#surely you could just rinse the hard plastic ones thoroughly and reuse them

[juliamccartney]

love taking sturdy fruit crates from my downstairs restaurant neighbours

[garymacoy33-blog]

Aid Your Garden Grow Together with These Basic Tips

Gardening can be known by most of the people for you to be a relaxing together with remedial hobby. Getting the particular right kind of earth and knowing when for you to begin planning are a couple of important parts of farming. Continue reading to obtain convenient guidance that can aid an individual in your garden hard work. When you are getting really small fruit or perhaps bloom yields, make sure to examine the pH level regarding the dirt. If often the pH level is to large or maybe too low, it may affect the amount regarding nutrients that the plants could absorb. Crops need various nutrients on several development of their existence to be able to be healthy, profitable and to bear fruit. It can be important that you not miss to water your backyard on a regular foundation, in particular when it is usually very hot. If your crops do not get adequate water, root base stay in close proximity to the surface that may kill your plants or perhaps trigger them to take perhaps extended to grow. About an half inch of drinking water a week is satisfactory. For a healthy, weed-free lawn, cut your grass at the highest point advised for the blend of grass occur to be developing. Cutting your turf way too short won't signify anyone have to mow considerably less frequently. Instead, it permits weeds to take carry, and causes water to evaporate. Longer grass could better protect itself in opposition to weeds, drought, and infestations. Clean up your back garden in late the growing year. If you clean upward outside the house when the developing season is finished, that will improve the look plus make less work to get you these year. Get rid of dead or perhaps damaged limbs on bushes, get clear of weeds before they go to seed starting, and even rake any foliage from the lawn. Remove outdated annual plants and reduce perennials to the soil when they normally die once again in the wintertime. Any plant material which is not unhealthy can be put in the compost pile. Prior to you begin planting inside your garden, it's a good idea to test your soil's chemical p first. Property testing kits are immediately offered. Your soil will need to have a pH around 6. 5 for almost all vegetables. If the pH huge low, you can raise this by spreading lime green. If it's also high, a person can use powder sulfur. While organic garden prices more and requires more hard work, the produce the fact that will emerge from your yard will be healthier in your case. While the chemical corporations assert great benefits, natural gardening can usually provide the most gratifying plus healthy crops. Take into account putting ladybugs to your organic and natural garden. These little creatures will eat those aphids and mites right right up. Should you aren't able to lure some sort of few characters into your garden, you are able to generally find them intended for sale made at small home and garden shops. As soon as you have a very few ladybugs, more will usually comply with.

