Chores and cleaning

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• Why Do Completely Dry Clothes Still Smell Bad?But how could odor-causing bacteria enter clothing that traveled straight from the washing machine to an indoor drying space? They did not need to break in.
• Why bugs can't fully avoid repellents and spider webs: DEET, pyrethroids and the limits of learning"Bug repellent" isn't one single thing.
• Can the "dry" button in your bathroom dry clothes too?There's a "Dry" button on the bathroom control panel.

This week’s archive picks

Each week we rotate in a few older articles from this theme, taking turns through all of them.

• I cleared out the toothpaste too. Thank goodness for the late-night drugstoreAfter hours of sorting things following a move, “Do I use this?
• Persistent buzzing smell by the entrance: cockroaches or a drain?There is an unpleasant smell near the entrance that comes and goes.
• Iris Ohyama vacuum: four blue battery lights blink but won't chargePlug in the charging cable.
• Can Amazon FBA make decluttering easy? Barcodes, FC splits, wallsWhen you declutter before or after a move, boxes quickly fill with books, games, figures, small electronics, and miscellaneous goods.

All “Chores and cleaning” articles, newest first

Newest first

• Why Being Talked to During Chores Can Feel Irritating: It May Be Interruption Cost, Not Poor CommunicationSomeone talks to you while you are washing dishes.
• Exhausted by doing everything “properly” at home and work? When is enough enough?The laundry is put away, but you are still bothered by how it is folded.
• Why is being told exactly how to do chores so exhausting? Agreeing on house rulesYou are willing to do your share of the chores, but being corrected on how to fold towels or which order to do the laundry in suddenly drains your motivation.
• Why Do Completely Dry Clothes Still Smell Bad?But how could odor-causing bacteria enter clothing that traveled straight from the washing machine to an indoor drying space? They did not need to break in.
• Why Do Dogs and Cats Sniff Their Owner’s Mouth? Does It Mean Bad Breath?You are lying in bed when your dog or cat walks right up to your face.
• Ants Keep Returning to Your Apartment. Is It Time to Tell the Landlord?Ten tiny ants cross your kitchen floor. You clean the crumbs, wipe the skirting board and put the snacks away.
• Why Is the Floor Around the Men's Room Urinal Always Wet?Sometimes the area around a men's room urinal is wet.
• Why bugs can't fully avoid repellents and spider webs: DEET, pyrethroids and the limits of learning"Bug repellent" isn't one single thing.
• Can the "dry" button in your bathroom dry clothes too?There's a "Dry" button on the bathroom control panel.
• The Jumping Spider Living on Your Monitor Is Basically a PC Peripheral with Built-In Pest Control — Until It Becomes Hand-Sized, Mind YouHo ho, now look at that. There is a tiny jumping spider sitting on top of the monitor.
• Still Feel Heavy After 2 Liters of Water? Check Food, Protein, Alcohol, RestFor a week or two, your body feels strangely heavy. Your legs feel sluggish. You can still walk, think, work, and make things, but you do not feel restored.
• Why Luke trusts Frapeco the most in Hyperinflation: sane and competentHyperinflation is full of monsters: people with absurd combat power, state-level intelligence, and merchants who will reverse an alliance seconds after making…
• “My Mother Managed It” Is Not Your Partner’s Chore List“My mother worked and did all this housework. I want you to do as much.”
• Cold water to finish the bathroom: what temperature stops mold?A common household routine goes like this: after bathing, rinse soap and grime off the walls and floor.
• Can You Turn Off a Bidet’s Warm Water in Summer? Does It Still Wash?It is a sweltering afternoon.
• How Long Should You Run a Bathroom Dryer for Laundry?Two hours may leave thick items damp; five adds cost. The goal is wearable, storable clothes—not a desert.
• I cleared out the toothpaste too. Thank goodness for the late-night drugstoreAfter hours of sorting things following a move, “Do I use this?
• Persistent buzzing smell by the entrance: cockroaches or a drain?There is an unpleasant smell near the entrance that comes and goes.
• Can Amazon FBA make decluttering easy? Barcodes, FC splits, wallsWhen you declutter before or after a move, boxes quickly fill with books, games, figures, small electronics, and miscellaneous goods.
• Iris Ohyama vacuum: four blue battery lights blink but won't chargePlug in the charging cable.
• Why did black winged ants invade a closed room at dusk?Yesterday, the room was cleaned.
• I Hung Up Laundry and Got Kidnapped by Thermodynamics: The “Hole-Seer” and the Great Water-Molecule Jailbreak“Why does laundry dry?”
• The Internet Eats Boredom, Outsourcing Eats Chores, and Your Gut Waits Until You Drive: Designing Life Around Time AutonomyA question about a public-health building was the doorway into this topic, but public-health administration is not the main subject here.
• Why Is It So Hard to Cut Back on Chores and Work? Rethinking “Just in Case”Cutting back on chores and work can be difficult when essential tasks get bundled together with steps that provide reassurance, and one person remains…
• Can “voluntary” pre-shift cleaning affect your evaluation? Clarifying working time in JapanConsider a fictional workplace in Japan.
• Can an electric racket help when you cannot find the mosquito?Imagine a buzz beside your ear just as you fall asleep.