Around the house...

Today we are becoming more conscious of how our actions impact on the environment and future generations. Some of the information about maintaining our home and environs came about because you might ask “Dad, How do I…?”

How to treat a jellyfish sting

Sometimes beaches that are popular swimming spots get invaded by jellyfish in the summer. The stings can be quite painful.  To deal with jellyfish stings:

1. Remove any remaining tentacles using a tea-towel or gloves (take care, you can still get stung by these).
2. Wash with salt water.
3. Use hot and cold compresses alternately by putting with ice cubes in a plastic bag (or a bag of frozen peas) for the cold and a wet hand towel or wash cloth warmed in the microwave for up to 2 minutes for the hot (take care when removing it from the microwave as it can become very hot)
4. Apply papaya cream or baking soda.
5. If symptoms persist contact, your doctor.

You can use this treatment for your dog as well if necessary.

An alternate to the hot compress is a wheat bag that you can make (try this method ) or buy (http://www.wheatbags.co.nz/Cotton-Wheatbags or http://www.wheatbags-by-silver-pear.co.nz/two-pocket-wheat-bag.html)

removing warts

Trish asked how to get rid of warts on hands.

There are many ideas on how to get rid of warts.  We’ve had three suggestions  for you to try.

1 Melaleuca Oil

Bev has used Melaleuca Oil.  Melaleuca is the botanical name for tea tree oil and is available from Melaleuca : The Wellness Company  www.melaleuca.com Their oil is very high quality and available in two strengths T36-C5 and added strength T40-C3

For isolated common warts, apply T36-C5 each morning and night faithfully for up to 3 weeks.  If the wart is thick and dry, shave the excess away before applying T36-C5.

For body warts you could also bathe in a hot tub with 1oz of Sol-U-Mel and 1oz of Renew Bath Oil for 30 mins – these products contain Melaleuca oil. Some warts require the added strength of T40-C3 to disappear.

An alternate solution is to apply our Renew Intensive Skin Therapy (this is the product that we have so much success with eczema).  This will be a slower process but just as effective.

Other brands of Tea Tree Oil available may not be very high quality or may be diluted so take care if you’re shopping around.  I can give you Bev’s contact details if you want to contact her to buy Melaleuca Oil

2 Homeopathic remedy

Lesley, who is a Homeobotanical practitioner, recommends a homeopathic remedy  – either Homeopathic Thuja 6c or Causticum 6c. Dosage will be on the bottle. For an even better result alternate these two remedies. Use one for 3 days and then the other for 3 days.

3 Milkweed

Jeanine says her mother used to swear by milkweed to cure her brother’s warts.  What she means is the milky sap from a garden weed commonly known as milkweed.  However there are many plants known as milkweed so you need to know which is the one that has a milky secretion that is good for curing warts.

Can anyone help us out with a photo or some more detail?  If not then, Trish I suggest stick with the Melalauca Oil or the homeopathic remedy

How to remove rust from oven trays

Riana has asked how to remove rust from oven trays.

I’ve pointed her to this link which uses ammonia and baking soda and no hard rubbing.  I haven’t tried this so it would be great if you could let me know if you’ve used this and how it worked. Or what other method you’ve used to clean rust from your oven trays.

Home-made cleaning products

If you think about it, there are a number of commercial cleaning products on the market that include these ingredients eg household cleaner with baking soda or lemon (citric) along with the slogans clean and whiten or cut grease.  Well it’s because they have woken up to the power of green advertising.  But they just add these natural ingredients to the chemicals in the product, they don’t  replace the chemicals, unless they are selling eco-friendly products.

So go for it make your own.  It only takes a few minutes – and check out the size of your supermarket bill. …Read more

Cleaning a smelly cat

Trish has asked “how do you clean or wash a smelly or dirty cat”

Trish – you’re probably aware that cats are pretty fussy about cleanliness and wash themselves over and again.  But they’re not so keen on having a bath!

However no matter how much a cat washed itself, there are times when that’s simply no enough and human intervention is necessary. …Read more

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