If you possess aphids on your flowers, and do not might use harmful bug sprays, you need to use soapy water. A really diluted water and soap can become sprayed on all of parts of the plant, typically the leaves, stems and buds. After you spray often the water and soap, spray with clean water. This will get the aphids from your very own plants. When harvesting tomatoes by your organic garden, one does want to pick fresh tomato vegetables; however, you accomplish certainly not wish your the vegetable tomatoes to be very fresh. Selected tomatoes that are also ripe might be mealy. You should aim for you to harvest tomato vegetables when many people have their full coloring and they are at their greatest size. When you acquire your fruit and vegetables from your organic garden, how to use outdated plastic laundry basket. Initially of all, it provides a lot of space to gather many fruit and greens at a single time. The basket will also also allow you to be able to rinse off your collect quickly since it will certainly serve as a strainer to remove soil and dust from the fruits and vegetables. A great tip that can help strengthen your organic growing plants is to start reusing rain. If you've never thought about using again rainwater just before, you're really absent out. All you have got to do will be put a few barrels below your roof to acquire almost any extra rainwater of which will elope. A fantastic tip that can help you with organic horticulture should be to make sure you pick the right storage containers for your plants. Essentially make sure you pick containers that are large enough so that will the roots have a good amount of room to grow. Anyone should also ensure at this time there are holes in this base to supply drainage. Before you start planting in an spot of the organic lawn and before you start making a good mulch cover, you have to be certain to water the spot incredibly thoroughly. Be confident to do this both before and after anyone are done implementing some sort of sturdy mulch cover in the garden. To keep bugs away from your organic garden, plant garlic oil in various places. Insect invaders will become put off by this aroma. Make sure to help plant the garlic oil around the outside perimeter plus near the plants that will catch the attention of the pests most. And, one extra additionally coming from planting garlic is definitely that it's edible. Some sort of great suggestion for getting economical in your property back garden is to reuse your take in cups together with use them to seeds your tomatoes. In the event the vegetables need to be transplanted, eliminate the bottom portion associated with the glasses and vegetable them into your ground. That will also prevent cutworms from getting into your own plants. Find out what UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Region you live in so you may pick the proper plants to get growing in your spot. Help make a diagram of precisely what you intend to grow and take time picking out the right spot for your current garden. The little preparation beforehand will save an individual time, cash, and stress. There are many benefits to acquiring bees in your garden, for example, bumble bees help with pollination. Learn to identify the fine bees from the ones you do not desire to see in your backyard, such as carpenter bees. Just about all bees a person will come across can be best for gardeners and ought to be allowed to do their business in calmness. As previously discussed, horticulture can be rewarding, nonetheless it demands information for you to actually make your lawn grow properly. Generate fragrant flowers, delicious vegetables, sugary fruit and lush plants which has a relaxing, enjoyable pastime. Use some of often the tips you just examine plus, in no time, you'll be amazed in what you can with your own garden. what is the best fertilizer for grass in the fall

[kristablogs]

The best ways to clean fabric face masks

Cloth face masks can be reused, but they have a limited life span. (Al3xanderD/Pixabay/)

Follow all of PopSci’s COVID-19 coverage here, including how to make your own face masks, how to make your own hand sanitizer, and the latest findings on the virus itself. For global updates, see here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection has encouraged people to wear cloth masks at all times while outside. Research shows that although they’re not great protection against airborne COVID-19 particles, they’re better than nothing.

And although we don’t need a lot of masks because we’re not supposed to leave the safety of our homes for anything other than essential shopping and some good ol’ outdoor recreation—keeping away from other people, of course—chances are we’ll need to reuse the ones we have. This is why we need to sanitize them after every use.

Be warned though—these methods are only good for killing viruses and bacteria on masks made out of cloth like cotton or polypropylene. If you happen to have some surgical masks and are trying to figure out how to reuse them, let us stop you right there.

“Surgical masks are made out of a really soft cloth that's just a small bit stronger than a paper towel, and its components can be heavily damaged by some of the agents that you might use in the home,” says Rachel Noble, a microbiologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Applying any of the following methods to surgical masks will unequivocally make them either less effective or entirely ineffective against airborne microorganisms possibly carrying COVID-19. But if you do them right, they should thoroughly clean cloth masks, at least given what we know about the new coronavirus.

Boiling

We're all for not wasting water, but please do not cook spaghetti in your mask-water. (Michal Balog / Unsplash/)

An easy way to sanitize your face masks is to let them sit in boiling water for five minutes. It’s as simple as that.

The downside is that depending on the cloth your mask is made of, a few rounds of boiling could damage it or affect breathability.

“Cloth face masks are going to have a lifetime—they deteriorate the same way your bed sheets fall apart wash, after wash, after wash,” says Noble.

To ensure your mask remains functional after boiling, you’ll need to inspect it closely—hold the mask up to a light source and check for any thin areas where a small hole might be forming. Viruses are only 60 nanometers across, which means they can slip right through any loose-woven or damaged fabric. To be on the safe side, Noble recommends not boiling your mask more than 10 times.

Washing machine

Wash your masks with any clothes you've worn outside. If you don't have enough to complete a load, keep them in a plastic bag separate from the rest of your laundry. (Steve Buissinne / Pixabay /)

Tossing your face masks—along with all clothes worn outside—in a hot-water laundry cycle is a great way to sanitize them. Just as hand soap disintegrates the virus by breaking its exterior, your trusty detergent will be enough to leave your face masks ready for another use. Pay special attention to temperature, though, Noble says—it’s an added layer of protection.

