Spring Cleaning Tips & Tricks Print

• Jennifer shares events from the Green Living Magazine & congratulates Cottonwood for winning the 2015 Sustainable Economic Growth City of the Decade Award. 

• Romey shares several festivals and events from Tucson to Flagstaff and all across Arizona.

• John Wayne Days, Wine In The Pines, Native American Pow Wow....something for everyone this month. 

• We discuss the winning entries for our "Wildflower Photo" Contest!

• We're also giving away an Evaporative Air Cooler from Honeywell Industries!  We give it away later in the show!

John Jay from Harper's Nurseries & Landscaping Company is here to take questions about your yard! 
*It's the first measurable rain on June 5th ever recorded in Phoenix!

Tip of The Week: Fertilize! Fertilize! Fertilize!  Bermuda Lawns are taking forever with the unseasonably cooler temps across Arizona. Weeds & insects are thriving with the moisture too.
**Rosie loves this website that tracks rain stations across Arizona.

Julie Murphee from the Arizona Farm Bureau joins us too!  She makes us hungry as usual with her recipes you can find at Fill Your Plate site. She shares some corn from Freeman's Farms!   Romey and Julie discuss the benefits of watermelon. Find more info here!

Caller:

• John - He got rid of spurge and now has large bare areas in his yard and wants to know what he can plant to fill the area?

Recommendation - He can plant the Bermuda seed right now (John thought it might be too late in the season) or even lay new sod to match the rest of his lawn.

*Reminder that Grandma's Farms in Phoenix is selling sweet corn! 

Last weekend the Arizona Giant Pumpkin Growers held it's first official weigh-in event and the winner, Dean Baker joins the show to talk about his new state record pumpkin!

• Record Weights?
• How long does it take to grow?
• Space Needed to grow a giant pumpkin?
• Transporting thousand pound pumpkins.

*Rosie's key to growing Harper's Nurseries Notoriety.....Giant Pumpkin version of Punkin Chunkin!

Callers:

• Dick - His orange tree looks healthy but this year they are not turning orange and staying green.......

Recommendation - The color of the skin doesn't have anything to do with the fruit's color and with the mild winter, that might be the cause but it's nothing to be concerned about if the tree looks healthy. The cooler temps cause the fruit to change color.

*How do you decide if fruit is ripe if the color isn't a determining factor? We discuss citrus and Julie shares tricks to determining if watermelon is ready to harvest.  Find Julie's recipe here. 

*Jennifer shares a fun summer treat with Watermelon, fresh ginger and mint blended with ice and frozen. Sounds delicious and refreshing!

*We discuss higher egg prices and the factors causing it. Luckily, Hickman Family Farms isn't effected and are a major egg provider in Arizona.

We discuss different ways to prepare sweet corn and if you want to search different recipes by ingredient, click on this link at Fill Your Plate website.

Canning and Freezing corn for the rest of the year.

Jay wraps up tips for the week on keeping the yard clear of weeds and insects.

Thanks to Jay from Harper's Nurseries & Landscaping Company and Julie with the Arizona Farm Bureau for joining us today!

Today's topic is "Tricks on Tough Spring Cleaning Jobs" and we discuss the gross places in your home that need some attention....Nasty!

Rosie takes some time out to discuss the home buying market and how the mixed message can be confusing.   Listen for what Rosie thinks!

Caller:

• Steve - He has knotty wood throughout his home along with 8 foot doors and his wife would like the stain to be a little darker and isn't sure how to do it. He keeps getting different options and wants to know our preference.

Recommendation - Staining with a spray requires taping off the areas and is a lot more work involved. Depending on the look they're going for, it could require a sanding sealer, then a stain and finally a sealer. Rag applied staining is easier to control. Add more on lighter areas...less on darker spots.  

Caller:

• Robert - He's lived here for decades and never had an issue with bugs or pests at his home, but in the last 2 months his house has been taken over by fleas and he's lost after trying several methods to eliminate them. He added screens recently...is that how they're getting in? How should he "tighten up his home?"

Recommendation - With the unusually rainy season, pests are thriving at record numbers according to Rosie-Certified Bug experts,  5 Star Pest Control in Tucson & Blue Sky Pest Control in Phoenix.  They are carried in through hosts, not usually the windows. Get to a pet store and get a carpet cleaner and eliminator, plus find bug proof liners from Bed, Bath & Beyond too. Romey recommend Bonide's Home Guard Product he can find at Summer Winds Nursery.

Jennifer'sCleaning Tip #1: Don't wear your shoes inside the house or go barefoot, either. Oils from roads add grease and dirt, plus rocks in shoes scratch up floors too.

