Keeping Fur Off The Furniture

Dear Home Ec 101,

My cats seem to drop enough fur to make a few new cats on my furniture every day. It’s ridiculous. How can I both prevent this and keep my furniture fur-free?

Thanks,

Fuzz Butt

Ivy says:

There are several things you can do to help keep the pet hair at bay. Of course, being a cat lover, you know that there’s no way to keep it away completely, since cats have a tendency to drop more fur than one would think is possible every day, but you can at least keep it to a minimum with some of these ideas.

First, prevention is key. I have found that brewer’s yeast supplements help some with shedding. It’s also a natural flea preventative, or so I hear. You can find these supplements at just about any pet supply store, they aren’t terribly expensive.

Brushing your cat daily is also very, very important. Cats like to groom themselves, but they don’t do a good enough job of getting all the loose hair off their bodies. (Thankfully. Can you imagine what they’d hoark up if they did?) So you need to pick up the slack by giving them a thorough brushing every day. I’ve experimented with different sorts of brushes over the years, but the kind that works the best for me is a wire brush. I’ve heard people have had great results with the Furminator, but I haven’t tried one yet.

As far as keeping it off the furniture, I’ve tried lots of different products, but the best thing, really, is to vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. If I don’t have time to do a thorough vacuuming, or I’ve got a chair that is particularly covered in hair, running a slightly damp paper towel over the area works well, too.

Good luck with getting everything de-furred!

Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com!

Apartment Smells Like Cooking, And Not The Good Kind Of Cooking

Dear Home Ec 101,

I live in an apartment, and my kitchen is open to the living room like in most apartments. The house always has a remnant cooking smell even when I keep all the doors and windows open. My carpet, couch and everything smell. It is a little embarassing when i have company. Air refresheners don’t seem to solve my problem either.
Please help!!!!

Signed,

Apartment Dweller

Ivy says:

I also live in a house where the kitchen is open to the living room, so I understand where you’re coming from. I have several suggestions, a combination of some or all of these might solve your problem. First, I’m sure you already are, but just in case- if you’re not using the range hood fan whenever you cook something on your stovetop, make sure you always use that. It makes a big difference.

What you want to do is try to neutralize the smell. I’d start with renting a floor/uphostery cleaner and giving the carpet and upholstery a good cleaning. I like to use Kids N Pets whenever I’m using one of those. It does a good job of neutralizing smells. Between cleanings, Febreze Fabric Refresher is good for keeping things smelling nice.

When cleaning, don’t forget to wipe down your walls, windows, and blinds. Walls especially can harbor smells. If you have flat paint, you will not be able to wash your walls, but if you have any other finish, you can actually wash them.

When you’re having company over, you can use a simple boiling pot with cinnamon in it to make the house smell fabulous. The cinnamon sticks work the best, but ground cinnamon works as well. Or, you can just use some awesomely smelly candles, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Well, Home Eccers, did I forget anything?

Smelly Dish, Smelly Dish

Dear Home Ec 101,

Hi. I have a dilemma with my dishes. Whenever I cook or use a strong smelling condiment, my dishes always pick up the smell I can never get the odor out.  A small dab of bleach in the water was suggested but after trying this my stepson told me the dishes just smell like bleach plus the food smell. I have heavy duty cleaning gloves so I tried washing in very hot water with soap but that didn’t work at all. I tried baking soda but with no luck. Please help! I am tired of smelling peanut butter, cooking oil, and dinner every time I get a glass of juice or water!

Signed,

What are they feeding you?

Heather says:

Oh smelly dish, it’s not your fault.

Well, it might actually have been the reader’s fault, but here are a few suggestions she can use to eliminate the odor on her dinnerware. I asked our reader what kind of dishes were causing the problem and called World Kitchen, LLC where I was assisted by the ever lovely Melissa who had several suggestions.  Funnily enough they were consistent with Ivy and I’s usual advice for dealing with many household odor problems: vinegar and water or Bar Keeper’s Friend.

Fill your sink with hot water and vinegar. Next allow your dishes to soak briefly, scrub well, rinse thoroughly, and dry immediately. If the food odors remain, try wetting the dishes and briefly scrubbing with Bar Keepers Friend, then rinsing thoroughly.