Water heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit has proven effective at degrading most viruses, and both the World Health Organization and the UK’s National Health Service recommend this temperature for treating contaminated clothes and fabrics. But because a 140-degree shower would burn your skin, most people’s water heaters are set to 120 degrees. “A lot of viruses will be inactivated at that temperature, but they won’t completely be obliterated,” Noble explains.

Some modern washing machines have internal water heaters that can push water beyond 120 degrees, but if you don’t have one of these, we still don’t recommend you change your water heater’s settings. No matter what your machine is capable of, you should call for reinforcements. This is not the time to try doing your laundry without detergent. Make sure you load your machine with the appropriate amount of soap and complement it with your laundry booster of choice: Chlorine, color-safe bleach, or OxiClean will provide some extra oomph.

If there are still any pathogens the machine didn’t kill during the washing cycle, you can be sure you’ll finish them after five to 10 minutes at high heat in the dryer.

Hot water and bleach solution

It's bleach's time to shine. (Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash/)

If you’re still waiting to have enough clothes for a load of laundry, or simply do not feel like waiting for water to boil, Noble suggests soaking your face masks for five minutes in a solution of one teaspoon of bleach for every quart of hot water. Temperature doesn’t really matter—the bleach is doing the sanitation work—but it’s an extra layer of security.

You’ll need to be careful, though—using a higher concentration of bleach or leaving any of the corrosive chemical on the fabric after soaking could damage your mask. Also, since your face mask will be directly over your nose and mouth, you’ll want it to be clear of bleach when you put it on. Inhaling any residual fumes from it could damage your airways or worsen any respiratory condition.

To make sure you get rid of any leftover bleach, take the mask out of the solution and rinse it under a tap for 10 to 15 seconds—any temperature. After that, soak it in clean water for another five minutes. You can hang your masks to dry or put them in the dryer at high temperature for some extra sanitization.

Add time for a devastating combo move

Yes, we hate waiting too. But you do know that while you wait for your mask to be ready again, there are a lot of other things you can do other than looking longingly through the window. Right? (Anthony Tran/Unsplash/)

Sanitizing face masks is one action where the premise “the more, the better” definitely applies. Each of the methods above will do on their own, but if you’re still wary or want to be extra sure you’re not running any risks, you can use time to your advantage, too.

COVID-19 particles have a limited life span depending on the surface they end up on, and even though we have an idea of how long the virus can live on certain materials, there’s still uncertainty when it comes to porous surfaces. Some reports show the virus degrades after two days on cloth or cardboard, but others have found traces of it on those materials after six or seven days.

If you were to use time as your sole method of face mask sanitization, you would have to assume COVID-19 particles will be active for at least one week—the worst-case scenario. You’d have to leave your face masks in a secure place (like your basement) for at least seven days before thinking of reusing them. But even though the virus might waste away, bacteria and other microbes might fester.

That’s why, according to Noble, a good sanitizing combo would be to boil, wash, or bleach your face masks, then let them sit for a week.

Storage is everything

Sanitizing your mask won’t change a thing if you don’t store it properly. Once you have a clean mask, put it in a closed plastic container or a new zip-close bag by itself.

If you want to go the extra mile, write on the bag or stick a note to the container with details about when you last sanitized the mask and the method you used. This will prevent cross-contamination and you’ll be able to tell for sure if the mask is safe to use or not.

What not to do

You might have read about UV lights and are wondering why we didn’t include it on this list. Well, using them to disinfect masks is not as simple as it sounds.

First of all, you’d have to use the right kind of wavelength: UV-C, according to Noble. You can often find this kind of light in sterilization wands, but these come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and prices, so it’s difficult to know for sure if they have been found to be effective against various pathogens—especially since we don’t know much about COVID-19 yet.

