What does the H1N1 virus fear the most? If you guessed "a vaccine," "the World Health Organization" or "Purell," you are wrong. No, the unfortunately-named Swine Flu's greatest enemy is a hand-held vacuum-cleaner.
The new Raycop is no ordinary Dust-buster (it retails for about $199). This stingray-shaped sucker of soot has a built-in UV-C sterilizing lamp that allegedly kills 99.9% of the H1N1 virus, as well as other germs, dust mites and bacteria. It also has a vibrating pad that helps agitate the dust mites to release them from bed mattresses and other furnishings and a 2-stage micro allergy filtration system that eliminates the pesky purveyors of asthmatic allergens and their feces.
So while the surviving .01% of H1N1 may go on to mutate into a new "bison flu," "chicken flu," or "what-have-you flu," at least your home will be pretty safe against The Swine.
There's only one thing scarier than a "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie marathon, and that's a clogged drain. Yep, Hitchcock's got nothing on backed-up plumbing.
This is a busy time of the year for the folks at Roto-Rooter, according to their latest newsletter. Why? Because amidst the excitement of carving up the pumpkins and positioning the ghoulish gourds on the front steps for all to see, few people actually stop and think, "Wait, maybe putting these pumpkin guts down the sink isn't such a good idea."
It's understandable. Who wants rotting innards sitting in the trash can for days on end? It's much tidier just to wash the stringy, smelly slop down the drain and be done with it.
Unfortunately, the pulp and seeds soon harden, clogging the drain and disposer. The resulting plumbing bill is enough to scare the socks off of John Carpenter.
So, follow Roto-Rooter's advice this Halloween season. Don't put pumpkin guts down the drain, in the garbage disposal or in the toilet. Wrap them up in newspaper and throw them in the trash, or even better: compost them!
It might be too late to spare China's embarrassment over the contaminated drywall mess, but apparently it isn't too late to right their wrong.
That's what Sabre Technical Services is doing, with their chlorine dioxide decontamination process which -- once injected into the tainted drywall -- renders the problematic reduced sulfur compounds inert.
The company claims that the process requires homeowners to vacate their home for less than a week and costs less than the "rip and rebuild" alternative, which doesn't sound like much fun at all.
What would you do: Hope this is a great fix or start from scratch with new drywall?
The company that redefined "clean" is taking the flu head-on, by giving away 1,500 free shots at the South Central Family Health Clinic in South Central, Los Angeles, on Wednesday, October 21. The free flu shots will be available from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, and both adults and children will be eligible.
Clorox seems intent on preparing its faithful customers for Outbreak 2010, with an entire page on their site devoted to the latest flu strain.
With homeowners sealing up their windows, doors and walls against the oncoming winter and all its accompanying germs, viruses, and what-have-you, it's a good time to evaluate the indoor air quality (IAQ) of the home. Now might be a good moment to consider an air purifier, or run down this list of the top 10 contributors to poor indoor air quality.
In the meantime, are you getting the flu shot and/or the H1N1 shot this season?
Does your dishwasher and garbage disposal suffer from bad breath? The folks at Whirlpool are banking on it. They've developed a special cleaner tablet that removes bad odors from both appliances.
The tablet -- called the affresh™ Dishwasher and Disposal Cleaner -- is set to sell for about a buck apiece. Throw two in an empty dishwasher and run on heavy and high temperature for a fresh, citrus smell. Toss one down the disposal and run the appliance with a little hot water for 15 seconds for the same. Your kitchen will smell like a Florida orange grove.
While we wait on reviews of the affresh™ cleaning tablet I'll be lamenting the fact that Whirlpool beat Altoid to the punch.
I have to tell you about a product that saved my butt last weekend. Here's the scene: It's a beautiful Saturday in late August, the Bluefish are running, the boat is gassed up, and out of no where my wife requests that I clean the exterior garage door seals. "I'm sorry, the what?" I didn't even know we had such things.
After they were enthusiastically pointed out, I could see they were stained, covered in mold, and discolored by years of weather. I told her it was a great look -- they have a rustic feel. This fell on deaf ears so I hurried to fill a bucket with soapy water and scrubbed as the Bluefish ran without me. Useless. So I dug through our cleaning supplies and found a bottle of CLR (Calcium Lime Rust remover) we once used on rust stains in our bathroom. I followed the directions (spray, let soak, wipe, and rinse), and in no time the EGDS (exterior garage door seals, we're on a nick-name basis now) were like new -- and I was off.
Check out my before and after pictures. This stuff was amazing. Tip: It's a pretty strong solution, so wear gloves and don't let it near your face. Have you had any mold and dirt breakthroughs lately? Let us know your tips.
Junk and clutter have a habit of collecting in a home's garage. Now is your chance to get it organized with this six-month sweepstakes sponsored by Gladiator GarageWorks. Entrants are eligible in three drawings including a weekly prize, a life phase sweeps that runs every six weeks and a grand prize drawing in December. The weekly and life phrase prizes include hooks, bins and gear boxes while the grand prize winner receives a garage makeover with insight from do-it-yourself expert Karl Champley. Contestants can enter the contest once a week to increase their chances of winning. Be sure to check out our article on adding more storage or creating more living space in your garage.
