Keeping the Home Clear: How to Get Rid of Hard Water Build Up
Your home is supposed to be your shelter and your castle. As much as possible, you wouldn’t want anything untoward
Keeping the Home Clear: How to Get Rid of Hard Water Build Up
Keeping the Home Clear: How to Get Rid of Hard Water Build Up
Your home is supposed to be your shelter and your castle. As much as possible, you wouldn’t want anything untoward happening there. However, reality like hard water buildup sometimes happens. Let’s talk about how to get rid of it on your own.
What is Hard Water Buildup?
They are usually known as hard water stains. They are left behind when the water you use has usually high mineral content—which usually would be either calcium or magnesium. When the water evaporates usually on the floor, walls, any reflective surfaces, or the sides of the tub it leaves behind a grimy looking residue. What issues arise from hard water?
Grimy appearance
As you can imagine, these can look like they’re pretty gross from afar and up close. It can give the impression that your bathroom isn’t very clean because of those stains.
Clogs
If hard water accumulates around drains, faucets, or showerheads, it can severely impede the flow of water.
Permanent Damage
Over time, the will eat away at the material of your surfaces especially if you’re sporting glass shower doors. Your plumbing will also end up damaged if you let hard water stay.
How Do You Get Rid of It?
There are several ways that you can get rid of hard water buildup. Just be mindful that the processes will depend on what you’re cleaning in particular. For example:
Showerhead
If you’re going to clean a showerhead, turn off the water source and take off the showerhead. Put the showerhead in a bag of white vinegar and leave it overnight. After that, rinse it with water and scrub with a small brush. Try running water in it to see if the clog is gone or if the water coming out is clean. Reinstall and use.
Shower Doors
Get some more of that white vinegar to work for you. Spray it on the doors. Let it sit for about an hour or so then rise and wipe off. Repeat when necessary.
Pipes
Use a combination of cream of tartar and water. Make sure the consistency is that of a paste. Hard water buildup there can result in rust and the mixture will clean it right off. Just make sure that after you apply the mixture, let it dry then rinse it off.
Always Remember
While prevention is always important, it is still just as important to know how to remove it by yourself. Professional cleaning can cost you a pretty penny. As hard water buildup can occur repeatedly, it is ultimately more cost effective to know how to get rid of it yourself. It certainly will be a good skill to pass on to any kids that you’ll have. After all, if you had a hard time with it, so will those youngsters.
Keeping the Home Clear: How to Get Rid of Hard Water Build Up
Your home is supposed to be your shelter and your castle. As much as possible, you wouldn’t want anything untoward happening there. However, reality like hard water buildup sometimes happens. Let’s talk about how to get rid of it on your own.
What is Hard Water Buildup?
They are usually known as hard water stains. They are left behind when the water you use has usually high mineral content—which usually would be either calcium or magnesium. When the water evaporates usually on the floor, walls, any reflective surfaces, or the sides of the tub it leaves behind a grimy looking residue. What issues arise from hard water?
Grimy appearance
As you can imagine, these can look like they’re pretty gross from afar and up close. It can give the impression that your bathroom isn’t very clean because of those stains.
Clogs
If hard water accumulates around drains, faucets, or showerheads, it can severely impede the flow of water.
Permanent Damage
Over time, the will eat away at the material of your surfaces especially if you’re sporting glass shower doors. Your plumbing will also end up damaged if you let hard water stay.
How Do You Get Rid of It?
There are several ways that you can get rid of hard water buildup. Just be mindful that the processes will depend on what you’re cleaning in particular. For example:
Showerhead
If you’re going to clean a showerhead, turn off the water source and take off the showerhead. Put the showerhead in a bag of white vinegar and leave it overnight. After that, rinse it with water and scrub with a small brush. Try running water in it to see if the clog is gone or if the water coming out is clean. Reinstall and use.
Shower Doors
Get some more of that white vinegar to work for you. Spray it on the doors. Let it sit for about an hour or so then rise and wipe off. Repeat when necessary.
Pipes
Use a combination of cream of tartar and water. Make sure the consistency is that of a paste. Hard water buildup there can result in rust and the mixture will clean it right off. Just make sure that after you apply the mixture, let it dry then rinse it off.
Always Remember
While prevention is always important, it is still just as important to know how to remove it by yourself. Professional cleaning can cost you a pretty penny. As hard water buildup can occur repeatedly, it is ultimately more cost effective to know how to get rid of it yourself. It certainly will be a good skill to pass on to any kids that you’ll have. After all, if you had a hard time with it, so will those youngsters.
