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TURGID TOMFOOLERY posted:How do I get rid of ants? You probably want to sit down and figure out their search pattern, maybe there's a sweet soap or something they're getting into. I've also heard that bathroom ants means it's time to get tested for diabetes.
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May 26, 2020 00:38
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Terro liquid ant baits. They increase for a time, then disappear. Put them as close to the entry as possible unless you want your tiles to get mobbed.
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May 26, 2020 01:28
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Depends on the ants. Could be raspberry ants that just kinda migrate places and there isn’t a whole lot you can do
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May 26, 2020 01:31
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TURGID TOMFOOLERY posted:How do I get rid of ants? If you live in an area with dense, older, apartment buildings, the why is probably "there's a shitton of construction that ants have been finding ways through and into for decades, and some new colony has found a path that involves your apartment". Room doesn't really matter, it's just some area that they found a small ingress hole. At least here in the SF Bay Area I'm basically guaranteed to get a few ants searching after rain, and they sometimes find enough stuff of interest that they decide to patrol more regularly. I've found that Fipronil-based ant poisons are quite effective: they allow a quantity of the chemical to build up in the colony's food store and eventually reach the queen, and once the queen is dead, that particular colony dies and patrols come no more, which usually means no more ants on that route. Combat gel usually stops them in 24h or so. If you can find a high-traffic route, place it on some solid, flat disposable surface (old plastic insurance cards work well) in their path and they should be gone in a day or so. You can put it directly on tile or whatever, card is just to make it easier to clean up after they're gone. In non-ant apartment concerns, I'm trying to make my coronavirus WFH space more livable in summer: I live in an old bay area apartment from the time before climate change, and its main construction design goals were retaining heat in our "winter". This well-insulated apartment quite effectively retains heat, and tends to settle at 10-20 degrees above the outdoor temperature--outside might be 90-110 for an hour or so, but indoor temps will happily climb to that and stay there til 8pm and after (when outdoor temps have dropped anywhere between 75-55). There's plenty of cooler air around but I just can't get it inside. Fans should be able to handle this pretty well, but the architects of the 60s went all-in on big windows everywhere, and most of my windows are 45-50in tall horizontal sliders. The tallest window fans I've found cap out at around 38in and don't fill the space. I can sorta cobble together a shield with the blinds, but ideally I'd like to have something that fills the entire space so that I can set up proper airflow channels. Are there any fans that will fit these things? There are some shields for portable AC units that look like they'd cover the entire area, but I'd prefer to just blast cool fresh air through the place if possible.
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May 28, 2020 08:31
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I've genuinely put an a/c filter on the back of a box fan and stuck it in the window (I cut up a car windshield reflector to insulate the gaps along the sides) in my previous Victorian apartment in Berkeley that had a similar issue. Worked great.
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Jun 7, 2020 19:47
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So I'm in grad student housing now and would love to figure out a way to get some kind of screen door for the front door. Problem is we're not allowed to install anything on the outside of the door and we have cats so it needs to be secure from them escaping. Pic of the opening below. Are there any screens that roll down from above that would be secure enough here? My other thought was a screen door that is the right dimensions to fit into the actual door jam, with a plate we could revolve to lock it into place on the inside. Do they sell screen doors to that specific of dimensions?
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Jun 11, 2020 01:07
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https://www.homedepot.com/p/Andersen-36-in-x-80-in-LuminAire-White-Retractable-Screen-Door-90001/302197300 We have one of these out to the patio. It has been cat proof and dog proof so far, we have it mounted inside, and it took 4 screws that they can fill in when we go.
