Bookmark and Share

Home Care for the Monsoon


Given that the monsoon season lasts for a few months in India, there are many aspects that need to be looked into while considering home care needs. In fact, it is a good idea to get a professional to do an inspection of your home, old or new, prior to the monsoon and ensure that you find and fix the problems that keep recurring. Once they have been fixed, after the monsoon, you can plunge into the decoration aspect.

1. Seepage in foundation walls can be due to a leaking downspout. These problems should be corrected before the monsoon. The causes can be many, so corrective action can only be taken when you have determined the cause of the problem. Stop gap measures do not really help, as the problem is likely to recur the next year.

2. Termites are a major problem wherever water leakage or high humidity levels are a feature. They would require professionals to do a really complete job, but you would need to check the whole house for any signs of termite infestation, which tend to increase during the rainy season.

3. Some easy do-it-yourself remedies for woodwork. Put Camphor in your cupboards, it takes away the moisture and protects your clothes. Neem leaves are also effective against silver fish, which are a common problem in the rainy season. Cloves are an equally effective remedy.

4. Hardwood floors need maintenance during the rainy season. Make sure they are free from moisture and wax them to protect them. Moisture content in hardwood floors tends to make them warp.

5. Carpets, especially wall-to-wall carpets need to be vacuumed regularly with cleaners that will take away not only the dirt but also the moisture that seeps into the fibers. A good carpet cleaner will also keep them from getting a musty smell. Rugs should be rolled up during the rainy season, as they just get dirty if you use them. Ideally if you can wrap them properly in polyethylene sheets they are saved from water damage and insect infestation as well.

6. Waterproofing of the roof is essential before the onset of monsoon. Check that the drains are not blocked with leaves. Ensure that water is directed away from the foundation. Check the underside of roofs for leakage or water condensation.

7. Walls need to be checked for breakages and seepage. The exterior masonry should be repaired well before the onset of the rains. Paint on the interior walls should be checked for flaking.

8. Ventilation is an important aspect of home care during monsoons. Make sure there is enough cross-ventilation and fresh air coming into your home, otherwise the humidity levels will cause a general feeling of dampness.

9. Tile joints in bathrooms should be checked and kept sealed, especially in apartment complexes.

10. Keeping areas clean can prevent mildew and by ensuring that the moisture content in the air is kept as low as possible. Air conditioners and dehumidifiers are a good way to reduce the humidity levels inside a home, but the best way to protect upholstery and rugs is sunlight. A good sunning is the best way to keep moisture from creating problems.

11. An investment you can make this year is a tumble dryer. In a country with such an extended monsoon, we should use tumble dryers, not only to ensure that our clothes do not smell because of moisture trapped in the fibres, but hanging clothes inside the house to dry is one of the reasons why the moisture content in so many homes is so many homes is so high. While its wet outside, you must think of every conceivable way to keep the inside of your home DRY. That solves half the problems that are associated with a prolonged rainy season.

12. Any major work in the home should be done either before the monsoon or after. That is the first basic rule of home décor.

Rekha I Nambiar is an interior designer based in New Delhi,India. She runs her own business in interiors,furniture and home furnishings.

