M a rch 29, 2000
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(£hv IJarUanù ©heeruer
Family Living
( D b s r ru r r
NEEJA
BIGGER/
Does your home pass the white gloves test?
• Spring Cleaning
the Health Smart
Way
Spring is a great tim e to clean those
forgotten germ hotspots and practice
proper cleaning procedures you can
use the rest o f the year. A fter all
germ s in the hom e are estim ated to
cause m illions o f cases o f illnesses
every year - from the com m on cold to
potentially life threatening foodbom e
illnesses. But before you start shaking
out the rugs and cleaning out the
refrigerators, check out these tips for
cleaning your hom e and be Health
Smart.
[B arbaraM . S o u le is a m e m b e ro fth e
G e o rg ia - P acific h e a lth S m art
In stitu te’s A dvisory B oard and a
registered nurse w ho specializes in
infection prevention, control and
quality m anagem ent at a hospital in
O lym pia, W ashington. She is also as
hom em aker and the m other o f two.]
T he K itchen - W arning: you about to
enter the m ost bacteria - laden room
in your hom e. N ot only are the
appliances and surfaces exposed and
dirt during regular daily use. They are
a ls o e x p o s e d to p o te n tia lly
contam inated food. Clean surfaces
with warm soapy water, then dry them
w ith paper tow els. W hich help you
w ipe up and throw aw ay the germs.
Y ou can use a disinfectant for added
p r o te c tio n . W h e n c le a n in g th e
refrigerator, scrub the inside w ith a
detergent hot w ater and then w ipe
dry w ith paper tow els. K eep in m ind
that the low est shelf o f the refrigerator
is considered a com m on breeding
ground for bacteria due to accidental
spills.
T he Bathroom - M oisture m akes your
bathroom an ideal breeding ground
Hage A5
for bacteria so it’s im portant to w ipe
every surface with a paper tow el and
disinfectant to help protect your
family from illness. W ipe your shower
curtains with a disinfectant or wash it
if is m achine w ashable. H ang the
curtain back up and dry it w ith a paper
tow el. In every day use, you can
prevent m old and m ildew on the
show er curtain by shaking it after
each use and leaving it pulled open
so m oisture can evaporate. C lean the
toilet, tub and floor with disinfectant
and w arm water. W ipe surfaces dry
w ith paper towels.
T he N ursery- Because babies have
developing im m une system s they are
especially susceptible to colds and
o th e rs illn e s s e s a n d c a n b e
endangered by person-to person or
person-to surface germ transm ission.
Spring-cleaning is the tim e to clean
toys w ith hot, soapy w ater and dry
them w ith p a p e r to w els. U se a
disinfectant for added protection.
A lso, w ipe the changing table with a
disinfectant and paper towels. D on’t
forget to do the sam e for other “hot
spots” such as the diaper pail and the
crib. A fter cleaning the nursery make
sure to w ash your hands w ith warm.
Soapy w ater and then dry them using
adisposablepapertow el. Finally (and
this sounds obvious but is so often
overlooked by new moms) rem em ber
to properly w ash your hands before
and after changing your baby then
dry hands w ith paper towels.
Living Room, Bedroom and Basement
-C le a n in g other room s in your hom e
should be m ore thorough than your
r e g u la r c le a n in g r o u tin e fo r
v a c u u m in g an d d u stin g . W h en
spring cleaning, m ove furniture to
help collect dust bunnies and expose
hidden areas that are usually m issed
during regular cleaning. If you have
a pet, you should also steam clean or
sham poo your doors to help prevent
m old and m ildew grow th. W ipe
basem ent items with paper tow els
and disinfectant to help remove germs
and throw them away. A lso, consider
throw ing aw ay w hat you d o n ’t need
- if you h av en ’t used it in over a year,
you might not need it.
Laundry Room - M oisture can be the
source o f problem s in your laundry
room so be aw are o f it. Do not leave
w et clothes in the w asher w here they
can sour and w here m ildew can form.
A lso, after rem oving clothes from the
w ashing m achine, leave the door ajar
so excess m oisture can evaporate
in stead o f being held in sid e the
m achine w here it can potentially
harbor m old. Dry your clothes in an
autom atic dryer w henever possible
to significantly reduce the num ber o f
m ic ro o rg a n ism s in th e lau n d ry .
Surface o f the w ashing m achine with
paper tow els after each use to rem ove
any spilled detergent.
T op 10 Forgotten G erm Hot spots in
the hom e
E v en th o u g h its c a lle d S p rin g -
C leaning, the process o f thoroughly
cleaning your hom e should take place
tw ice a year: in the fall and in the
spring - especially if there are any
allergies in y o u r fam ily. Spring-
C leaning is the ideal tim e to get rid o f
collections o f allergens like m old and
dust out o f your house. In the kitchen,
it’s tim e to clean out cabinets, check
food packages for tears and clean
behind the stove and the refrigerator.
But there are other, less obvious areas
that deserve extra attention. I call
them “ forgotten germ hot spots.”
W hen you finish cleaning them ask
yourself, “ Do they pass the w hite
glove test?"
1. Behind the refrigerator
2. Behind the w asher and dryer
3. Curtains and drapes
4. H ard-to-reach paintings
5. Radiators
6. C om puter keyboard/TV rem ote
control/ telephone
7. D oorknobs/light sw itched
8. W indow sills/blinds
9. Toilet: tank, handle, seat
10. G arbage bins
umbrella
FOR YoUR n
LIVING ROOM?