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Jun 11, 2020 01:29
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Jamais Vu Again posted:https://www.homedepot.com/p/Andersen-36-in-x-80-in-LuminAire-White-Retractable-Screen-Door-90001/302197300 I don't think that'll work because it has to be mounted on the outside of the door, and I can only install stuff on the inside of the door. Spikes32 fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Jun 11, 2020 |
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Jun 11, 2020 03:52
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Spikes32 posted:I don't think that'll work because it has to be mounted on the outside of the door, and I can only install stuff on the inside of the door. We had a similar window issue in our current rental flat. The house gets so hot and stuffy that you really have to keep the windows open, but the UK doesn't believe in screens. We had to figure out a way to open the windows without having the cats escape. I ended up getting a few yards of window screen material and two rolls of Velcro. One side of the Velcro has sticky tape on the back and the other doesn't. I cut the screen to measure the bizarrely sized windows we have here, sewed little tabs of the non-sticky Velcro around the edges, and stuck the sticky side to the inside of the window frame. Basically exactly the same idea as this, but diy and a lot cheaper. Turned out really well. For a door or a screen that you have to remove a lot, magnet strips might be better than Velcro.
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Jun 11, 2020 11:17
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listrada posted:We had a similar window issue in our current rental flat. The house gets so hot and stuffy that you really have to keep the windows open, but the UK doesn't believe in screens. We had to figure out a way to open the windows without having the cats escape. I'm about to move to the UK and was wondering about that for my cats, so I appreciate this a lot. My cats are big idiots and will sometimes lean against the window screen when they see something they really want to murder outside; does the velcro hold up relatively well to pressure?
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Jun 11, 2020 14:58
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listrada posted:We had a similar window issue in our current rental flat. The house gets so hot and stuffy that you really have to keep the windows open, but the UK doesn't believe in screens. We had to figure out a way to open the windows without having the cats escape. This is a good idea and I think what I will end up doing. Need to think about how to store it when not in use and how to fix it in place on the door hinge side where I won't be able to put velcro first though. Thank you!
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Jun 11, 2020 14:59
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Zaftig posted:I'm about to move to the UK and was wondering about that for my cats, so I appreciate this a lot. My cats are big idiots and will sometimes lean against the window screen when they see something they really want to murder outside; does the velcro hold up relatively well to pressure? Huh, I've never thought about the following: what is pet immigration like?
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Jun 12, 2020 01:24
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silence_kit posted:Huh, I've never thought about the following: what is pet immigration like? I'd love stories from people who have gone through it! So far my research says "a lot of paperwork and extra money," with exact steps varying by country. I won't need to quarantine my cats in my situation but other countries would require it.
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Jun 12, 2020 03:53
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silence_kit posted:Huh, I've never thought about the following: what is pet immigration like? We went from the US > UK and it wasn't very much fun for anyone involved. Cats don't like car rides, and they definitely do not love flying... But, it was one bad day and then it was over. As far as the process goes, the cats basically need to be vaccinated, microchipped and to pass a cat health exam. The paperwork part was tedious but ultimately no big deal. We used an IPATA agent because I thought the airline required that, but honestly I don't think they did very much work at all... Then, on the day of, you stuff them into big airline kennels, tape a Ziploc bag of cat food to the outside, and drop them off at a major airport. You'll probably fly direct to London, where you will end up spending a lot of time waiting at the animal receiving center (my wait was 8 hrs) while they make sure your cat is not a pangolin. Then, you can stuff everyone into a rental car and drive to your new city, if it isn't London. The drive was the worst part of the process because everyone is exhausted and stressed at this point and not only do they drive on the left here, they have all of these freaking roundabouts. I swear it's like playing chess because you have to plan what lane you'll need to be in like, 3 roundabouts in advance of the one with the exit you want to take. And then there's an accident on the highway and your drive takes an extra 2-3 hours. And then your new letting agency will make you park your giant rental car that doesn't fit in the old-timey streets and come into the office in person to get your keys. So, not the most fun thing to go through but the cats bounced back faster than I did. A few tips if you're immigrating soon - -I'd recommend getting some 1” foam, hot glue and fleece fabric to line the kennels with. You can't have anything loose like a towel in there, but you'll want something to soften up the hard plastic kennel floor. My cats still sleep in their air kennels, so the foam must be comfy enough for them to get past their PTSD. -Get one of the $5 disposable cat litter pans from the grocery store and bring it in your checked bag. You're not going to want to go find cat litter as soon as you get there. It's a good idea to bring half a roll of TP and maybe a shower curtain with you, too. -I had to fly over with the cats by myself; my husband flew over a few weeks later. Would not recommend. The extra hands and moral support would have gone a long way. Let me know if you have any other questions - it was super tough to figure it out on our own, so I'd be happy to share what we know.
