A home is an oasis and a haven for many people. But a lot of common errors are committed that might eventually destroy a house. These are 12 things not to do in order to maintain a tidy and functional home.
1. Use Cleaners with Caution
When used on an inappropriate surface, most cleaners—even multi-surface cleaners—can harm furniture and other home items. For instance, grout in bathtubs, showers, floors, and countertops shouldn’t be cleaned with toilet bowl cleansers. The strong acid content of these cleansers will eventually erode the caulking. Try a homemade solution instead, made with dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. Just make up a mixture, let it soak for at least five minutes, and then use a grout brush or an old toothbrush to scrape the dirt away.
2. Avoid Direct Spraying
It takes a lot of energy to clean surfaces like floors, counters, and appliances, and it is annoying when dirt seems to be left behind. But it can be a film that the cleaners left behind instead of dirt or grime. Instead of spraying the area, use a towel or mop to directly avoid any leftover film or stickiness.
3. Take a Shower Before Leaving
After taking a shower, walking about drenched spreads bacteria far and wide. It may eventually begin to distort the floor or leak beneath, which would lead to the growth of mold. It’s preferable to completely dry off before getting out of the bath or shower.
4. Humidity in Hardwood
Just like dripping shower water can harm the floor, using excessive amounts of water when mopping the floors can also be harmful. In particular, excessive moisture exposure causes warping and damage to hardwood flooring. Try using an oil soap and water mixture or a cleaner designed specifically for hardwood floors while mopping them, being careful not to soak the floors completely in water.
5. Remember the Fan
Most bathrooms and kitchens include exhaust fans, which are functional fixtures. They not only assist prevent mold growth but also purify the air by eliminating contaminants. After a steamy bath or shower, exhaust fans assist remove moisture from the bathroom, which is fantastic news for those who live in extremely humid areas.
6. Wetness in Unexpected Areas
Although most people are aware that bathrooms are ideal sites for mold to develop due to the high volume of water and steam used there, other areas may also be home to some rather unsavory microorganisms. Bacteria thrive in warm, humid, and dark environments. Therefore, the ideal environments for the growth of bacteria and mold are found in toilet or toothbrush holders. Before storing them, it’s a good idea to let them air dry to reduce the formation of bacteria and dangerous pathogens. Another material that provides the perfect habitat for bacterial growth is fabric. Towels should therefore be hung to dry rather than placed in a basket or on the ground. Additionally, to avoid bacterial development, hand towels, rugs, and show towels should be cleaned or sterilized every few weeks.
7. Use Vinegar With Caution
Although vinegar is a great cleaner substitute, some gadgets may be harmed by it. For instance, the high acidity of vinegar might harm dishwasher rubber components. Using vinegar on granite countertops is another situation where it’s not the best cleaning option because it can remove the sealant.
8. Most People Get in bed too early.
Even though making the bed every morning is a wonderful habit, you should hold off for a little bit. Before making the bed, give it a little time to air out to reduce the growth of bacteria and odor-causing bacteria as well as perspiration accumulation.
9. Making Use of a Sponge
Meats and vegetables, in particular, contain a multitude of dangerous bacteria that can spread from one surface to another and land on sponges and wash towels. Consequently, hydrogen peroxide is a more efficient way to eradicate bacteria from cutting boards and won’t contaminate sponges or other areas in the kitchen.
10. Keep the Sun Out of Your Home
Unquestionably, the sun is a superpower that nourishes both our bodies and souls. Doctors advise wearing sunscreen because, well, it’s quite harmful. However, furniture can also sustain damage from the sun’s rays. To avoid overexposing furniture to the sun, it is therefore a good idea to close curtains and blinds when leaving the house.
11. Using a Sweep rather than a Vacuum
Using a broom to sweep the floor might aid in removing some dust and pet hair. Nevertheless, extra dust is frequently dispersed when cleaning and then emptying a dustpan. Instead, even on hard floors, a vacuum will gather dust and debris.
12. Avoid overfilling anything
It’s easy to overstock pantries, closets, and storage beneath the house with all of your favorite items. But this could lead to a lot of issues with your house. Airflow can be obstructed by overcrowding, which is inefficient and expensive. However, it can also retain moisture, harming the structural integrity of the house. Moreover, excessive weight in closets might result in similar issues since it can harm the walls.
Uncovering the Mysteries of the Lake in Oklahoma
Residents of Oklahoma found a mysterious hard sac-like ‘egg’ hanging from the tree roots at the lake, but scientists are now calming the locals, who immediately jumped to conclusions of alien proportions, by explaining that it’s an ancient creature
These creatures have found the right space and environment, so its likely they’ll be around a lot this summer.
Locals in Oklahoma discovered large, jelly-like sacs with a hard exterior hanging from tree roots; they immediately thought the answer was extraterrestrial. Or at least not good news.
But scientists, reassuring the public, have said that the locals in the area got a rare treat – the glimpse of the reproductive system of an ancient animal that’s been around since before the dinosaurs.
Immediately, locals put it up online, and spectators began commenting on the extraterrestrial-looking eggs. But scientists say that the creatures were simple bryozoans. They’ve been around for hundreds of millions of years, before the first dinosaurs roamed the planet. The animals may actually be good news for the lake.
These bizarre creatures are actually hundreds of tiny bryozoans.
Officials reassured the public that the animals are absolutely supposed to be there
Bryozoans clone themselves into large masses to filter tiny particles out of the water for food, cleaning up the lake. The critters normally reside in ponds and lakes. This time, it was found in McGee Creek Reservoir, located on the southwest edge of the Ouachita Mountain Range.
Bryozoan clumps aren’t an egg or just one animal at all. They form this hard shell as they are hundreds of creatures banded together. The pods, known as zooids, are each a fraction of a millimeter long. They lack any respiratory or circulatory systems, but their central nerve ganglion allows the animal to respond to stimuli.
These pods are hanging from tree roots, and actually help clean the lake
The tiny invertebrates possess both male and female reproductive organs, allowing them to self-clone and spread through clumps of cells on the organism known as statoblasts.
Each statoblast can reproduce asexually. They do this by breaking off from a colony, allowing the animal to reproduce rapidly if the space and the weather are suitable. The animals eat phytoplankton and bacteria lurking in water.
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Fossil records suggest they may have evolved from an ancient marine worm. Their grandparents, ancient bryozoans, date back as far as 470 million years. For perspective, dinosaurs came around 245 million years ago.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) shared the photos on social media. “What is that??? If you’re out boating somewhere like McGee Creek Reservoir you may notice these strange jelly-like balls hanging from submerged tree limbs,” begins the post.
“These are Bryozoans, and they’ll likely show up in large numbers this summer. Don’t be alarmed these microorganisms are native and are of no danger to you or wildlife. In fact, they are an indicator of good environmental quality and clear water!”
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