Cleaning

Eco-friendly Spaghetti Scrub Lessens Need for Chemical Cleaners

Looking for easy and inexpensive ways to go eco-friendly in the kitchen? Avoid sending harsh cleaning agents down the drains (especially important if you’re on a septic system) by trying this eco-friendly scrubbing tool for handling pots and pans.

Not quite a sponge and not quite a scrub brush, this handy cleaning gadget is called the Original Spaghetti Scrub. It “features a natural abrasive made from peach pits (peach pit powder) on a cotton and polyester backing. No detergent is needed for general cleaning with a Spaghetti Scrub, but a tiny dab of soap can be used if tackling heavy grease. Keep in mind that a little dab of soap can go a long way because Original Spaghetti Scrubbers will stay very soapy.

The peach-pit abrasives are also effective on their own. Spaghetti Scrubs last for months and because of their unique shape, they’re pliable enough for trickier cleaning jobs and tight spots such as corners, whisks, and behind faucets. The best part is they dry quickly and completely so there’s never a stinky or moldy sponge in your sink. After you’re done cleaning, just rinse your Spaghetti Scrub, and hang it on the faucet to dry.”

You can grab a 2-pack for $9 at Chef Tools.

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Power Wash Your Home Exterior for Spring

Spring has sprung! Although the rain storms keep coming, flowers have sprouted and trees are starting to bloom. Now that the ugly, cold days of winter are behind us, it gives you some encouragement to tackle the outdoors.

Fresh mulch, trimmed bushes and a clean home exterior can really make an impact on your home’s curbside appeal. An Electric Power Washer can help you clean the outside of your house as well as your shed and patio effortlessly. This power washer holds 1.5 gallons, and the powerful 1800 PSI enables the water to remove dirt and grime effectively. It has turbo-boosting power!

The long 20′ hose enables you to reach siding and all the way to the roof. When you’re all done, wind the hose around the built-in reel for easy storage, and roll the power washer away.

Spring Cleaning: Start by Steam Cleaning the Carpets

When the urge to start spring cleaning comes, it’s important to get to work in order to stay motivated. You never know when that feeling will go away, so you have to take advantage of it while it lasts.

While it’s beneficial to wash your drapes, bedding, clothing, etc. and scour the floors, your carpets and area rugs also need some tender, love and care. The Hoover Clean Surge Carpet Steamer can help you remove the built up dirt and grime from your carpets.

This steam cleaner has a powerful 12-amp motor and five spin scrub brushes to get deep down into the carpet fibers. The extra long 24L power cord enables you to move from room to room effortlessly so you can get the job done quickly.

Vacuum the Fireplace

Fireplaces are often the cause of house fires, and if you’re regularly using yours, it’s important to maintain it consistently throughout the year.

The Only Fireplace HEPA Vacuum is a convenient accessory that can make your home safer. This vacuum is especially designed for fireplaces, and it features a HEPA filter that captures 99.97% of airborne particulates. It’s those small particles that get stuck to the side of your chimney that can catch fire and cause danger.

This vacuum also has an 800-watt motor as well as a 5′ fire-retardant aluminum hose so you can reach far up into the chimney. It comes with a crevice tool for vacuuming cold ash. Prevent house fires and keep your fireplace clean on a regular basis.

Make Window Washing Less of a Chore

Keeping your home sparkling clean is no easy task, but after a long day of work, it’s a nice feeling to come home to a beautifully pristine home. When it comes to cleaning high or inconvenient areas, it’s helpful to use long handled tools.

The Microfiber Window Washer Attachment comes with a long and short pole, and it has a lamb’s-wool duster and six interchangeable attachments. With this two-piece set, you can wipe away dust and marks and squeegee moisture away.

The short pole allows you to reach 2′ to 4′, and the long pole telescopes from 4.5′ to 11′. This is especially helpful if you have floor to ceiling windows. Some of the extra accessories that you can buy separately include a lightbulb changer, floodlight changer and cobweb duster.

Spring into an Organized Closet

You see images of picture perfect closets in magazines and dream of one day getting yours to look the same way. Why not start now? It’s not impossible to have an organized closet. It’s just a matter of parting with things and reorganizing the essentials.

The Rubbermaid Wardrobe Organizer can motivate you to achieve your goal. This inexpensive organizer is made for closets that are 6’5” to 8′ wide. This insert includes wardrobe shelves and a 12” double hang shelves.

This model is made from sturdy epoxy coated steel and comes in white. With some time and a picture perfect closet in your mind’s eye, you can reach your goal. It’s a good feeling when you can find the things you’re looking for and wear clothing and accessories that you forgot you had and love.

Winter Never Smelled So Good: Lavender Snowflake Sachets

Lavender has an incredible smell that can be calm and relaxing. Some people even use it to encourage sleep by placing lavender essential oil in their eye pillows. This rich scent can also enhance your home, so if you want to keep a balanced ambiance and a clean smell for longer, try lavender.

These Lavender Sachets are made from linen and have a crocheted snowflake, which makes them perfect for winter. The lavender in the sachets has been imported from France, and the pillow includes no artificial scents.

You can put this sachet in your closet, under your pillow or on a shelf. Wherever you put it, the aroma of lavender will infuse the air and surrounding fabrics with a fragrant aroma.

The Robotic Home Helper

Household chores can pile up so fast, so if you end up relaxing or napping instead of doing your laundry, you might not have any clean clothes left by the weekend. Life would be a whole lot easier if you had another pair of hands, right?

The Willow Garage PR2 Robot is a programmable robotics platform for quite a price. Although it costs $400,000, it does many different tasks including sorting socks, folding laundry, playing billiards, drawing self-portraits and fetching beer. Maybe it is worth all of that hard earned cash.

This robot is designed with backdriveable arms, spring counterbalance, wrists and grippers. The grippers can grab bath towels, tea cups and brooms. Because of its free wrist rotation, it can open doors and even use a frying pan to cook food.

Catch Bugs in One Sweep

Spiders, moths, ants, beetles…the types of creepy crawlers that could be lurking in your home are endless, but you don’t have to be afraid them anymore. Thanks to handheld bug catchers you can take charge and remove the bug from your living space.

Ideawork’s Rechargeable Long-Reach Vacuum is an alternative to squishing insects dead. It comes with a bug catcher head as well as a crevice tool and AC adapter. This lightweight vacuum enables you to take care of bugs in a jiffy instead of having to drag out your heavy vacuum.

This vacuum extends up to 30” and can get into those hard to reach areas, which is important when you’re dealing with fast spiders. Also, since the vacuum has a bug chamber it keeps those insects contained until you dispose of them.

Nourish Teak Furnish with Special Oil

Teak furniture is beautiful and natural. If you enjoy having an earthy collection of decor and furnishings in your home, teak is the way to go. When it comes to care, all you have to do is nourish the teak with special oil so that it will last a lifetime.

Treat Your Teak from Terrain is made in England, and it’s an oil specially formulated to hydrate the teak and protect it. This oil will ensure that your teak furniture looks new for years to come, and it comes in a 35 oz. bottle.

For easy application purposes, use a brush to apply the oil. Then let it set on the furniture for 15 minutes. After that time period, wipe away the excess oil with a rag and allow the piece to dry for a full 24 hours.