Unfinished Living Room

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Something that has not been completed is not always bad. How about something that has not been completed can be better even beautifies your home? Yes, from many home designs, one of those is a home design with unfinished style.

Homes with unfinished interior design style like this are deliberately made as if there are some elements that have not been completed. One of the elements of the home that may be designed in the unfinished style is the wall of living room which left only whitewashed cement.

This design can eliminate the formal impression and give the relaxed impression since  living room is supposed to be designed as relaxed as possible; it may give you a place to eliminate the fatigue and chat with all members of your family.

However, to avoid this kind of room looks monotonous; you may put freshener elements such as green plants and mix colors on the interior of the unfinished living room. In addition, to keep away from dark and cluttered appearance, then the unfinished style living room can be made to widen and put stuff inside as little as possible. Another thing that you can get from this home design style is the room will feel cooler.

Green Kitchen Cleaning Tips

Many people think that the dirtiest room in the house is the bathroom. Well, this is partly true - after all, it does have the toilet. However, according to experts, our kitchens actually harbor more bacteria and germs when compared to other rooms in our homes. Considering the frequent food preparations and nasty accidental spills, the kitchen is actually a high traffic area for germs.

Unfortunately, commonly used cleaning products, such as chlorine bleach, contain harsh chemicals that can not only irritate your skin, but also pollute your indoor air quality. The good news is that there are safe products you can use to make your kitchen sparkling and germ-free. Continue reading to learn more on how to clean your kitchen, the green way.

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Embrace Your Kitchen Pantry

Did you know that all the products you need to clean every surface of your home (not just the kitchen) can be found right in your kitchen pantry? Yes, common everyday products, such as baking soda, lemon juice, white vinegar, water and salt do wonders when it comes to cleaning.

For example, baking soda, mixed with warm water and some lemon juice (to add that citrus scent) is very good for cleaning counter top spills, a dirty tiled floor, as well as stains in your refrigerator. On the other hand, if you have a dirty stainless steel kitchen sink, just mix baking soda and vinegar, and use the paste to clean the sink. It works great, so don't let the foaming scare you.

It's normal to be tempted to use a strong oven cleaner when we have tough spots, such as, burnt food in the oven. However, don't give in to the temptation. Most oven cleaners are packed with toxic chemicals like methylene chloride and lye, which can cause burns to your skin, eyes and even organs, if you accidentally breathe them in. Instead, sprinkle some baking soda over the oven's bottom, ensuring that the stain is covered completely. Every few hours, spray the stain with water to keep it moist. Let it sit overnight; in the morning, the spot will easily come off when scrubbed with the baking soda.

Vinegar also works well as an all-purpose cleaner. It's mild acidity makes it very effective in removing grease, wine, coffee or mildew stains. If your microwave dirty with food particles, just put 1 cup water and 1/4 cup vinegar in a glass dish, microwave the mixture for 2 minutes, and then allow it to stand for another 10 minutes (or more). The steam, combined with the acidity in the vinegar, will loosen food particles, making them very easy to wipe off.

Take Preventative Measures

To have a constantly clean kitchen free of germs, consider taking care of the messes when they happen. For instance, if raw eggs spill on the counter, make sure you disinfect it right way. Similarly when bread crumbs scatter on the kitchen floor, sweep them up immediately. Yes, it will add some minutes to your food preparation, but will save you a lot of time in the long run. Instead of spending several hours scrubbing dozens of stubborn stains every week, you'll only need a minute of two to wipe out a spill.

In addition, you need to mark leftovers clearly with the date each of them was placed in the fridge. Every two weeks, check and throw away any old and spoiled food to prevent mold colonies from forming. The rate at which bacteria multiply is alarming. In less than 24 hours, one cell can multiply into over eight million cells, and you only need a few of these to make you sick.

It's time to ditch the harsh cleaning products that are full of toxic chemicals and embrace safer, cheaper and eco-friendly products found right in your kitchen.

Related articles you might find useful as well:

-Cleaning Your Kitchen in 5 Easy Steps

-Tips For Keeping Your Kitchen Clean

 

The 5 Most Common Defects Found in Newly Constructed Homes

If you're someone who's building a home from scratch, you already know all of the work that goes into it. Therefore, it's a pretty safe assumption that once the contractors are done and they tell you that your house is ready to move in, the last thing that you want to do is discover some unexpected defects.

So, in the effort to prevent this from being your experience, here are a list of five of the most common defects that are found in newly constructed homes. By knowing about these ahead of time, hopefully you will remember to review these things with your contractor before the big move.

Window leaks. Something that you should definitely make the time to inspect are your windows (and your doors). If when you turn out the lights in a room, there appears to be light showing along the windowsills, this usually means that your windows were not put in properly or that they need to be sealed. It's important that you take care of this as soon as possible so that you don't have to worry about spending more on energy costs in order to keep the rooms in your house at a comfortable temperature.

Installation problems. Speaking of installation problems, another fairly common defect is to have things like your water heater, HVAC unit or gas furnace not put in as securely as it should. Something that you can do to prevent this from being as much of an issue is to request that each professional who worked on each item sign a form stating that they can guarantee the dependability of their work. That way, if there is a problem, you can get additional service done for free (sometimes, you can even get some of your money back).

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Plumbing defects. One of the reasons why you might want to consider conducting an energy audit, even right before moving into your place, is because it can help you to detect if you happen to have any plumbing defects such as a leaky toilet or faucet. One website that can walk you through how to conduct your own energy audit is Energy.gov. Just go to the site and put "DIY energy audit" in the search field.

Electrical hazards. When it comes to a new construction home , something that you definitely don't want to overlook is the electrical system that is inside of the house. If there happens to be things like ungrounded outlets, no shock protection or lose wiring, this can all lead to potentially hazardous situations. So, make sure that an electrician thoroughly inspects your place. It's one of the best things that you can do for the safety of you and your family.

Code violations. If a company like Zoomlion Rough Terrain was used to add onto your new house before you moved in, then that's a sign that there were construction projects done that required permits. However, if there happened to be certain ones that were overlooked, that would be considered a code violation which is a serious warning sign for home inspectors. For more information on how to handle code violations, visit HomeGuides.SFGate.com and put "fix building code violations" in the search field.