Is It Safe to Use Mouldy Foods?

Traditional wisdom might suggest that we can use bread that is just a bit mouldy or scoop out mouldy bits from jam jars. The US Department of Agriculture disagrees. They've produced quite an interesting fact sheet on how to deal with mouldy food items.

How's Your Hygiene Self Assessment

The NHS have come up with a self assessment page with which people can score their hygiene. Nevertheless, whoever wrote it doesn't seem to know about dishwashers. And they're still using tea towels!

Quiet Blog

You may have noticed that this blog has been quiet for about a week. Much of that is down to the fact that we had a total loss of broadband connectivity which has just been put right today. We were due to have an engineer call on Wednesday, but that's no longer necessary. It seems like work on the lines knocked out our connection as a side effect and other work restored it.

Incidents like this make you realise how much you come to depend on Internet access in today's world.

Drinking Fountains for Cats

My partner and I have long been considering getting a drinking fountain for our cat. We religiously put clean water down for him in a bowl every day and he looks over at us as if we are potty. The idea of drinking the water never crosses his mind. The only water he gets (at least in the house) is from his food, and that can't be good for his kidneys. We always wonder whether the movement of water in a fountain would encourage him to drink, but ofcourse there's the risk of acquiring yet another pricey item that doesn't get used.

Cheap plastic drinking fountains carry a number of potential health issues for cats, as this article points out. It really seems to be a matter of getting a decent ceramic one or not bothering.

What results have you had with cats and drinking fountains? Your comments would be very welcome.

Warped Dustpan

You know your dustpan is too cheap when it you try to wash it under the hot tap and it melts! Our hot water is only 49°C, but the dustpan is no more.

Air Purifiers & Ozone

There are many air purifiers on the market that use high voltage wires to extract impurities from the air and generate a certain amount of ozone. It is even possible to buy ozone generators that are marketed as cleaners. Nevertheless, too much ozone in the home can be a health hazard.

Toxins in the Home

A study by the Silent Spring Institute has found that many toxins accumulate in our homes, breaking down far more slowly than they do out of doors.