Are you tired of not being able to get ride of stubborn stains from your clothes? Well, today you’re in luck! We will not only be showing you how to manipulate the sun’s power to your advantage, we will also tell you how to know your limits – as with great power comes great responsibility….
Clean bed & a MITEy grill
All allergy sufferers can relate to the nightmare of millions of mites, bed bugs and other pests that can rule your bed. Mites love the dark and moist environment of your mattress. However, these pests hate the brightness of the sun and low humidity. Is it barbecue weather outside? This would be the best time to air your mattress directly under the sunlight!
Push those mites over the edge by stripping off the sheets, dusting and vacuuming the mattress. Then, place the mattress directly under the sun, on a balcony or any open spaces. After baking your mattress in the sun for a couple of hours, most of the mites along with their eggs will not feel so much at home there. This procedure should leave the mattress mite free for a good period of time.
Caution: Mattresses made of latex should not be exposed to the sun as the UV rays can damage the material and the heat may cause warping too.
Want to give your mattress a deep clean? Choose from steam cleaning, extraction cleaning, or UV-C cleaning from Helpling today!
The cleansing power of the sun – sterilising water
Water is our most important source of nutrition and it is important to drink at least a few litres per day. Take advantage of the hot weather outside to really purify your tap water. Bacteria and germs can deteriorate the quality of your drinking water. Fortunately for you, the sun has the power to help steralise it and get ride of these germs.
Fill 3/4 of the bottle up with tap water, shake it hard, fill it all the way to the brim then leave it under the sun. If you would like to accelerate the steralizing process, place a black pad underneath it for a better heat absorption.
In the poorer parts of the world, where clean water is harder to come by, this is a common method of providing safe drinking water to the people.
After a few hours in the sunlight, your water should be ready to drink- just make sure you cool the water down first! Cheers!
Step into the light and your sins will be forgiven: Sunlight as a Stain Remover
Before washing machines were invented, the sun was one of the best ways to dry laundry. People used a method known as grass bleaching, where clothes are laid out on grass directly under the sun after washing them. The sunlight and moisture from the grass help get rid of stains.
When UV light reaches the wet fabric, hydrogen peroxide is formed. Today, hydrogen peroxide is mainly used to brighten hair and is also add in detergent. Hang your wet laundry in the sun to oxidize it and allow the bleaching to take effect. The intense sunlight strikes the colour and dirt molecules, removing them. Bleaching with the sun is effective on your whites, especially those made of cotton or linen. Lay your clothes out for a few hours where they can be exposed to the sunlight. If you don’t notice any visual effects after a while, you can always splash some lemon juice on the stains.
Behold its awesome power: use it carefully as with great power comes great responsibility
You’ll probably want your laundry dried before the sunsets, but beware! Intense sunlight can however damage and discolour certain fabrics if your laundry dries too quickly in the sun.
Remember not to remove your wet laundry under the glaring sun after a couple of hours. At regular conditions with light wind, it should take your laundry between 4 and 8 hours to dry. Take note that on a baking hot day, just 2 hours would be sufficient. Once the laundry is dry, remove them from the laundry line, otherwise your beloved clothes would get unsightly white stripes from the washing line. This is because some detergents contain optical brighteners that creates yellow or green spots if exposed to too much sun!
Tip: Turn your clothes inside out to reduce the risk of any stripes. You should also pay special attention to thicker laundry. If your favorite picnic blanket is overheated, mould could form. For example, where it is folded over, the warm and moist conditions provide the ideal habitat! Your towels can also turn hard in the sun so watch out. After some time, put them into the shade so they don’t transform into cardboard.
Sun spots? More like sun streaks…
People are often surprised by streaks left on windows despite having just been cleaned in the sunshine! If the windows are not dried properly, ugly smudges will appear and this means you will have to start from scratch. To prevent this from happening, work quickly! The streaks are caused by a mixture of suds or bubbles from the detergent solution and dirt. If the liquid is not removed quickly, it dries and leaves streaks. Furthermore, refrain from wiping back and forth, it’s unnecessary and usually causes streaks rather than preventing them. It is best to use a window wiper to avoid streaks.
