"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Nothing Says Clean Like The Smell Of Bleach

There's nothing poetic about standing outside on a 90 degree day, nasty, crappy clothes on, hair stuffed under a ball cap, spraying bleach on your house.




Even though it's diluted bleach it still stings as the water travels down my arms finding whatever scrape or nick I happen to have in my own personal armor.  I am sanitized my friends!  I've got my safety goggles on so the occasional splash does nothing except make me smell like bleach.

It took me about 2 hours to spray down the exterior of the house.  I've tried the commercial house cleaner mixes they sell at the Big Box but they're just a crock.  Nothing cleans like bleach.  Gone is the 1 1/2 yrs of dirt and mold that's attached itself to my siding.  The house looks brighter and SM thinks it looks like we just painted the house!   

After bleaching, I borrowed Deb's power washer and gave the back deck and deck chairs a good squirt too.  I want to toss a protective stain on the deck boards later this week. 



After cleaning myself up (an oxymoron for sure, I can't BE any cleaner), I went out with the dogs and just enjoyed the fresh clean-ness of a pollen, dust and dirt free porch.  What a treat to get rid of all that caked on pollen.  Even Casey's feeling better! 




As an added bonus, the windows are super clean too.  All the spider webs and leaves and crap are gone.  I just need to wipe down the inside.

Nasty job, but I can't tell you how much better the air feels coming through the screens.

Am I the only one who washes the exterior of their house?  I don't see very many people do this.  Exterior mold is a big problem down here.  I just like to stay on top of it.



9 comments:

  1. Casey looks like he's having a grand time! Oh, to have a dog's life.........

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  2. That's what I need to do. I'm sick of the heat and humidity already! Actually I'm surprised we citizens are still allowed to have bleach. The doctor I used to work for told me it's the only thing that actually kills germs.

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  3. I used to wash the exterior of my house in NJ. Now I have a brick house! I do wash the exterior white window frames and sills though.

    We really need to do our deck and stain it too. That will have to wait a few weeks though.

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  4. we use power-washer on deck and sideing but I never use bleach in the house or outside as I grew up in the town that made bleach in Europe and had one too many accidents with horrific sideeffects on people. I still remember when sirens would go off and we'd have to wear masks because air turned green.

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  5. Whew, so glad to see Casey upright and smiling in that last picture! The previous pictures with him in it looked a little like he got too big a whiff and it had done him in! ;o)

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  6. I never thought it looked like Casey up and died...LOL! You kill me MP

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  7. Wow, what an interesting post! Here in the dry west, mold isn't much of a problem. It never crossed my mind that someone would spray their house with bleach!! I view it as quite toxic and hardly ever use it - and never where it would come in contact with plants or pets, or get into the soil. I guess only someone in a dry climate has the luxury of that attitude, huh? :) Power washing was a habit, though - by far the easiest way to get rid of the spider webs, dust and pollen.

    Your house looks great in the photo.

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  8. I hose down the outside of our house too. I don't use bleach though. Just water. I like to wash off the dust and dirt from the farmers plowing the fields and when the winds get to blowing the dust. It is nice when all is clean.

    @ 3Beeze Homestead

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  9. I use a mixture of bleach, pinesol, and water in the pressure spray can thingy, then hose it off. Mold up here to.

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