After the Magic: Best Ways to Clean Your Bakeware Properly
After the Magic: Best Ways to Clean Your Bakeware Properly
Baking is one of the best ways to indulge in your creativity, get lost in the whole process, and have something delicious at the end of the rainbow. What isn’t so delightful is the cleaning up that happens afterwards. If only there was a way to magically clean all bakeware after using them, right?
As it turns out magic isn’t real but the cleaning methods we’ve developed comes pretty darn close! We’re lucky enough to have some pretty talented bakers on our writing team so they were kind enough to share their expertise with us today.
Baking Pan
The baking pan can be one of the most used materials in your arsenal for baking. It’s great for cookies, bread, and so many other things. So it is only natural that it looks worse for wear come hundreds of baking sessions in.
Our writer shares how she only uses five materials for cleaning:
- Hot Water
- Baking soda
- Dish soap
- Sponge
- Elbow Grease
She mentions how she coats the bottom and the surface of the pan with a combination of baking soda, hot water, and dish soap. She lets it sit for about fifteen to twenty minutes and starts scrubbing away using the sponge. The chemical reaction, coupled with the friction from the scrubbing, can do away with even the toughest of stains on a baking pan.
Silicone Bakeware
Silicone has really risen as one of the favorite heroes of any baker. They’re a lot easier to handle, super easy to store, and they come premade in certain shapes and designs! So naturally, people opted to go with silicone rather than the traditional bakeware. However, they were not as prepared to deal with the cleaning.
Our writer shares how he uses four key ingredients:
- Hot water
- Really tough dish soap
- Sponge
- Elbow Grease
It seems that he and our other writer share a lot in common. He mentioned how if you’re not all that comfortable working with hot water, you should wear gloves. Beyond that, using the hot water with the dish soap like Palmolive can really cut through the oil that can be left behind after baking.
Blenders & Other Cookware
What about blenders and other cookware? Well, it depends on what type of blender you have! You can pretty much use the same techniques here for other places as well. Not sure what blender is the easiest to clean? The most popular are vitamix, blendtec and ninja blenders. I personally don’t like blendtec, but check out this vitamix review.
Always Remember
Cleaning can seem like such a chore but it is an integral part of the process. A lot of the time, it is during the clean up process that you can get ideas on what you could try making next. When you clean your materials, you get to really see which ones are being used and which ones may need to be retired. Every single part of the process of baking—which includes cleanup—is needed. You get to learn more about your baking style while you’re at it to boot.
With that in mind, what are your tried and tested ways to clean bakeware properly?
After the Magic: Best Ways to Clean Your Bakeware Properly
Baking is one of the best ways to indulge in your creativity, get lost in the whole process, and have something delicious at the end of the rainbow. What isn’t so delightful is the cleaning up that happens afterwards. If only there was a way to magically clean all bakeware after using them, right?
As it turns out magic isn’t real but the cleaning methods we’ve developed comes pretty darn close! We’re lucky enough to have some pretty talented bakers on our writing team so they were kind enough to share their expertise with us today.
Baking Pan
The baking pan can be one of the most used materials in your arsenal for baking. It’s great for cookies, bread, and so many other things. So it is only natural that it looks worse for wear come hundreds of baking sessions in.
Our writer shares how she only uses five materials for cleaning:
- Hot Water
- Baking soda
- Dish soap
- Sponge
- Elbow Grease
She mentions how she coats the bottom and the surface of the pan with a combination of baking soda, hot water, and dish soap. She lets it sit for about fifteen to twenty minutes and starts scrubbing away using the sponge. The chemical reaction, coupled with the friction from the scrubbing, can do away with even the toughest of stains on a baking pan.
Silicone Bakeware
Silicone has really risen as one of the favorite heroes of any baker. They’re a lot easier to handle, super easy to store, and they come premade in certain shapes and designs! So naturally, people opted to go with silicone rather than the traditional bakeware. However, they were not as prepared to deal with the cleaning.
Our writer shares how he uses four key ingredients:
- Hot water
- Really tough dish soap
- Sponge
- Elbow Grease
It seems that he and our other writer share a lot in common. He mentioned how if you’re not all that comfortable working with hot water, you should wear gloves. Beyond that, using the hot water with the dish soap like Palmolive can really cut through the oil that can be left behind after baking.
