Saturday, July 9, 2011

Lettuce: Does one need to wash tightly-packed inner leaves?

www.salford.gov.uk/204014_report.doc


A study was done in the United Kingdom, referenced above, indicating that the inner leaves of a tightly-packed head of lettuce (such as romaine, iceberg, and some others) do not show evidence of microbiological contamination.


So I've concluded it's safe to wash only the outer leaves if the inner leaves show no signs of contamination or insect infestation.


Do read the report and see if you agree with my conclusion.



Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Why I Started a Blog

Having lived 73 years on this earth, I thought I'd share with others who might be interested some of the knowledge I've gained, mostly little tips and tricks to solve everyday problems.

Since I am a homemaker and spend a significant amount of time doing laundry, I will share some advice about removing three types of difficult stains--oily stains on poly-cotton and polyester materials, blood stains, and ballpoint ink stains.

Oily stains on poly-cotton and polyester materials:
Rub a generous amount of an undiluted quality liquid laundry detergent (like Tide) into the stain and allow the detergent to remain at least overnight before laundering as usual.  (It may not be possible to completely remove the color from oily red tomato stains.)

Blood Stains:
This trick will work only on blood stains that have not yet been wetted, washed, or treated previously, the fresher the better. Rub in undiluted ammonia (using the bottle cap is a good way to rub it in), using enough ammonia to actually wash away the stain. Rinse under cold water. Launder as usual.

Ballpoint Ink Stains:
Note: This trick will not work on other kinds of ink. Keep a bottle of Everclear 190 proof (95%) alcohol on hand. Rub a generous amount into the stain (using the bottle cap if you like) till the stain is washed away. Rub in liquid laundry detergent and launder as usual.

P.S.  I was told that hairspray also removes ballpoint ink stains.  I tried it.  It works just as well as Everclear.