Modern Living

Spring Cleaning Shortcuts

Lots of people save their toughest, most in-depth housecleaning chores for the spring. That’s when they can air out the house the easiest and when they have some extra time to spend on cleaning while the weather is pleasant. But those tough jobs don’t have to be quite so awful, as we have put together a list of cleaning hacks for the spring season that will help you speed through the grungiest, most intensive cleaning tasks.

Window Cleaning

Instead of pulling out the cleaners to freshen up your windows, The Cardiff Window Cleaning Company recommends that you can use a simple microfibre cloth and water. It works so much better than most cleaners, since they can often leave long, unsightly streaks behind. Just wipe horizontally on the base, then take a few vertical swipes to clean the rest. You’ll be done in no time at all!

Get Rid of Garbage Disposal Smells

If your garbage disposal in the sink is starting to smell a bit ripe, it may be time to freshen it up with the right combinations of cleaning supplies. Take some hot water, fill about half a cup and vinegar for the other half. Then mix that with half a cup of baking soda and pour it down the drain. In moments, the stench should have disappeared. Your garbage disposal will be smelling fresh once more.

Wine out of Carpet

When red wine goes all over your carpet, you may think you’re going to have to cover that spot up with some furniture, but there is a way to get it out without a lot of hassle. Vale Carpet Cleaning website suggests to start by drying up the spill as much as possible. Then add some white wine to the spill and pour baking soda over the combination. That should sit until it forms a nice paste. Once it does, you can scrape it right off. It may take a little scrubbing to get all the paste out, but your carpet should look good as new. This works equally as well on any clothes you spill red wine on as well.

Get out Coffee Stains

Coffee stains are tricky to deal with too, but we have a sure-fire way to remove them. Dab at the affected area with a microfibre cloth. This is great for drying up the spill. Then make a mixture of one tablespoon of dish soap, a table spoon of white vinegar and two cups of cold water. Pour that over the carpet or cloth that the coffee fall onto and dry it up. Voila! No more coffee stains.

Clean up Pet Hair

You may not be able to vacuum up pet hair like you would any other debris on your furniture or carpet, but you can get it up another way. That hair sticks to everything, so you need something else for it to stick to. Use a tape roller with the sticky side exposed and roll it back and forth across the area with pet hair. It will pick up the hairs for you and save you a lot of work and frustration.

Cleaning Oven Racks

One of the most undesirable cleaning jobs during spring cleaning is removing the crust from the oven racks. However, if you soak them the right way, your work will be so much easier. We recommend soaking them in water with some dish soap and drier sheets. This will remove the dirt and crust and you can just wipe them clean. You will be amazed at how easy it is to get spotless racks this way.

Cleaning the Coffee Maker

Your coffee maker may have some stubborn stains in it, but you can get those out easy as pie. Just full the reservoir with vinegar and water. Run it through a full cycle and then wash it all out with water when you are done. You will have a perfectly clean coffee maker when you are finished.

Why choose resin for your driveway

Pathways, or driveways, as they are called are becoming increasingly popular among households and give a defining element to the house. Sure, a lot of people want driveways and, but not everyone knows about the ways to maintain these driveways. You could be parking your motor vehicle on the driveway, walking on it, or your children could be playing on it with your dog; but you need to take proper care of it. This includes maintaining it, increasing its lifespan, making it look new as ever and make it weather resistant.

Enter, resin driveways.

Resin driveways are not the traditional way the surface of the driveways has been transformed, it a relatively new model. Earlier, people used to use the leftover concrete to coat their driveways.

Nonetheless, gone are those days! Resin is used to coat the driveways these days and there are a number of ways the resin driveways would give you an edge as the owner of the house.

Resin is permeable

Resin is a permeable substance that allows selective fluids to pass through it. So, when it rains, your driveway won’t be flooded with water and the water won’t stand still for days on it. Resin coating on the driveway creates a void that lets the water pass through it. This avoids flooding on your driveway, and also lets the water enter the ground water table!

Resin is long lasting

Resin is a durable substance and can last for more than 15 years! If properly maintained, it can even last anywhere between 18-25 years.

