Posts Tagged ‘durgol’
When my husband and I had to relocate for his job last summer, I was a little perturbed. We had lived in the same area for nearly 20 years, and leaving behind all of our friends and family was a scary proposition. Now that we’ve been in our new residence for over a year, I’m amazed at how easy the transition has been.
Most of this can be attributed to our amazing neighbors, who have been warm and welcoming since the day we moved in. The only thing that I haven’t been able to get over, however, is the hard water. I had heard horror stories about hard water before I moved here, but this was my first first-hand experience with it. It certainly isn’t reason to up and move, but it is a constant annoyance. Everyday it seems like I have to whip out my decalcifier and go to work on the coffee machine or some other household appliance.
Nowadays people are quite intimidated by the prospect of performing maintenance on their vehicles and appliances. Something as simple as changing a headlight has evolved into an arcane process which requires the expertise of a trained mechanic. But some technologies are still easy for anyone to maintain, and if you’re willing to make the extra effort, the improved performance is palpable.
Take coffee makers for instance. Most Americans are constantly running their machine, but how often do you see someone take the time to clean it? You may think that this process is complex and superfluous, but it only takes a few minutes and your coffee is guaranteed to taste better. All you need a descaler product, which effortlessly removes buildup and deposits from your machine without leaving any residue or aftertaste.
Simply put, hard water is water with a high mineral content relative to normal, soft water. The minerals most common in hard water are calcium and magnesium, which usually make their way into the water from limestone, chalk and dolomite. Although hard water isn’t a health risk, it can cause some headaches around the house.
First, hard water stinks, literally. This means your laundry and dishwasher may emit a strange odor when you have hard water. It also can cause mineral damage and buildup in the tub and other areas. Mineral buildup is particularly common when the water is hot, such as in coffee makers. So if you have hard water and love your coffee, I suggest always having some espresso decalcifier on hand.
A few days ago, my son got pulled over for doing 55 in a 40. He just got his license a few months back; I can’t believe he’s already gotten a ticket. My husband and I grounded him for the rest of the summer and took away his license, of course, and while he’s stranded at home, we’ve decided to make him do some long needed chores.
First, I’m making him clean all of the windows in the house and dust the entire place, ceiling to floor. Then he has to retile his bathroom sink, which is totally disgusting. And ever since he started drinking coffee last winter my machine has never worked right, so I’m making him take the espresso decalcifier to it. Now that I think about it, it seems like he’s getting off a little easy; I think I’ll make him do the gutters and clean out the garage too.
My son moved into his own apartment about a year and a half ago, but last weekend was the first time my husband and I had visited his new abode. He was never the cleanest person when he was living at home, so I went in expecting the worst. And I wasn’t disappointed. Garbage and clothes were strewn about the house and half of his belongings weren’t even out of the boxes yet.
Within seconds my maternal instincts took over and I went into a cleaning frenzy, tackling everything from the bathroom to the attic. One area that was particularly dingy was the kitchen; instead of cleaning his dishes, I think he simply goes out and buys new ones. To make matters worse, there is hard water in his apartment complex, so I had to break out my descaler and clean all of his appliances. I know my hard work will all be for not, but at least the apartment will be clean for a few hours.
For years gift baskets have been touted as an ideal present for any occasion, but, in my opinion, giving them has become a bit taboo. Sure they work for business associates and casual acquaintances, but for close friends and family members, I like to give something more personal. Not to mention the fact that there is an astronomical markup on everything that’s in the basket. However, these drawbacks are no reason to disregard gift baskets altogether—they are still a great method for a creating a themed present.
Personally, I like to create my own gift baskets with a personalized touch. For my sister’s birthday last month, for example, I created her a coffee gift basket with some of her favorite goodies. Since I made the basket myself, I was able to include coffee from her favorite producers, some of her beloved flavored syrups and a novelty mug. I even threw in some decalcifier for her machine, which definitely has been through its fair share of abuse.
We have discussed the importance of using an espresso decalcifier frequently in this blog, but we’ve never gone over the actual process. Well, today is the day. Begin by removing the water filter from your machine. Add a single portion of the decalcifier into the water tank. If you are using an automatic setting, add the amount of water your manufacturer indicates to dilute the decalcifier. For those without the setting, use the empty bottle of decalcifier to add an equal amount of water.
Your job is pretty easy if you have the automatic setting; simply turn on the machine and catch the liquid in a large container. Even if you don’t have the setting, it’s still simple enough; just start the machine and be sure to catch the dispensed liquid. Be sure to not let the decalcifier sit in the machine for an extended period of time, as this could cause unwanted corrosion. For both methods: finish by rinsing the water tank and machine with tap water. That’s it.
Some parents experience the effects of empty nest syndrome when their children leave the home—but not my husband and me. We were literally counting down the days until our children left so that we could sell our home and retire to the Maldives.While this may sound like a selfish and coldhearted approach to parenting, you have to understand that we have 11 children and have already help raise numerous grandchildren.
Despite the fact that we are halfway around the globe, our children still call us regularly for advice. Just the other day one of our sons moved into a new apartment and called us frantic because his laundry machine was emitting an off-putting odor and he wasn’t able to work up a lather in the shower. I had to chuckle a little bit due to the melodrama he injected into the situation and calmly explained it was just hard water. Of course, I also recommended he pick up some descaler, as his household appliances will inevitably have mineral buildup.
The coming of summer invokes a profusion of different images. For some it’s baseball games and backyard barbecues, for others a day spent at the lake and a picnic. Odd as it may sound, the one thing I think of during summertime is garage sales. I live in a densely populated suburb, and at this time each year, every corner in town has a plethora of signs advertising moving, sidewalk and estate sales.
Some people may scoff at the idea of scouring through others people’s belongings looking for something to take home, but at most of the sales I go to there is a surfeit of items that have never even been used. Of course, I’m not opposed to buying something old and sprucing it up a bit. Just last weekend I purchased an antique espresso machine at a sale down the street. The machine looked in disrepair, so the gal practically gave it away; after I took it home and whipped out my espresso decalcifier, however, it was like new in no time.