Household appliances are at the center of comfort in day to day life. Think about it for a moment; before appliances, many of the everyday tasks that are taken for granted took much longer. Making toast actually required firing up the oven, buttering a pot, and keeping an eye on the bread while it cooked. Vacuuming simply wasn’t possible; rather than carpet, homes would be equipped with household rugs that would be carried outside and beaten free of dust. Refrigerators and the latest state of the art vacuum sealing technology make it easy to store food for much, much longer than you would be able to otherwise. It saves money; think about how much you’d spend if your food spoiled within a day or two, or even within a few hours. Your diet would probably be very different.
Outside of kitchen appliances, there are a few others that often go overlooked. Think about life without a clock or a toilet. The modern plumbing system is a far cry from early attempts to create an easy waste disposal system within the home, but for much of human existence no such thing existed.
Finding the Best Appliances
When shopping for appliances,keep an eye out for their brand, their age, and how much they’ve been used. A rarely-used household appliance from a restaurant might be perfectly fine, since its small size would have limited how useful it was to the business. On the other hand, the same appliance in a household of five would likely have been heavily used and require a lot of repair.
You can often look for household appliances in yard sales, thrift stores, and more. You can even turn to Craigslist. There is usually no need to pay full retail price for these items, as many people sell theirs when they move or no longer have a use for them.
Effective Cleaning
One of the biggest impacts appliances have on the modern home is cleaning. Through appliances, the act of cleaning a home has become much easier. However, there are probably a few things you can do to streamline your cleaning process and speed the task up further, freeing more time out of your day to simply relax.
The three appliances with the most impact are vacuum cleaners, washing machines, and dryers. The latter two make laundry a mere afterthought, compared to the whole-day task it used to be. The number of options available for washing clothes is enormous, and it takes next to no supervision. The hardest part lies in actually loading the machine and folding the clothes afterwards.
Vacuuming regularly can make the task easier. Pay attention to the knob on your vacuum cleaner itself; by adjusting its setting to the proper length for your carpet or hardwood floors, you can make the process faster. Find a pattern to follow that allows you to cover every inch of floor on the first pass, and cleaning your home should take no more than an hour or two. You could even invest in smaller, handheld vacuums for those hard to reach areas like stairs and attics.
Other appliances that can speed things up include swiffer-style mops, where the liquid is contained within the mop itself. Don’t forget about steam cleaners; once you have vacuumed the floor thoroughly,it’s a good idea to steam it. The heat and pressure of the cleaner will provide a much deeper clean that pulls out stuck-in dirty the vacuum itself might not be able to reach.
Choosing the Right Vacuum
When it comes to vacuum cleaners, there are many different kinds to choose from. Selecting the most appropriate type for your home will make cleaning an absolute breeze, freeing up more time out of your busy schedule for you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the day.
The two main types of vacuums are uprights and canisters. With an upright vacuum, you push it; this is the most commonly used type, and the one you’re most familiar with. A canister is pulled behind you as you clean, similar to how a steam cleaner works.
While it’s important to know the differences between the two, the most important factor is this: upright vacuums are most effective at cleaning the majority of carpeting types. This will be the kind of vacuum cleaner you need to invest in. Choosing one with a variety of attachments can allow you to access those hard to reach areas for a more thorough cleaning; for instance, a hose attachment with a narrow mouth can get behind panels and vents.
Some vacuums are better at cleaning longer carpets than short carpets, and vice versa. Take the time to evaluate your home and decide on what model would be most effective for your situation. Choosing the right vacuum can make cleaning much easier, but choosing the wrong model can add additional headache to your life that cold be avoided with a bit of research.
