Never Mix the following cleaning products Mixing cleaning products can be quite dangerous. Here is a list of cleaning products you shouldn’t mix together. Bleach and white vinegar: Combining these two products will release toxic chlorine and chloramine vapors which can cause chemical burns to your eyes and lungs. Bleach and ammonia: Combining these two products produces toxic chloramine vapors that can cause throat burns and overall respiratory complications. Hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar: Combining these two products in a container creates a corrosive acid that can be toxic and cause irritation to your skin and eyes and have a negative effect on your breathing. Two different drain cleaners: Never mix two different drain cleaners or use one product right after the other. Mixing two drain cleaners can release toxic chemicals that can be harmful to your health. Baking soda and white vinegar: Combining white vinegar and baking soda creates a chemical reaction that causes the solution to bubble and foam. Although combining these products in an open basin, such as a sink, is fine, combining these products in a closed container can cause a build-up of pressure, that when agitated, can cause the container to combust.

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas & a Great New Year!

The colder weather is coming upon us, be sure to clean your furnace. Change your furnace filter once a month. This helps in making your home more energy efficient, and keeps your air cleaner. And don't forget to look at the furnace itself. If it's coated in dust and grime, or if there are dust bunnies circulating around underneath, make sure to vacuum them up.

Summer has come to an end and routine of school is upon us. Here are a few tips to help get through it. 1. organize school supplies Take inventory of last year’s school supplies to see what can be used for the upcoming year. Store new and old supplies near a designated homework area (not the kitchen table). 2. make a bathroom plan If you have more than one child, or only one bathroom, set a schedule and post it. Have some kids take their bath/shower at night, and others in the morning. To really keep things moving, specify a time limit. Stock up on toiletries, brushes and hair ties. 3. set up a storage system Clean your coat closet or streamline your mudroom to create space for the kids to store their backpacks, jackets, sports and music equipment, and other back-to-school gear. It’s important for everything to have its place. 4. communicate To make sure everyone knows their schedule, place a dry erase board near the kids’ coats and gear. Consider syncing up digital calendars with family members with smartphones.

