Category: cleaning

Bed bugs are notoriously hard to get rid of.

Still, if you see the pests in your own home, don’t panic and call an exterminator just yet. There are ways you can start combatting the invasion on your own — for a lot less.

Try these DIY bed bug tips, and make sure to learn about what you’re dealing with.

Armed with the right information, you can decide when to tackle it yourself and when it’s time to call in extra help.

DIY Bed Bug Management Tips

1. Kill Them With Cleanliness

Washing bedding at a temperature of at least 120 degrees with laundry soap can kill the infestation. The “hot” setting on your washing machine should do the trick.

Bed bugs also can’t live through a hot dryer session. So, dry your bedding items on high after washing and you should be able to eliminate the problem.

Use a sealed bag to take bedding to the laundry room. This way, you won’t contaminate your existing hamper.

2. Vacuum and Seal

Do a thorough vacuuming of your mattress, bed frame, under the bed, baseboards, or anything else that touches the bed. The bed bugs will probably hide in any crevices they can. So, be sure to get into hidden spots.

Throw out the used vacuum bag outside, so bugs can’t get back in. Then, buy a bed bug-proof case to seal your clean mattress.

3. Spray the Bugs Away

Get a pesticide that works on bed bugs and scrub down your bed frame, headboard, baseboards, dresser, and other hard surfaces. Bed bugs can’t live in metal furniture. However, they will nest in a porous surface like wood.

Always read the formula’s label carefully. Even pesticide from the best bed bug company  won’t work if it’s not used correctly. Make sure you use it properly so it is effective, and keep in mind that some bedbug sprays may be toxic to pets.

4. Starve Them Out

It’s possible that no matter how much you clean, the bugs will still hide in places you can’t reach, like in the walls or under the carpet.

Fortunately, you can help get rid of hidden bugs by starving them. Make DIY bed bug traps so they won’t be able to reach their source of food: you!

Be careful when building traps, as some materials that are toxic to bed bugs can also be toxic to you. This trap uses carbon dioxide, which, although natural, is harmful to humans in large quantities.

5. Treat Your Pets

Although bed bugs don’t live on the hosts they feed on the way fleas do, bed bugs can still pester your pets.

They may move into pet bedding or stuffed animals. They will need to be treated the same way you treated your own clothes and bedding.

Bed Bug Management Solutions

If you have a relatively minor infestation, these tips should help you fix the problem.

Even if you decide that you need to call an exterminator, doing some DIY bed bug management can help keep the problem from growing in the meantime.

What are your favorite DIY pest control tips? Leave a comment and let us know!

If you can’t seem to get yourself into house cleaning mode, it’s time to look into why it’s so important.

There are many benefits of cleaning that go well beyond the satisfaction of lounging in a clean room or avoiding embarrassment when friends come over.

Let’s explore 5 surprising benefits of pulling out that duster and mop and getting to work on a clean home.

Reduces Allergens

Each human in your home sheds around 40 thousand skin cells per hour.  That’s about 725 grams (1.6 pounds) of flesh per year per person.  In addition, if you have pets, you can add their hair and dander to the mix.

Each time someone opens a door/window or someone comes in from outside, pollen, smog, and other allergens enter your home.

We call it dust, so it doesn’t sound so gross. But this is what dust is.

It covers your appliances, settles on surfaces and saturates the carpet. As you and your pets move around, this dust enters the air.

If you’re not regularly removing these allergens they will make people sick with things like:

• Asthma
• Allergies
• Inflammation
• Other Respiratory conditions

Makes Your Home Safer

A dirty home isn’t just unsightly. It can be dangerous. If you habitually toss dirty clothes, books or other items on the floor, they become serious tripping hazards.

If those also include food containers, then you increase the population of roaches, mice, and spiders in your home. Roaches and rats carry diseases.

Spiders are usually friendly. They’re just there to enjoy the great selection of insects that you’ve welcomed into your home.

If you’re not cleaning countertops, sinks or dishes regularly, you could be breeding harmful bacteria.

If you haven’t cleaned the shower or toilet in a while, they’re likely covered in bacteria and fungus that can make you sick.

If you’re not investing in periodic carpet cleaning, all of these contaminants remain in your home.

If you’re not clearing out clutter, your home is a danger zone.

Burns Calories

You’ll burn on average about 150 extra calories per hour of cleaning. By contrast, going for a stroll only burns about 100 calories. And running burns around 400 calories.

Plus, many cleaning activities can get your heart rate up. You’re burning fat and getting a cardio workout.

If you think you don’t have time to clean because you can’t miss the gym, you may not have that excuse any longer.

No, it’s not a high-intensity workout. But if you’re not cleaning, you’re not burning as many calories as you could be.

Reduces Stress

The act of cleaning helps reduce stress because all physical activities release endorphins that make you feel good. This helps reduce anxiety and you’ll feel happier.

In addition, fewer fights over who’s supposed to take out the rubbish could reduce stress as well.

Improves Brain Power

When our outside worlds are disorganized, it makes the brain feel cluttered as well. But living and working in a cleaner environment can help you retain a clearer mind.

That’s less brain power spent trying to find your lost keys and more power toward being more productive, improving relationships or expanding your mind.

Benefits of Cleaning Go on and on

The benefits of cleaning keep going. But we’ll keep this short. What we want to be crystal clear is the fact that regular cleaning can significantly improve your life.

What would you add to our list of surprising benefits? Comment below.

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Today’s thrifty living tip is to hang your laundry using a clothesline or a laundry line. I have two metal posts outside that I use for my clothesline. Inside the house, I have a thick long chain on hooks which runs the length of my wash room. I do have a long wash room.

I can use the inside line when the weather is too rainy or cold to hang laundry outside. Hanging laundry helps to save electricity or natural gas, and I also find it puts less wear on my dryer. I have had the same dryer since 1997! I do use my dryer, but I hang laundry as much as I can.

Worried about wrinkles or clothes are too stiff, then just throw them in the dryer for a few minutes to help soften them. I prefer my towels to be stiff as I find they absorb the water more after I bathe. I just love how my sheets smell in the fresh air.

Do you hang your laundry?