All About Life Without Maids

[piney]

Any good suggestions on vacuum cleaner that is water-based but light-weight? I saw Karcher has a steam vacuum cleaner (SV 1902) that can vacuum and steam at the same time. Anyone has this model? Is 2-in-1 better?


Also, is Rainbow/Delphin really necessary?I suppose normal vacuum cleaner can be used to vacuum mattress right?

[micollh]

need help, on ionaid electrolux dryer… yest i tested, medium load, cotton, but the waisteband of my kids uniform like not completely dry, must still hang dry… how come huh? i din put full load some more…


another headache q… how to get rid of those irritating ants in the kitchen ? wipe n wipe… still come back… kill many ants liao… very sad… but bo bian… keep coming back… any tips??

[dasalo]

micollh:

another headache q.. how to get rid of those irritating ants in the kitchen ? wipe n wipe.. still come back.. kill many ants liao.. very sad.. but bo bian.. keep coming back.. any tips??

Looks like ants in season now! Haha.... my place also has lots. They'll keep coming out when the weather is hot. I've learnt to ignore it as long as they are not the biting sort. Mine are the tiny one seemingly black but not sure..busted their nest twice and they are still back. So now keeping my house as clean as possible esp the kitchen. There will still be afew lurking around for crumbs. *hiaz..

[micollh]

is it safe to put those ant killer food ? u know u pierce thru the packet and paste it on wall… the ants bring back home and kill the whole colony ? i worried they drop the food into my water or something then kill me instead …so still hesitate to buy this type… how how?

[BeContented]

micollh:

is it safe to put those ant killer food ? u know u pierce thru the packet and paste it on wall.. the ants bring back home and kill the whole colony ? i worried they drop the food into my water or something then kill me instead ...so still hesitate to buy this type.. how how?

I HATE ants......really hate so much that the moment I spot them appearing, I spend hours monitoring and sniff out their nest :oops:

I think different type of ants succumb to different ant killer food. So you might have to trial and error a little. I have tried using both the dried kind (sand-like) and the more sticky type. I will first see where are their normal 'path', then plant the ant-killer at those spots. Next will find out where are their nest/outlets and sprayeeeeeeee (a lot) insecticide (normally they have >1 outlet). Dun just spray at the outside, aim the nozzle into the hole.

My DH and MIL cannot understand my 'obsession' over the need to get rid of ants (cos' I'll really watch/monitor them to see where is the nest). My kids are more amused and will yell for me whenever they start seeing ants around.

Anyway, I have done the above ~4 times over a 12 yr period....so the house is relatively cleared of ants 70% of the time. Some of the things I try to ensure are
1. Food are not left open or accessible to ants
2. See 1 kill 1.
3. Whenever you bring stuff home, check for ants (my MIL was the main culprit .... she would bring back some paper boxes during marketing to contain her groceries. And by the time I noticed, some ants already found and started a new nest... and the whole cycle started)

PS : Generally, ants travel everywhere....so dun have to place high.....they will find the ant food. But if you have young kids, then make sure it's at places unaccessible to them and also, will not drop into food.

[znzyzyzx]

Is better to vacumn or sweep first before steam mopping. I wont say that it is 100% effective in cleaning the lines in between. I guess if you really want those clean, probably have to do a few times ?


But I do feel my floor much cleaner when I step on it.

As for vacumn cleaner, I am only using an ordinary one.

piney:

znzyzyzx:

I recently bought a zojirushi induction heat rice cooker. It has the timer for the rice to be cooked at a scheduled time. It can also be used to cook Gaba brown rice. The Gaba brown rice came out like the normal whitw rice (the texture, i meant). Gaba brown rice means germinated brown rice. It is supposed to be more nutritious.

I love the porridge that is cooked by it too. (but it takes quite a long time , i think, slightly more than one hour)

Thanks znzyzyzx for sharing! I am also interested in the Karcher steam cleaner that you have just bought. Is it effective on cleaning lines in between tiles?

Also, do you need to vacuum first before steam cleaning? What types of vacuum cleaner would you suggest? Thanks!

[puff]

BeContented:

micollh:

is it safe to put those ant killer food ? u know u pierce thru the packet and paste it on wall.. the ants bring back home and kill the whole colony ? i worried they drop the food into my water or something then kill me instead ...so still hesitate to buy this type.. how how?

I HATE ants......really hate so much that the moment I spot them appearing, I spend hours monitoring and sniff out their nest :oops:

I think different type of ants succumb to different ant killer food. So you might have to trial and error a little. I have tried using both the dried kind (sand-like) and the more sticky type. I will first see where are their normal 'path', then plant the ant-killer at those spots. Next will find out where are their nest/outlets and sprayeeeeeeee (a lot) insecticide (normally they have >1 outlet). Dun just spray at the outside, aim the nozzle into the hole.

My DH and MIL cannot understand my 'obsession' over the need to get rid of ants (cos' I'll really watch/monitor them to see where is the nest). My kids are more amused and will yell for me whenever they start seeing ants around.

Anyway, I have done the above ~4 times over a 12 yr period....so the house is relatively cleared of ants 70% of the time. Some of the things I try to ensure are
1. Food are not left open or accessible to ants
2. See 1 kill 1.
3. Whenever you bring stuff home, check for ants (my MIL was the main culprit .... she would bring back some paper boxes during marketing to contain her groceries. And by the time I noticed, some ants already found and started a new nest... and the whole cycle started)

PS : Generally, ants travel everywhere....so dun have to place high.....they will find the ant food. But if you have young kids, then make sure it's at places unaccessible to them and also, will not drop into food.

I like your 'see 1 kill 1 ' :hi5: coz me also the same if they escape I will feel frustrated .

[micollh]

becontented, puff… im really laughing when i read abt becontented way of killer ants… sounds fun ! haaa… im joking…yeah now i also use see 1 kill 1 strategy… cos dunno what else to do…i dont use the spray cos scared later kids inhale or polluted my kitchen… haaa… i thk too much one…yest just killed another round… morning also one more round… super busy… last time maid around, i keep telling her… u very free at home (kids in childcare)… ur job is to kill ants… but even that ants still everywhere… seems like i manage it’s better… so i can tell she is not doing anything…

[BeContented]

actually ants are like 'terrorists'.


See 1 kill 1 cannot eradicate them cos once they have a nest, they multiply really fast, so need multiple prong strategy. That's why I'll first just quietly monitor them....until I locate the nests - a hole/gap that u see them enter & exit. Then all the ant-food (to reach the inner areas) followed by 'nuclear bomb' - spray insecticide. Call me sadist, but I enjoy seeing them scrambling out for escape only to face me waiting for them :evil: Invade my home ?!?! You ask for it man!!! Whahahaha :rotflmao:

[ksme]

BeContented:

actually ants are like 'terrorists'.


See 1 kill 1 cannot eradicate them cos once they have a nest, they multiply really fast, so need multiple prong strategy. That's why I'll first just quietly monitor them....until I locate the nests - a hole/gap that u see them enter & exit. Then all the ant-food (to reach the inner areas) followed by 'nuclear bomb' - spray insecticide. Call me sadist, but I enjoy seeing them scrambling out for escape only to face me waiting for them :evil: Invade my home ?!?! You ask for it man!!! Whahahaha :rotflmao:

You are hilarious! But seriously, good strategy and patience. Thumbs up.