Harrison Kral, Author at Taste Recipes https://www.tasteofhome.com Find Recipes, Appetizers, Desserts, Holiday Recipes & Healthy Cooking Tips Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:30:06 +0000 en-US hourly 6 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://www.tasteofhome.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/TOH_Pinterest_ProfilePhoto_RedBkg.png?resize=32,32 Harrison Kral, Author at Taste Recipes https://www.tasteofhome.com 32 32 How to Effectively Disinfect Sheets https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-effectively-disinfect-sheets/ Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:30:06 +0000 http://www.tasteofhome.com/?p=1445970 Cleaning sheets is a great way to eliminate germs and bacteria. Learn how to properly disinfect them here.

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Even in normal conditions, bed sheets collect a staggering amount of germs and bacteria and should be washed at least once a week. But once they come into contact with a sick person, that laundering needs to be handled with an even higher level care and attention.

How to Handle Bed Sheets

That extra care starts with how the bed sheets are handled, even before they make it into the washing machine.

“If you have disposable gloves handy, it’s suggested that you wear those while performing these tasks,” said Kathy Turley of Home Clean Heroes. “If you don’t have gloves, be sure to thoroughly wash your hands after touching the sheets and towels, and then follow up with hand sanitizer that is at least 90 percent alcohol-based.”

Turley also recommends that people avoid placing their dirty sheets in a laundry basket, as anything that touches the sheets could be covered with any germs they carry. Germs and bacteria can survive on objects for up to a few days. So instead of adding the sheets a laundry basket, bring your sheets to the laundry room in an inside-out pillowcase.

“Why put the sheets inside a pillowcase? You want to avoid `hugging’ the sheets by carrying them in your arms/close to your body when walking to the laundry room,” said Turley.

How to Wash Bed Sheets

Once you’ve brought the sheets into the laundry room, here’s how to wash and disinfect them:

  • Empty the sheets from the pillowcase into the washing machine and then toss the pillow case in as well.
  • Before touching any of the knobs or buttons on your washing machine, remove your plastic gloves and wash your hands.
  • Wash the sheets on the highest temperature setting possible with laundry detergent and a disinfectant (more on that below).
  • Dry the sheets on high heat.

What Works As a Sheet Disinfectant?

If you’re going to use chlorine bleach to disinfect sheets, it’s important to follow the standard best practices for using bleach in the laundry. If your laundry machine has a built-in bleach dispenser, go ahead and use it. If not, dilute 3/4-cup of bleach with one quart of water and add it in five minutes into the wash cycle.

“Chlorine bleach with 5.25 percent to 6.15 percent concentration of sodium hypochlorite is an effective disinfectant,” said Dean Davies, cleaning supervisor of Fantastic Services.

If you don’t have bleach on hand, or are working with colored sheets you don’t want to ruin, Davies said that pine oil works great as an alternative disinfectant. He recommended products with as high a concentration of pine oil as possible, which will eliminate bacteria and germs most effectively.

Final Steps

There are still a few more things to do once you pull your freshly-laundered sheets out of the dryer. Quickly cycle the washing machine to eliminate the risk of any lingering germs or bacteria contaminating future loads of laundry.

“To disinfect the washing machine’s drum, simply empty the appliance, pour one cup of chlorine bleach to the empty washer drum and set the water temperature for the hottest, heavy-duty settings,” said Davies.

Finally, while your washing machine drum is cleaning itself, you might as well take the time to wash your hands again. Better safe than sorry!

Here’s how to make your bedroom incredibly comfortable.

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What Is the 2020 Color of the Year? https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/what-is-the-2020-color-of-the-year/ Fri, 06 Dec 2019 17:07:24 +0000 http://origin-www.tasteofhome.com/?p=1331468 Pantone just named its "Color of the Year" for the first year of the new decade.

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Pantone just announced its “Color of the Year” for 2020, and it’s already a classic—”Classic Blue,” that is.

Pantone 19-4052 “Classic Blue” is officially the 2020 Color of the Year, replacing 2019’s color, 16-1546 “Living Coral”. Pantone gave many reasons for the color’s selection, citing its “deep resonance,” “elegance” and “timelessness.” “Classic Blue” offers a stable foundation for home decoration that can be “easily applied across so many different materials, textures and finishes.”

Are you staying with the times or going back to these vintage kitchen color trends?

“The Pantone Color of the Year highlights the relationship between trends in color and what is taking place in our global culture at a moment in time, a color that reflects what individuals feel they need that color can hope to answer,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “As society continues to recognize color as a critical form of communication and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions, designers and brands should feel inspired to use color to engage and connect.”

A major part of Pantone’s decision to make “Classic Blue” the specific hue they think will best represent 2020 is the color’s peaceful and “reflective” tone. In their announcement, the company repeatedly calls out a need for stability and tranquility in the year to come, and they believe that Classic Blue is the tone that best lends itself to that. Incorporate Classic Blue into your kitchen makeover, and follow Google’s top 10 kitchen trends.

“We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on,” said Leatrice Eisman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Got a sudden itch to paint your kitchen cabinets? Here’s how to do it right.

The Pantone Color Institute has named a Color of the Year every year since 2000. The very first Color of the Year was Cerulean Blue, which also represented the need for stability at the turn of the millennium. Pantone hopes that the “Classic Blue” color will bring that same kind of stability as the world heads into this brand new decade.

Maybe Classic Blue will become one of these hot kitchen color trends in 2020.

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