Hello there and welcome to our monthly feature of all kinds of tips.
We at the business desk are pleased to bring you our monthly feature of a plethora of tips that cover a wide range of topics.
All of our tips are designed to help you save time, cut down on your research, and help you get ahead.
So go ahead and read on.
This week we bring you our monthly tips.
It’s what we do for a living! We help you to help yourself!
Enjoy!
From the business desk team at https://www.sterlingcreations.com.
Follow us on Twitter @accessibleworld
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Helpful tips for September 2022
In this issue:
General tips
Articles of the day
* Uses For Alka-Seltzer
From the pages of Donna’s travel diary
award winning sight loss coach and author
* Traveling according to Covid
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General tips
Courtesy of the research team at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca
Scams of the month:
Before giving you our scam tips of the month, here are some very valueable tips.
You need to remember that scams come in the following formats:
As emails, as phone calls both recorded and via a live caller, and o yes! It can even show up at your door and in your mailbox.
And now they are targeting us through texts being sent to our cell phones.
Before giving you the latest scams making the rounds; we have some do nots to share with you.
Do not respond to emails that look strange to you.
Do not download attachments from unknown senders.
Do not share your username and password to your online banking and any other online payments facilities with anyone.
Do not give out any banking or personal details on the phone to unknown callers.
Do not pay any attention to threats from automated phone recordings or from live persons with regard to your credit card or that you owe money to any revenue agency.
Do not entertain any offers either via email or by phone from senders and callers offering incredible service packages as they may pertain to cable and tv services, prizes that you have won, or any sort of any type of service package.
Do not answer the door to unknown callers.
Take extra caution to make sure that the details of your credit cards and debit cards are fully protected when you make payments at restaurants or at stores, pharmacies, and elsewhere.
Do not enter your password for Facebook or Twitter in response to a text request on your cell phone.
The same if you are asked for your Apple ID.
Do not fall prey to a text message telling you that your banking details have been compromised online.
Some useful tips on Alexa
Courtesy of Donna
A.) For a dash of fun, ask Alexa for a spicy joke.
Just say, “Alexa, tell me a spicy joke.”
B.) Now you can anticipate potential rain or snow occurring later in the day.
Just say, “Alexa, turn on rain and snow alerts.”
C.) Did you know Alexa can set a music timer? Just ask for music — or nature sounds — for a set period of time, and she’ll stop when the time is up.
Just say, “Alexa, play nature sounds for 30 minutes.”
D.) Ask Alexa to play podcasts from your choice of provider, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SiriusXM, Pandora, and Audible:
Just say, “Alexa, play a meditation podcast.”
E.) Did you know Alexa is Multilingual? Alexa will respond to your question in the language you spoke:
Just say, “Alexa, speak Spanish.”
With a huge thanks to Melanie Mama Peach
1) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom: Ceramic Tile:
* Turtle Wax (car wax) is an excellent tile cleaner and refinisher. Rub in well with a soft cloth, let stand for 10 minutes. Do not let it dry too thoroughly. Polish with a clean cloth or better yet, buff with an electric buffer. Your tiles will sparkle like new.
* Try cleaning with a solution of sal soda concentrate, the strength depending on the extent of the soil. To the stubborn cracks, apply the sal dry with a stiff brush.
* Clean the recessed spaces between tiles with an ordinary typewriter eraser or rub with a white nail pencil.
* Make a paste of baking soda and bleach and scrub with a small brush.
* Also, before you start cleaning the bathroom walls, fill the tub with the hottest tap water available. Dirt loosened by steam will come off faster.
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2) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom: Clogged Shower Head
* If your shower head is clogged from lime and mineral deposits, try boiling it in 1/2 cup white vinegar and 1 quart of water for 15 minutes or so. For plastic shower heads, soak in a hot vinegar and water solution.
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3) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom:
To Remove Mildew From Shower Curtains
* To prevent mildew on shower curtains, soak in a solution of salt water before hanging them for use.
* Use baking soda to remove mildew from a small area.
* For more extensive stains, wash in hot suds, followed by a rubbing with lemon juice. Dry in the sun.
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4) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom: Two Excellent Cleaners
* To save time and money while providing the best shine possible to your bathroom fixtures, use an old cloth which has been slightly dunked in kerosene. Kerosene removes scum from the fixtures, including the outside of the toilet bowl. The odor will only remain for a few minutes.
* Spray tile and fixtures with Spray & Wash (laundry soil and stain remover) liberally. Rub with cloth for a beautiful shine.
