I received a concerning email yesterday that made me realize it was time to send this post out again as a reminder. This is the first in our series on household chemicals. Over the past few years, I have gotten the impression that many people are using chlorine bleach in an unsafe manner. Chlorine bleach, aka …
Dear Home-Ec 101,So I found your article looking for some ideas for dealing with our hard water issues here in Florida. I’m in school for biomed engineering, so I appreciated the explanations you gave. I have a question and thought about your background. You might know the answer or know which direction to point me …
From Facebook: How do you deal with poison oak, sumac, and ivy in general? Scratchy in Santa Fe Heather says: If you come into contact with poison ivy, oak, or sumac the most effective “treatment” is to immediately and thoroughly wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water. All three of these plants (and …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I followed all of the advice in your how to deal with stubborn body odor in laundry article and my clothes still stink. There’s sort of a rotten egg odor and nothing I do gets rid of it. How do I get rid of this sulfur smell in my laundry? Signed, Sick of …
Stephanie says: Let’s work to iron out the wrinkles. I love ironing. I do. Roll your eyes. Scoff. Mutter, “whatever, who loves ironing?” I do. There is something satisfying about taking a pile of clean clothes and one by one getting all the wrinkles out, then putting them away. I don’t iron every morning. Heavens …
It’s great to have a house with a laundry room. These machines do a lot of work for our family. Why, then, do so many people hate doing laundry? I am so glad I don’t have to use a pot of boiling water or a wringer to wash all of our clothes or worse, have …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have been puzzled by this mysterious pink / red stains on my khaki shorts for years. Whenever I get new khaki shorts, it will get these red / pink stains on them whenever I wash them. I don’t use bleach or fabric softener. I only use powdered detergent, cold/warm water and …
Dear Home-Ec 101, What washing machine is better, top or sideload? Signed, Wishy-Washy in Waseca Heather says: Isn’t it fun when someone answers your question with “It depends?” The front-load vs. top-loading washing machine debate has been going on for years, about ten in the US. High-efficiency front loading washing machines hit the mainstream back …
Dear Home Ec 101, I am very careful about how I wash my darks in order to avoid fading – washing them only in cold water, air drying or drying on the lowest setting. Despite this I feel my darks are fading much sooner than they should. Any suggestions? Signed, Dull in Duluth Heather says …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a dilemma. I find my bedroom becoming cluttered very quickly with clothes that are “too clean to wash” yet “not clean enough to put away”. I was a single mom for many years, going to school or working, sometimes more than one job, and as a result, I didn’t want …