Housework and cleaning

SandwichShortOfAPicnic

SandwichShortOfAPicnic

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24 Mar 2023
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7:49 PM
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5,260
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Somerset & Costa Tropical Spain
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Today's plans are many
  • to clean out the chicken coops plural. Avian influenza is spreading rapidly in our part of Australia at the moment, and I'm not able to separate my chooks from the native wild birds. But I can clean out both coops to help minimise disk of any irritation to their air sacs (chickens don't have lungs) and their respiratory system in general.

But it's a massive job and needs be to don full protective clothing and a P3 respiratory mask. Thankfully it usually only gets done once a year per coop. But we're increasing that to twice a year as a precaution.​

Then I'll need to start on the house. We've been given very little notice about the twice yearly inspection and it's now in Tuesday.

  • So I've got to clean the bathroom and toilet from top to bottom.
  • Clean the oven (hubby has already asked why and said it's clean enough, what's the problem? It might be clean enough for us, but it is never clean even for a house inspection and it is something they always meticulously check and photograph. So I can't leave that job to him. )
  • Wash all the vinyl floors
  • Clean the mud room yet again
  • Move the small(ish) chicken coop off the verandah and back into the shed. (2 person job so no delegation)
  • Sweep the verandah (I can delegate that one) (chook shit & feathers)
  • Sweep the back for area to clear chook shit
  • Tidy all the counters and clean them
  • Dust the sitting room. It's thick with dust and ash with us having the fire in that room.
  • Tidy the laundry room
  • Try to get another load of washing on but how I'll get it dry in not certain on.
  • ...
So I'll say bye for the day and get started.
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That sucks!
I have the same kinda thing packing up in Spain. It must be left immaculate, well I feel it must be left immaculate.
I do enlist Mr SSOAP and do ask him to clean the bathrooms because it means my go over after his efforts is much easier!

But I have one rude(ish) question and that is what are the eviction laws in Australia?
In Spain they are ‘be grateful you’re getting paid’ and shut up!
In the UK landlord inspections are now fairly toothless.
So what can they actually do if you didn’t scrub the downstairs bog to their satisfaction?
Or worse still (I remember this from your last inspection) the grass wasn’t happy because there was a drought?!!!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
That sucks!
I have the same kinda thing packing up in Spain. It must be left immaculate, well I feel it must be left immaculate.
I do enlist Mr SSOAP and do ask him to clean the bathrooms because it means my go over after his efforts is much easier!

But I have one rude(ish) question and that is what are the eviction laws in Australia?
In Spain they are ‘be grateful you’re getting paid’ and shut up!
In the UK landlord inspections are now fairly toothless.
So what can they actually do if you didn’t scrub the downstairs bog to their satisfaction?
Or worse still (I remember this from your last inspection) the grass wasn’t happy because there was a drought?!!!
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They tend to be fairly strict. It's easy to let to another tenant. There's a long waiting list of people needing homes. The agents for our landlady and landlord are much more strict than our landlord is. We see him frequently and her occasionally. It's a very unusual week if we don't see them 3 or 4 times during the week. So they know that we do typically keep the place clean and well maintained. The agents on the other hand, we haven't see since December. They're the problem. They'll open the oven and get a torch out to some to the back. They'll check the underside of the shelves. They'll complain about the marks on a rug that isn't even owned by our landlord! I snapped at that point on the last inspection. It's our bl***y rug. It's there to stop the occasional bit of hot wood that escaped from the fire, from marking the floor. It's a dedicated fireproof rug for in front of a stove or open fire.

They're going to complain this time around about the fact that we've not been able to get the lawn cut because it's been wet almost every weekend since Easter.

So, all we've managed to do so far is to clean the top coop out. That's got nothing to do with the inspection! 😆 that more me concerned that if I have to lock the chooks in whilst we construct a covered, wild bird free, area for them, I want it to be cleaner than it was.

Right, verandah time before it rains.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
They tend to be fairly strict. It's easy to let to another tenant. There's a long waiting list of people needing homes. The agents for our landlady and landlord are much more strict than our landlord is. We see him frequently and her occasionally. It's a very unusual week if we don't see them 3 or 4 times during the week. So they know that we do typically keep the place clean and well maintained. The agents on the other hand, we haven't see since December. They're the problem. They'll open the oven and get a torch out to some to the back. They'll check the underside of the shelves. They'll complain about the marks on a rug that isn't even owned by our landlord! I snapped at that point on the last inspection. It's our bl***y rug. It's there to stop the occasional bit of hot wood that escaped from the fire, from marking the floor. It's a dedicated fireproof rug for in front of a stove or open fire.

