No one wants to dry themselves off with a musty smelling towel!

The last thing you want is to have a guest experience a nice shower in your  home and then get a nose full of a smelly towel!

Use the following tips to clean musty towels & prevent mildew from forming.

1. Make Certain Towels are hung up properly to dry.

The number one cause of mildew and mustiness in towels is improper drying! Damp bath or beach towels often get left on floors. Promptly hang towels up in a ventilated area. Space on towel bars and hooks is often an issue so fold them vertically once. Folding the towels more than once keeps them damp on the inside longer giving the opportunity of mildew to form.

2. Cleaning Towels that Have Mildew Smell

Add 1-2 cups of vinegar to a hot water cycle without any detergent. This usually does the trick. But if your towels still have a slight odor, you can do another hot water cycle with a 1/2 cup of baking soda. Be sure not to use detergent when you do these cycles with vinegar and/or baking soda – it can be dangerous to the washing machine!

As with all organizational projects, the first step is to de-clutter.  Garages often tend to be dumping grounds more than other areas of the house.

Here are 6 categories that you may find helpful in organizing: Keep , Keep-but belongs in another part of house, Donate, Sell, Trash/Recycle. Try to make a decision with each item as you come to it. For larger items, a charity may come get it, or you may have to call a service company  to haul it away. As you’re going through this process, think about how you want to use your garage – parking, work area, lawn and tool  storage, etc.

If you want to park your car in the garage, pull it in and mark off the space before you start adding things back in.

Now it’s time to organize the items you’ve decided to keep. Categorize the items by putting like items together i.e. lawn equipment, tools, etc. Then determine where in the garage you will want it kept.

Decide what type of storage products you may need to purchase. Wall storage is good utilization of space for a garage. There are a lot of good items on the market. There are all kinds of shelves, peg boards, hooks, drawers, etc.

After you have everything set up, label where things go so that everyone in your family knows where to find things. It also helps thing get put back in the right place.

It’s spring and that means time to clean the windows. We have found that the best cleaner for streak-free windows is one part white vinegar to two parts water mixed in a spray bottle.

Instructions for cleaning inside windows:

• Spray the window thoroughly with the vinegar and water solution.
• Using a clean, lint-free towel, dry the window completely using a Z-shaped motion. You can also use paper towels to dry the windows if you prefer.
• If dirt or streaks remain, spray and dry again. (Dirty windows typically require two rounds of spraying and drying.)
• Don’t forget to wash the frame as well.

Instructions for cleaning the outside windows:

• Start by rinsing the windows with a hose.
• Fill a bucket with cool water and add a few drops of liquid dish soap.
• With a soft microfiber cloth, go over all the windows with the soapy solution. For the higher windows, you can use a soft cotton or microfiber mop.
• Rinse thoroughly with hose.
• Now spray windows with the vinegar solution.
• Wipe the window dry using a clean, rubber-bladed squeegee. Angle the squeegee towards the bottom of the window. Dry the squeegee with a clean, lint-free cloth after each pass.
• For the window screens, rinse with plain water and spray with vinegar solution. Then rinse again with plain water. Let them dry completely before replacing.

Now, let the sun shine in!

With a couple of rags, a dry brush (with soft bristles), white vinegar and water, you can get most rock salt stains out of clothing.  Start with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar mixed with a quart of water. If you need to make it stronger, you can.

To clean clothes that are water-resistant, dip a cloth in the vinegar water mixture and rub the spotted area. If it doesn’t come off, gradually add more vinegar until it comes clean. Then blot the item dry with a clean cloth.

For other types of clothing, let the salt dry. Then brush it off with a brush that has soft bristles. Make sure that if there is any mud, that it is completely dry also before you brush. You don’t want to work the mud into the fabric. Now, you can put the item into the wash like usual.  If the clothing is a delicate fabric, we recommend sending it to the dry cleaners.

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