Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
SOLUTIONS: Let son exercise carport cleaning options
QUESTION: My son had an old car that left grease stains on our cement carport and I have tried everything to clean it. Do you have any suggestions? Stella (Giroux, Man.)
ANSWER: You can purchase products formulated for cleaning concrete. The following are other options but remember to always wear eye and skin protection when using chemicals.
Option 1: Bleach. Dilute as the directions indicate for cleaning. Let the solution sit on the stained area for several minutes, then scrub and rinse.
Option 2: T.S.P. Dilute one cup in one gallon of hot water. Pour it on the area and let it sit for 15 minutes. Scrub with a stiff brush. Rinse off with hose and repeat if needed.
Option 3: Muriatic acid. It's not a stain remover or cleaner. The acid actually etches away the concrete itself, and sometimes the stain as well. You will need to scrub and rinse this chemical also. Follow the directions carefully. Use muriatic acid only if you seal the driveway with masonry sealer afterwards.
Remember that you will be altering the level of the surface if you remove a lot of material. If you use a pressure washer, make sure you have the right nozzle. A jet that is too powerful can damage concrete. Use a nylon scrub brush.
QUESTION: What is the best way to store broccoli? Menno, Winnipeg
ANSWER: Refrigerate fresh broccoli in a plastic bag, use within three days of purchase since the vitamin content decreases the longer it is stored. Or, stand broccoli in a jar with water to keep it fresh longer. Kitchen secret: Take the rubber band off vegetables before storing; they will last twice as long.
Fabulous feedback from Manitobans:
-- Cotton sheets (especially high- thread count Egyptian, Sateen etc.) come out of my dryer very creased. By accident, I discovered that if I make the bed with damp filled sheet, and leave open to dry, the creases disappear. Then I can put the damp top sheet over the dry fitted sheet and tuck the sides in tightly (like in hotels). Putting the damp pillowcases on the pillows and hanging them from a pant hanger with strong clips until dry works great, too.
-- Fresh banana peels on the dirt by plants (house, garden and flowerbed) repel bugs such as aphids, ants and others. Thin strips of peel can be hung on branches (100-per-cent biodegradable).
-- To relieve the pain of canker sores, place a pinch of salt in mouth and then add one teaspoon to water. Gargle and spit.
-- To soothe sore throats, carefully heat half a cup of milk and four teaspoons of honey until honey is melted. Mix in another half cup of milk and warm until it's as hot as you can drink it. Drink and enjoy.
Submitted by Joanna (Steinbach):
-- To eliminate burnt-food oven odours, sprinkle cinnamon in a baking pan. Place the pan in the oven while it's still warm but no longer hot. Submitted by Wolf, Winnipeg
Reena Nerbas is the author of the national bestselling Household Solutions series. Her website is www.householdsolutions.org. You can contact her at Box 429, Blumenort, Man., ROA 0C0.
Renovation & Design
MARC ATIYOLIL: Here's how to make a floor plan
Dear Marc:
You use the term floor plan a lot in your column. I plan to design my living room and would like to sketch up my own floor plan. How does one create a floor plan? Hilda
Dear Hilda:
Take out the arts and crafts kit, because we are making a floor plan! The proper pre-planning process of designing a space is of utmost importance. Every space has certain challenges regarding the traffic flow and balancing of elements. These challenges can be easily overcome simply by laying out your furniture on your floor plan.
To create a floor plan, you will need: a pencil, a steel measuring tape, a calculator, a ruler, graph paper, and a variety of coloured blank sheets of paper. These should be available at your local arts and crafts store.
Once you have them, use the steel measuring tape to measure every wall in the space you want to design, and record these measurements on a piece of paper. You might need a helper to hold the other end of the measuring tape in larger spaces. Be sure to double-check every measurement and hold the tape as close to the floor as possible to ensure accuracy of your measurements. Measure windows, starting and ending with the outer frame. Then measure from the window to each wall corner.
Then take out the graph paper. You'll need to scale the measurements so the room fits on the graph paper. To do so, come up with a scale that will work for your project. The easiest scale to calculate is every foot in the room becomes 1/2 inch (two squares) on paper. In order to calculate this, take any measurement and divide that number by two, which will give you the number of inches to draw on the graph paper. For instance, if you have a wall twelve feet in length, then the line representing the wall on the graph paper will be six inches. Repeat the same conversion process for every measurement. To represent a window on your floor plan, use two parallel lines. For a doorway, leave an opening in the line and draw a line in the direction the door swings open.
Now comes the furniture placement. Measure each piece of furniture, and convert the measurements to scale on your paper. Then take out the coloured paper. Cut out small shapes (to scale) to represent each piece of furniture. Place them onto the floor plan and experiment with different furniture-placement scenarios. You will also want to see if the space is balanced by weight and colour. For example, you may have more furniture or colour on one side of the room, as opposed to the other.
Floor plans are a great way to try different scenarios for a room without having to move anything. It's a lot less work and makes a great design tool.
Marc Atiyolil is the editor-in-chief of Home Trends Magazine. Visit him at
MarcAtiyolil.com.