Her work may be viewed at http://www.id-home-furnishings.com

Her blog is http://www.20six.co.uk/furnishinghub

 RELATED ARTICLES
The Advantages of Wall Wine Racks
Wall wine racks make it easy to store wine in tight spaces. Many wall wine racks are hanging wine racks. These can only hold a few wine bottles, but cost under $50 and have slots to hang stemware. Some, for about $20, can be attached under kitchen cabinets. One precaution: the kitchen is not the best place to store wines. Wines should be kept in cool, dark areas without strong odors.
Pot Racks - Make a Statement In Your Kitchen
One of the most beautiful, versatile and efficient accessories that you could incorporate into your kitchen is the pot rack. The addition of a custom pot rack brings style, grace and organization to your kitchen's workspace, and makes a stylish, sophisticated statement that is unsurpassed by other accessories.
Crafty Country Decorating Style Ideas
If you've ever seen Frank's decorations on TLC's Trading Spaces, then you know all about the country style of design. From stenciled drawings to wooden cows to ruffled curtains, country design has all the frills you might expect from our dear friend, Frank. When I was a little girl, my grandparents sold woodwork at the flea markets all over Tennessee and Kentucky. We had wooden calendars with dolls or bears painted on them. We had quilt racks with hearts. We had every crafty country decoration imaginable. Although I thought at one time that you could just toss all these things into a room and have style, I've learned since that there are very definite ways to create crafty country rooms that men are still willing to enter.
Beautifying Your Home
"Learn how to be happy with what you havewhile you pursue all that you want." --Jim Rohn
All You Need to Know About Murphy Bed Hardware
The Murphy bed, once the best way to fit into a small one-room apartment, has become a clever way to expand the functionality of a homeowner's living space-allowing a room to become a home office or studio, while, at the same time, to be a bedroom for the occasional guest. The cabinetry surrounding the bed can be as ornate or simple as the homeowner prefers, and can utilize any variety of wood, but the hardware that makes the unit a Murphy bed is basically similar in purpose from one bed to another.Murphy bed hardware performs the same function, no matter how old or new the bed is. This hardware supports, moves, and positions the mattress, allowing it to be easily pulled into place horizontal to the floor for use, or lifted, bedding intact, to hide in its recessed cavity, safely locked away.Buying the Murphy bed hardware as a complete kit is the logical way to complete the creation of a custom Murphy bed or to refurbish an old one. The kit will consist of all hardware to support the mattress and fix it to the wall, as well as locking legs, a track for the bed to pivot on, and the actual mechanism that lifts the bed. All the hardware will be in the package, and will fit together and work together-avoiding potential problems of not finding that necessary rail, bolt or screw that will fit and that will take the strain of frequent use. Fortunately, murphy bed hardware is available in different sizes and price ranges, as the bed can be for a twin, full, queen or king mattress - or for a horizontal mount as well as the standard vertical mount. Make sure that you assess the type of murphy bed that you have or want to build when considering these options.Murphy beds are a great way to maximize the efficiency of your home or apartment. By customizing your murphy bed hardware, you can also get the price look-and-feel you want.
A Look at Shiatsu Massage Chairs
The term "shiatsu" refers to a form of Asian massage. This traditional massage uses techniques of digging deep into the muscle tissue to ease out knots and relieve tension. The shiatsu technique can involve patting, rotating, sweeping and vibrating the affected areas. Another popular technique is the "barefoot shiatsu" in which the therapist walks on the back of the patient to remove tension.
Designer Shower Curtains
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to make over your bathroom, consider buying a new shower curtain. Shower curtains are available in a variety of styles, materials, and prices. Shower curtains can be whimsical, floral, traditional, or a host of other styles. And, of course, they can be designer.
Fireplace Candelabras - The Easy Alternative To Burning Wood
It wasn't that long ago that the fireplace was the main source of heat in most every home. The hearth was a place for families to gather so that they could enjoy each other's company while they read, played games or worked on a hobby. And let's face it. Houses in those days were cold. If you weren't in front of the fireplace, you could be quite chilly.
Decorating with Table Fountains
With unlimited possibilities available, table top fountains can add understated beauty or grandeur to any room in your house. Fountains are a worthy investment even for those who hesitate to spend money on aesthetics. Beyond eye-catching appeal, you'll find that fountains have practical health benefits.
Where to Find Cuckoo Clock Parts