They d o n ’t come in XL.
So fix your roof instead.
PDC offers loans for home repairs
and improvements.
For details, call 823.3400.
PDC
PORTLAND
DEVELOPMENT
COMMISSION
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The place for cards, gifts and baskets
Think o f us fo r your
Easter needs.
1305 NE Fremont
Portland, OR. 97212
503.284.7344
tisketgifts@yahoo.com
.............
SSII 1
Seniors turn their homes into a treasure chest
■ ■ S i l 1
• High costs o f living and low rate returns
on saving threaten Miss Wise s nest-egg.
C O M TK IgLTED SrO ltY
► O l l T l »
P o RTLAN d OBSERYEB
W ithout a solution, she is facing the
sa le o f h e r ho m e - and sh e is
frightened o f her future. A financial
lifeline know n as the FH A -insured
reverse m ortgage w ill be assisting
Miss W ise turn her hom e into treasure
chest.
Piloted in 1989 on cooperation with
A A R P and currently available across
th e c o u n ty , th e F H A r e v e rs e
m o r tg a g e
p ro g ra m s
a llo w s
hom eow ners 62 years o f age or older
to securely borrow against their home
equity.
T hey receive loan proceeds in a
m anner they select and no repaym ent
is due until the hom eow ner no longer
resides in the home.
T h e r e a r e n o in c o m e , a s s e t,
em ploym ent or credit qualification.
T he p rog ram assists in d iv id u als
needing to supplem ent their incom e
by converting.
H om e equity into tax-free incom e
w hile retaining ow nership o f their
home.
“ M any older adults do not have extra
m oney for unforeseen em ergencies.
Perhaps an extra $300 a m onth gives
them peace o f m ind and allow s them
to stay in their hom e,” says Jeffrey
M o u lto n , “ T h e p ro g ra m w a s
developed so people w ould not have
to decide betw een eating or fixing
their home. The families are supportive
because they know M om ands Dad
need help, and the children may be
unable to assist financially,”
T he benefits o f this program are
num erous. T he tax-free cash that is
m ade available can be used for any
purpose. M any p articipants have
used the loan proceeds to p ay o ff
their existing m ortgages, to pay their
property taxes, for medical expenses,
to pay o ff credit cards and to m ake
hom e improvements.
Reverse m ortgage paym ents do not
affect Social Security or M edicare
benefits.
Seniors often worry that the expenses
ofh o m eo w n ersh ip w ill force them to
low er their standard o f living. T his is
a choice that m ost older hom eow ners
sim ply do not w ant to make. W ith the
rev erse m o rtg ag e program m any
seniors are able to turn their home
into a treasure chests and enjoy a
higher quality o f life.
To learn more, individuals can contact
Je ffre y M o u lto n o f the R everse
M ortgage D epartm ent at 800-950-
r. v
b u s in e s s e s
it’s Census
3297.
So, w hen your Census
fo rm arrives, fill it in
Census from page 1
have been encouraging people to
leave certain questions blank to skew
results, census officials said.
T hose w ho refuse to answ er, try to
s k e w r e s u lts o r p r o v id e fa ls e
inform ation, could face fines up to
$1,000.
»
But C ensus Bureau D irector Kenneth
Prew itt said, to his know ledge, the
D epartm ent o f Ju stice has never
p ro secu ted an y o n e w h o did not
respond.
“T here will alw ays be people w ho
choose not to take part,” said census
spokesw om an Jacquelyn Flaherty.
“It’s usually based on misinformation
about w hy it’s needed or how it’s
u sed .”
and mail it back. It's
a form of op p o rtu n ity
She said the C ensus Bureau is not
affiliated in any w ay with the FBI or
IRS, as som e people believe. The
agency doesn’t share any information
w ith law enforcem ent ortax officials.
F laherty em phasized that census
form sare confidential, and employees
w ho release census inform ation face
$5,000 fines and a year ofjail.
fo r o u r com m unity.
Census 2 0 0 0 .
This is o u r fu tu re .
D o n 't leave i t Wank.
Dome from page 1
said John A bram s, 17, a student at
C entral V alley High in Spokane w ho
traveled about 300 m iles to see it
com e dow n. “W hen people thought
o f S eattle they thought o f the Space
N eedle and the K ingdom e.”
A third o f the debris will be used to
build the S eattle S eah aw k s’ new
football stadium and the rest will be
sold as raw m ateriel for construction.
i
s a id p r o je c t s p o k e s m a n P e te
Pedersen. T he dom e, built on the
ch eap in 1976 for $67 m illio n ,
underw ent $70 m illion in ro o f repairs
in 1994 and m illions in assorted
enhancem ent p ro jects_ an d still isn ’t
paid for. T he dom e w as a necessity
in the Rainy City, but fans com plained
that the concrete stadium w as too
small for football and not intim ate
enough for baseball.
W h a t'sm o re, it leaked. And in 1994.
four 15-pound ceiling tiles crashed
into the stands ju st hours before a
M ariners'gam e. Still,m any moumed
its loss. “T his is the m agic dust o f
heroes,” said Philip Courier as he
scraped fine, gray dust from the
wi ndscreen o f a car i nto a smal 1, clear
plastic box.
*