Question: Year after year, mildew develops along the caulking/sealant around my windows. In past years, my husband has regularly used bleach and much elbow grease to clean it. We don’t mind the normal amount of work a house takes, but this is ridiculous, not to mention probably harmful to our health — both the "guck" and the bleach solution! The last two years have shown much growth of the mildew. We were almost prepared to replace all of our windows (at a cost of $25,000 to $48,000) until the inspector who did our Energy Audit said the windows were quite fine and only a few were leaking to a minor extent. Have you any suggestions of how to clean off the "guck" safely/non-toxically, effectively and for more than just a few months? I hate the thought of removing all my windows and having them in a landfill site when they’re still fairly energy-efficient. I greatly look forward to hearing from you. Eve
Answer: Based on your description, the problem does not sound like a window problem, but rather high humidity levels in your home coming from day-to-day activities such as boiling water, bathing, dishwasher etc. In order to reduce condensation buildup in your home, make sure you use fans in the kitchen and bathroom as well as a dehumidifier when necessary. It may be worth your while to call a professional to assess moisture levels in your home and verify you have proper ventilation and insulation in your roof, crawl space and basement. Making the proper changes in your home such as upgrading your furnace may be advised. If you do decide to make changes, check to see if the government is offering any homeowner energy grants in your area.
In terms of cleaning the windows, you can combine vinegar with 10 to 15 drops of tea tree oil. This will give you a great clean but is not a long-term solution. Tea tree oil can be found in pharmacies at grocery and health food stores. Ask your local pharmacist.
Question: I read your hints in the newspaper every week. I’m having a real battle with cutworms in my garden and want to know if you have any suggestions on how to get rid of them. Val
Answer: Cutworms can be a challenge even to experienced gardeners because they cut off plants above, at, or below the soil surface. In order to reduce cutworms in your garden; handpick cutworms from plants and squash them or drop them in a bucket of soapy water. This is best done at night when cutworms are most active. Also, prevent cutworms from becoming a problem in the first place by making collars for your plants using stiff plastic, cardboard or metal. Leave a gap of approximately one centimetre around the stem and make sure the collar extends 2.5 cm below to 5 cm above the soil surface. You can also use plastic drink straws or toilet paper rolls or sprinkle broken eggshells around plants. Also, sprinkle cornmeal around plants because cutworms are incapable of digesting this tasty little treat. Lastly, Bacillus thuringiensis, or BT, is a well-known biological control for all types of caterpillars.
Question: Just read your article about tackling ants in the yard. I have been using a recipe of 1 cup icing sugar, 2 tbsp. borax that was given to me by a senior farmer several years ago. It works! I noticed your recipe is reversed. Not sure why the big difference! Bev
Answer: In my books I refer to a few different solutions for ants, and one of the recipes uses a combination of borax and icing sugar. The quantity is not that important, the idea is ants love the taste of icing sugar, but their system cannot handle borax. Some people mix 50/50 of each together. You can also add a few drops of honey onto the solution for even faster results. Keep borax away from pets and children as it is poisonous.
Feedback:
Dear Reena,
I read in your column about the lady who got Easy Off oven cleaner on the floor in spite of having newspapers down. I just want to let you know the exact same thing happened to me, and I tried all my cleaning products, and nothing helped. Then my daughter came to visit and said, "Oh, just use an S.O.S pad, and she proceeded to clean my floor, and the spots came off perfectly. I enjoy your column very much.
— Helen
Tip of the week:
This summer treat idea will leave you sour. Freeze leftover pickle juice into Popsicle moulds. Or squeeze pickles and freeze the juice. More and more people are becoming hooked on this cool, low-calorie sensation.
Note: 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.
I enjoy your questions and tips, keep them coming. Need a presenter on the topic: Effective Speaking or The Power of Words? Check out: Reena.ca
