Water is among humanity’s greatest needs. Of the world’s supply of water; 97% is in the ocean and 2 % is frozen. This leaves just 1 % of the world’s water left for drinking. When I see a statistic like this, I get the initial reaction that we all get: a bit of shock. But what exactly does that mean, 1 %? How much water is that? How much do we need? It is a shocking statistic, but in itself it doesn’t mean much. I am not doubting that there is a water crisis. Maybe not in America but in other countries for sure. And perhaps someday we Americans will be faced with a water crisis. We already have a strange fascination with bottled water. Ooh, it’s from a rare mountain spring. Oh my God, what flavor!. Fortunately, a lot of people have gotten hip to this whole bottled water scam and discovered a way to make their own filtered water. The result has saved them loads of money, natural resources, and energy. There are a lot of ways to filter or clean water. In my article How to Clean Water, I have listed all that I am aware of. I have also included the benefits and downsides for each.
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For those of us with some sinus conditions, a humidifier can be a blessing in the winter months when the air is dry. Unfortunately, an unclean humidifier can be a hazard to your health. The moist area of a humidifier is the perfect place to grow bacteria. And water vapor is the perfect carrier of that bacteria. There are four types of humidifiers: ultrasonic, cool mist (impeller), evaporative, and steam vaporizers. Of the four, the safest are evaporative and steam vaporizers because the evaporated water cannot carry bacteria as well as the tiny water droplets the other two create. But they can still harbor microorganisms in the tank. Use of a bacteriostatic additive and regular cleaning can nearly eliminate any risk of infection. The following is the best way I have found to clean a humidifier. The humidifier in the pictures is an evaporative wicking console humidifier. But you should be able to use the advice here to clean any humidifier. Read How to Clean a Humidifier.
The funny thing about a machine that cleans things is you don’t expect to have to clean them. To me, the dishwasher looked fine, we use it often and everything comes out clean. But when I began to remove racks and spray arms I was surprised to find stains, limescale and even a broken glass. I also discovered that a piece had broken in the main spray arm. So it turned out to be a good thing that I wrote this article. As far as cleaning the actual dishwasher I discovered that a mixture of vinegar soap and elbow grease was all it took. I managed to have the entire dishwasher cleaned in less than 20 minutes. And then as a final nail in the cleaning coffin I ran a quick rinse cycle with baking soda in the soap dispenser. That really put on the shine. Here read the full article How to Clean a Dishwasher and see for yourself.
Suede is attractive and soft - soft enough to earn similes. For example, suede is as soft as Micheal Jordan’s jump shot…if he were made of melting butter. Suede is as soft as our former president’s grasp on the history of the Middle East. It is good that suede is attractive and soft, because it is a supreme hassle to clean. The part of the hide used and suede’s nappy finish make it far less resistant to stains and general filthiness than full-grade leather. You can’t throw just any old stain remover on suede; if you do, you’re bound to ruin it. There are tools and specific cleaners for suede, depending on your item’s particular finish. However, there are never any guarantees with suede, and so prevention is paramount. Read my latest article to learn how to clean suede safely by using the correct cleaners and tools.
So you’ve been turned down for a loan at every establishment in town, save for the rapacious, high interest affairs and the ones from the wise guys at the fish market, who offer suitcases full of cash. You’ve got bad credit, and it is killing your ability to buy a car, a home, insurance of any kind, or a mail order bride. Step away from the ledge, friend; there are many things you can do to raise your credit score and reclaim your financial future. The first thing you’ll need to do is stop the bleeding; put a halt on spending and budget to the penny. Next, you’ll need to learn the ins and outs of the FICO credit scoring system, how to find your credit score (actually free), and attack the entries that are keeping you in that rusted-out coffin on wheels. It won’t happen overnight, and anyone who promises that it will is most likely hell bent on taking your score even further into the abyss. You’ll have to be patient if you want clean credit, and that is what my lastest article is all about. Follow the link and you’ll find that learning how to clean credit isn’t impossible with a little patience and discipline.
The notion of cleaning concrete sounds just about as fun as watching paint dry, watching grass grow, counting raindrops or whatever other mundane activity you can think of. But in all actuality it’s not that bad and it doesn’t take nearly as long as one might expect. Yeah, you’ll probably have to devote an afternoon to the chore but so what? Cleaning concrete is easy work and you get to be outside while you’re doing it. Just make sure there’s a couple beers in the fridge and remember to check the weather before you set a date. Also keep in mind that if you choose to (you certainly don’t have to) you get to play with a pressure washer. Good times. If you don’t want to use a pressure washer you get to pretend to be a pirate scrubbing the deck. OK. Maybe not. If you’re doing that you might want to dump the rest of that beer out. Really though, whether you’re cleaning concrete indoors or outdoors, there’s several easy and completely safe ways to do it. If you want a crash course, read my article on concrete cleaning.
I’ve been dropping good cash on CDs for more years than I care to count. Through improper care I had become the proud owner of a pile of scratched CDs that no longer played correctly. That pissed me off to no end. To make it worse, I knew that every scratched CD, due primarily to improper cleaning, was my own fault. The music I listen to is an integral part of my life, it’s also one hell of an investment. I’ve only recently learned how to protect that investment. Like anything else of value that you own, you wanna extend its life for as long as possible. And like those other valuable things in your life, it starts with basic maintenance. If you want to get the most out of your music, start by keeping your CDs clean. It’s easy, and you’ve probably already got everything you need to do it and do it right. And there are a number of ways to clean a CD incorrectly. If you want to avoid ending up with a bunch of music that you’ve rendered unplayable through improper cleaning, check out my article on How to Clean a CD.
What I miss more than anything about living with my parents (except for their dogs) is sitting out on the deck, drinking coffee and listening to the birds’ morning chorus. A deck is, and should be, a great place to either quietly relax or raise a raucous with friends and family. With as much time as we spend chilling on our decks, why don’t we try a little harder to make the experience even more enjoyable. The aesthetics of the things surrounding me are important. It’s just plain hard for me to relax properly if I see something that needs doing. Maybe the deck is actually filthy or maybe it’s just gray and weathered from too many years without enough deck maintenance. Either way, I know I enjoy the deck more when it’s clean. I also know I’m not alone in this. Fortunately, it’s actually pretty easy to clean a deck. It’s even easier to do it safely, naturally and without risking harm to yourself or the environment. I can show you how. Just take a quick look at my article on How to Clean a Deck.
When you push the power button on your computer and somehow have time to brush your teeth, make coffee, eat a bagel, solve the energy crisis, design a better mousetrap and create a plan for world peace all before your computer finally starts up, chances are there’s a problem. Hopefully, however, it’s a problem that can be remedied without too much trouble. If this slow start up, as if it wasn’t already bad enough, is accompanied with a few more error messages than you would like to see, I would reckon that you probably need to figure out How to Clean a Registry. Don’t fret. There’s a bundle of registry cleaners that are readily available. There’s even a free registry cleaner or two out there. In this article I not only tell you about a few good registry cleaners, I also let you know a few things you can and should do to protect your computer and your sanity before you even begin cleaning a registry.
