#MEwx Fog advisory, sunny and warm with more chemical free cleaning tips for you

Good morning Augusta

Click here to view weather readings in real time from my own personal wireless weather station.

We’re under a Dense fog Advisory until 9 AM, so slow down out there.

This morning we have areas of fog with mostly sunny skies. Highs around 80°F with light and variable winds.

Tonight we’ll have mostly clear during evening hours, then partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers after midnight with patchy fog. Lows in the lower 60s with South winds around 10 mph in the evening, becoming light and variable.

The outdoor temperature is 58.8°F, the dewpoint is 58.5°F and it feels like 58.8°F.

We received 0.01 inches of rain here over the past 24 hours.

Today’s sunrise is 5:58 AM, sunset is 7:26 PM and we’ll have 13 hours 28 minutes of daylight today. Moonrise is 11:47 PM and Moonset is 3:41 PM. The moon phase is Waning Crescent and is 38% illuminated. Our next full moon will be on September 3 and our next new moon is on September 17.

The wind velocity is between 0.0 MPH and  2.2 MPH from the West.

The Relative pressure is 29.92, the Absolute pressure is 29.72 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun and a few clouds.

The Humidity is 99%, the UV index is 0 placing the average person at low risk and the solar radiation reading is 105.9W/m2.

Visibility is 10.0 Miles / 16.1 Kilometers with nasty fog in places, but sunny above it all.

 

Here’s more from the book entitled the Room by Room chemical free cleaning book which is, like the others I’ve posted on this blog, free out there on the web. Enjoy.

 

Brick and stone

Keeping your brick, stone walls, floors and walkways clean and looking great is sometimes a huge task. Most often brick and stone are used on fireplaces

where the smoke and soot wreak havoc on their looks. Brick and stone are often found in cellar floors and walls. They can become mold covered and dirty

if you don’t keep up with the yearly chores. Here we are going to discuss a few regular upkeep and cleaning ideas for both brick and stone.

 

When cleaning brick or stone with a wire brush, always be sure to pick out any wires that might have broken off because over time wires will rust and leave

marks that will be permanent on your brick or stones.

 

If you are looking to clean your brick but to give it a new darker color, you can clean it will a half a gallon of olive oil and a gallon of water. The

olive oil will clean while it darkens the brick.

 

To remove soot from your fireplace you can use a wire brush to scrub the brick hard and then just vacuum up the dust. For hard to reach areas that still

appear dark, use a thinner wire brush (it is almost shaped like a toothbrush but longer in the head of the brush) to continue cleaning.

 

For regular cleaning of your fireplace brick or stone walls you can use hot soapy water and a heavy duty cloth for a fresh clean. If you would like to add

a great smell to your clean, add a half a cup of lemon juice to the hot water as well. You don’t have to dry this mixture after you clean but it will take

a few hours until the brick or stone is thoroughly dry.

 

To clean stone walls in your basement, you can use a power washer with a mixture of lime and hot water for a deep clean. Spraying the walls with a pressure

washer will deep clean stopping mold in its tracks.

 

To clean stone around a fireplace you can use a cup of vinegar mixed with a quart of hot water for a fresh clean but you have to dry this up as you go because

vinegar can break down certain grouts used between the stone.

Do you have weeds growing between your stone pathways? You can use full strength vinegar to kill weeds while not harming the environment!

 

You can clean your stonewalls with a mixture of a cup of peroxide and a quart of warm water. Monthly ‘dusting’ with ammonia will keep mold and mildew from

growing, which will cut down on deep cleaning later on.

 

The exterior of your home, brick or stone walls, can be washed down with plain water from your garden hose to cut dust and dirt. If one side of your home

doesn’t get much sunlight you should mix ammonia in the water to fight off molds and mildew.