Blenders & Other Cookware
What about blenders and other cookware? Well, it depends on what type of blender you have! You can pretty much use the same techniques here for other places as well. Not sure what blender is the easiest to clean? The most popular are vitamix, blendtec and ninja blenders. I personally don’t like blendtec, but check out this vitamix review.
Always Remember
Cleaning can seem like such a chore but it is an integral part of the process. A lot of the time, it is during the clean up process that you can get ideas on what you could try making next. When you clean your materials, you get to really see which ones are being used and which ones may need to be retired. Every single part of the process of baking—which includes cleanup—is needed. You get to learn more about your baking style while you’re at it to boot.
With that in mind, what are your tried and tested ways to clean bakeware properly?
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Purchasing a New Garage Door? Here are Some Features to Consider
Purchasing a New Garage Door? Here are Some Features to Consider
When people consider buying garage doors nowadays, most usually contemplate on the automatic doors and the overhead type of garage doors. Automatic garage doors are a preference for most homeowners because they are safe and convenient. The automatic garage door can be operated with a remote from the comfort of a car. Selecting the correct garage door for a business or home requires spending a lot of time on the local garage door retailer, local home improvement stores as well as on the internet. It is essential to note that price is one of the aspects that one should consider when choosing a garage door. One should also consider warranty, construction material, customer service, and design options as well. The following are some of the features that one should consider before purchasing a garage door.
Material or composition
First, one should look at the material or composition the door is made of. There are numerous garage doors on the market today. Some of the standard doors are made of steel, wood, aluminum, fiberglass, composite, and vinyl. The type of material to select depends on the consumer’s preference as well as the nature of the environment of the customer’s locality. For example, steel garage doors are best for hurricane-prone areas. Fiberglass, commonly known as GRP is perfect for regions near the sea.
Insulation
Another aspect to consider when buying these doors is insulation. Insulation is an essential feature to consider especially for persons living in regions with extreme climate or in localities where the weather changes radically. Checking the “R” value of a garage door allows you to determine the insulation capability of the door. The “R” value measures the thermal resistance of a garage door. Therefore, choose doors that possesses a high “R” value.
Durability
It is essential to purchase a door that is durable. A garage door is one of the most significant household investment. It is thus crucial to buy a door that can resist dangers and other unanticipated occurrences. At the cost of beauty, it is essential to buy a robust door that requires little maintenance. Some garage doors such as Hormann garage doors allows one to enjoy the robustness of fiberglass. They also enable one to appreciate the appeal of wood as they are finished with wood grain surface.
Maintenance
One should also consider ease of maintenance whenever buying a garage door. Fixing a garage door can be a pain and can be avoided with proper maintenance. Most of these steel doors require very little maintenance. However, most wooden garage doors require regular maintenance as they are always prone to tear and wear over a period. If for some reason you do need help, a local garage door repair company can usually help get things back in working order, as well as give maintenance tips so it doesn’t happen again.
Security
Security is essential to every homestead. Selecting a door that is thick is crucial especially if someone lives in an area that is prone to buglers. The selected door should guarantee the security of your family as well as your properties.
Lastly, every garage door type has its pros. For instance, steel up and over doors are durable and gives one value of the invested money. On the other hand, wooden doors are insulated, and they offer an attractive look while fiberglass doors require very little maintenance. However, ensure that you purchase a garage door that will give your home security, a good look and elevate the curb appeal.
Purchasing a New Garage Door? Here are Some Features to Consider
When people consider buying garage doors nowadays, most usually contemplate on the automatic doors and the overhead type of garage doors. Automatic garage doors are a preference for most homeowners because they are safe and convenient. The automatic garage door can be operated with a remote from the comfort of a car. Selecting the correct garage door for a business or home requires spending a lot of time on the local garage door retailer, local home improvement stores as well as on the internet. It is essential to note that price is one of the aspects that one should consider when choosing a garage door. One should also consider warranty, construction material, customer service, and design options as well. The following are some of the features that one should consider before purchasing a garage door.
Material or composition
First, one should look at the material or composition the door is made of. There are numerous garage doors on the market today. Some of the standard doors are made of steel, wood, aluminum, fiberglass, composite, and vinyl. The type of material to select depends on the consumer’s preference as well as the nature of the environment of the customer’s locality. For example, steel garage doors are best for hurricane-prone areas. Fiberglass, commonly known as GRP is perfect for regions near the sea.
Insulation
Another aspect to consider when buying these doors is insulation. Insulation is an essential feature to consider especially for persons living in regions with extreme climate or in localities where the weather changes radically. Checking the “R” value of a garage door allows you to determine the insulation capability of the door. The “R” value measures the thermal resistance of a garage door. Therefore, choose doors that possesses a high “R” value.
