HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[chinatyke]

Don't tell anyone - I don't want to jeopardise my supply - but the 5 litre bottles from Tesco at just 90p are quite a bargain.

I don't think there is much danger of your cheap supply drying up. On all chlorination plants, bleach and hydrochloric acid are produced as waste products in the absorbers. We produced hundreds of tonnes each week and were paid 1p a litre at >10% active (you buy <5% active) and the same price for concentrated HCl. If you don't get rid of it you soon reach a point where you can't chlorinate! The old adage is that the bottles cost more than the product inside them!

Some HCl and bleach is made to high purity specs, so called synthesizer grade.

You should take your duff stuff back, Stanley, and get a refund.

[Stanley]

Too much hassle China. I checked yesterday in the supermarket and their bleach is less than Shambles. Nowhere near as cheap as Tesco though! I will have to change my views on bulk bleach. China knows what he is talking about and it looks as though we are all being ripped off! (Except David...)

[Marilyn]

A small bottle of bleach would last me 12 months or more...
Bleach really isn’t necessary...you say you use it on your sink, but if you scrape away all solids from your plates and chopping boards and dispose of them in paper in your green waste bin, there should be no rotting bacteria in your sink EVER.

[Wendyf]

Must admit I often wonder what Stanley does in his sink that requires it to be so well bleached! Didn't like to say, but now you have mentioned it.....

[Marilyn]

Maybe it’s a “man thing”?

[Stanley]

Dream on kids! The sink and the lavatory are the most dangerous sources of contamination in the house. Then there is your chopping board.... The only food waste that goes in the sink is peelings, by the time Jack has licked my bowl there is no fat or waste left on it.
I must be doing something right, I got the discharge letter from BCG course and the fact that I have had no bladder infections is specifically mentioned. Anything to do with clean sinks and lavatories?

[Marilyn]

Wendy?
Wendy!?
( where has she got to?...)

[Wendyf]

Each to their own.

[Stanley]

[Marilyn]

I shall not comment again. ( may the English clutch together in bleach sodden kitchens!)

[Big Kev]

Pouring bleach down the drains won't actually keep them clear of the usual build up of soap and grease. A kettle full of boiling water down the plug hole will be more effective at shifting that, following it up with a bit of bleach will keep things from smelling

[Tizer]

Perhaps hydrogen peroxide would be useful for clearing fat and grease from drains? After all, it's peroxide in Otex and Earex drops that clear wax from our ears. As the peroxide reacts with organic matter it releases oxygen and the bubbles break up the wax.

[Stanley]

I don't have grease in my drains apart from small quantities from normal washing. The bleaching of the sink etc is for biological reasons not grease. I have two sections of drain pipe I can easily remove outside to check the cleanliness of the drains and do so regularly. Never any problem and the manhole in the yard is spotless.
Today's tip, If you are unsure about the free running of your drain, fill the sink with cold water and then pull the plug. If the drain down is fast and ends with the pipe sucking the water in the trap (A satisfying glug glug noise) you have a free running drain.

[Stanley]

Ignore the critics and strive for biosecuriy in the home! I am happy with my use of bleach....

[Marilyn]

...and the silence is deafening...

[chinatyke]

Ignore the critics and strive for biosecuriy in the home! I am happy with my use of bleach....

I agree with you. Whether necessary or not, your regime works for you. I do wish you'd get a hot tap though! I was under the impression that you had restored the hot water to your sink. Why do mechanical dish washing machines wash cleaner and more hygienically? The answer is mainly because they use higher temperatures than hand washing.
Incidentally, most apartments here don't have dish washer machines in the kitchen but do have sterilisers. They look much the same with crockery racks inside a cabinet, but clean crockery gets heat and ultraviolet treatment.

[Stanley]

China, you're assuming I have a lot of greasy dishes to wash. I don't. I use bowls for my food and by the time Jack has licked them out they aren't greasy. Pans, chopping boards etc. are always done with boiling water straight out of the kettle. Scalding in itself is good biosecurity. Idiosyncratic I know, but efficient.
Incidentally, we had no hot water in the engine house and found that washing your hands and face in cold water doesn't dry your skin out.

[chinatyke]

Incidentally, we had no hot water in the engine house ...

Aye, but you could get a bucket of steam whenever you wanted!

[Stanley]

Not worth the bother China. It's why I have such a good complexion!

[plaques]

This is one for China. With all this coronavirus going round and everybody wearing masks are the supermarkets disinfecting hand rails and trolley handles? Also has anyone come up with their own detachable trolley handle that will clip on / off so that you can take it home and put it your sterilizer?

[Marilyn]

We use the trolley wipes and wash our hands after unpacking the shopping, before we make Coffee or eat. We always have done. To me it is like patting a friendly dog on your daily walk...enjoy patting a dog, but wash your mitts when you get home.

[Tizer]

I'm with you on all that, Maz. It takes little effort but would make a big difference if everyone else did it, not just us.

Mrs Tiz drew my attention to a photo in one of the newspapers of people in a Chinese city wearing large polythene bags pulled over their heads and big enough to reach below their waist. They should be effective as long as they're careful with their hands. They're very large and loose so not a suffocation danger. I guess they keep the rain off too! Thinks: I must look in the garage and see if I've got some very large poly bags.

[chinatyke]

This is one for China. With all this coronavirus going round and everybody wearing masks are the supermarkets disinfecting hand rails and trolley handles? Also has anyone come up with their own detachable trolley handle that will clip on / off so that you can take it home and put it your sterilizer?

I haven't heard anything specific about trolley handles but there are extra precautions being taken everywhere. People are being educated and told it is their responsibility and duty to others to protect themselves. Subways, trains, buses and all public transport vehicles are being disinfected several times per day including all handrails. Seating has been removed from fast food outlets like KFC and MacDonalds to prevent people congregating. My view is that a tremendous effort is being made to prevent the infection spreading, regardless of cost.

Many people haven't resumed work yet after the extended holiday. China relies on migrant workers who travel to their work area and a lot of these workers have still not left their homes. Labour sharing has been introduced to ensure essential factories have sufficient workers. China is a well governed country and whatever is necessary will be done. Hubei province is the centre of the outbreak and is locked down.

[Stanley]

I bleach my sink every day, wash my hands frequently and am naturally a singleton. I never use trolleys. Will that do?

[Marilyn]

Basket handles are dirty too...