Q: How do I clean up my hardwood floors after a toilet overflows. This question appeared as a comment on How to Clean Up After a Toilet Overflows The difference between cleaning up toilet water on your typical bathroom flooring e.g. vinyl or tile and cleaning up hardwood is the hardwood is porous. The advice…
Bad Disaster Advice
I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the information being spread with regard to how to prepare for a disaster, like a hurricane. Bad Advice I’ve Seen Circulating Hotels must take your pets in due to a law passed after Hurricane Katrina. No. This is patently false. Hotels and motels are private businesses and not…
Why Is the Ice in my Ice Machine Melting?
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a fairly new ice machine at the beach, a house we use roughly every other weekend. Lately, the ice machine does not seem to be cold enough to keep the ice it makes frozen. I have vacuumed the coils, ran a “Clean cycle” with the cleanser, turned it off and…
Help, how do I get rid of drain flies?
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have three window wells in my finished basement. I am forever finding little black dead flies. I have sprayed, thrown gallons of bleach and ammonia down the window wells. In the window wells I found something like yellow cocoons that I think they have built. There were several in each well. …
Pantry Moths in Pasta
Dear Home-Ec 101, I put my pasta in a new container to store in my pantry and still found moths. What did I do wrong and how can I prevent pantry moths in the first place? Sincerely, Bugged in Buckhead Heather says Unfortunately, pantry moths are a part of life. We can take a lot…
Hurricane Matthew – What We Learned
Heather says I hope everyone is doing as well or better than can be expected. Last week, starting on Tuesday, it became readily apparent that Hurricane Matthew was coming for a visit. It was Thursday before we had a good idea of the type of visit he’d be paying. We spent the week debating whether…
Help Washing the Walls – A reader question that wasn’t what I thought
Hello. My name is [redacted]. I need some people, maybe 2 or 3 to help me wash my walls before we paint them and I’m wondering where I could look for someone who needs a bit of cash. The walls are dirty and need cleaning. I got some good ideas of what to wash them…
Let’s Talk Life Skills
Heather says: Over on the Home-Ec 101 Facebook fanpage someone asked: What would be on your list of skills to know for a homemaker and adult in 2015? This list is by no means complete: Prepare a meal without setting fire to the kitchen or poisoning guests. Keep a living space clean. Encourage a guest…
How to Remove a Stuck Outdoor Flood Light
Dear Home-Ec 101, I cannot remove a burned out flood light. I guess I have to break it first unless you have another suggestion. Thanks, Donna, in the Dark . Heather says The good news is we have a couple of ideas to try before resorting to Hulk smash to remove the floodlight. Even if…
How to Unclog a Kitchen Sink, Naturally
Dear Home-Ec 101, Is there a “green” way to unclog the kitchen sink? I really hate having to use heavy drain cleaning chemicals. I have used boiling water (2 pots full) then the drain cleaner set 10= minutes followed by a pot of boiling water again. Thanks! Signed, Clogged in Closter Heather says: Depending on the…
Potential Sources for Mildew Odor in a Bedroom
Dear Home-Ec 101, There is a musty / mildew smell in my home, but I’m having issues locating the source of the smell. As far as I can tell, it’s restricted to one bedroom. I’ve examined all of my clothing, removed the air conditioner, checked all of the furniture, and even the air ducts. I’m guessing…
The Ants Come Marching One by One
Okay, so. I hate ants. Hate. Hate. My realistic side knows the fact that I have ants in my house right now has more to do with the heat, humidity and rain than my house being messy or full of crumbs (otherwise they’d be in my kitchen, right?). I have been using a spray that…
There’s Mildew on My Seatbelts, What Do I Do?
Hi Home-Ec101, I have been following your site for a while and am super excited about how well the chore chart is helping around my place; it has made a huge difference! Anyway, I have an odd question, I have an older car that was in storage for about three years, and in that time…
Emergency Preparedness Refresher
Heather says This is my dad’s neighborhood. No one got hurt, but it took me a couple of days to finally reach him to hear this first hand. The cell towers near their home were damaged and without power and only cordless phones, I couldn’t reach them via their landline. They are able to stay in…
It’s Time Again for Hurricane 101
Heather says: June 1st marks the beginning of hurricane season. For those of us on the East and Gulf Coasts, we know this means anxious meteorologists glorifying every thunderstorm that appears in the oceans. Although the public tends to become jaded with media saturation, there is no reason to get caught with your pants down….
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