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Jun 13, 2020 16:37
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Zaftig posted:I'm about to move to the UK and was wondering about that for my cats, so I appreciate this a lot. My cats are big idiots and will sometimes lean against the window screen when they see something they really want to murder outside; does the velcro hold up relatively well to pressure? I was worried about this too, but the Velcro actually works really well! It doesn't budge even if they stretch against the screen (which I wish they wouldn't.)
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Jun 13, 2020 16:43
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Hi, thanks for sharing your experiences. I don't own any pets but was just curious about what the process was like and whether it even is allowed in some countries. It looks like Zaftig is about to go through the exact same process as you did, so I think your post still ended up being very helpful.
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Jun 13, 2020 16:57
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TURGID TOMFOOLERY posted:How do I get rid of ants? Also Mocking Bird posted:Terro liquid ant baits. They increase for a time, then disappear. Put them as close to the entry as possible unless you want your tiles to get mobbed.
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Jun 15, 2020 16:38
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I move out of my apartment in five days. I've so far done very little towards that end, and I feel like I will be lucky to have enough time just to get my stuff out, let alone clean it. There's marks on the walls from my bike, the painted-white inside of the cabinets is dirty from my pots and pans, the oven has a layer of carbon at the bottom and the bathroom is gross everywhere, not to mention a few small holes in the walls from termite damage (the termites ate the wood, and the paint that had covered that wood gave way). Bottom line is, it's not all getting done, or even close. Fortunately my deposit was only a third of the rent, and I'm fine losing it. But at what point do they start coming after me for damages, or would they, if it's just a matter of cleaning? I know that's an absurdly generic question that depends on local laws and the whims of landlords, but maybe there's kind of a rule of thumb. This is in Tampa, if that helps.
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Jul 7, 2020 00:59
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what is the best way to just get the gently caress rid of some furniture i can't physically dispose of by myself?
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Jul 7, 2020 07:21
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Put FREE on the curbside and it will be gone the next day.
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Jul 7, 2020 07:30
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My place has vinyl or laminate hardwood floors. I have an office chair on a mat right now to protect it but I don't like it. Would it be better to get a rug to cover the space or just get some rubber casters for the chair? I'm thinking the rubber would be much gentler on the flooring than the standard plastic ones it has right now but I'm not sure.
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Jul 8, 2020 16:13
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Chard posted:what is the best way to just get the gently caress rid of some furniture i can't physically dispose of by myself? If you can't get it out of your house, list it on craigslist and/or other community sites and specify buyer must pick it up.
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Jul 8, 2020 16:48
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LLSix posted:If you can't get it out of your house, list it on craigslist and/or other community sites and specify buyer must pick it up. If you have Zipcar, they do have vans you can use to haul furniture to a Goodwill/the dump.
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Jul 8, 2020 23:28
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Weird question, but as of a couple weeks ago I got some downstairs neighbors who love to smoke. Not something I’d give a poo poo about, but I guess the way the AC vents are rigged in this place means that all the weed/cigarette smell gets into my vents for the next hour or so. Is there any good way to block the smell by putting something in the vent or something? I can’t actually close any of the vents in this apartment so it’s a no go. They also manage to be the loudest motherfuckers on the planet despite being downstairs too. I haven’t bothered reaching out to them or the leasing office either, since I’m planning on moving in a couple months regardless and don’t feel like getting into it with people who may or may not be assholes. I’m guessing there might not be any good solution short of that though, but I’d love to be proven wrong.
