Get your house ready for fall

Heloise

Dear Readers: Now is the time to get your house ready for the changing of seasons. Use this checklist:

■ Do maintenance work on your lawn when weeds are not growing so fast. Aerate the lawn and feed it well before the cold weather comes.

■ Prune trees to get rid of dead branches.

■ Clean up the flower beds and plant your spring bulbs.

■ Rake or blow the leaves from the lawn and put them in bags for disposal or to keep for mulch.

■ Check the roof shingles or tiles for cracks to see if they are loose. Examine the flashings for leaks.

■ Clean the attic and basement. Remove flammable material. Examine the attic for squirrel or mice infestations. Find out where they are coming in and seal it.

■ Look in the basement for pest invasions and get rid of them. Clean up all dirt and dust. Make sure that it’s sealed tightly for the winter, too.

■ If the basement is damp, buy activated charcoal at a home-improvement store. Place it in open containers in the dampest areas to help keep it dry.

— Heloise

Sponge safety

Dear Readers: Household sponges can become filled with bacteria from kitchen cleaning. Clean them often by mixing ¾ cup of bleach in 1 gallon of water. Soak for a while, then rinse. The bleach should kill 99% of the germs. But if the sponges are ratty, toss them out and buy new ones. —

Household Hints

Before buying white linens

Dear Readers: When you purchase new white sheets or towels, be sure to read the care label in the store. Many say that you cannot use chlorine or oxygen bleach when cleaning them. This is because the fabrics are manufactured differently, with an optical brightener inside the material.

It’s important to know, because if the care label say no bleach, if you spill products containing hydrogen peroxide or bleach onto the fabric, it will turn them yellow. This might include toothpaste, mouthwash, fruit drinks that contain citric acid or acne medication. —