Also, face masks—whether they’re DIY or store-bought—have pleats and creases that allow the material to expand and cover as much of your face as possible. When UV light hits a mask, these folds become a problem.

“It is hard to get the entire surface of a mask properly irradiated,” says Noble. “The UV light is only going to degrade the viruses on the surface, not the ones in the shade.”

That’s why although UV lights are widely used to sanitize personal protection items in healthcare and lab settings, this method is often complemented by other disinfection processes, such as bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

You may have also encountered people saying microwaving cloth masks is a fast and easy way to sanitize them. That is technically true, but it’s not as simple as just cooking your mask for a couple minutes, especially since some microwaves can catch certain types of cloth on fire.

Microwave settings are not standard, so it’s hard for any guide to account for the strength of each person’s microwave while also keeping them from burning small holes on their masks. And that’s not even considering that proper face masks have a metal noseband that definitely won’t play nice with your microwave.

To be on the safe side, we recommend you stay away from the microwave—a rule that also applies to reheating pizza.

[scootoaster]

The best ways to clean fabric face masks

Cloth face masks can be reused, but they have a limited life span. (Al3xanderD/Pixabay/)

Follow all of PopSci’s COVID-19 coverage here, including how to make your own face masks, how to make your own hand sanitizer, and the latest findings on the virus itself. For global updates, see here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Protection has encouraged people to wear cloth masks at all times while outside. Research shows that although they’re not great protection against airborne COVID-19 particles, they’re better than nothing.

And although we don’t need a lot of masks because we’re not supposed to leave the safety of our homes for anything other than essential shopping and some good ol’ outdoor recreation—keeping away from other people, of course—chances are we’ll need to reuse the ones we have. This is why we need to sanitize them after every use.

Be warned though—these methods are only good for killing viruses and bacteria on masks made out of cloth like cotton or polypropylene. If you happen to have some surgical masks and are trying to figure out how to reuse them, let us stop you right there.

“Surgical masks are made out of a really soft cloth that's just a small bit stronger than a paper towel, and its components can be heavily damaged by some of the agents that you might use in the home,” says Rachel Noble, a microbiologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Applying any of the following methods to surgical masks will unequivocally make them either less effective or entirely ineffective against airborne microorganisms possibly carrying COVID-19. But if you do them right, they should thoroughly clean cloth masks, at least given what we know about the new coronavirus.

Boiling

We're all for not wasting water, but please do not cook spaghetti in your mask-water. (Michal Balog / Unsplash/)

An easy way to sanitize your face masks is to let them sit in boiling water for five minutes. It’s as simple as that.

The downside is that depending on the cloth your mask is made of, a few rounds of boiling could damage it or affect breathability.

“Cloth face masks are going to have a lifetime—they deteriorate the same way your bed sheets fall apart wash, after wash, after wash,” says Noble.

To ensure your mask remains functional after boiling, you’ll need to inspect it closely—hold the mask up to a light source and check for any thin areas where a small hole might be forming. Viruses are only 60 nanometers across, which means they can slip right through any loose-woven or damaged fabric. To be on the safe side, Noble recommends not boiling your mask more than 10 times.

Washing machine

Wash your masks with any clothes you've worn outside. If you don't have enough to complete a load, keep them in a plastic bag separate from the rest of your laundry. (Steve Buissinne / Pixabay /)

Tossing your face masks—along with all clothes worn outside—in a hot-water laundry cycle is a great way to sanitize them. Just as hand soap disintegrates the virus by breaking its exterior, your trusty detergent will be enough to leave your face masks ready for another use. Pay special attention to temperature, though, Noble says—it’s an added layer of protection.

Water heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit has proven effective at degrading most viruses, and both the World Health Organization and the UK’s National Health Service recommend this temperature for treating contaminated clothes and fabrics. But because a 140-degree shower would burn your skin, most people’s water heaters are set to 120 degrees. “A lot of viruses will be inactivated at that temperature, but they won’t completely be obliterated,” Noble explains.