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Jul 23, 2020 10:34
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What's the best way to clean out the lint filter on a dryer? If I scrape it off with my fingers dust explodes all over the place. My old place had the W/D in the garage so I didn't give a poo poo before, I just took the trap over to the main trash can, gave it the business right there in the driveway and shook the survivors out in the wind.
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Jul 23, 2020 20:42
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TheOrange posted:Weird question, but as of a couple weeks ago I got some downstairs neighbors who love to smoke. Not something I’d give a poo poo about, but I guess the way the AC vents are rigged in this place means that all the weed/cigarette smell gets into my vents for the next hour or so. Is it a newer building? If so then maybe the HVAC exhaust vent in your unit is reversed and you’re getting their bad air blown into your unit. I had a similar problem that management wasn’t able to fix even after tearing up the hvac ducts. So I finally just duct taped the exhaust vent closed which fixed it. If it’s an old building then who knows. It could be coming in through the floors or walls. Either way I’d do a maintenance request to have them check out your HVAC - it could be an easy fix (but probably won’t be).
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Jul 24, 2020 04:07
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I'm looking for the best place online to order bedsheets. I'm hoping it's not Amazon. Any suggestions?
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Aug 8, 2020 03:12
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Can people recommend a mover for a long distance move? Need to get my stuff from Minneapolis, MN to Albany, NY.
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Aug 15, 2020 21:25
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I just moved in to a new home with two bedrooms. The rooms share a wall, with a heater/furnace thing in each room that essentially acts as a duct connecting the two. I have set up an office in the second bedroom, but the problem is that the heater is basically a hole in the wall that allows sound to travel straight between the two rooms. My girlfriend and I both work from home so our conversations on our respective calls tend to carry through the vent quite a bit. Is there a way to soundproof this at all? Heater will probably be disabled entirely for most of the year. Teeter fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Nov 3, 2020 |
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Nov 2, 2020 18:30
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Teeter posted:I just moved in to a new home with two bedrooms. The rooms share a wall, with a heater/furnace thing in each room that essentially acts as a duct connecting the two. If it's not a problem to cover the vent (if it's not actually providing heat), a temporary solution could be hanging a heavy quilt or curtain over that section of wall / vent.
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Nov 3, 2020 22:34
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I'm moving next month across the state (about 3 hours one-way), I want to rent a truck but hire one group of people to load and then another to unload at the destination. Is this a thing moving services offer? How can I do this without hiring some random drunks off of Facebook? I feel like the cost of paying a mover to go that far would be more than it's worth to me. I'm moving about a 1-room apartment's worth of stuff. Basically a desk, workbench desk, bed, chair, and 15 or so boxes.
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Jan 8, 2021 23:39
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22 Eargesplitten posted:I'm moving next month across the state (about 3 hours one-way), I want to rent a truck but hire one group of people to load and then another to unload at the destination. Is this a thing moving services offer? How can I do this without hiring some random drunks off of Facebook? I feel like the cost of paying a mover to go that far would be more than it's worth to me. I'm moving about a 1-room apartment's worth of stuff. Basically a desk, workbench desk, bed, chair, and 15 or so boxes. Most of the movers where I live charge a flat fee + an hourly fee. I don't think it'd be a problem hiring them to do half the job. Especially with as few people as have been moving the last year. The times I've moved across the country the moving company subcontracted to local movers in both the origin and destination cities and that worked fine. On the other hand you only need 1 dude for like an hour. A professional company will probably send 2 dudes because most of them don't want you to help. Might be hard to find a professional willing to do it cost effectively. Still you should call around and see what they say. They'll ask if you're moving a fridge, washer/dryer or other heavy appliance too. If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic I'd tell you to buy one of your friends a pizza in exchange for helping you and call it a day. 15 boxes is almost nothing, but you'll want a second set of hands for the desks and beds.