They're going to complain this time around about the fact that we've not been able to get the lawn cut because it's been wet almost every weekend since Easter.

So, all we've managed to do so far is to clean the top coop out. That's got nothing to do with the inspection! 😆 that more me concerned that if I have to lock the chooks in whilst we construct a covered, wild bird free, area for them, I want it to be cleaner than it was.

Right, verandah time before it rains.
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I’d probably blow a gasket at that level of criticism.
I’d also make a pre-emptive list of ‘All the things you’ll unnecessarily criticise’ and probably hand it to them at the end, good to see if I’d hit the mark 😂

With negative people I deliberately give them something to whine about.
I purposely leave a very obvious job undone so their negative nature has an obvious thing to focus on.
That pleases me no end. I suppose it’s because if they are unpleasant I get a thrill out of how easy they are to manipulate and feel in control of my life.
As I type it I realise it sounds bad but from my POV all’s fair when it comes to dealing with people who go out of their way to make life difficult.

Mind you I have to warn you if you do that it is hard not to smile while they’re kicking off and laughing at someone with that disposition is dangerous, they don’t like it up ‘em 😂
 
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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I’d probably blow a gasket at that level of criticism.
I’d also make a pre-emptive list of ‘All the things you’ll unnecessarily criticise’ and probably hand it to them at the end, good to see if I’d hit the mark 😂

With negative people I deliberately give them something to whine about.
I purposely leave a very obvious job undone so their negative nature has an obvious thing to focus on.
That pleases me no end. I suppose it’s because if they are unpleasant I get a thrill out of how easy they are to manipulate and feel in control of my life.
As I type it I realise it sounds bad but from my POV all’s fair when it comes to dealing with people who go out of their way to make life difficult.

Mind you I have to warn you if you do that it is hard not to smile while they kicking off and laughing at someone with that disposition is dangerous, they don’t like it up ‘em 😂
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I long ago reached the conclusion I needed to give them something to moan about.

The time the complained the grass was dead just left us laughing in disbelief. We don't have the water to spare to keep the lawn alive in a drought. I prefer to drink it or bathe in it really, it just be able to flush the toilet. That's (some) city folk for you though. Everything is on tap literally. This time around the grass will be too long! It's been too wet to cut it.

We've done all of the outside work except for cutting the grass. Robotised is set to be very wet and I need to clean a carpet (someone nameless walked chook shit in on his shoes), and I've still got the oven to clean and the vinyl floors to wash (the dyson will do that with very little water used thankfully). I also need to clean the fireplace, and I haven't removed the ash dust from the sitting room yet. If and the bathroom and toilet and the mud room and laundry still need dealing with. I think I'm going to be busy tomorrow in-between orientation lectures! And I've got tea to cook as well. Maybe I'll bake to the black garlic pasta sauce. I've got a batch of garlic in my dehydrator at the moment, so I don't mind using up some of the black garlic. :licks lips:
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I long ago reached the conclusion I needed to give them something to moan about.

The time the complained the grass was dead just left us laughing in disbelief. We don't have the water to spare to keep the lawn alive in a drought. I prefer to drink it or bathe in it really, it just be able to flush the toilet. That's (some) city folk for you though. Everything is on tap literally. This time around the grass will be too long! It's been too wet to cut it.

We've done all of the outside work except for cutting the grass. Robotised is set to be very wet and I need to clean a carpet (someone nameless walked chook shit in on his shoes), and I've still got the oven to clean and the vinyl floors to wash (the dyson will do that with very little water used thankfully). I also need to clean the fireplace, and I haven't removed the ash dust from the sitting room yet. If and the bathroom and toilet and the mud room and laundry still need dealing with. I think I'm going to be busy tomorrow in-between orientation lectures! And I've got tea to cook as well. Maybe I'll bake to the black garlic pasta sauce. I've got a batch of garlic in my dehydrator at the moment, so I don't mind using up some of the black garlic. :licks lips:
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That sounds like far too much to do in one day!
Nice to hear you’ve got a good desk, hope your chair is comfortable too.

What is this Dyson thing for cleaning floors? I like the brand and hate cleaning floors, might be just the thing 🤷‍♀️
 
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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
What is this Dyson thing for cleaning floors? I like the brand and hate cleaning floors, might be just the thing 🤷‍♀️

So you went ahead with the black garlic experiment?
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It's a cordless vacuum cleaner with their submarine attachment. Not cheap, but very effective at using the minimum amount of water possible to clean the entire house.

https://www.dyson.com.au/dyson-v15-submarine-complete-448842-01-gold-gold

If you wet the roller before starting to clean the floor, I can do the entire house on 1 lot of water. It takes about 500ml I think. I'll check today. We got it on special offer and only paid 3 figures in Australian money for it.