If you have stoneware, it is important to never allow the dishes to soak for long. There is a porous portion on the bottom of some pieces that can absorb water which may allow bacteria to grow.  While this is not our reader’s issue, it is an important one to note.  In these cases use a paste of Bar Keeper’s Friend or Zud on the porous ring, scrub, rinse well, and allow the dishes to dry thoroughly.

For those of you whose dishes aren’t stinky, here are a few tips to keep them food odor free.  Before hand washing, be sure as much food as possible has been scraped from the dishes.  The more food that comes in contact with the dishwater the faster the soap will break down.  Without soap, oils that carry odor can cling to the dishware.  Wash your dishes in this order: glasses, silverware, dishes, cookware. Experiment with the amount of soap used until you find the amount that is frugal yet effective.  Too little soap may cause dishes to need a second wash, eliminating any savings.

Finally, harsh detergents may etch glassware.  This can cause tiny scratches that may get filled with mineral deposits.  Etching can cause glassware and some dishware to retain an odor.  The folks at World Kitchen, LLC advise against using both gel and powder pack formulas.

Good luck!

Submit your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Bagless Vacuums, the Dirty Secret

Heather says:

Seasoning Your Cast Iron Cookware

Dear Home-Ec 101,

I got this set of cast iron pans last year for my birthday and I know that you have to do something with them before you can use them. I “googled” it but I find soooo many different things I don’t even know where to start.

I figured you ladies would be a good place to start.

Signed,

The Cast Iron N00b

Ivy says:

As you all know, I am no cook- Mr. Ivy is a fantastic chef, so he does all the cooking and I do all the cleaning up. When Mr. Ivy and I first started living together, he brought with him his cast iron skillet that had been seasoned for years. Now I, being no cook, took one look at that crusty old thing and thought, “Eww.” So I set to cleaning it, scoured the absolute snot out of it, and got all the black “funk” off of the pan. I was pretty proud of myself. I dried it and put it in the cabinet.

When Mr. Ivy next decided to cook with his beloved cast iron skillet, he got a surprise. “Um, Ivy? Could you come here for a sec,” he said. I trotted into the kitchen and he was holding his cast iron skillet with the look of a destroyed man. “What did you do to my cast iron skillet?”

“I washed it,” I told him. “Doesn’t it look nice now?”

He then explained that that black crustiness was NOT funk, it was seasoning. And it made his pan nonstick, made food taste fabulous, and solved world poverty all at once. Well, I didn’t know.

So, yes. I know how to season and care for cast iron cookware. And I learned the hard way so you don’t have to. The crust is a GOOD thing. Don’t scrub it off.

Seasoning goes like this. First, wash your cast iron cookware carefully with soap and water. New cast iron usually comes with a protective coating like wax, so you will want to scour all that off. Then dry your pan thoroughly and get the oven to preheating at about 350 degrees.

Then (and make absolutely sure that your pan is completely dry) just coat the pan with a thin layer of oil that is high in saturated fats. Mr. Ivy thinks lard is the very best thing to use, but lard really grosses me out. If you’re like me, you can also use canola oil, vegetable oil, or even peanut oil.

Then put your pan upside down on a baking sheet to catch any drips in your preheated oven for about an hour. You can then turn the oven off, open the door a bit, and let it cool down. Then your skillet will be ready to use.

To clean your cast iron cookware, wash it in hot water. Some people say it is okay to use soap, some people say absolutely not. I will occasionally use a bit of soap to get any stuck on food bits, but I don’t do this regularly. Don’t ever let your pan sit with water in it- that will ruin your seasoning and you’ll have to start all over again. I always just try to get the pan clean as soon as it’s cool enough to touch. Make sure the water is really hot- leftover grease in your pan can become rancid and that’s not a good thing.

Never, ever, ever put your cast iron cookware in the dishwasher. Again, it’ll ruin the seasoning. If it does find its way into the dishwasher, scrub it well and then start the seasoning process all over again. It takes years to get the absolute perfect seasoning for your cast iron cookware, so try to avoid that.

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