Durability
It is essential to purchase a door that is durable. A garage door is one of the most significant household investment. It is thus crucial to buy a door that can resist dangers and other unanticipated occurrences. At the cost of beauty, it is essential to buy a robust door that requires little maintenance. Some garage doors such as Hormann garage doors allows one to enjoy the robustness of fiberglass. They also enable one to appreciate the appeal of wood as they are finished with wood grain surface.
Maintenance
One should also consider ease of maintenance whenever buying a garage door. Fixing a garage door can be a pain and can be avoided with proper maintenance. Most of these steel doors require very little maintenance. However, most wooden garage doors require regular maintenance as they are always prone to tear and wear over a period. If for some reason you do need help, a local garage door repair company can usually help get things back in working order, as well as give maintenance tips so it doesn’t happen again.
Security
Security is essential to every homestead. Selecting a door that is thick is crucial especially if someone lives in an area that is prone to buglers. The selected door should guarantee the security of your family as well as your properties.
Lastly, every garage door type has its pros. For instance, steel up and over doors are durable and gives one value of the invested money. On the other hand, wooden doors are insulated, and they offer an attractive look while fiberglass doors require very little maintenance. However, ensure that you purchase a garage door that will give your home security, a good look and elevate the curb appeal.
Business Thinking: How Important Is the “Employee of the Month”?
Business Thinking: How Important Is the “Employee of the Month”?
If you are one of the lucky and skilled ones that were able to start your own business, it should be one of your priorities to keep productivity and morale up. So how do you do that exactly? The concept of “The Employee of the Month” is something that has always been heavily represented in media like TV and movies. It makes us wonder just how important is the program itself.
What is the Employee of the Month?
This is the person that manages to meet a specific set of rules or accomplishments as set by the administration. When seen by the outside, it is always represented by a plaque reflecting the picture and the name of the chosen employee.
The factors that go into choosing an employee of the month can usually involve:
- Perfect attendance
- Voting system
- Meeting KPIs
Whatever they are, it is usually clear who can join and how many times they can be part of the program. There is no point in trying to raise morale if only one person gets to benefit from it. It is also important to be clear about what else they will get from the program. Just a picture on the wall is not enough. A bonus or some gift certificates can work.
Why is it Important?
The employee acknowledgement program or an employee of the month program has been known to have these particular effects:
Increased Productivity
When there is something to be gained—beyond the regular salary, people tend to work harder. While not everyone may be inclined to chase after the incentives, there are some that will rise to the challenge.
Friendly Competition
When there is more than one person after the reward, a friendly competition usually sparks. They usually keep each other accountable for their actions. No one wants to be beaten by a cheater. So it makes it a lot easier to keep a handle of things. It will be the employees themselves that will keep each honest.
Always Remember
The program is in place to help induce and inspire productivity—not a toxic environment. Before you launch your employee of the month program, it is important to do notable study over it. What parameters are going to be part of your program? Who gets to be involved? How long does the program last?
These any many more need to be answered. The program should exist for the betterment of your employees—not their harm. So when you think about it, why is the program important?
Business Thinking: How Important Is the “Employee of the Month”?
If you are one of the lucky and skilled ones that were able to start your own business, it should be one of your priorities to keep productivity and morale up. So how do you do that exactly? The concept of “The Employee of the Month” is something that has always been heavily represented in media like TV and movies. It makes us wonder just how important is the program itself.
What is the Employee of the Month?
This is the person that manages to meet a specific set of rules or accomplishments as set by the administration. When seen by the outside, it is always represented by a plaque reflecting the picture and the name of the chosen employee.
The factors that go into choosing an employee of the month can usually involve:
- Perfect attendance
- Voting system
- Meeting KPIs
Whatever they are, it is usually clear who can join and how many times they can be part of the program. There is no point in trying to raise morale if only one person gets to benefit from it. It is also important to be clear about what else they will get from the program. Just a picture on the wall is not enough. A bonus or some gift certificates can work.
Why is it Important?
The employee acknowledgement program or an employee of the month program has been known to have these particular effects:
Increased Productivity
When there is something to be gained—beyond the regular salary, people tend to work harder. While not everyone may be inclined to chase after the incentives, there are some that will rise to the challenge.
Friendly Competition
When there is more than one person after the reward, a friendly competition usually sparks. They usually keep each other accountable for their actions. No one wants to be beaten by a cheater. So it makes it a lot easier to keep a handle of things. It will be the employees themselves that will keep each honest.