Callers:

• Florence - She bought an AC unit 3 years ago.  They just had it serviced for the 1st time and they charged the unit. A week later it isn't blowing cool area and they came back out. They say that there is a hole in the coil and they want to charge another $850+ after $250 last week.

Recommendation - This sounds very very suspicious and the warranty should be covered. Alarm Bells are ringing in Rosie's head. She needs to call a different company, like Integrity Air Conditioning & Heating, Knight Air Conditioning or Reeis.  

• Andrew -He just bought a home and they want to move the furnace out of their kitchen. It's 10 years old now and the contractor is recommending that he buy a new furnace instead of moving the old unit. How long should a furnace last?

Recommendation - A furnace lasts much longer than an AC unit and 10 years isn't that old. Rosie recommends calling Dave at Intermountain Plumbing, Mechanical & Solar.

Register to win the Sanderson Ford Arizona Staycation!!!!

Thanks to Hassayampa Inn for becoming a Staycation lodging partner!

You could win a trip to The Train during the Christmas holiday!

Rosie fires Romey & Jennifer after their unsympathetic reaction to his broken ribs! (not really, they're family after all)


Caller:

• John - Water is accumulating by his garage door and sneaking in during heavy rains. Does he need to tear out and regrade the driveway?

Recommendation - He can call A-Authentic Garage and they can install a glue-down threshold that will keep most water out and should be a good enough seal to keep out the amount he's talking about. Start there before spending thousands on a new driveway. If the driveway needs to be replaced, install pavers!

**Bruce, founder of the JAWS, the Just Add Water System, joins us from Ohio to talk about his innovative and green cleaning products.

• The history of JAWS
• It's a family business.
• It's American Made and Bruce is passionate about this. He'll get you fired up!
• JAWS had 3rd Party Researchers verify the environmental impact reduction they claim. It saves on several truck loads and money!

• Learn about the different product lines; Glass Cleaner, Shower/Daily Cleaner, Hardwood & Kitchen Cleaner/De-greaser.
• Environmentally friendly products keep your home healthy & clean. 
• Get rid of streaks in showers and on all surfaces of your home.

Mike plays Creedence Clearwater Revival and gets to keep his job!

Rosie sets up our contest to give a Honeywell Evaporative Cooler!

Caller:

• Jim - He's researching installing showers and toilets on below-grade areas. Is this something he should even be considering?

Recommendation - They install these in mountain side home all the time.  Major downfall (pun intended) is when something goes wrong with pumps, it's flowing down hill and back in his home. Septic tanks are designed to block waste from flowing backup into the home.  He can call Diamond Sky Construction for help.

*Jim also wanted to thank JLC Enterprises for the great work they recently finished up at his house.

Jennifer's Cleaning Tip #3:  This one is from Josh at Clearco Window & Carpet Cleaning.  Don't hose your windows down with the garden hose. This leaves a residue on the windows if you don't wipe it down immediately.  Orrr.....spoil yourself and have Josh come out and clean it for you!  

Jennifer's Cleaning Tip #4: From Air Quality Specialists, always clean from the top down. This includes air vents. If you clean your whole house and skip the vents....The AC or heat will kick on and blow the dirt and dust over your home and ruin all your work!

Caller:

• David - He read Rosie's article about cleaning shower water stains with a mixture of water and vinegar. What is the recommended mixture we use?

Recommendation - It's a mixture of both vinegar and water, not just vinegar. We'll follow up on the best percentage for him. Otherwise, he could pick up the Shower and Daily Cleaner from JAWS we just discussed.

*Rosie asks "what's the dirtiest one inch of your house is?!?"

Rosie answers the question on "the dirtiest one inch in your home"  It's your can opener!

Jennifer's Cleaning Tip #5: Robert from Phoenix Carpet Repair says that if your carpet has "ripples" it needs to be stretched. It increases wear and tear on your carpet and makes it harder clean.

Jennifer's Cleaning Tip #6: Chad with Arizona Screen Techs recommends cleaning screens with a brush or using a Karcher Power Washer!

Caller:

• Mitch - He had cherry stained cabinets installed in his kitchen and now they're fading. What can he use to bring back the rich color it had when first installed.

Recommendation - He needs to go back to the source of the stain, the installer, to find out exactly what's on before doing anything.  There are 4 or 5 different types of staining and each needs to be treated differently. 

Romey recommends using JAWS Hardwood Cleaner for cleaning cabinets daily.

If you need to get rid of some of the clutter around your home, but don't want to throw it out, go to Rubbish Works Website or try Valleywide Recycling to find recycling programs near you.

Congratulations to Nancy from Peoria!!! She won the indoor/outdoor Portable Evaporative Cooler from Honeywell!

Join Rosie On The House Every Saturday Morning!!!