DON’T WANT SPIDERS? THERE’S A REPELLENT (OR TWO) FOR THAT
Also: How to deal with a smelly washer and what to do with damaged wheat bag
Q Do you have a wonder solution to control spiders and hence webs on the exterior of a house or cottage?
A Spiders are a huge gift to our world, as they eat bugs and reduce the population of insects. If you choose the option of reducing spiders around your home, there are several, powerful commercial spider repellents available at home hardware stores and online. Pest control companies also offer a service to spray the outside of homes to repel spiders. Often only one application is needed per year. Without resorting to commercial products, or changing the material on the exterior of your home, it is impossible to prevent spiders from forming webs on house exteriors.
On another note, you can reduce the spider population inside your home with the following homemade spider repellent. Into a spray bottle, pour 4 cups (1 L) water, 1 tsp (5 ml) dish soap and eight drops of peppermint essential oil. Spray wherever spiders appear. Repeat as needed. Substitutes for peppermint essential oil include lavender, tea tree oil, cinnamon, orange and lemon essential oil. To keep big hairy spiders out of your house, take horse chestnuts, pierce them with a needle or awl and put them in the corners and under the furniture in each room. They don’t deter little spiders — just the large ones.
Q I own a wheat-filled heating pad which was scorched in a new microwave (obviously quicker heating time). It now smells just when sitting and more so when reheated. The fabric (material unknown) is also discoloured. My questions are: If I hand-wash this small item (approximately 2 by 7 inches, or 5 by 18 centimetres, for wrist and ankles), will it remove the smell from the material/seed and clean the brown spot on the cloth? How will I know when it is thoroughly dry; just wait for three days or something ? Will the wheat mould, even if it has been thoroughly dried? If I reheat before completely dry, will the wheat be compromised?
A Use caution when resorting to wheat bags. There have been numerous recorded incidents of bags becoming too hot, smouldering and starting on fire after microwave heating. If the bag is damaged in any way, your safest bet is to toss it out.
CONTRIBUTOR’S SUCCESS STORY
Our home came with a smelly washer. After doing a lot of research and trying different things, this is what worked. Fill the powdered soap dispenser with powdered dishwasher soap, then run the hottest cycle. When finished, stick a microfibre cloth into the rubber door seal to sop up the water that would otherwise stay there and cause mould. Leave the microfibre cloth there for an hour or longer then hang it to dry. It may take a few applications to get rid of the smell. Mine was gone after two applications.
To keep the smell away, use the microfibre at the end of each last load, and leave the washer door open. And, most important, stop using liquid soap and stop putting liquid fabric softener into your washer: both of these products encourage mould. Vinegar is an excellent, and cheaper, softener. Powdered laundry soap works fine; my washer has been odour-free for more than a year. Submitted by: Judith
FEEDBACK FROM READERS
Re: Butter stored in a fridge is too hard for spreading onto grilled cheese sandwiches.
If you own a microwave, you
■ can soften a bit of butter with intermittent short “zaps.” Otherwise, put a bit of butter on the pan/grill, melt and spread to evenly coat surface of pan, then put down one slice of bread. Put cheese on top of bread. When cheese starts to melt and/or when bread starts to toast on bottom, remove bread and set aside. Melt another bit of butter in pan/grill and place second slice of bread in the melted butter. Assemble sandwich and continue grilling. This method is a bit more fiddly but perfect for someone who really wants to use butter and doesn’t have a microwave. Submitted by: Linda
Here’s what I do to “nutritionise”
■ grilled cheese: In the summer, especially, take a lot of lettuce from the garden and stuff it into the sandwich as soon as it’s off the griddle. The lettuce stays surprisingly crunchy. Or take a handful of kale, chop it coarsely and place it on one buttered slice of bread and top it with the cheese. Then add the other slice. Melt a bit of butter on the griddle to cook one side, flip the sandwich and add a bit more butter if necessary. Very chewy and delicious. Submitted by: Maureen
Reena Nerbas is a popular motivational presenter for large and small groups; check out her website — reena. ca — to ask a question or share a tip. Disclaimer: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.