Category Archives: I’m a slob

August 19, 2016 · 5:04 pm

Power Washing, Part II

professional-powerwashing.com

professional-powerwashing.com

If I were a younger person, I would still be outside with the power washer. As it is, I spent an hour and a half today cleaning stuff, then came inside and fell asleep in my recliner. As I type, my jeans have dried mud on the legs and I have a thin film of ‘stuff’ all over me.

I did the back concrete sidewalk today, and got a good start on our deck. Since they’re both 30 years old and have NEVER been power washed, I’m not sure you can imagine what I’m dealing with.

I’m going to try to finish the deck tomorrow, and then I’ll post before and after pictures.

I honestly can’t believe what a power washer can do. I may be becoming addicted….

Now, up for a shower, clean clothes, and I’ll start dinner.

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July 20, 2016 · 1:48 pm

Pressured to Clean!

My husband thinks I’ve gone off the deep end on using our new pressure washer. He may be right, but it’s really satisfying to be able to clearly see where you’ve been. :0)

Here are some before and after pictures. (I realize I’m showing you clearly what a slob I am, but I think you already knew that.)

preswashingpropanetank2

1000 gallon propane tank before.

cleanpropanetank

Propane tank after.   (I’m thinking of painting this, since the paint is starting to peel. I’m looking for something unique, or at least very colorful).

 

concretebeforeandafter1

Concrete pad in front of our garage mid-cleaning.

drivewaypad

I finally finished it last night. (My husband then mowed the back yard, spraying it with grass….. :0(  )

 

concretebeforeandafter3

Front sidewalk before.

frontsidewalk

Front sidewalk after.

 

frontporch

I didn’t get a pic of the front porch and pad before.

I’m taking a day off from the pressure washing today, since I’m old and my body is telling me I need to spread this out a bit more. I plan to tackle the back sidewalk next.

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July 18, 2016 · 1:08 pm

Whew!

My husband and I just spent about 45 minutes cleaning up at the bottom of our driveway. In probably the hottest part of the day. (97 degrees F at 55% humidity=114 degrees F (give or take)).  We lopped off branches that were encroaching on the driveway, weed whacked, and then sprayed with weed killer.

I had to compliment my husband once again for good planning when we built the house. We ran an electrical line down the driveway and put in an electrical box toward the bottom. This allows us to take a long electrical cord and hook up tools like the weed whacker, chain saw, etc. Without power down there, we’d be forced to use only gas-powered or battery-powered tools, or run 6 or 7 100 foot lines together to make it down to the bottom.

We’re HOPING that this effort will make the bottom of our driveway look as if someone actually lives here and cares what the place looks like!

Meanwhile, we each have a cold bottle of water to glug and we’ll do some serious resting. AHHHHHH!

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July 17, 2016 · 10:59 am

The Pressure is On!

pressurewashingpropanetank

I’ve decided that our pressure washer is addictive. I am absolutely amazed at how well it works, and how much more you notice when there’s a chance to do something about it.

 

preswashingpropanetank2

We worked more on the driveway pad yesterday (a several-day project) and then tackled the 1000 gallon propane tank yesterday afternoon. We were chased off before we were really finished by storm clouds, but it already looks MUCH better than it did.

 

propanetank.2jpg

I had used several different kinds of cleaners, along with a big long car brush we have, as well as a good scrub brush I have, but couldn’t even phase the grime. This is a sticky type of stuff. We sprayed the tank with soap, let it work for about 5 minutes, and then started with the water. Truly amazing.

This afternoon and evening I’m going to continue on the driveway pad and see if I can get that finished.

WARNING!  Pressure washers are highly addictive!

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July 16, 2016 · 11:22 am

Under Pressure

Blue Ocean Pressure Washer

Blue Ocean Pressure Washer

We have wanted a pressure washer for several years now. We finally decided to go ahead and get one. After reading a LOT of reviews on the net, we bought this one. It was delivered yesterday. (Did I tell you I love the net and UPS?)

My husband put things together and – always eager to try a new toy, hooked it up to the hose and electricity and started to blast away.

He wanted to blast the dirt he couldn’t sweep up around the edges of the driveway pad. It looks like it’ll do a great job on that.

I wanted to wash the vinyl above the garage door and the top of the garage door. I was amazed at how much better it looked after no more than a minute or two!

I happened to blast a part of our driveway pad and couldn’t believe the difference.

concretebeforeandafter1

I’m a crappy housekeeper, but I never thought I would be grossed out and embarrassed about dirty concrete…. On the left is ‘before.” On the right, ‘after.’

 

concretebeforeandafter2

I went along the edge where the pad meets the garage. You can easily see where I stopped…

 

concretebeforeandafter3

I’m going to fire up the pressure washer when we get back from errands. My goal for the day is to get the concrete done – sidewalk and porch in front, sidewalk in back, and the rest of the driveway pad.

We also cleaned our trash cans from all over the house and feel like we have a new lease on life. What a wonderful tool!

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July 12, 2016 · 4:57 pm

My Day

products.geappliances.com

products.geappliances.com

This is what our fridge looks like, except ours is black.

We bought it about 7 years ago, and have been really happy with it.

Lately, though, the gasket in the freezer at the bottom has become brittle on the sides, allowing air to get in and causing ice to form. We found a repairman who is ordering another gasket for us as soon as it arrives. Today, though, it was all iced up and desperately needed attention.

We got our styrofoam coolers down from the attic, spreading them out all over the kitchen. I emptied the freezer, tossing out things that were old or we don’t eat anymore. Then we defrosted the freezer that usually doesn’t have to be defrosted, using a hair dryer, a fan, and keeping the drawers open.

We just finished cleaning it all up a few minutes ago. I’m going to start returning things to the freezer in a bit.

While we were waiting, I cleaned out the rest of the fridge, finding FOUR jars of cherries. My husband tried to look blameless, but didn’t pull it off. :0)  I know have the regular part of the fridge cleaned and rearranged.

It’s too bad that it takes something like the freezer filling up with ice in order for us to do a thorough cleaning. I think almost anything takes priority…

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