Enhanced appearance and attractive colours

What the regular concrete or asphalt driveways won’t allow you are the choice of colours for your driveway. You can choose any colour you like for the driveway and even choose a design or pattern that you like. It increases the aesthetics of the place and makes it look more appealing to the senses.

Weather resistant

The best part about Resin that makes it desirable for driveways is the fact that it’s weather resistant. Resin does not change shape in peak summers or harden beyond imagination in cold winters. All such things happen to Asphalt, which can hamper the quality of your driveway.

Resin is low maintenance

With Asphalt, comes the issue of weed along the sides and the stones that may come out and cracks that may follow. Resin allows no such inconsistency and even discourages any algal formations.

Environment friendly

Resin basically acts as a natural filter for all the rain water; all the impurities are left behind and pure water seeps to the underground water table. Also, it does not let heat islands to be formed because of all the concrete and asphalt.

Designing Your Commercial Office Space

Regardless of your industry, your professional space is one of the first impressions that clients will receive of your business, so it is important to a ensure that you office is both clean and well-designed. Whether business owners opt for a minimalist, modern look or prefer to take a traditional approach, carefully planning the appearance of reception and office areas is the first step toward building a positive image for your company.

Choosing Your Design

The type of business that you are in may have an effect on the type of design that you select for your office. For example, physicians may prefer to foster a cheery, professional appearance within their physical space while those working in graphic design might prefer dramatic windows, large, clean work spaces and modern fixtures. One of the most important things to remember is to look at your design through your clients’ eyes; after all, individuals who hire you will be looking for any reassurance possible that they have chosen the right man, woman, team or company for the job.

DIY Verses Professional Designers

Business owners with a flair for design and a clear understanding of what their customers expect can take a do-it-yourself approach to choosing furnishings and creating ambiance in their work area; however, those who lack the experience to build a space they know their clients will love may wish to consider working with a commercial office space interior design professional. Either way, the result will be the same: a beautifully designed office that will inspire creativity and professionalism among your employees and confidence among your clients.

Feasibility Concerns

If you are thinking of renting a space for your business, you may find yourself concerned about the feasibility of the design that you have in mind; after all, structural changes and even interior customization may be difficult to attain if someone else owns the building. In these situations, talk to the landlord to ensure that your plan for your company is acceptable. After receiving the owner’s permission, contact design firms that are willing to conduct a feasibility check on the space for the plans that you have in mind.

Meshing Professionalism and Personal Tastes

While your personal taste is something that you love, keeping your design within the realms of what it is considered professional is important. Plan carefully to achieve the perfect look for your office.

Sunrooms for All-Season Enjoyment

Creating more usable space for your home with a sunroom is a move that will increase the value of your home and offer a special area that the entire family can enjoy. They can be built as a separate unit form the home. or by simply enclosing a patio, or porch.

Relaxation With Natural Scenery

Thoughts of complete relaxation often turn to walks through parks and various ways of reconnecting with nature. What if you had the ability to spend a day off from work being able to enjoy natural scenery from the comfort of home? Adding a sunroom is an affordable way to create the relaxing space you need to recharge after a long, busy week.

Health Benefits of Natural Lighting

Natural lighting has been proven many times over to improve mood and fight the effects of depression and fatigue. It is much easier to see, which makes a sunroom perfect for the individual that loves crafting or avid readers. It is the mental and physical relaxation area you have always needed. It can be an oasis away from stress and anxiety.

Climate Controlled Enjoyment of the Outdoors

Sitting out on a patio can bring you into the beautiful surroundings of nature, but you may have to deal with inclement weather, wind, bugs and other pests. A sunroom will give you the advantage of enjoying the surroundings, while being sheltered from the negatives of extreme temperatures and pests. You can enjoy the sights and sounds of a good thunderstorm without being in an unsafe position. It offers the ability to enjoy each and ever season of the year comfortably.

Extra Space the Entire Family Can Enjoy

You can spend quality afternoons with the entire family, or invite friends over to share the space for the day. You can create the perfect entertainment area for parties, dinners and other events. It can be made into a home office and clients will be amazed at the relaxed look and feel.

Roof Window Panels Offer Evening Star Gazing

A sunroom addition that incorporates the use of roof glass makes it a room that can be enjoyed during night hours, as much as daytime. Imagine enjoying a candlelit dinner with the stars shining overhead. You can enjoy the ambiance without worries and the annoyance of mosquitoes.

