Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Refrigeration Nation

Get out you vacuums again friends!

I’m sure everyone knows about cleaning out the refrigerator every now and again. It usually happens when it gets a funk you can’t locate or you spill something and have no choice but to take everything out and clean.  (Quick tip: stick an open box of baking soda in both the fridge and freezer to keep the odors down)  But I bet that is the extent of your fridge cleaning knowledge. It was for me.

I am so lucky to have both my father-in-law and brother-in-law going to school right now for HVAC.  This education includes refrigeration units. So recently my fridge was on the fritz and started peeing small amounts of water on the floor.  I freaked out!  My oh-so-wonderful B-I-L took a look for me and in the process taught me a HUGE lesson.

First, below the doors there is this vent looking cover, he took that off.  It is simply held on there with some push clips so it comes on and off very easily.  Next he got down on his belly and took a look at the underside of the refrigerator.  He said “ew.”  He explained to me that you have set of coils down there that coolant run through. Theses coils are what keep the fridge cooled off. He explained that when they get a thick covering of dust and dirt it acts as a thermal layer warming those coils and not allowing them to do their job properly. This totally makes sense right?? So to protect these coils there is actually a grill or grate just like one your car. That grill is in place to catch as much of the dust as possible before it clings to the cooling coils. It’s like the first line of defense. Well apparently the previous homeowner was unaware of this also because there was 9 years of yuck under my fridge.  He used the vacuum to clear off the grill and then my array of different size and shape bottle cleaners to clean off the coils.  He used canned air that you normally use to clean crevices of office equipment to blow out some more chunks.  This was a big ordeal that night. 

Here is the low down on why this happens. Dust moves across your floor, you can’t help it and a lot of times you don’t even see it. But in the case of your fridge it sucks in air from the floor to run past these coils, thus attracting the dust. This includes, and in my case was mostly, dryer lint.  So here is what you need to do, take off that vent located at the bottom of your fridge once a month and vacuum the grate. If you do this and don’t allow your coils to get covered your fridge will not only stay cooler and perform better but it’s going to SAVE YOU MONEY because the machine does not have to work as hard and use as much energy.

And you know what else?? My fridge stopped peeing.
Until next time, happy cleaning.

A.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Take it to the Mattresses!!

I think I will typically wait a bit longer between posts but as I mentioned in the introductions there are a few things I have learned that everyone needs to know.  With that said I understand that many of you work and this weekend you might spend a few hours doing your routine cleaning. Here is what I purpose:

Empty your vacuum canister first. (side note: Does anyone still use bags??) Make sure you get it good and empty. Now go change your bed sheets. When you take them off hoist the vacuum onto the bed and vacuum that bad boy.

Here’s why. I have heard two disturbing things recently regarding our mattresses. First, who hasn’t heard about the bedbug epidemic making its way across the country? If I see one more giant bed bug on my computer monitor I’m going to scream. This totally gives me the heebie-jeebies.  These nasties feed on dead skin. Gross.

Secondly, there is a radio ad I’ve heard saying that you should replace your mattress every 8 years because it can double its weight in body oils and dead skin. Whaaaaa!  Seriously. So I don’t know how many of you have priced mattresses recently but these things cost a lot of money.  I have one of those memory foam beds. That sucker cost thousands – I’m keeping it for the next twenty years!

Okay, so now you know the why. Here is what I found when I vacuumed my mattress: I filled the canister over half way. You all need to do this. Not only will it prolong the life of your mattress but also for those of you who have allergies you will sleep better.  And for the rest of you – you just don’t want to be sleeping on that nastiness.  

I want to know what your reactions are when you do this.  Post either here on the blog or to the facebook link. Good-bye till next time and happy cleaning!

A.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Introductions

So i recently wrote a e-mail to one of my besties who has a design blog and told her there were a few cleaning topics that i have come across that need to be shouted from the rooftops. And of course the modern version of shouting from rooftops is blogging. She suggested I get started myself - Hi, I'm Amanda.

BTW, if you are at all interested in design, specifically rules to live by in decorating your own home, check out the blog 'Orange + Peach' here on blogspot. Fabulous and funny.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I am married to a car enthusiast. An extream car enthusiasts. He's all man and doesnt think twice about walking through the house after waddling around on the garage floor for the past two hours. Meanwhile, I hold my breath, praying that he doesn't brush up against my walls.  He doesn't use the mat that I placed at the door from the garage to kitchen to wipe his feet before he comes inside. And he places his dirty closes on top of the empty laundry hamper. I love every bit of him! He is an amazing man, husband and father. He makes me lauph til my stomach hurts and I wouldn't change anything except the amount of money he spends on cars.

I am a mother of two little kiddos. Alice is my 3 year old and Eli just turned 1.  Alice is begining to be able to help pick up toys and throw things away etc. Eli on the other hand follows around after me tearing apart what I just put together. When I vaccum he stands in front of me and tries to mount the machine moving back and forth as if he were about to tame a wild mustang.

I have a degree that I paid way too much money for in Interior Design. I dream about how I can organize my home like you see in those Good Housekeepping and Southern Living magazines.

And finally, my inspiration or rather what has made me a passionant cleaning maching: tv.  No kididng.  Have you seen the shows on the documentary channes called 'Hoarders', or 'Hording: Buried Alive' or even 'Clean House: Messiest homes in America'? If you need motivation to purge I recommend watching these shows. You will be on a manic cleaning spree in less than 24 hours.

Okay, so that is me and this is the beginning of my blog.  Buh-bye til next time.   A.