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Jan 9, 2021 03:32
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I hired just unloading labor from a local company through the uhaul listings after you rent a van from them. It was $200 for 2 guys that seemed like they were the woman I spoke to’s teenage nephews. They were great, got everything in and upstairs in under 2 hours.
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Jan 9, 2021 18:32
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Thanks, that seems like a good choice so I don't have to impose on my friends after six months of being in this dump. I might be moving in someplace with no 240v but ideally I would still get a washer and dryer, are there any options for that which only need 120v? Being slow isn't an issue, I'm going to be living by myself so I'll just be doing one load a week or so and I WFH so I'm not in a hurry for almost anything.
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Jan 14, 2021 23:01
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Thanks, that seems like a good choice so I don't have to impose on my friends after six months of being in this dump. Is there no 240v outlet at the laundry area because it’s plumbed for a gas dryer? If so, get one and make sure your dryer exhaust is taped and the right material for gas. Gas dryer best dryer.
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Jan 17, 2021 19:04
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I'm in the market for a new desk (my current one doesn't fit my room very well). Probably something around 5' long (I've got a small room, but depth isn't a big concern in the available space), height adjustable would be nice, and... maybe some storage of some sort? Shelves or drawers? Or not. Where is a good place to start? I don't mind paying a bit for something decent, but I don't want to overspend on cheap bullshit. This is a lot easier with computer parts than furniture.
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Jan 27, 2021 11:06
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Thanatosian posted:I'm in the market for a new desk (my current one doesn't fit my room very well). Probably something around 5' long (I've got a small room, but depth isn't a big concern in the available space), height adjustable would be nice, and... maybe some storage of some sort? Shelves or drawers? Or not. I don't think they have any adjustable ones but I've ended up using desks from this company https://www.bushfurniture.com/. I'm pretty sure Office Depot carries their stuff if you have one around you. The main thing I liked was that most of their stuff is fairly modular and the desks themselves are a basic flat surface, so good for mounting stuff like power strips along the back or monitor arms. Only big downside is the first desk I got from them had a nasty gouge in it from shipping, everything I've got since has been spotless and the one time I needed replacement parts they were free. For cheaper stuff most people I know swear by the IKEA desks, I just found them a little too cheap feeling and sat too low for me to use comfortably.
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Jan 29, 2021 04:53
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Does anyone have experience with temporary wallpapers? I've heard conflicting things about how well they come off when removed.
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Mar 22, 2021 05:00
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I really wish there was a way to filter housing ads for whether the stove is gas or electric 
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Jun 7, 2021 16:48
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A word of warning for anyone planning a long distance move: DO NOT use Zippy Shell or it's sister company or whatever 1-800-Pack-Rat (they merged within the last couple years). I had to plan a sort of last minute cross country move and because of my remote destination, had limited options. Looking back on things, I wish I had just paid local movers to do the whole thing. But I went with the only "pod" like service that would deliver to my destination (Pods and Upack wouldn't). The first screw-up was they changed the pick-up date on me after I had already scheduled a flight and shuttle. At least they took $100 off the total for that confusion. They gave me an estimate of 7-10 business days for the whole move. It's been 21 so far, with no end in site. My stuff sat in a warehouse in the city I moved from for 3 weeks. It then took almost a week to make the drive that only took me 3 days. Now it's in a warehouse 3 hours away and they won't schedule a delivery date. Every time I call it's a different problem. Supposedly their "forklift is down", which is preventing them from even scheduling. They've charged the final payment, but still have my stuff. Now they're claiming if it stays in their warehouse for another month, I'll be charged the monthly rental fee. Kind of at my wits end with this company, but all I can do is keep calling back and complaining. Their customer service, like most companies unfortunately, is completely powerless. They usually don't know anything and I have to sit on hold for 20 minutes while they call other departments.
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Jul 14, 2021 16:01
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