1 charge allows me to hoover all the carpets, and the vinyl floors and wash the vinyl as well. It does come with a good selection of heads, I just wish it came with a longer extension so that I could easily reach the high ceiling areas to de-spider them.
 
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SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
It's a cordless vacuum cleaner with their submarine attachment. Not cheap, but very effective at using the minimum amount of water possible to clean the entire house.

https://www.dyson.com.au/dyson-v15-submarine-complete-448842-01-gold-gold

If you wet the roller before starting to clean the floor, I can do the entire house on 1 lot of water. It takes about 500ml I think. I'll check today. We got it on special offer and only paid 3 figures in Australian money for it.

1 charge allows me to hoover all the carpets, and the vinyl floors and wash the vinyl as well. It does come with a good selection of heads, I just wish it came with a longer extension so that I could easily reach the high ceiling areas to de-spider them.
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It looks marvellous but it’s not for me, my thumbs are wrecked and cordless top heavy vacuums are a killer.

I have one of their other cordless vacuum, that doesn’t get used much due to the weight distribution and unfortunately it’s short run time on full power.

Bought a better battery for it but of course that means it’s heavier still.
Shame it’s a nice bit of kit!

I like Dyson products, I’m particularly fond of the pollen filtering fan and their hairdryers are lovely but on most things I lean towards Miele who test their products to the standard of 20 years worth of average use. They really do just go on and on and on.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
It looks marvellous but it’s not for me, my thumbs are wrecked and cordless top heavy vacuums are a killer.

I have one of their other cordless vacuum, that doesn’t get used much due to the weight distribution and unfortunately it’s short run time on full power.

Bought a better battery for it but of course that means it’s heavier still.
Shame it’s a nice bit of kit!

I like Dyson products, I’m particularly fond of the pollen filtering fan and their hairdryers are lovely but on most things I lean towards Miele who test their products to the standard of 20 years worth of average use. They really do just go on and on and on.
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My dyson's have just gone on and on as well...

I'm also convinced they employ a dust fairy to fill up the 'bag' full of dirt much faster than it sounds really fill up.

This cordless runs quite well. Today was the first time it actually ran out of power before I had finished.
I still have the old corded vacuum as well.
The one prior to that has only just been recycled. That one was ours before we left the UK to try to cycle around the world. I've no idea how long we had that one, but the one before that was out very first dyson vacuum cleaner, so we haven't had many. We ended up with 2 because of the international house move. We needed a vacuum cleaner rather sooner than waiting for it to be delivered by sea! The first one was purchased back in 1998.

I only replaced the current one because I needed someway of cleaning the floor better.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
My dyson's have just gone on and on as well...

I'm also convinced they employ a dust fairy to fill up the 'bag' full of dirt much faster than it sounds really fill up.

This cordless runs quite well. Today was the first time it actually ran out of power before I had finished.
I still have the old corded vacuum as well.
The one prior to that has only just been recycled. That one was ours before we left the UK to try to cycle around the world. I've no idea how long we had that one, but the one before that was out very first dyson vacuum cleaner, so we haven't had many. We ended up with 2 because of the international house move. We needed a vacuum cleaner rather sooner than waiting for it to be delivered by sea! The first one was purchased back in 1998.

I only replaced the current one because I needed someway of cleaning the floor better.
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Both of my Dysons lost suction after a very short period, I may just have had Friday afternoon machines though!
But also in full disclosure they ‘hoovered’ up a lot of stuff I wouldn’t do now, ash, dust from drilling, you know the usual vacuum cleaner killers 😂

I bought a ‘hearth hoover’ about 15 years ago for those jobs, very basic only £50 and does the job very well.
I the switch snapped only a few weeks ago and I was thrilled to see they’re still only £50!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
But also in full disclosure they ‘hoovered’ up a lot of stuff I wouldn’t do now, ash, dust from drilling, you know the usual vacuum cleaner killers 😂
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Mine have always hovered up everything. Somehow that dust fairy continues to thrive and work overtime.
 
I see the prat that is Mr Dyson, the full on outspoken advocate of Brexit who then immediately moved the majority of his operations to Singapore is cutting a quarter of the remaining UK jobs.

The a8se also tried to sue the paper that pointed out he was a hypocrite. Fortunately he lost that libel case.

Still it is a lovely hairdryer 😆😮
 
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