In some places, one might be able to find old men bent over tables with all of the knowledge, expertise and inventory of parts that are necessary to fix a broken or malfunctioning cuckoo clock. For those of us who don't have the time or desire to seek out such eccentric craftsmen, the Internet has become a haven for locating and purchasing any of the hundreds of individual minute pieces that make up a Black Forest cuckoo clock. You may find, however, that purchasing small replacement parts and having them shipped to your house is more expensive than the total cost of replacing your worn cuckoo clock with a new one.
How to Decorate Spaces for People
When it comes to decorating your home, forget about the empty, lifeless rooms you see in interior design magazines and books. Instead, you should concentrate on designing all of the rooms in your home as backdrops for the people who will be living in those spaces. Here are a few simple techniques for designing dynamic spaces:
Contemporary Floor Lamps - Add Functional Modern Lighting!
If you are thinking about updating the look of a room in your home consider the addition of a contemporary floor lamp. There are several types of floor lamps designed to provide decorative and task lighting to your home and any room is fair game for adding a lamp. Matching contemporary floor lamps to modern home décor gives way to many light choices. From torchieres that provide wonderful uplighting to lampshades that cast useful light downward, the choices are endless. Other floor lamp styles are: swing arm (moveable), gooseneck (head moves), halogen (brightest light), tree (3 individual heads), and adjustable (adjust the height). Adding a new floor lamp gives you the additional light you desire without the hassle of rewiring your house for a new light fixture. And they can also be easily repositioned should you change your mind about the original location.
Transitional Lighting - What Is It?
Anyone perusing through the websites looking for lighting fixtures to decorate their homes with may be tempted to choose a style known as Transitional Lighting. The smooth curves and solid foundation of the fixtures of the Transitional Lighting style make it a popular choice with designers today. But for anyone trying to actually define Transitional Lighting for a friend might be surprised to find that there are few words to describe this elusive style.
Why Silk Plants Instead Of The Real Thing?
Should I buy silk plants and flowers for my home or office or go with real ones? You should take into account a few factors that may help make your decision an easier one. Along with todays technology making silk plants look more lifelike than ever, below you will find ten reason to pick silk plants and flowers over the real thing.
Discount Rugs - Buying a Discount Area Rug
A quality area rug for your home can be an expensive proposition. A fine Oriental rug, for instance, can easily set you back several thousand dollars. Rather than settling for a cheap alternative, you can find top quality rugs at discount prices if you shop carefully, both online and off. If you do, though, be sure to educate yourself as to the characteristics of the rug that you're buying to avoid paying far too much for a cheap imitation rather than getting a genuine bargain on the real thing.
A Review of Popular Massage Chairs
With so many massage chairs available on the market, where does one begin to choose the best massage chair? Several online sources are available that give consumer massage chair reviews. Perhaps a good way to begin your search is to use Google for the query "massage chair reviews". This is a good tool to begin your search to finding the best massage chair.
Upholstery Upkeep
Upholstered armchairs and sofas are comfortable and attractive additions to any home. When neglected, however, upholstery can quickly turn into next year's yard sale's featured item. Help the upholstered furniture in your dining room, living room, family room and bedroom last for years and years, by getting to know the ABC's of upholstery preventative and corrective care.
The ABC of Being a Good Interior Designer
It may seem that all you need to be a good interior designer is a sense of aesthetics and a flair for design. That is a good start, yes, but it gets you about five feet forward in terms of your career. The first thing to do is to turn a latent, in-born talent into an effective tool. Just because you can figure out what looks nice and what doesn't does not make you a good designer or decorator. You may know how to use light and colour, how to synthesize architectural elements with design details and how to integrate space and design, but that is about five percent of the work. Most of the real work begins when you come to the execution.
Decorating with Brains
Did I get your attention? Sorry, I just couldn't resist!When I was a little girl, we called them "brains". We would gather them into huge piles and either throw them into the woods or throw them at each other.
Do You Really Want The Ceiling Fan Above The Bed?
I love the decorative look of a ceiling fan as much as the next person, but there are things to consider when you put one in your house; especially the bedroom. Ceiling fans make wonderful decorating and utilitarian statements in a room. You can look at the fan and see how beautiful it matches the décor of the room, and then turn it on and realize how comfortable you can feel in the winter or summer. Ceiling fans will circulate the air anywhere at different speeds and look beautiful at the same time. Some fans have light kits that come with them, or you can install them another time. Other fans don't have lights; they are just there to look great and circulate the air.

© Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013