Clothes,Hanging,On,A,Washing,Line,To,Dry.

How to stop birds from pooping on your washing

by with 4 Comments Laundry

Birds love nothing more than pooping on your dry clean washing which causes nothing but stress and hassle for us. There is nothing worse than hanging out your clean fresh smelling washing and having birds poop all over it. My washing always smells so good too. Personally I really don’t want to touch bird poo and scrub it off. Bird poo is also very dangerous.  Histoplasmsis is a respiratory disease that can come from bird poo and it can be fatal. I found out about this when I filmed a County House episode for Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners. They wanted me to stay in a room where a lady had hung herself that was covered from top to bottom in bird poo!  As if I would-have stayed in there…….

My bird phobia is really bad, I struggle to walk down our local high street and the children often have to protect me by surrounding me and I do struggle to sit in the garden especially if no one else is at home. If I hear a bird flap or a tree rustle. I run straight inside with an almighty scream. No wonder my neighbours think I am mad!

So what can we do to stop birds for ruining our fresh clean washing. 

Some of my lovely social media followers sent me some amazing ideas so I thought I would share them with you.

Change the position of your clothes line.  If your clothes line is near a fence, wall or a tree where birds can land then move it away.

Hang old unwanted CD’s around the garden. The don’t like to see their reflection and if the CD’s click against each other random sound patterns will help keeps the birds away too.

I have heard today that birds are very scared of owls. So invest in some garden ornaments of Owls to scare them away. I am not sure I will be even able to cope with fake birds in my garden.  although I did find these ones that don’t look too bad. Garden Owls There are also these reflective hanging owls

Washing line protectors. Now this is a great idea and is also great for when its raining too.  I am definltley going to invest in one of these

Now I did already know this one, so why haven’t I brought some?  But hanging chimes are great for keeping them away. These twisting scare rods scare away all species of birds.  They also look great too. Click here for the chimes

Bird Tape. I had never heard of this and what a great idea. Bird Tape is an effective bird deterrent made of polypropylene tape, which emits a penetrating vibration that birds won’t go near.  I really love this idea and can’t wait to see how effective it is. Bird Tape

If like me you are struggleing with the Bird poop in your garden then I hope this ideas can help.

A massive thank you to my lovely followers who helped me put together these ideas.

Happy Washing
Lynsey Queen of Clean xoxox

egg

The messiest stains at Easter Time

by with No Comment Laundry

Who doesn’t love chocolate Easter Eggs?

The Easter weekend is a traditional a time to give out chocolate eggs and let the kids go crazy with Easter Egg hunts and mountains of delicious chocolate and Easter cakes.

As yummy as chocolate is, Chocolate will stain over the easter period along with other stains such as grass stains, mud, butter from delicious hot cross buns and sticky finger marks.  

If you catch the stains quickly they don’t tend to be a problem and my stain busting guide has most of them covered.

But when left untreated for a few hours they can become hard to shift as the stain will absorb itself into the fabric.

I have put together a few very simple tips to help you tackle those Easter weekend stains.

Grass Stains

To remove ground in tough grass stains from children’s clothes.  Simply add a Stain remover and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes before washing as normal.

 If you don’t have a stain treatment to hand then good old washing up liquid or using a liquid laundry detergent as a pretreat should work.  Once you have left the soap to soak into the garment then, get a toothbrush and gentle rub over the stain to work the liquid into the area. Finally add to your washing machine and pop on the highest temperature the garment will take.

If you are out and about when the stain hits, grab your hand sanitiser and cover as much of the stain as possible.

If your stain has not been completely lifted after washing, you may want to consider using rubbing alcohol or hairspray. The reason why is that the alcohol found in these products breaks down the green pigments in grass stains.

If you are using rubbing alcohol, dab a small amount onto a clean cloth, and gently sponge it over your stain. When you see the colour lifting, rinse your garment in cold water and continue with the usual removal process. 

To use hairspray, spray a liberal amount over your stain and wait for it to completely dry. Once it has dried, used a soft-bristled brush, such as a toothbrush to scrub at your stain. When you notice the colour begin to fade, flush out the hairspray with cold water. 

Butter 

Hot cross buns are complimented perfectly when topped with a generous amount of butter. If you accidentally drop some butter on your clothing, don’t panic, simply follow these instructions. 

If your butter stain has been caused by a blob of butter, begin the removal process by using a butter knife or spoon to gently lift as much solid butter as possible.

After you have removed any solid bits of butter, use a clean white cloth, or paper towel, to gently dab the stain. Make sure that you are dabbing and not rubbing, as rubbing will cause your stain to set further into your clothing.

Once you have removed as much excess oil from the stain as possible, sprinkle a generous amount of either cornstarch, bicarbonate of soda, chalk or talcum powder over your stain. Allow your powder to sit on your stain for at least 15 minutes to give it an ample amount of time to absorb as much oil as possible. After 15 minutes, gently brush the powder off of your item. 

Next cover the stain with either your liquid laundry detergent or washing up liquid and gently work into the stain using your fingers.

Finally, wash your item as you usually would. If your stain has not been removed, repeat the process. 

Mud Stains

Pre-soak the garment as soon as possible in a bowl of cold water with 3 heaped tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda for approx one hour.  Then pop in the wash as normal with the highest temperature the garment will allow.

Chocolate stains

Gently wipe as much of the excess chocolate as you can, taking care not to push the stain deeper into the fibres. You can use a blunt knife or credit card for this. Then flush out as much chocolate as you can using cold running water from the back of the stain. Make sure that you are using cold and not hot water because hot water will only set your chocolate stain further into your clothing. 

Soak in a solution of detergent and warm water for at least 30 minutes before washing as usual at the highest temperature allowed.

Want to learn more crazy cleaning tips then then grab a copy of one of my books and I will show you how to clean your house and tidy up your life