Gentle Christian Mothers Community

Gentle Christian Mothers Community (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/index.php)
-   Joyous Homekeeping *Public* (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=429)
-   -   Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random) (http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/showthread.php?t=528919)

tempus vernum 09-05-2020 08:33 AM

Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
We just got an offer accepted on a home. As I realize things I will post them. BUT I am hoping for tried, true and of course frugal ways to protect our investment. Truth be told, the house is in great shape and I'm nervous about a few things I'm bolding the "i need product ideas or advice" spots and filling in explanations with unbolded LOL

New to us house has a newly remodeled kitchen because Since we remodeled our kitchen I've been on edge to not ruin it because our kitchen was a train wreck for over a decade I got lazy.

I need product ideas and cleaning tips -

1. good trivets to prevent burns of pots and pans for countertops -- we cook a LOT and sometimes use counters to serve/cool/etc.
2. good cutting boards that don't slip and wash preferably in the dishwasher
3. shelf liner thoughts/ideas/preferences. I'd like easily cleanable and good protection for cheap
4. other tips/cleaning ideas to keep the kitchen really good shape? We cook a lot - we don't do convenience foods often and don't eat out.


Carpets. The entire house is carpeted except kitchen and bathrooms. We currently have about 20% of our home carpeted and We have allergies. We will likely slowly change this starting with the bedrooms but not right away. I am looking into cleaning them and found this link -- it's a local company https://blissfulchemdry.com Would love opinions on that
Other tips for carpets. We went to mostly hard wood/laminate at our current home due to allergies.


Duct work - this one has me very very confused. We have never had ducts. We have baseboard heating and window a/c. We are moving to duct work and central which I love and I also don't love cuz allergies.

Those with allergies, do you or do you not clean ducts? There are two very distinct lines of thought - some people say unless you have a reaction to your house, don't touch the ducts because it stirs things up and the way the dust and allergens settle, there isn't a lot of circulation to drive into house. They say that a good filter is important and skip the duct cleaning - thoughts? . Others say that duct cleaning is absolutely necessary. I had no visible reaction to the house (unlike the reactions I had to other houses - one I wheezed and had to leave). That usually is my first tests. Some houses I fled and said no before even looking around :shifty.

Other shelf liners/drawer liners for bathroom, built in storage - what do you use



Fireplace we will have a natural fireplace that can convert to gas. I'm aware with my asthma we may need to covert quickly. All I know is that we need to hire someone to inspect, maintain (what is a damper and how do i use it?) and teach us how to use it. We have the kind that can help heat the house if we want it to. So. . .what do I need to know and do? We were going to hire a fireplace expert to come in and tell us but I also have no clue how much we pay for that. and what to look for

walls - how do you clean painted drywall? we are not painting anything before we move but the basement living area. We will paint the 3 bedrooms quickly as possible after we've moved and then a little at a time the next year. They didn't smoke so I'm unconcerned about that but I'm pretty sure I'm not comfy using my steam cleaner on drywall. Here I just use a damp SH-mop and lightly go over it but we've painted the entire house the past 5 years and we are used to our own smell :shifty lolol


What do you do when you move to every house? I haven't moved in 19 years.

My todo list
1. rekey locks
2. reprogram garage door openers
3. change toilet seats and install bidets
4. clean everything
5 check water meter for leaks
6. shelf liners everywhere

:ty3

---------- Post added at 10:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 AM ----------

Oh also need help with organizing a pantry. Found this but not sure what is best for us https://decoratedlife.com/how-to-org...o...%20More%20

So I just want pantry ideas - what are your favorite organizing tips for a pantry? It's L shaped and walk in. with wood shelving along the walls

knitlove 09-05-2020 08:59 AM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
I think a lot of thoes ideas are good.

Kitchen,. I cook a lot so I get that.

I have wonderful large cork trivits that I keep by the stove.

But I will say that a lot of the issue is solved by planning a work flow. So there isn't a need to pull a pot off of the stove and pace it on the counter.
What kind of stove do you have? With gass and I diction you don't get a significantly different of on the stove top vs off of the burner is actually turned off.

I have wooden cutting boards that can't go in the dishwasher but they have enough weight that they stay put on the counter ( we don't have much counter space and I can also use them over the sink when I need more prep space) I find them much much more useful than the dishwasher safe ones that slide all over the place.

