Insect Screens

A good method for keeping insects out of the house is to install insect screens at every window and door. It's almost 100% effective.

The frame for the nettings.

They have tiny wheels to slide across when we need to open the windows.

For single windows, these two open like a door.

Window with the insect screen.

When it's dusty, all you have to do is just take them out to the bathroom and spray them with water. Leave them to dry before placing them back. I do this weekly.

I find these work so much better than the magnetic insect screens. These are stainless steel.

An Update

Today's is the 82nd day off Xyzal!

I finally fell sick in July. Caught the flu bug which was going around the Klang Valley. The last time I fell sick was one year ago. The doctor told me that it is good to finally fall sick. The immune system can be strengthened.

As a result of falling sick (also had ulcers on my tonsils at the same time, not eating and sleeping well, coughing to the point, I think my lungs were almost expelled out a few times), the reflux problem came back and I had to be on PPIs for a few days. Then it was back to building up the gut again.

Food wise, I have been able to eat small amounts of spinach, okra, broccoli and turmeric with no issues. These are high in salicylate.

I'm still taking it slow and easy! But it's good to be able to eat healthy food!

The beginning of this journey: 1000 Kilometres and Candida

The second part of this journey: Candida & Dr. Yadav

The third part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part One)

The fourth part of this journey: Pain & Rock Star No More (Part Two)

The fifth part of this journey: The New Hell Called Steroids

The sixth part of this journey: Onward, Forward, No Looking Back

The seventh part of this journey: Moving On

The eighth part of this journey: Trekking On

Dehumidifier

The dehumidifier in my laundry room.

2017 so far has been a very wet year for us. It's been raining so very frequently. When it doesn't rain, the weather is hazy with a pungent acrid burning smell in the air.

How can you dry laundry then?

Imagine the smell that it will absorb.

Imagine the DAMP smell the laundry will end up with in this damp weather.

So what to do?

Invest in a dryer!

Many will say: "The electricity bill will cost a bomb!"

Many instead choose to hang their laundry all over in their house. I read that hanging wet laundry in the house can cause problems for the lungs. A damp house can worsen an asthma attack. A damp environment can cause mold to thrive. Dust mites love a damp environment too. To read more about this, click on WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER HANG YOUR WET LAUNDRY INDOORS.

Unfortunately, this is a very normal habit for us Malaysians.

WHAT TO DO THEN?

Invest in a dehumidifier. Not those tiny boxes which you place in your wardrobe. Not dried charcoal in small bags either. It won't work with drying your clothes!

I'm talking about those huge electrical dehumidifiers which can absorb nearly 20 litres of water (or more).

This is what I have in my laundry room and in my bedroom.

You can adjust the percentage of the humidity that you want the room to reach to. I usually wash my laundry at night and then switch the humidifier on for the whole night. The next morning, the clothes are all crispy, dried, HOT and fresh smelling. The whole laundry room is HOT and DRY! The container at the bottom of the dehumidifier would be filled with water.

Some people will place this in their room/basement which are damp and place the outlet hose for the water to be drained into the bathroom. This will enable the dehumidifier to function on non-stop mode. The method which I'm using does not use the outlet hose. Once the container is filled up with water, the dehumidifier will shut off automatically.

When we first shifted in to our new place, the master bedroom was very damp. The humidity level was 80+. It was very humid and damp. I was very worried about fungus spores forming. I switched on the humidifier during the day and the air-con during the night. Over the months, the humidity dropped and it's now in the early 60s.

Drying the laundry in this manner doesn't burn a hole in the wallet compared to when using the dryer. Also the clothes last longer. I find the dryer speeds up the process of 'aging'! The clothes wear out faster.

So if you're in a dilemma on how to dry your laundry, you might want to research about dehumidifiers.

The ABCs - O is Organic (Part 1)

Everywhere you go, organic food screams out from every supermarket.

But what does organic mean?

According to the Department for Agriculture and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), *organic food is grown in a farming system which does not use man-made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and products made from or derived from GMOs are also prohibited.

*taken from HERE

One of the aims of organic agriculture is to be able to have environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production. That can be achieved by relying on crop rotation, animal and plant manures, hand weeding and biological pest control.

... to be continued

Moving Forward