Some modern washing machines have internal water heaters that can push water beyond 120 degrees, but if you don’t have one of these, we still don’t recommend you change your water heater’s settings. No matter what your machine is capable of, you should call for reinforcements. This is not the time to try doing your laundry without detergent. Make sure you load your machine with the appropriate amount of soap and complement it with your laundry booster of choice: Chlorine, color-safe bleach, or OxiClean will provide some extra oomph.

If there are still any pathogens the machine didn’t kill during the washing cycle, you can be sure you’ll finish them after five to 10 minutes at high heat in the dryer.

Hot water and bleach solution

It's bleach's time to shine. (Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash/)

If you’re still waiting to have enough clothes for a load of laundry, or simply do not feel like waiting for water to boil, Noble suggests soaking your face masks for five minutes in a solution of one teaspoon of bleach for every quart of hot water. Temperature doesn’t really matter—the bleach is doing the sanitation work—but it’s an extra layer of security.

You’ll need to be careful, though—using a higher concentration of bleach or leaving any of the corrosive chemical on the fabric after soaking could damage your mask. Also, since your face mask will be directly over your nose and mouth, you’ll want it to be clear of bleach when you put it on. Inhaling any residual fumes from it could damage your airways or worsen any respiratory condition.

To make sure you get rid of any leftover bleach, take the mask out of the solution and rinse it under a tap for 10 to 15 seconds—any temperature. After that, soak it in clean water for another five minutes. You can hang your masks to dry or put them in the dryer at high temperature for some extra sanitization.

Add time for a devastating combo move

Yes, we hate waiting too. But you do know that while you wait for your mask to be ready again, there are a lot of other things you can do other than looking longingly through the window. Right? (Anthony Tran/Unsplash/)

Sanitizing face masks is one action where the premise “the more, the better” definitely applies. Each of the methods above will do on their own, but if you’re still wary or want to be extra sure you’re not running any risks, you can use time to your advantage, too.

COVID-19 particles have a limited life span depending on the surface they end up on, and even though we have an idea of how long the virus can live on certain materials, there’s still uncertainty when it comes to porous surfaces. Some reports show the virus degrades after two days on cloth or cardboard, but others have found traces of it on those materials after six or seven days.

If you were to use time as your sole method of face mask sanitization, you would have to assume COVID-19 particles will be active for at least one week—the worst-case scenario. You’d have to leave your face masks in a secure place (like your basement) for at least seven days before thinking of reusing them. But even though the virus might waste away, bacteria and other microbes might fester.

That’s why, according to Noble, a good sanitizing combo would be to boil, wash, or bleach your face masks, then let them sit for a week.

Storage is everything

Sanitizing your mask won’t change a thing if you don’t store it properly. Once you have a clean mask, put it in a closed plastic container or a new zip-close bag by itself.

If you want to go the extra mile, write on the bag or stick a note to the container with details about when you last sanitized the mask and the method you used. This will prevent cross-contamination and you’ll be able to tell for sure if the mask is safe to use or not.

What not to do

You might have read about UV lights and are wondering why we didn’t include it on this list. Well, using them to disinfect masks is not as simple as it sounds.

First of all, you’d have to use the right kind of wavelength: UV-C, according to Noble. You can often find this kind of light in sterilization wands, but these come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and prices, so it’s difficult to know for sure if they have been found to be effective against various pathogens—especially since we don’t know much about COVID-19 yet.

Also, face masks—whether they’re DIY or store-bought—have pleats and creases that allow the material to expand and cover as much of your face as possible. When UV light hits a mask, these folds become a problem.

“It is hard to get the entire surface of a mask properly irradiated,” says Noble. “The UV light is only going to degrade the viruses on the surface, not the ones in the shade.”

That’s why although UV lights are widely used to sanitize personal protection items in healthcare and lab settings, this method is often complemented by other disinfection processes, such as bleach or hydrogen peroxide.

