Happy New Year
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
Here it is the first of the year...a new beginning. No matter what was happening in 2024, we have a chance to change that all in 2025. One of those changes could be doing more around the house. Maybe this is the year you finally decided to retire, and you are anxious to do all those things around the house that you never had time for before. Can I make a suggestion? Tackle a small project first. The easiest project that I know of that can save you the most money, is taking care of your own pest control.
I used to pay for pest control, and they would come out every 90 days. But I have to tell you that I saw critters before the 90 days were up. It was pretty frustrating, and expensive. That’s when many years ago we started carrying Shoo-Fly Ant Roach and Spider. I canceled my pest service and started spraying the house myself. Fast forward about 15 years and we still have a great DIY pest control called Clobber. Clobber is made right here in Texas and made for the problems that we have in our South Texas homes.
Clobber is an aerosol pest control. The formula is emulsified in water, so it is odor free and dries within 20 minutes. Once it is dry, it is safe around children and pets. On the Clobber label it says it has a 60-day residual, but I usually go 90 days before spraying the inside of the house. I have a small home, 1200 square feet, and it takes my about 8 minutes to spray the inside of my home. And it’s easy! I just spray around the base molding on my floor. I don’t move any furniture; I just go around my furniture. I take special care to spray the windows and doors. On the doors, I open them and spray them right outside the doors. I want to stop pests before they ever enter the house. If they step on Clobber, they die. I spray right before I leave for work. I put my dog in the car, go spray the inside of the house and then leave for work. When I come home, there is no smell, and I know I am safe. My dog can’t smell anything, so I know he is safe too.
When I had a pest control service, I would leave the house when it was treated because the odor was so offensive. I usually paid around $200 a quarter and so it would cost me around $800 a year. Clobber is $13.00 a can and will last me about 9 months. This is the first of many projects that we are going to talk about this year. I am looking forward to a New Year, and new shows. This is the first year in 4 years that I am getting to go to the National Hardware Show. And now Do It Best has acquired True Value, and we will have an expanded list of vendors to buy from. I am extremely excited. Can’t wait to share with you what I will learn. It truly is a Happy New Year!
Now to the email….
Can I suggest something? If you have a question about any product I talk about, call me at the store. I miss some of your emails because I am on the floor at the store. I would love to talk to you about your project and so call me at 210-341-1573. Leave a message if I am not at the store, and I will get right back to you. You are the best part of my day!
Question: I have soap scum on my shower tile walls and floor. I would like to know what product would be the best to clean those surfaces.
Answer: The best would be Delete Germ and it’s on the website, www.happyhandyman.com. Get a quart and use a Scotchbrite green scrubby sponge to clean. Apply Delete Germ to the surface and immediately start cleaning. You will feel that the surface feels grainy at first and then the more you scrub the slicker the surface will be. This is the hard water and soap scum breaking down. Then rinse with water right away. Your tile will look like new. And it will also be disinfected.