All articles tagged with #home and living
Winterization expert Tom Fleming shares last-minute cold weather hacks to prevent frozen pipes, including turning off the water supply line, draining the water from the lines, and using mulch or makeshift covers for outdoor spigots.
Various pests, including rats, mosquitoes, cockroaches, silverfish, drain flies, centipedes, ants, and spiders, can find their way into your toilet and bathroom through plumbing and structural vulnerabilities. These pests can compromise your health, damage your home, and cause discomfort. To prevent them, seal any gaps or holes in your plumbing, use baits or ultrasonic repellents for rats, eliminate standing water for mosquitoes, caulk gaps and keep your bathroom clean for cockroaches, use repellents or diatomaceous earth for silverfish, clean drains and use drain screens for drain flies, seal cracks and use repellents for centipedes, remove food and water sources for ants, and seal entry points and use spider-repelling plants or pesticides for spiders.
Interior stylist Hilton Carter recommends using statement plants to style a living room, with his top choices including fig trees, ZZ plants, ponytail palms, Swiss cheese plants, and umbrella plants. These plants can be placed near furniture, in corners, or on windowsills to create a calming and vibrant atmosphere. Carter suggests using different levels of light to enhance the plants' foliage and recommends various ways to display them, such as in large planters, baskets, or on platforms.
TikTok influencer Shannon Doherty of Mom Hacks (@athomewithshannon) has shared a simple, natural solution to getting rid of ants in your home: cinnamon sticks. In a video posted on TikTok, she shared how placing cinnamon sticks around your home will stop your ant problem in its tracks. Doherty has amassed over two million followers on TikTok alone thanks to her helpful tips for moms. Cinnamon sticks can be bought for $1.33 at Walmart – much less than the cost of most insect sprays.
Storing your trash can in a cabinet or pantry can lead to health and sanitation issues due to germs, mold, and mildew. It can also be difficult to find a trash can that fits in these spaces and has a sufficient capacity. Additionally, the damp environment under the sink or in the pantry can attract bugs and cause unpleasant odors. It can also take up valuable storage space and be easily forgotten, leading to overflowing trash. It's best to keep your trash can in a visible and easily accessible location.
Experts recommend removing standing water, keeping the kitchen clean, using a dehumidifier and fan, preventing mosquitoes from entering, placing a bowl of soapy water, using mosquito-repellent plants, and burning essential oils to get rid of mosquitoes in the kitchen. They advise against using chemical-based mosquito repellents in the kitchen to avoid contaminating food and drink. Spiders are natural predators of mosquitoes, so leaving them and their webs alone can also help control mosquito populations.