Always Remember
The program is in place to help induce and inspire productivity—not a toxic environment. Before you launch your employee of the month program, it is important to do notable study over it. What parameters are going to be part of your program? Who gets to be involved? How long does the program last?
These any many more need to be answered. The program should exist for the betterment of your employees—not their harm. So when you think about it, why is the program important?
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Love In the Age of Social Media: What Is Healthy and What Is Not?
Love In the Age of Social Media: What Is Healthy and What Is Not?
Pretty much everyone has social media. In the age where the norm is to share so much information about our daily lives, relationships are pretty much put on a stage. This can put a lot of strain on relationships—even when you don’t mean to do so. In light of this, we want to take a chance to discuss healthy vs. unhealthy social media habits when it comes to relationships.
Healthy
When your relationship is going to be online, it is important to maintain healthy habits like:
Tasteful posts
Is it your anniversary and you want to make a gushy post? There’s no problem with that—as long as you keep the intimate details of your relationship off the status. There is no issue with being sweet online—just keep the massive PDA to yourselves.
Mindful Tagging
Social media is a place where it is easy to find things that are in line with the interests of yourself or your partner. It is completely okay and healthy to engage in things that you find interesting or sharing those things with your partner. Social media is first and foremost a sharing platform.
Unhealthy
Unhealthy habits can sneak up on you like:
Ranting
It can be quite easy to get carried away by your emotions when you are in a relationship. It’s easy to feel like you are the aggrieved party and want everyone to know that you are clearly the victim in a scenario or a problem. However, this paints a pretty grim portrait of your partner AND yourself.
You now look like a person that cannot keep personal issues between the necessary parties. It also implies that you do not hesitate to hang your partner out to dry when a bump (no matter how small or large) comes up.
Apologies
Hear us out. When you or your partner errs, there must be apologies to be made, yes. However, these are better served privately. It can put unnecessary pressure on the one being apologized to. Think about it. If you were hurting about something and you go online and see your wall littered with posts from your significant other saying how sorry they were along with the comments of other people.
It takes away the sincerity of the apology.
Always Remember
A relationship is between two people—not two people and each other’s friend list. It can be really tempting to share something because being validated is something that a lot of us crave—especially when we are feeling slighted or feeling upset.
When you are presently in a relationship—or even if you aren’t, it will serve you well to learn about the line between healthy and unhealthy relationship habits on social media. Which bad habits have you been guilty of?
Love In the Age of Social Media: What Is Healthy and What Is Not?
Pretty much everyone has social media. In the age where the norm is to share so much information about our daily lives, relationships are pretty much put on a stage. This can put a lot of strain on relationships—even when you don’t mean to do so. In light of this, we want to take a chance to discuss healthy vs. unhealthy social media habits when it comes to relationships.
Healthy
When your relationship is going to be online, it is important to maintain healthy habits like:
Tasteful posts
Is it your anniversary and you want to make a gushy post? There’s no problem with that—as long as you keep the intimate details of your relationship off the status. There is no issue with being sweet online—just keep the massive PDA to yourselves.
Mindful Tagging
Social media is a place where it is easy to find things that are in line with the interests of yourself or your partner. It is completely okay and healthy to engage in things that you find interesting or sharing those things with your partner. Social media is first and foremost a sharing platform.
Unhealthy
Unhealthy habits can sneak up on you like:
Ranting
It can be quite easy to get carried away by your emotions when you are in a relationship. It’s easy to feel like you are the aggrieved party and want everyone to know that you are clearly the victim in a scenario or a problem. However, this paints a pretty grim portrait of your partner AND yourself.
You now look like a person that cannot keep personal issues between the necessary parties. It also implies that you do not hesitate to hang your partner out to dry when a bump (no matter how small or large) comes up.
Apologies
Hear us out. When you or your partner errs, there must be apologies to be made, yes. However, these are better served privately. It can put unnecessary pressure on the one being apologized to. Think about it. If you were hurting about something and you go online and see your wall littered with posts from your significant other saying how sorry they were along with the comments of other people.
It takes away the sincerity of the apology.
Always Remember
A relationship is between two people—not two people and each other’s friend list. It can be really tempting to share something because being validated is something that a lot of us crave—especially when we are feeling slighted or feeling upset.
When you are presently in a relationship—or even if you aren’t, it will serve you well to learn about the line between healthy and unhealthy relationship habits on social media. Which bad habits have you been guilty of?