HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Cathy]

I use an old toothbrush for cleaning all sorts of tricky bits too. Believe it or not I use a very old, but still in good condition, baby bottle teat cleaner to clean down into the shower and bathroom floor drain. Does a good job getting into all those tiny squares.

[Stanley]

You're as bad (or good) as I am Cathy......

[LizG]

i would like to invite both of you to come and do your best at my house please. Happy to provide board and lodgings.

[Cathy]

Oh gosh, I'm definitely not a clean freak. I keep things clean etc but my back problems stop me from doing every last thing each and every time.
('m not a domestic goddess, but I could name one... Hehe )

[Stanley]

Liz, get your eyes tested and find an old toothbrush....
Cathy , you don't mean Maz do you?

[Cathy]

Haha, would I dare?
Anyway she is away for a few days, by the time she returns this part of the topic will be 'way back'

[Tizer]

When the cat's away...not that I'm calling Maz a cat, of course. And nor do I think you're a mouse Cathy! (It's a minefield writing on forums.)

[Stanley]

She'll be back!

[Stanley]

I see we have a post complaining she can't see Hedley in the dam. Her old eyes must be failing! Today's tip, always use the biggest screen you can afford as the monitor for your computer. It makes life much easier!

[Stanley]

Don't be frightened of using fatty meat in your stews. Excess fat can be easily removed by separating the liquor, freezing it and lifting the fat off the top. Meat associated with the fattiest parts of the animal are almost always the tastiest so it's worth the effort. The meat is cheaper as well.....

[Stanley]

Swarfega and similar hand cleaners can be very useful but always remember that they are, in effect, powerful paint strippers. They not only remove dirt but the essential oils from your skin so always use a hand cream afterwards. Extended use can lead to industrial dermatitis.... I know, I've been there so be careful!

[Stanley]

Not a bad idea to have a bag of cheap salt in the cupboard ready for when the flags are icy. Before the weather gets more severe get your favourite roofer in the inspect the slates and gutters. A stitch in time saves nine! A good man won't charge a fortune for popping a ladder up and having a good look see...

[Cathy]

In this neck of the woods it's more than likely a case of checking air-cons, swimming pool pumps and filters, having the pest control guys around and cleaning out the roof gutters of leaves...

[Tizer]

We've got `the blind man' (remember Dawn French's `blind man' bathroom joke?) coming tomorrow to fit vertical blinds in our lounge. We have heavy curtains on the big `picture window' which help with insulation on winter nights but we've never taken up the trend for having vertical blinds which are pulled across all the time - many of the houses in our village now seem to have these blinds instead of curtains and they're left pulled across the windows with only the angle of the strips being varied. Our window has a view of the garden and it would be a shame to block it. Our new blinds will be pulled back most of the time but drawn across in strong sunlight when it's too bright or too hot. The quoted prices are silly prices because they're fashionable - but when the man came to quote, Mrs Tiz said "I'm not paying that much" and got the price down by 30%.

[PanBiker]

I have just fitted Venetian blinds to our two kitchen windows. Bought them from a UK custom build firm online, they sent us free colour samples before we made our choice and the blinds were then custom made to fit each window. Fitting was very easy with two locking brackets. Hardest one was above and behind the sink unit, I had to board over it to give a working platform but pretty painless to fit them. The firm does all kinds of blinds, roller, roman, vertical and Venetian, hundreds a colour and style finishes to choose from. Very happy with ours.

[Tizer]

I've fitted Venetian blinds in some of the rooms but the lounge window is very big and high (almost as big as the wall!) so Mrs Tiz put her foot down and demanded that we `get a man in'. It's a local business used by most people around here. The man who came to measure is also the one who does the job. He's `very Somerset' and we ended up spending more time talking about local history than blinds! We got to talking about sinkholes and he was telling us about all the small coal mines that used to surround Bristol but now, due to the city's great expansion, are within the boundaries and built over. Plenty of scope for more sudden holes opening up!

[Stanley]

I've had venetian blinds in the past but it's a lot easier to take a net down and wash it than keep venetians clean.... I just have curtains in the kitchen, I like to keep an eye on the back street!

[Wendyf]

Not really a household tip, but make sure you know exactly which road you parked your car on when you visit a strange town! We went to Blackburn last night to see Bill Bailey at the King Georges Hall and parked in a small car park not far from the theatre, I thought I had checked enough landmarks to find our way back but I obviously hadn't and it took us at least half an hour of anxious wandering around. Amazingly we didn't fall out!! We were still laughing at Bill Bailey.

[Tizer]

I spent the first 20 years of my life in Blackburn and I'd get lost now!

[Stanley]

John Wilfred Pickard used to lose his car in Barlick because he went forward on foot to his patients when doing house calls. He regularly rang the police to ask them to keep their eyes open for it. Try doing that now!
I was once delivering a taker of milk in Rotherham early one morning, it was a few months since I had been to the dairy. I couldn't find it because they had demolished the town centre! I stopped a lone bobby on a bicycle and reported that the town had been stolen.... He laughed and gave me directions....
Wooden curtain rings on poles can get a bit sticky, clean the rods with good furniture polish and they glide like silk.

[Stanley]

If, like me, you do strange things like mill bronze in the shed, get used to small golden chips winking at you from the carpet in the kitchen. Newton Pickles told me that when he had his workshop in the attic at Federation Street his mother made his life a misery because of the brass chips he trod around the house.... I know what she meant! Newton was never the best man in the world at cleaning up!



Time I cleared up I think!

[Tizer]

Wooden curtain rings on poles can get a bit sticky, clean the rods with good furniture polish and they glide like silk.

We do that too. When the man fitted our blinds he had a great big spray can of silicone and said that besides the blind rails he found it useful for other jobs and always sprays it on his saw before cutting wood.

[Stanley]

You can get what is known as 'dry lubricant' which is mostly silicone but beware, some of them leave a black or white deposit. What you need is the clear stuff. Probably the best source is the cheaper non-wax furniture polishes which are clear and also based on silicone.
Same principle but an older solution is the old cure for sticking drawers. Take the drawer out, empty it and look for the places where it is rubbing. Rub them well with a candle end and do the rails inside the body of the furniture as well.

[Tizer]

I've always kept the stumps from candles to use to lubricate drawers.

[Stanley]

You were brought up properly Tiz!
One of the reasons why I have such a good relationship with my pipe is that when I'm cleaning it to put it away to rest for over a week before I get round to it again I put a drop of meths in the bowl and let it run down the stem as I insert a pipe cleaner. This dissolves all the grunge in the stem, nasty stuff, and you can just wash the bowl and bore out with water.



My friends having a rest.....