Dear Home-Ec 101, My dog had a runny tummy and couldn’t make it outside during the night. Unfortunately, I overlooked the accident until it had hardened. How can I clean it up without damaging the floor (it’s a rental place, the floor looks like wood but isn’t – I don’t think its linoleum). Thank you,Desiccated … Read more
Q: How do I clean up my hardwood floors after a toilet overflows. This question appeared as a comment on How to Clean Up After a Toilet Overflows The difference between cleaning up toilet water on your typical bathroom flooring e.g. vinyl or tile and cleaning up hardwood is the hardwood is porous. The advice … Read more
Hi Home-Ec 101, I admit, I am a terrible housekeeper, but I am trying to improve, and I long for a house I can be proud of. We have lived in our 1957 Cape Cod home for 8 years. It probably came with a certain amount of wear and tear, but our 3 kids, 2 … Read more
Hi, I have hardwood parquet flooring. When we moved into the house the previous owners told us to use Johnson’s One Step No Buff Wax liquid on it. I have used it every few months (especially on the kitchen floor) since 2000. The kitchen floor now looks terrible — darker with grime and dirt kind … Read more
Sensitive readers, if you don’t currently have to deal with messes of a bodily nature, just make a mental note or better yet, bookmark the page and mosey along. Dear Home Ec 101, I have four dogs, they are housebroken, but every once in a while they have an accident. What is the best way … Read more
The floor of a home is the canvas that family life gets lived on. Sometimes it is a fresh clean canvas and other times it is full of stains and spots. It often gets overlooked, but keeping it in good shape does improve the room. Here are some articles about taking care of flooring; there are … Read more
Dear Home Ec 101, I like your suggestion of using an acrylic polish, but the PLEDGE web site I saw said: “Pledge® FloorCare Multi Surface Finish should be removed from your floor every 6 to 8 applications, or annually, with a solution of 1 cup ammonia and 1/4 cup Pledge® FloorCare Multi Surface Concentrated Cleaner … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, Okay so the long hair isn’t exactly clogging the vacuum, it’s all over the brush thingy and doesn’t work as well. What can I do to stop this from happening, it’s a pain in the butt. Signed, Lovin’ my Locks Heather says I feel your long-haired pain. It’s obnoxious and if you … Read more
Dear Home Ec 101, How often should you vacuum? I want to know to settle a debate, and I will have to vacuum my friend’s place if I’m wrong. And can you tell us WHY I’m right? Sincerely, I May Be OCD, but at Least my Carpet Tracks are Straight Heather says: Friendly wagers on … Read more
Heather says: Not too long ago on Facebook, I got a question about acrylic flooring that had become cloudy. First I want to note that acrylic is a broad chemical term that simply means made of polymers or resins. So acrylic flooring can come in many forms, but in general people either mean linoleum, laminate, … Read more