Tip#12 Cleaning the BBQ Cleaning Lightly After Every Use Burn off excess food and grease. After you use your grill, turn the heat on high and leave for 15 minutes, or until the grill is no longer smoking from burning the food residue. Then turn off your grill. • Leaving the grill burning for 15 minutes allows for any remaining grease or food particles left over from your last use to be burned into ash, and easily removed. Clean the grilling grates. When the grilling grates are no longer hot to the touch, (but still warm), turn off the gas supply, and disconnect the gas. Then brush off any loose and ashed particles of food or grease with a steel grill brush. You could also crumple up piece of aluminum foil, and use that to brush off the grates as well. • For a more thorough cleaning, you can remove the grates from the grill, use a sponge dipped in soapy water to wipe them down, and then replace them in the grill once they are rinsed and dried thoroughly, but this is not required after every use. Clean the exterior of the grill. Soapy water is the safest cleaning solution for most gas grills. Just make a cleaning solution with water and a squirt or two of mild dishwashing soap. Wipe the exterior of the grill with the soapy water, use a rag dipped in clean water to remove the soap residue, and then dry the exterior of the grill thoroughly. • If you have a stainless steel grill, you can use stainless steel cleaner to clean the exterior. If you have a porcelain grill, you can also use specific porcelain cleaner to clean the outside of the grill. Keep your grill covered. When you’re not using your grill, keep it covered to protect it from outside elements, and prevent it from getting dirtier than it needs to be. • Most grilling brands manufacture their own grill cover specific to the kind of grill purchased. Cleaning Thoroughly Semi-Annually 1. Check the fuel lines for visible defects. If any fuel lines have unmistakable damage (like rips, holes, cracks), replace the parts immediately before your next use of the grill. Also be sure that any fuel lines have a smooth trail. You don’t want any of your fuel lines to be bent, because that will prevent the gas from flowing correctly. Check the exterior of the gas tank for any damage as well; things like dents, erosion, punctures, or any evident signs of damage. If you find areas that have obvious damage, you could potentially have a gas leak. • If you are unsure or suspicious about the condition of your gas tank, have it inspected by a professional gas supplier. A professional gas supplier would have the authoritative knowledge to assess and address a possible gas leak. 2. Check the fuel lines for invisible openings. Create a mixture of soap and water. Make sure you stir the mixture around so it gets really sudsy. Then, use a paintbrush to brush the soapy mixture onto the fuel lines. Turn on the gas, and brush some more soapy water onto the gas lines. If any bubbles form on the gas lines, that indicates a gas leak. Immediately replace any fuel lines that exhibit signs of a gas leak. • This soapy water test should be done on a monthly basis, but also depending on how often you grill. The more you use your grill, the more frequently you should perform this test. 3. Check the ignition system. Turn the gas off, and test your ignition button to see if it creates a spark. If both the pressure regulator on the gas tank and the ignition system are running normally (meaning the pressure regulator is tracking and maintaining correct gas tank pressure, and the ignition system is sparking and lighting correctly), you can finish testing the grill by turning the gas back on and lighting the grill up as you normally would. • If there is no spark, check the pressure regulator, and be sure it is secured tightly on the tank. Just like your stove at home, you can try to manually light the grill using a grill lighter. Just be sure to keep your arms and face away from the grilling area so you don’t burn yourself when the burners ignite. • If your grill is able to light in that manner, check the batteries in the ignition switch and wipe off the electrodes so there is no battery acid build up. The manual that came with your grill can show you how to properly deal with the batteries and electrodes. 4. Disconnect the gas. As a safety precaution, any time you clean your grill, disconnect the propane tank. That way, you will know for sure that any possibility of a gas related injury or fire is cut out of the equation. • Double check to make sure the gas is turned off at the tank before disconnecting it from the grill. You don’t want gas leaking out from the tank. 5. Check your fuel level. If your fuel tank doesn’t have a gauge, you can check the fuel level by pouring some warm water onto the side of the tank. Slide your hand down the wet area of the tank (starting from the top), and note the temperature difference. The tank will feel cooler where the fuel level begins. 6. Clean the cooking grates. Brush the cooking grates with a dry wire brush or a grill stone to keep food, grease, and bacteria from accumulating on the grates. After you have brush the top of the grilling grates, remove them from the grill and scrub the bottom of the grates as well. • Consider spraying a barbecue grill cleaner on the grates before you scrub them with the wire brush. After you scrub them clean, consider spraying vegetable oil on the grates to prevent rust. • If you’re using a grill stone to clean the grates, you don’t need to add any water before scrubbing the stone on the grates. 7. Clean the burner protectors. Remove the burner protectors from the grill, and use soapy water and an old sponge to give them a good scrub down. The accumulated grease and grime should wash right off, leaving your burner protectors clean, and looking good as new. • Burner protectors are sometimes called flame tamers, heat tents, or vaporizer bars. • If you see a lot of rust or deep pitting (holes from erosion), it may be time to replace these grill parts. Any grill parts you might need can be found at your local home department store. 8. Clean out the burners and venturi tubes. The venturi tubes are the pipes that go out from the burners and connect to the grill control valves. These tubes allow the air and gas to mix together, altering the intensity of the flame. Remove the burners and venturi tubes, and place a hose head at one end of the tube. Turn the water on to clear out any debris or insects that could have gotten inside. • Insects often accumulate and nest in the venturi tubes during the grilling off season, usually around late summer and fall. • If your burners are not easily removable (or you’re not confident that you could properly replace your grill burners), use a sponge lightly moistened with water to wipe down the burners. • Failure to re-assemble your grill burners correctly could result in a fire hazard. • If the small holes in the burners are blocked and obstructed, use a small paperclip or pin to poke through the debris and clear the holes. However, if the holes are deteriorated and cracked, replace them with new burners. 9. Clean the cook box. Remove the cooking grates and use a stainless steel cook brush to brush all the excess grease and debris from inside of the grill into the collecting bottom tray. Then, remove the bottom tray and throw out the collected grease and debris. Some of the debris will be loose and easily disposable, whereas other debris will be caked on. You might need to use a scouring pad or a sharp putty knife to remove the stuck on debris. • Consider washing out the bottom tray to keep things clean and keep grease build up from accumulating. If you do decide to clean the bottom tray, just wash it out with soapy water, rinse and dry it, and then put it back into position under the burners. 10. Clean the exterior of your grill. If you have a stainless steel grill, you can use a stainless steel cleaner to wipe down the outside surface with a paper towel, and keep your grill looking like new. If you have a porcelain grill, you can use a specialized porcelain grill cleaner.

