be blowing across a section of hard floor and the dust is gonna blow wicked. Ideally, blowing up is apt to cause the least amount of dust blow. I often start by sticking the blow end of my cannister vac out the front door or out over a stairwell to keep from blowing across an unvacuumed floor.
* The reason for the floor tools, brushes and suction, the reason for the motor, the real reason and the only reason for the vacuum is to draw air through a filter and contain the debris so it can be safely and easily disposed of. It's all about the filter design. The vacuum cleaner bag IS the filter. It's not just a place for the dirt to go. Change the bag when it is less than a third full. It's not supposed to fill up, it's supposed to filter. If you don't have a bagged vacuum, get to know the filtration system in your machine and make sure it doesn't get clogged.
I guess that's enough for now, I'll get to the "why" part next post. Be well and have a happy and prosperous New Year.
First off, "the right tool for the right job" is of maximum importance. A vacuum is a power tool, just like a drill or a weed whacker. You can hurt yourself, damage the machine or wreck something in your house if you mishandle it. If you don't do a very good job vacuuming your health will suffer for it....and they cost a lot of money. You really want to get the right vac for you and your floors. Go to a vacuum cleaner store, talk to a vacuum cleaner person about your floors and test drive a couple. Then buy one based on believable information and not just the advertising on the outside of the box. Many vacuums have really short handles, a lot are really flimsy and some are insanely loud. You want to know these things before you buy one.
Basically, there are upright and cannister types of vacuums and generally, the cannisters are best for hard floors and the uprights are really best for carpet. There are some successful cross-overs, it depends on what the specific needs are. In my case, the vacuum has to be durable enough for commercial work and as light as possible. You maybe need something to do upholstery and carpeted stairs, get into tight corners and around a lot of furniture (think dining room), maybe someone in your household is allergic. Once you get your parameters established, you can choose your tool and the general rule applies, although there are some exceptions, an upright is really best for carpets.
Here are the basic techniques to keep in mind when vacuuming the carpet.
* Vacuum slowly. Picture in your mind what is actually happening on the carpet. It's all thick with dust, the dust is all tangled up in carpet fibers. The brush and the suction come along, but really how deep into the carpet does the suction reach? Does the action of the bristles throw larger debris out of the "suction sweet spot"? If you vacuum slowly you will give the suction time to work on getting everything loosened from the carpet fibers. Sand and grit is made of rock so it's relatively heavy and generally round which are two strikes against it going up the suction easily. If you are listening past the noise of the vac motor and can hear the suction, you can hear the sand and more solid bits going up. The bristles actually kick up a lot of dust, etc. If you vac faster than it can be pulled in, you are really making the air quality worse and not getting the vacuuming done.
* pulling the vac gets better results than pushing it. The bristles rotate to toss the debris behind it. Pulling the vac makes the most of that situation. Ladies, I've found if I hold the handle lower, near my center of gravity and pull the vacuum stepping backward while leaning backward, it pulls less on my lower back. I can't speak to how best for a guy with an upper body center of strength to vacuum other than to say bend your knees if the handle is a bit too short. I actually go into the "horse stance" from Tai Chi, the point here is you might as well get comfortable, because it takes time to do a good job. Figure you are going to spend half an hour vacuuming a normal sized room with wall to wall carpet; nice thick carpet but not shaggy with a normal amount of furniture.
* Keep in mind where the vacuum blows the air out. All that suction is going somewhere. If it is blowing behind you, be aware that you might be blowing across a section of hard floor and the dust is gonna blow wicked. Ideally, blowing up is apt to cause the least amount of dust blow. I often start by sticking the blow end of my cannister vac out the front door or out over a stairwell to keep from blowing across an unvacuumed floor.
* The reason for the floor tools, brushes and suction, the reason for the motor, the real reason and the only reason for the vacuum is to draw air through a filter and contain the debris so it can be safely and easily disposed of. It's all about the filter design. The vacuum cleaner bag IS the filter. It's not just a place for the dirt to go. Change the bag when it is less than a third full. It's not supposed to fill up, it's supposed to filter. If you don't have a bagged vacuum, get to know the filtration system in your machine and make sure it doesn't get clogged.
I guess that's enough for now, I'll get to the "why" part next post. Be well and have a happy and prosperous New Year.
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