Contact professionals in custom home additions San Diego like www.teknikinc.com/additions.php and begin planning an affordable sunroom addition.

How Voice Artificial Intelligence In The Home Makes Living Easier

Years ago, having a voice-based artificial intelligence technology was not really imaginable. But with the advent of the smartphone age, voice artificial intelligence is slowly becoming the norm due to the ease it can give to people from all walks of life.

What Is Voice Artificial Intelligence

Voice artificial intelligence is a technology that makes use of the human voice as a medium to get input on what to do. This usually comes as an alternative to the keyboard and the mouse in gathering data that will be processed by the device.

What Are Examples Of This Technology

The first thing that comes to mind when voice AI assistants are mentioned is Apple’s Siri. While it was not the first time that voice-based artificial intelligence was integrated into technology, it became one of the most popular and most accessible due in part to the success of the iOS platform devices such as Apple Watch, iPad and IPhone. Google Voice Search is another great voice AI assistant. It is integrated into Google, probably in a bid for the world’s largest search engine to the voice AI train. It is one of the voice AI assistants that have the most exposure as Android, iOS and Chrome users can use it. Other voice AI software on the market include Amazon Alexa, Facebook M, Soundhound Hound and Microsoft Cortana.

Why Are They Important

Voice artificial intelligence in the home is becoming increasingly important, especially when they are trying to do other things. One use of the voice assistant in the home, for example, is during cooking. When you are swamped with cutting ingredients and you want the instructions to be read to you one more time, the voice artificial intelligence interface in your phone can do that for you without you needing to stop what you are doing. Voice artificial intelligence is now also a part of some alarm and lighting systems in different homes all over the globe.

What Demographic Is It Most Useful For

As of this moment, voice AI assistants have still not beaten the keyboard as the main mode of input device in artificial intelligence but it is estimated that 25 percent of all Windows search queries were done using voice AI software. A big portion of voice is from people with disabilities. People with visual impairments, for example, can now benefit from the ease of use of voice artificial intelligence. Technology that was once not accessible for them can now be used through voice activation and speech recognition.

How Will The Technology Look Like In A Few Years

It is expected that homes will get the benefit of advancement in voice AI technology. Its use in residences will become even more developed, with kitchen appliances, sound systems, bathrooms and music devices having voice interfaces in the near future. Cars will also get more intelligent, voice-driven systems for their entertainment and location search capabilities. While there are still challenges to voice AI technology, its future is looking bright due to many innovations that bear its influence that will be in stores in the coming years.

3 Changes in The Bedroom That Will Improve Your Sleep

Sleep is something that so many of us struggle with. Between having to work late and noisy neighbours waking us up early there’s hardly a hope! Well, here are three changes you can make in the bedroom that will improve your sleep.

1. Improve the Comfort of Your Bed

Having an uncomfy bed is a guaranteed way to ruin your sleep. Tossing and turning all night unable to get comfy, meanwhile lumps poking into your back just aren’t a good time. The problem is that buying a new mattress is a costly purchase and one that shouldn’t be take lightly. But why not buy a new mattress topper instead? That way you can have all that luxury comfort at an absolute fraction of the price!

2. Keep Your Phone Away From The Bed

Mobile phones are one of the great technological advances of the age but it’s not worth keeping them beside the bed for all the problems they cause. The light emitted from the screen actually stops the production of melatonin which is the hormone that passes round your body telling it it’s time to go to sleep. Without it you’re going to have a really tough time sleeping so keep the phone away from the bed.

3. Create a Proper Routine

The human body responds so well to routines that having one in the bedroom really improves how easily you fall asleep and how you feel when you wake up. A great bedtime routine consists of having a set time you stick to each night, and a way of winding down before sleep. My hands down favourite wind down has got to be reading. Getting lost in a great book is just the best, it calms the mind and let your eyes fully relax. It becomes so easy just to put the book down close your eyes and fall asleep.

The otherside to that is waking up at the same time every day. Once your body gets the hang of waking up at the same time everyday it only gets easier and soon you’ll start waking up right before your alarm fresh as a daisy.