Tip#11-Spring: A Great Time to Review Your Safety Checklist With spring comes a feeling of renewal. Families everywhere begin cleaning out their basements and garages. Windows are opened, flowers bloom and the days grow longer thanks in part to Daylight Saving Time, which this year begins on March 13. When you set your clocks forward , you should also review a safety checklist for your home. Smoke Alarms Smoke alarms save lives – if they are powered by a fresh battery. You should test them every month to make sure they work and replace the battery at least once a year. If the alarm makes a "chirping" sound, replace it immediately. Smoke alarms should be located in every bedroom and in the common areas on each floor of a home. Mount them at least 10 feet from the stove to reduce false alarms, less than 12 inches from the ceiling and away from windows, doors and ducts. Did you know smoke alarms can be interconnected wirelessly? That means, when one sounds, they all sound. It is found this is the best way to notify everyone in a home if there is a fire. Be sure to purchase smoke alarms with the label of a reputable testing agency. Carbon Monoxide Detectors Carbon monoxide(CO) is an invisible, odourless gas, and it can kill you. Anything in the home that burns fuel can potentially become a source of carbon monoxide. CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each bedroom and on every level of the home. The safety tips for CO monitors mirror those of smoke alarms: change the batteries, test them and interconnect them, if possible. Also, make sure vents for your gas appliances (fireplace, dryer, stove and furnace) are free and clear of snow or debris. Family Emergency Plan Every family should have an emergency plan in place in the event of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event. Spring is a great time to review that plan with family members to make sure they know what to do. Have a home and car emergency kit. An emergency kit should include one gallon per day of water for each person, at least a three-day supply of food, flashlight and batteries, first aid kit, filter mask, plastic sheeting and duct tape, and medicines. The emergency plan also should include: • A communications plan to outline how your family members will contact one another if they are not in the same place and where you should meet if it's safe to go outside • A shelter-in-place plan if outside air is contaminated; if outside air is contaminated, you should seal windows, doors and air vents with plastic sheeting • A getaway plan including various routes and destinations in different directions What Else Should You Do This Spring? You should take unwanted or expired medicines to a prescription drop box or take-back event near you, update your first-aid kit and, most of all, get outside and have fun!

Tip #10- Cleaning your Keurig Your Keurig requires general maintenance whenever you notice it getting grimy – for instance, if you notice grinds collecting in the K-Cup holder, or if your reservoir doesn't smell fresh. Approximately four times a year, you need to give a complete deep clean, to keep it in tip-top shape. Here's what to do: 1. CLEAN ALL REMOVABLE PIECES — LIKE THE RESERVOIR, TRAY, AND K-CUP HOLDER — BY HAND IN WARM SOAPY WATER. Keurig recommends that you focus on cleaning the filter in your tank, too, to remove any debris that might be blocking it. 2. USE A SPONGE OR CLOTH TO MANUALLY CLEAN ANY GRINDS OUT OF THE K-CUP HOLDER. Finish by wiping down the exterior surface with a wet sponge. 3. YOU CAN CLEAN THE NEEDLE. This is the entrance and exit points through which the water flows through the coffee grounds and brews your cup of java. Keurig recommends carefully using a paperclip to clear away any debris that might be clogging the holes. Then rinse. 4. FINALLY, YOU NEED TO DE-SCALE YOUR KEURIG. Minerals can build up in your machine over time, which could effect how well it works. Start the descaling process by filling the reservoir with 10 ounces of white vinegar. Start the brew cycle without a K-cup and let the machine run as usual, using a mug to catch the liquid once it's run though the machine. Repeat this process a second time. Then, repeat the process one last time, but with 10 ounces of fresh water.

Tip #9-Cleaning your dryer: To lower your risk of dryer fire, check your dryer's hose at least a once year (or when you notice your clothes aren't drying in one cycle) Use your vacuum to suck up embedded lint and check the dryer hose and ducts that vent outside for any clogs. Also think about trading accordion-style ducts for rigid metal ones that have less crannies lint can get stuck in. Safety tips: How to ensure you don't have a dryer fire: • Never put mops or rags that have been used with a wax, flammable solvents or oils in the dryer. The Ontario Fire Marshall cautions that even if these objects have been cleaned, they can still catch fire in the dryer. • Never put any items lined with natural or synthetic material, such as rubber-soled running shoes, in the dryer. Foam pillows or clothing with foam padding should also be left out to air dry. • If your clothes are taking longer than normal to dry, check for blocked pipes or lint build-up. If the unit is clean, the heater coil on the unit may be malfunctioning. • Replace ripped filters or cracked exhaust vents. • Choose aluminum or steel ducts over vinyl hoses, which can droop in certain areas creating pockets that might trap lint. Plastic ducts can also melt or collapse and fail to contain the fire within the unit. • In the winter, make sure that dryer vent flaps are not freezing shut or sticking. • Liquid fabric softener boosts the burning speed of all-cotton clothing including fleece, terry cloth and velour, according to the consumer watchdog Consumer Reports. Use dryer sheets for these clothes instead. • Don't leave your dryer running unattended because the shut-off switch can fail, causing the dryer to run continually. As an added safety precaution, be sure to place a smoke detector in the general vicinity of the dryer. • Keep the area around the dryer clear of flammable materials. • Make sure the dryer is plugged into an outlet with sufficient power. • A blocked vent will cause the dryer's high temperature safety switch to continually cycle on and off, which can lead to early failure.