I have neaver used shelf liners. I will wash my kitchen cabinets upon moving in and then I use them.

On air ducts I would clean them once ( and check on the company I really thinknsome.of the dicky cleaning things are mostly scam)before you move in and then have a good filter and see how things go.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 AM ----------

We also didn't change the locks when we moved in to our house ( that we bought) I understand why some people do but I don't think it is an allways have to do thing.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

tempus vernum 09-05-2020 09:09 AM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Locks— the neighbors all help the current owners so I feel we should for my anxiety and my kids anxiety. Dh thankfully can do them himself and there’s only three keyed locks .

Do you have a link to your trivets? New stove will be electric. I have to learn to cook on it :nails I’ve always had gas and I’m very nervous abt this. Dh says since the fireplace has a gas connection it would be ok if we switched but I don’t wanna spend money wildly. :sigh

I can’t do wood cutting boards cuz I’m a Germaphobe and we cut meat on them :hiding THats a great point on workflow. I will have to create a new workflow.

Shelf liners. Since I redid my kitchen cabinets I vowed in future to have liners. I cannot tell you how long and disgusting the process was. I ruined a lot of clothes and my hands even w gloves were a mess. Since this could be the last home we own and we likely won’t move for 20-30 years .... I might not clean them again so wiping contact paper or something when there’s a sticky spot sounds smart. Right now honey gets everywhere in my food area and I’m constantly trying to scrub it away cuz the wood is porous.

knitlove 09-05-2020 12:34 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
I have always had painted cabinets so i could just wipe them clean.

The trivets I have are aparently not at ikea any more. They are like these except there is one large one and two smaller ones. The large one I can set under a casserole.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/p...bal%7Ccc%3A216

I won't try to argue with you about cutting boards, I will just say that if you continue to have issues with them sliding around you might want to look at the reserch on wood again.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

tempus vernum 09-05-2020 05:19 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by knitlove (Post 6230255)
I have always had painted cabinets so i could just wipe them clean.

The trivets I have are aparently not at ikea any more. They are like these except there is one large one and two smaller ones. The large one I can set under a casserole.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/p...bal%7Ccc%3A216

I won't try to argue with you about cutting boards, I will just say that if you continue to have issues with them sliding around you might want to look at the reserch on wood again.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Id love to hear abt wood being clean. Some of my issue is my family is not 100% gluten free so I refuse wood which could absorb gluten

knitlove 09-05-2020 06:59 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by SonshineMama (Post 6230288)
Id love to hear abt wood being clean. Some of my issue is my family is not 100% gluten free so I refuse wood which could absorb gluten

Oh that would be a huge issue. I keep the hole house gluten free. And the only dairy I allow in is cram for dh coffee and a small bag of cheese that can't not touch cooking dishes and all serving that it toches must be hand washed before going in the dishwasher

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Aerynne 09-05-2020 07:07 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
I don't know a ton about a lot of those things but we are kinda nerdy about filters. We order them from filters fast and we get a Merv 13 filter so it filters out stuff- with allergies this would be important. We change it out once a month.

I just put potholders down to protect counters and have never had an issue.

tempus vernum 09-05-2020 08:52 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerynne (Post 6230301)
I don't know a ton about a lot of those things but we are kinda nerdy about filters. We order them from filters fast and we get a Merv 13 filter so it filters out stuff- with allergies this would be important. We change it out once a month.

I just put potholders down to protect counters and have never had an issue.

Do you have a link to the filter you buy?

ThreeKids 09-05-2020 09:23 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
We had a home inspector who gave us a maintenance binder to go along with our house's features. I don't remember much from it, but he recommended having the main line snaked once a year. We haven't had ours snaked in 10 years, but I'm really careful about fats in the drains and that sort of thing and we have old school toilets and wide, copper drains. I'm sure there was a water heater flushing schedule, too, but I've never opened the binder.

Aerynne 09-05-2020 09:24 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by SonshineMama (Post 6230309)
Do you have a link to the filter you buy?

https://www.filtersfast.com/Filters-...ack-Filter.asp

But depending on your furnace you may need different dimensions or thickness.

tempus vernum 09-05-2020 10:32 PM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ThreeKids (Post 6230311)
We had a home inspector who gave us a maintenance binder to go along with our house's features. I don't remember much from it, but he recommended having the main line snaked once a year. We haven't had ours snaked in 10 years, but I'm really careful about fats in the drains and that sort of thing and we have old school toilets and wide, copper drains. I'm sure there was a water heater flushing schedule, too, but I've never opened the binder.

