Can you control dust inside the house?
February 7, 2004 | 12:00am
Dear Tanya,
My problem is how to keep dust off the TV and other stuff like frames and small collections. The modular is painted in dark shade, and one can easily see the dust that accumulates. I don’t have time to wipe them every day. I live in a village and keep my room’s windows closed. Is there any product that I can use? As of now, the only remedy I can think of is either to wipe or change paint shade.
Shasha
About a decade ago, a high school friend of mine got married and another friend visited her at home. So I asked this second friend if the newlyweds looked happy because we didn’t like the husband very much.
My friend reported, "There was three inches of dust all over the apartment."
But did she look happily settled down?
My friend, the consummate housewife, repeated, "There was so much dust. I don’t understand how they can stand it."
My point is, you may have a successful career, you may be having the steamiest extra-marital affair in the country, or you may be on the NBI’s Top Ten Wanted list, but if dust is piling in your house, there won’t be much room for your girlfriends to gossip about anything else.
Dust in the home reflects badly on women, perhaps ranking only second to having an affair with the driver.
So I understand your dilemma. I also have dark wooden furniture and accessories, and sometimes they look like they’ve been finished with talcum powder instead of varnish.
It still boggles me why we accumulate so much dust – twice the amount inside the house as outside, according to Don Aslett’s The Cleaning Encyclopedia (but I suspect the figure is higher in this country) – despite living in closed environments.
The reality is, we really can’t do anything about it except sweep the floors, vacuum the corners, wipe the appliances and tabletops, and put a filter on the air-con. There are dust treatment products in aerosol cans but I haven’t seen any in local stores and I don’t think they can stop dust from coming in; they just make the cleaning easier.
The best you can do is to use a good dust cloth that traps dirt and not just move it around (3M has a dust cloth just like that, developed by scientists – really, it was big news in the late 1990s).
If there is a large amount of dust, don’t use a damp rag because it will just create mud. In my experience, dust is easier to remove from wood if it’s been polished, like with Pledge or Wipe-Out; the latter is used by furniture stores because the former is more expensive. If you’re sweeping the floors, don’t do it in forceful movements because it will get the dust floating in the air and later on settling on the floor again.
Another thing I hate is dust on books. Apart from the fact that it shows you don’t read your books, it’s a bitch to take out. Wiping it off just worsens it, trapping the dust between the pages. My husband R., who’s a real sucker when it comes to home TV shopping, bought a duster that’s supposed to "magically" – or maybe it was "magnetically" – attract the dust so it clings to the duster. So far, it’s the best way to remove dust from my books.
As for my friend with the three-inch dust in her apartment, she separated from her husband after a few years and is now trying to get her marriage annulled. She will also probably kill me when she reads this.
My problem is the spoons and forks we have at home. They are older than me and in good condition except that some are already tarnished. How do I restore them to their beauty?
Val
Whatever you do, don’t boil your flatware. I used to do this, which made them dull quickly. However, an Internet site, Make-stuff.com, recommends dipping them in hot water, but first cover the bottom of the container with aluminum foil, then pour a cup of boiling water and add two teaspoons of baking soda and one teaspoon of salt. Stir the mix and then drop the silver pieces and make sure they are touching each other. The tarnish is supposed to slowly disappear.
My boss Millet Mananquil says that for silver trays, rub calamansi all over the surface to make them shine again.
Using commercial cream products is another option. The tarnish retardant ingredient in the cream keeps the flatware bright longer and buffing them will help develop patina. I’ve tried two brands of cream polish that I bought at Rustan’s: Oneida and Hagerty (around P495). Both have cream formula and disposable wipes. The cream is more cost effective. In my opinion, Oneida is better (I used the aerosol spray) but dear God how it stinks! I thought the dog and my husband farted at the same time. Hagerty doesn’t have much of an odor but doesn’t polish as well either. Federal Hardware has a cream (around P260) that’s for silver and brass-plated stuff in general. Sulfur causes silver to tarnish quickly, so don’t hold them together with a rubber band.
We often encounter instances where – despite constant reminders to the maid – dark colored shirts are washed together with white/light colored ones thereby staining the latter. Is there any more remedy once that happens other than to buy the same clothes again?
Joseph
How about washing your maid’s white and colored shirts together and see how she likes psychedelic?
If you’re too kind to do that, Tide.com recommends totally submerging the shirts in hot (not boiling) water and adding a package of Rit Color Remover (try Price Smart or Cash and Carry for the product), then wash them in warm water with Tide (but of course!).
If the stains remain, bleach the shirts by thoroughly mixing in warm water 1/2 cup chlorine bleach and detergent. Air-dry them and do it again if necessary.
If the dye transfer occurs in colored clothes, wash them in warm water with detergent.
I haven’t tried the procedures myself, so do pretest them with your pantulog shirts.
Whenever I clean my sneakers, they turn yellow. How do I prevent this?
Ching
A trick I used to do in college was to stuff my Adidas sneakers with newspaper and then brush them with detergent. I wouldn’t submerge them in water, but would just cup water in my hand and try to remove the soap (like washing a baby’s head). I stopped doing this when one day I was walking home and it rained. Even though I had an umbrella, the street was filled with puddles and pretty soon, tiny bubbles appeared on the surface of the canvas. Since then, I’d just throw the sneakers into the washing machine and air-dry them toes up. To hell with the yellow marks.
However, if you’re obssessing about the stains, Hgtv.com says use liquid dishwashing detergent. Put it in a bowl and intermittently dipping a toothbrush in it, scrub the shoes. Let the detergent soak in and then clean the shoes by hand or in a washing machine with towels (they act as "gentle abrasives"). It also recommends applying spray starch when the shoes have dried to make cleaning easier the next time.
If your sneakers are white leather, rub the stains with non-gel toothpaste; for heavy stains, use rubbing alcohol or nail-polish remover.
From A Texter
May I just commend your boss on her wonderful taste in both shoes and reading material?
I went to Besa’s at the basement of Shoppesville, Greenhills (724-3163)and told them your problem. The girl said they would have to dye the shoes. I said they were Ferragamos, couldn’t they do anything else? She said they could clean it but the marks won’t be totally removed. If your boss would like to risk it, Besa’s has other branches at Glorietta 4, Cash & Carry, Park Square 2 and LPL Tower. You can also try Mr. Quickie, which has more branches – in the malls and big supermarkets. I’ve had experience with both in shoe repairs and Besa’s does a better job.
If they’re patent leather, Joey Green’s Encyclopedia of Offbeat Uses for Brand-Name Products recommends removing scuff marks with toothpaste. Try it on a small part of the shoes first.
Baby
I thought this was an urban legend, but home tips sites and books really do advise using peanut butter to remove gum from shoes. Just don’t ask me if it’s creamy or chunky peanut butter (for a sandwich, I recommend chunky).
Other options are to use lubricant – rub it on the gum and scrape away. Or rub the gum with ice to harden it and make it easier to scrape.
How do you remove sticky paste left when you remove a price tag or tape?
Herminio
I hate it when this happens! You buy a nice stainless steel pot or an expensive book and the stupid tag won’t come off entirely!
I think only Filipino retailers use low-quality adhesives on their products because: 1) I never have problem removing tags on things that I buy abroad like books and home items. 2) You can’t even cleanly peel off tags from plastic folders (and that’s supposed to be the easiest!). 3) I couldn’t find any advice in books or websites to remove price tags specifically.
Having said that, try using kerosene or acetone and gently rub on the blasted residue (that’s what I do). And only for water-soluble glues, soak the item in cold water if possible.
BrandSpace Articles
<
>
