Kitchen Answers
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
I have a niece of whom I am so proud. She was a high achiever even when she was a little girl. When her brothers were in school, they all made great grades. But my niece took it to all new level. And she enjoyed it. When she graduated from high school, she got a scholarship (full ride) based on water skiing. She is a world champion water skier and still skis and enjoys it so much. When she graduated, she had numerous companies wanting to hire her. Then she took her CPA test and passed all the tests the first time. We have gotten to vacation together a couple of times, and we have talked about real estate and how could real estate help her reach the dreams and goals that she felt God had in mind for her. She just bought her second home and is well on her way. She asked me over to the new home because she had some questions …. hoping I have some answers.
This “new” home had housed a family with animals. Dogs mainly. So, the whole home kind of had this “fragrance” about it. You know those homes. Way before you meet those animals, your nose tells you that they are there. The owners no longer notice cannot smell. No candle can neutralize a dog and cat odor. Candles are made to add fragrance to a home, not cover up odor. But Air Sponge can do just that. It will neutralize odors. Put one in a room where the odor is. If you have a cooking disaster (that is me all the time) or something burned like popcorn in the microwave—put one there. Or you let the garlic burn? Well, an Air Sponge in the room will work in about 10 minutes. Or in this case, the house with odors throughout, put one in the return air. Every time the AC comes on it will take a clean smell all through the house. It is really as simple as that.
Now in my niece’s home there is tile all on the bottom floor….that means lots of grout. And let me tell you grout can absorb odors. Grout is like a sponge. You can clean the air, but if you do not rid the grout of odor, you will still smell an odor. Have you ever cleaned your home, felt like you did a great job and then left for a few days? Then when you returned the minute you walked into the house, you smelled the odor again? That is what sneaky odors can do. They hide in areas that you do not think they can. So, for stinky grout my niece’s soaked it in Bio Zapp. She mopped the floors with it. And that’s easy to do because it comes in gallons and also in a concentrate. But there was still a problem with the grout.
Her grout was colored to enhance the beauty of the tile. She wanted to clean the grout, but my mom said the grout was not dirty, it was just a dark color. Well, that was not exactly true. When you look at grout and it looks dark, it is probably dirt. But it happens so slowly, you do not realize it. But to see the original color of the grout, just look where no feet have walked, no shoe has tread. Where is that? Get down to look at the grout that is under the cabinet edge--right by the toe kick. Is that grout lighter? Sure, it is…. that is the color of the original grout.
She looked at all the grout and she knew it was going to be a big job. I told her an easy way to refresh all the grout. Start by purchasing a good wallpaper brush. They are twelve inches wide and have stiff bristles. That means you can cover the area much faster. And the best grout cleaner? Stone Tech Deep Klenz. It comes in a quart that is ready to use. Just spray, let it work for a bit and then scrub with the wallpaper brush. Once the grout is clean, seal it. Stone Tech makes Bullet Proof and it is really the best. Now it is not the cheapest, but who wants to do that job again? Not a smart person!
I am so excited for my niece. So happy she asked for my help. Do you need help with your home project? Well just give me a call and I will be happy to help.