• IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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    10 days ago

    I had a friend of mine recommend a book on the subject of dust … and how this stuff just permeates our environment, into space and throughout the universe.

    She gave me a strong warning about the book … she said that once you read it, you’ll never breathe comfortably again knowing that every breath you make for the rest of your life is saturated with all kinds of things from all kinds of places and that 99.99999% of the time everything is just fine but every once in a while, a tiny particle of the right type with the right content just ends up in your lungs and completely screws up your biology.

    • tamal3@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      I had a similar feeling of overwhelm when I heard how many kitchen sponges have been found with fecal matter contamination. I’ve since switched to Swedish dishcloths and hope to never touch a sponge again in my life.

      • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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        10 days ago

        Counter-point: AFAIK “fecal matter contamination” usually means “we found some ecoli”. A bacteria that is completely ubiquitous and almost always harmless unless you manage to ingest a significant amount or rub them into your eyes. It can be a useful general cleanliness indicator, for example if high concentrations of ecoli are measured in a body of water it probably means raw sewage made its way there, and you should be worried about the things that aren’t ecoli. However you’re not particularly likely to catch cholera or dysentery from your own sponge.

        Furthermore sponges aren’t meant to be clean per se. They’re meant to be mechanically abrasive, so that all the impurities are detached from the surface you’re cleaning. Those impurities then bind to the soap molecules which prevent them from clinging to surfaces, and therefore allow them to be easily washed away when rinsing.
        It does not matter much if the sponge was dirty because the bacteria from the sponge will rinse away alongside the bacteria from the item you’re cleaning. Just make sure to soap, rinse, and dry things properly and wash your hands after handling a sponge.

        • RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          But at some point it has to become the source of bacteria, no? Yellow sponges that look more like a greyish brown can not possibly sanitary food-safe items you want to rub all over your eating dishes. And they’re not exactly expensive.

        • dingus@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          I cut out the middle man and just end up rinsing my toothbrush in the toilet bowl after I brush my teeth.

          • Mac@mander.xyz
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            10 days ago

            I decluttered and simplified by simply brushing my ass instead of wiping.

      • RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I change my dish sponge every couple weeks, and toss any that are visibly dirty at all. If it sits in the sink longer than like 20 seconds, trash. I do not understand why people hold on to these $2 items until they’re entirely new colors, probably harboring germ colonies on the verge of space travel.

    • xylol@leminal.space
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      10 days ago

      I always had a hunch that people that drive all crazy do it because they drive a lot, causing them to drive by road kill a lot which wofts of rabies into their lungs and over time they get crazier and crazier

      • floo@retrolemmy.com
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        10 days ago

        When you didn’t have newspaper, pages from the phonebook would work, too.

        I don’t think they make those anymore either.

        • nickiwest@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          They do, but the white pages are nearly nonexistent now that almost everyone has a cell instead of a landline.

          I haven’t lived in the US for 4 years now, but when I did, we had phone books dropped on our front porch every six months. I’d see one, pick it up, carry it through the house, and deposit it directly in the recycling bin.

      • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        Why newspaper? Is it just lint free, or does it do something that paper towels won’t do. I still get coupons in the mail with news print pages, so I’ll have to give it a try.

        I’ll add to the conversation and say, denatured alcohol works great on anything that sticks or smears if you have a particularly tough spot.

        • tamal3@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          It’s lint-free… and free! Paper towels are definitely not the answer as they leave little bits behind.

          • lectricleopard@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            I can’t handle the texture of microfiber in my hands. I get the shivers and goosebumps. I can’t find a decent cleaning cloth any time I look. I remember my mom having cloth diapers from the 80s, and they worked great for 20 years or so. I should look into that.

            Newspaper doesn’t leave ink behind? I imagine the comics leaving a faint colorful streak.

    • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
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      10 days ago

      first you wipe of the worst grime with one of those squeegees that has a sponge on the back side. try to catch dribble with old cloth or so. (some will spill if you’re not a super pro. wipe it off the floor later.)

      then you use a chamois leather (also available in synthetic, so it can be vegan) with glass cleaner solution that contains spirit (aka ethyl alcohol) from a spray bottle. you spray it on, then rub with the chamois. the glass cleaner kinda evaporates after the fine dirt gets into the chamois, so no residue will be left on the glass.

      • Psythik@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        I mean Windex is just colored alcohol with surfactants added to make it work better, so if alcohol works for you, glass cleaner should work even better.

  • Psythik@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Make sure you’re changing your HVAC/furnace filter every 2-3 months if dust is a major problem for you. Especially if you have to dust more than once every week or three.

      • Psythik@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        Sorry but this is not something you can just avoid doing. Your air conditioner/furnace will literally break if you’re not staying on top of filter replacements. New filter every 3 months is the longest you can get away with not replacing it before dust buildup starts damaging your system.

        Please take care of this ASAP.

        • bigBear@lemmynsfw.com
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          8 days ago

          *with a 1 inch filter

          If you have a 4 or 5 inch filter the capacity is huge. 6 months easy. You can find 4 inch filters that have a lip to fit in a 1-inch slot.

  • Midnight Wolf@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    In order:

    Because you’ll pay it. Because you’ll pay it. Because you’ll pay it. Because you are wasting so much shit, stop buying excessive shit and save leftovers. Because you’re clumsy af. And because you bring the dirt in with you.

    Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

    • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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      10 days ago

      Rugs are very highly laborious. Curtains have a high material cost and are also very labour intensive to build. Pillows aren’t that hard to make but are usually made of fancy fabric and fancy stuffing materials. They also have a high cost in shipping and shelf space. They are not expensive ‘just cause’

      • Midnight Wolf@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        I mean, what do rugs do for you? You don’t really need curtains, either. The pillow I’m currently using cost me $20 at costco for a 2 pack…

        • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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          10 days ago

          Just because you don’t like something doesn’t make it worthless. Rugs make my house a home. They really tie the rooms together. Your Dark Side of the Moon flag curtain makes your home look like a flop house.

          • Midnight Wolf@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            And this, everyone, is called “lashing out”. When one doesn’t have a valid response but doesn’t want to admit it, they turn to insults and combativeness. A pity.

            If something has a valid use, great. Vanity is not one of them, in my view. You continue to keep up with the Joneses, though.

            • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
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              10 days ago

              I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with your interior decoration, but you can get decent wooden furniture for cheap to free on Craig’s list, sand it, and stain or paint in 1 afternoon. A little furniture might also help you hide all those cables.

        • tyler@programming.dev
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          10 days ago

          Soft, protect your floors, reduce noise echo, soften talking, make it comfortable to sit on, reduce noise transfer to other floors of your home, trap dust instead of letting it float around, cushion your bare feet so you don’t have to wear shoes in the house, help tie your room together and make it feel like a home instead of a college dorm or hospital room. Come on, use your imagination.

            • Peppycito@sh.itjust.works
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              10 days ago

              It’s not my job to defend furnishings. If you think a room with a cinder block in it is ‘furnished’ I don’t think it’s my job to convince you otherwise. But that doesn’t mean you get to talk shit about the upholstery trade.

        • Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          You don’t really need curtains, either.

          I’m personally light-sensitive, so covering the windows is imperative if I want to avoid pain. Curtains also mean having privacy inside one’s own home, which isn’t a strange thing to want.

  • Sarmyth@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    I was blown away when I heard what my mother-in-law was charged for curtains 5 years ago. It was thousands of dollars. When I bought some myself I was shocked to see a long straight sheet was expensive.