Dear Home-Ec 101, My kids whine incessantly when I ask them to help clean, and they do a halfhearted job when they finally clean. How do I get them to help out? Signed, Ripping my hair out in Riverdale Ivy says: I know what that’s like. My kids still put up a fuss about cleaning, …
Dear Home Ec 101: Help! I’ve got funky stuff coming out of my jetted tub. I turned it on the other night and bits of black sludge ruined my bath. How do I clean out the jets? What is it, anyway? ~ Jetty Betty Heather says: Do you really want to know what that sludge …
Dear Home-Ec101, I live in an apartment and my mini-blinds are covered with the funk of thousands of tenants. Can you please tell me the best way to clean these? Signed, Dusty Shades Ivy says: I hate mini-blinds. My cats break the ends off of them because they MUST sit in the window and they …
Ivy says: Sometimes you have guests coming over unexpectedly and you don’t have time for the full cleaning route. And sometimes you just don’t feel like cleaning like a madman when there are guests coming over. So what are the most important parts of your house to hit to make your house look decent? Following …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I’m gearing myself up to finally tackling the scary fridge. It hasn’t been cleaned since the dawn of refrigeration, so there’s a ton of ultra-scary-ew-nasty-what-is-that-gunk in the fridge. But, I don’t want to use any harsh chemicals, as I’m concerned about the smell/taste of it transferring over to the food once I’m …
Dear Home Ec 101:Where can I get sodium percarbonate?Thanks,Short and Sweet Heather says: For those not in the know, sodium percarbonate is the generic name for the active ingredient oxygen bleach products like Oxo-Brite, OxiClean, or Clorox Multi-Purpose Stain Remover. The short answer is you can find sodium percarbonate on the laundry aisle in almost every grocery …
Dear Home-Ec 101, Our cat marks all areas of our house by peeing especially when another animal comes to visit or where she last marked. We are at our wit’s end…. is there any solution to this problem? Signed, Kitty Mama in Kalamazoo Ivy says: I know way more about cat behavior than any normal …
Ivy says: If I had new cleaning toys to test out every day, I’d have a spotless house. Nothing motivates me to do some cleaning like yummy new cleaning toys. Tonight, I bought the Micro Fiber Miracle Cloth at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $9.95. It comes with 4 cloths, one big one, 2 medium …
Dear Home-Ec 101, My daughter has a grass stain on her pretty little, made with love by Grandma, Easter dress. How can I get it out before we see Grandma again? My 13 year old dog has recently urinated on our carpet, for reasons unknown to us. How can I get that horrible odor out …
Dear Home-Ec 101, Now that our teen is helping with the laundry, I would like to show him to fold a fitted bedsheet. I usually just roll it up into a ball. (bad, I know) Signed, Life Skills Teacher to Growing Son Ivy says: The person who actually showed me how to fold a fitted …