We have a maintenance booK and I already have a new one for the new house to keep track of dates and all :yes :yes my DH has snaked our main line more than once in our current home we’ve lived in 19 years

The new to us home has a new furnace, a/c, and hot water heater :tu I need to get dates on something else that’s pretty new that I cannot recall off the top of my head :think

MudPies 09-06-2020 05:03 AM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Is your electric stove a flat top or coils?
I have cooked with both- and electric is slower. I prefer gas, but its not an option in our current house. Happy to help trouble shoot. At first I’d give yourself extra time.

tempus vernum 09-06-2020 08:55 AM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by MudPies (Post 6230324)
Is your electric stove a flat top or coils?
I have cooked with both- and electric is slower. I prefer gas, but its not an option in our current house. Happy to help trouble shoot. At first I’d give yourself extra time.

Flat, new, no coils. I have cooked very minimally on one at my moms. But never my best stuff. I will remember you are the one to ask. We don’t close until 10/15/2020. Do I need to know anything before I get there? This sounds dumb but assuming my cast iron and stainless are fine on electric? And that I can use my normal bakeware? Stones and stainless and some ceramic.

Pragmatist 09-06-2020 11:19 AM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
You can use cast iron on a flat top stove, but if you move it around while on the burner, it can scratch the ceramic surface, so it is not recommended.

Soliloquy 09-06-2020 11:51 AM

Re: Need help w new to us house -- protective items, repairs, cleaning (very random)
 
We have a flat top electric and we use cast iron. It took me quite awhile to get used to electric. We had always assumed we were going to update our kitchen and get our house plumbed for propane. I've now told DH it doesn't matter, I'm so used to electric and I'm fine with it.

Electric stoves are supposedly better for people with MTHFR, too. :shrug

I clean my glass stove top with my regular homemade vinegar spray for daily cleaning. To get it shinier, I use microfiber. If it gets really bad, I clean it with a little Bar Keeper's Friend.


We had forced air central heat in our home in WI. We had the ducts professionally cleaned once. I say if you feel like you're constantly dusting, have the ducts cleaned but do not get the spray treatment that they offer, supposedly some kind of antimicrobial. The main thing with forced air heat is to get good furnace filters and change them on schedule. I'm sure your DH can stay on top of that.


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:05 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X vBulletin 3.8.3 Debug Information
  • Page Generation 0.04110 seconds
  • Memory Usage 6,968KB
  • Queries Executed 11 (?)
More Information
Template Usage:
  • (1)ad_footer_end
  • (1)ad_footer_start
  • (1)ad_header_end
  • (1)ad_header_logo
  • (1)ad_navbar_below
  • (6)bbcode_quote_printable
  • (1)cyb_flashimagebanners
  • (1)footer
  • (1)gobutton
  • (1)header
  • (1)headinclude
  • (19)option
  • (1)pagenav
  • (1)pagenav_curpage
  • (2)pagenav_pagelink
  • (1)post_groan_navbar_search
  • (1)post_thanks_navbar_search
  • (1)printthread
  • (15)printthreadbit
  • (1)spacer_close
  • (1)spacer_open 

Phrase Groups Available:
  • global
  • postbit
  • showthread
Included Files:
  • ./printthread.php
  • ./global.php
  • ./includes/init.php
  • ./includes/class_core.php
  • ./includes/config.php
  • ./includes/functions.php
  • ./includes/class_hook.php
  • ./includes/functions_notice.php
  • ./mobiquo/smartbanner.php
  • ./includes/class_bbcode_alt.php
  • ./includes/class_bbcode.php
  • ./includes/functions_bigthree.php 

Hooks Called:
  • init_startup
  • cache_permissions
  • fetch_threadinfo_query
  • fetch_threadinfo
  • fetch_foruminfo
  • style_fetch
  • cache_templates
  • global_start
  • parse_templates
  • fetch_musername
  • notices_check_start
  • global_setup_complete
  • printthread_start
  • pagenav_page
  • pagenav_complete
  • bbcode_fetch_tags
  • bbcode_create
  • bbcode_parse_start
  • bbcode_parse_complete_precache
  • bbcode_parse_complete
  • printthread_post
  • printthread_complete