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One indispensable kitchen utensil is the cutting board. Whether they are made of wood or plastic, cutting boards require proper cleaning. A quick wash will not eliminate bacteria that can find its way into crevices caused by regular cuts and chops from your knife or a cleaver. Special care needs to be taken when the board is used for cutting raw meat.

It is safer to use two boards: one for vegetables, bread and cooked meats; the other solely for raw meat. Color-coded boards help to make the distinction and effectively eliminates cross-contamination of raw meat bacteria that leads to food poisoning.

Food poisoning can be quite serious. It can leave you sick and weak for weeks. The good news is we can prevent incidents of food poisoning by cleaning our cutting board the correct way. Some homes have a dishwasher, which not only cleans, but also sanitizes your cutting boards. Do not fret if you do not have a dishwasher. Manually cleaning your board correctly will give you the same result.

Here is a simple method for keeping those cutting boards clean and sanitized. First, give your cutting board a good scrub with hot, sudsy water. Then sanitize the clean board for 10 minutes with a solution of 3 tablespoons of vinegar to one cup of water. For easy application, keep this solution in a spray bottle. Let the board air-dry or wipe it with a clean kitchen towel before storing it away.

Tip: Hydrogen peroxide at 3% strength is another way to go. Both products are safe for using around food. Use this simple method to keep your cutting or chopping board free of bacteria. Prevent food poisoning by doing it right every time.

By: Abe Kline

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Is your living room so dirty or messy that you don’t feel like living in it at all? Follow these tips and it’ll be clean as quickly as it takes you to watch your favorite TV show – which you can do while you’re cleaning!

1. Cleaning mini blinds.

Blinds have replaced window curtains in many households. Blinds are durable and less prone to stains, plus they make curtains look like old-fashioned smocks. Blinds are quick to build up on dust and dirt if you don’t take good care of them, though. Take that blind off the wall and out of the house where you can get it all cleaned up.

Hang the dirty blind on a wall, preferably at the back of the house. Turn the slats downwards and spray on them with a mixture of soap and water. Let them drip for a while, then dry clean using a sponge. Turn the slats over and repeat.

2. Another one bites the dust.

Dust is mostly made up of dried flakes of human skin, so there’s no way you can get rid of it for good or keep it from collecting along the surfaces and crevices. Your best bet is to deep clean your house every three months or so, just to make sure not so much dust has settled that it attracts mites and other tiny organisms into your home.

Sweep the living room using a sweeper or a duster. Cover your nose while doing so and if possible, try to spread a sheet of cloth over the furniture- the sofa, the couch, chairs – so the dust doesn’t get on them. It’s a foolproof way of keeping your living room dust-free.

3. Cleaning glass table tops.

Glass table tops have invaded almost every aspect of the common home. You’ll find a glass table top on dining tables, night stands, porch tables or coffee tables. They’re the in thing these days. Many interior designers strive to incorporate tables with glass tops into his or her designs.

Cleaning glass table tops is easy: wipe using a lint free towel with Windex or any other window cleaning solvent. Always remember to never spray directly on the glass surface. Spray some cleaner on the towel and use that to clean the surface to avoid scratching.

4. Removing pet hairs.

Animal fur, like that from cats and dogs, can easily get stuck onto the couch upholstery and on the carpet. It takes time to get it all out, especially when you have pets running around all the time.

Take the vacuum out of the closet. Insert the nozzle attachment and use it to get at the pet hairs on the carpet and in hard-to-reach areas.

5. Cleaning TV and computer screens.

Television has changed the way we live our lives and clean our houses. Like the PC monitor, the TV screen is a delicate piece of equipment, one that is sensitive to the touch. Fortunately, the cleaning process is not as complicated.

Dampen a piece of cloth made of flannel cotton into a mixture of 50 / 50 water and isopropyl alcohol, then use it to wipe the dirty TV or a computer screen. It’s not a fabulous task by any means, but it gets the job done (unless you’re looking for an excuse to buy a new TV set, that is).

Follow these tips and you’re living room will be as clean as it was when you first moved in!

By: Pia Buantog

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