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5) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom:
Shower Stall Film
* Rub lightly with a plain piece of dry fine steel wool (not the soap filled variety). Try a patch first to be sure it isn’t scratching your tile. If it is, you should use a finer piece of steel wool. As you scour the tile, you will see the scum coming right off. Wash down after the job is completed.
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6) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom:
Shower Stall Film
* Rub lightly with a plain piece of dry fine steel wool (not the soap filled variety). Try a patch first to be sure it isn’t scratching your tile. If it is, you should use a finer piece of steel wool. As you scour the tile, you will see the scum coming right off. Wash down after the job is completed.
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7) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom: Other Bathtub And Sink Cleaners
* Lighter fluid will usually remove the most stubborn dark stains.
* If your bathtub has yellowed, rub with a solution of salt and turpentine to restore the whiteness.
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8) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom: Grimy Shower Mat
* Clean with a small brush dipped in kerosene and warm water.
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9) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom:
Removing Rust Stains
* Rub with a paste of Borax and lemon juice.
* Make a paste of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide. Spread over the rust stain and then add a drop or two of household ammonia. Allow this to remain in place for 2 to 3 hours.
* Rust on the tile will usually yield to kerosene.
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10) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints
For The Bathroom:
Toilet Rings
* Rub with a paste of Borax and lemon juice.
* Make a paste of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide. Spread over the rust stain and then add a drop or two of household ammonia. Allow this to remain in place for 2 to 3 hours.
* rub with a fine grade of sandpaper. If the rings are years old, try wet sandpaper, available at hardware stores.
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11) Best Of Helpful Hints: The Best Of Hints For The Bathroom:
Glass Shower Doors
* For soap and water marks, rub with a sponge dampened in white vinegar.
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Articles of the day
Chosen by the Business Desk team
Uses For Alka-Seltzer
1. Clean a toilet.
Drop in 2 tablets, wait 20 minutes, brush, and flush. The citric acid and effervescent action clean vitreous china.
2. Clean a vase.
To remove a stain from the bottom of a glass vase or cruet, fill with water and drop in 2 tablets.
3. Polish jewelry.
Drop 2 tablets into a glass of water and immerse the jewelry for 2 minutes.
4. Clean a thermos bottle.
Fill the bottle with water, drop in 4 tablets, and let soak for an hour (or longer, if necessary).
5. Remove burned-on grease from a pot or pan.
Fill the pot or pan with water, drop in 6 tablets, let soak for 1 hour, then scrub as usual.
6. Unclog a drain.
Clear the sink drain by dropping 3 Alka-Seltzer tablets down the drain followed by a cup of Heinz White Vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then run the hot water.
7. Get short-term relief from nicotine withdrawl symptoms.
As long as you’re not on a low-sodium diet or have peptic ulcers, drink 2 tablets dissolved in a glass of water at every meal.
8. Soothe insect bites.
Dissolve 2 tablets in a glass of water, dip a cloth into the solution, and place the cloth on the bite for 20 minutes.
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From the pages of Donna’s diary
Traveling according to Covid
I think that Covid/Pandemic restrictions or requirements are going to be with us for the foreseeable future whether or not we want to admit it and for a blind/vision impaired traveler it would mean that we as a community need to remember certin important things.
Here are some of the important things that I believe we need to keep in our mind as we travel.
Masks; we need to remember to wear them and to keep in mind that communicating through a mask will be a challenge as we struggle to make ourselves heard and to hear what others are communicating to us
Social distancing; if we travel on our own it will continue to be a challenge for us and we would need to ask for some additional help from agents and customer service reps.
Hand sanitizing; it may be best for us to bring along our own hand sanitizers so that we would not need to ask for assistance to locate the public hand sanitizers.
Bookings; when making our bookings and whether or not we travel alone or with a sighted partner, we need to ensure that airline, rail, and bus companies are aware that we are blind/vision impaired and that we would need additional assistance as per the covid/pandemic restrictions/requirements. There are some companies whose restrictions/requirements may not be as strict as others so we need to be prepared.
I’m Donna J. Jodhan enjoying my travels.
To learn more about me as a sight loss coach and author visit
http://www.donnajodhan.com
On your next trip you could enrich your down time with some of my audio mysteries. Take them with you wherever you go!
In the car, on the plane, on the bus or train, at the beach, anywhere!
Affordable, portable, (computer or i device) and you could either purchase or Subscribe for unlimited access to my library at www.donnajodhan.com/store.html
and you can now take advantage of our free downloads here.
Follow me on Twitter @accessibleworld and at author_jodhan
And like me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/donnajodhan and at www.facebook.com/authordonnajodhan