You may have also encountered people saying microwaving cloth masks is a fast and easy way to sanitize them. That is technically true, but it’s not as simple as just cooking your mask for a couple minutes, especially since some microwaves can catch certain types of cloth on fire.

Microwave settings are not standard, so it’s hard for any guide to account for the strength of each person’s microwave while also keeping them from burning small holes on their masks. And that’s not even considering that proper face masks have a metal noseband that definitely won’t play nice with your microwave.

To be on the safe side, we recommend you stay away from the microwave—a rule that also applies to reheating pizza.

[reynoldslevi10-blog]

Your Water Bottle Could Be Making You Sick-Here Are the Best Ways to Clean It

That trusty reusable water bottle you carry with you keeps you healthy and hydrated, but only if it's clean. And let's face it: Most of us don't think to clean out our water bottles. More often than not, we take that last sip, refill it, and sip some more-on repeat.

Whether your water bottle is stainless steel, plastic, or made from another hard material, it's important to sanitize it at the end of each day. “Since it's a moist environment, it's possible for bacteria to set up shop and thrive, potentially leading to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea,” says Robert Glatter, MD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwell Health and attending emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital.

RELATED: 12 Reasons Why Dehydration Is Bad for Your Body

Give the cap, as well as the straw if your bottle has one, a good cleansing too. “Bacteria such as E. coli that lead to gastroenteritis and food poisoning and even molds could colonize this area,” he says. You can even take a step further and scrub this area with a special bottle brush or toothbrush for a real deep clean. Or just get in the habit of using one of these simple and easy methods. Find one that works for you and aim for aim for consistency.

RELATED: 12 Germs That Cause Food Poisoning

The dishwasher

Many types of water bottles are dishwasher safe, but check that it says so on the bottle first. “Place bottle and top in the top rack, making sure that the bottle does not interfere with the spray arms if your model has them at the top,” says Donna Smallin Kuper, IICRC-certified house cleaning technician and author of Cleaning Plain & Simple. Then, run the dishwasher with the hottest water settings and a heated dry cycle, which will kill germs. It should be totally dry before you reuse it; moisture can be a breeding ground for bugs.

Soap and water

Washing by hand with a sudsy mix of dishwashing liquid and hot water is a safe and effective cleaning method, Kuper says. Be sure to wash and dry off with a clean cloth (or paper towel) to avoid reintroducing any bacteria or other harmful bugs. Swish the soapy water through the entire bottle, same way as you'd wash out a coffee cup or other used glass or mug, and make sure you get rid of any gunky buildup on the bottom or by the cap area. Then rinse with water to remove any soap residue before drying.

RELATED: 7 Best Water Bottles Health's Editors Swear By

Vinegar

That bottle of vinegar in your pantry can also disinfect your water bottle. “You can also use dilute vinegar, which helps to kill most bacteria (not viruses though), while also serving as a drying agent,” says Dr. Glatter. “Fill half of the bottle with white vinegar, the other half with water,” he says. (Make sure you use about ¼ cup of vinegar.) Close the bottle and let is swish around before leaving it to soak. Let it sit overnight and rinse out in the morning.

RELATED: 7 Infused Water Recipes That Will Make Your H20 Much Tastier and Even Healthier

3% hydrogen peroxide

If the inside of the bottle is kind of slimy or has an odor, you might want to step up your game with this method. “This is my preferred method for disinfecting. Clean the bottle and top thoroughly with soap and water and rinse with hot water. Then pour about 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide in the bottle, replace, and close the lid tightly,” says Kuper. Shake bottle vigorously, then pour out the hydrogen peroxide, and give it a final water rinse to make sure it's all gone. Your bottle should now be sparkly clean.

Water cleaning tablets

“Water cleaning tablets are another reasonable approach, as well as tablets used to clean dentures,” says Dr. Glatter. It's super easy to do. Fill your bottle with water, drop the tablets in as directed on the package, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Then simply rinse out your bottle, and you're good to go.