If you suspect that there are termites attacking your house, you should take immediate actions before it\’s too late. A termite invasion can be disastrous as termites feed on wood, thus endangering the wooden structure of your house such as the wood foundations or beams used to construct a house. In other words, a termite infestation can even destroy the whole construction of a house if not treated on time. Besides, the earlier you discover it, the better since you do not need to resort to spending thousands of dollars to exterminate them. 

There are various ways to terminate termites and the techniques vary according to which one suits you best. Usually you will have to invest some money in the tools and repellents needed for the termite treatment process and it is very expensive to get the help of professionals to do the job. 

However, with early detection of termites, you can apply do-it-yourself termite treatment and save costs. DIY termite treatment is not difficult but you are required to have some idea of what termites are. Read up on the types of termites, where they come from, what they feed on, how they breed and so on. With the Internet, gathering this information should be peanuts.  

When carrying out DIY termite treatment, your first task is to identify the type of termite that is infecting your house. There are various types of termites such as drywood, subterranean, Formosan, to name a few. It is vital to know what type of termite you are dealing with first because treatment for the various types of termite varies. You will be able to identify these termites if you have read up on them.

Once you have recognized the termites, you should conduct a comparative study of the various treatment options you have. The most common termite treatment methods include liquid treatments and termite baits. 

Using liquid treatments using liquid pesticides or what they call \’termicides\’ (specifically for termites) is cheapest, oldest and fastest way of killing termites. However, it is also the most dangerous way of getting rid of termites or in fact any other pests as these liquid contains very poisonous chemicals. These pesticides not only kill the pests but if not used correctly or carefully, could also cause serious harm to humans. Not all liquid pesticides are suitable for DIY but there are certain brands that can be used. Just be sure you read the instructions carefully and take all safety precautions before using them.

Termite baiting is a very popular DIY termite treatment as it has been proven very effective in killing termites. This method is good because it is safe and effective but it\’s expensive. Each stake contains growth inhibitors for termites which will lead to their eventual death. This method works slow and therefore not suitable if your house has been seriously congested by termites and need immediate treatment. This is nevertheless also a good option for termite prevention.

Termites are considered one of the most dangerous and harmful insects because they feed on wood, an important material used to hold our houses. Thus, prevention against termites is always better than cure. However, if our house is really under attack, we should take fast action by applying some of the aforementioned DIY treatments it\’s too late. 

Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47262003@N03/4332658476/

Termite Treatment: Do It Yourself is a post from: DIY Guides

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Cleaning your sofa:

What you need:

1. Vacuum and its hose attachments
   
2. Shampoo (specific to the couch\’s fabric)
   
3. Rug shampooer
   
4. Steam cleaner (specific to the couch\’s fabric)
   
5. Rag and cotton swabs
   

Method:

1. First technique that you can use is by using a vacuum where you can vacuum the sofa, pillows and cushions using the vacuum\’s hose attachments for cleaning loose dust and dirt. At the same time, you need to also vacuum the arm\’s rest and the back side of the sofa because it is the place where there are lots of dusts. If your sofa comes with wood areas, you need to dust the areas between the material and wood using a soft rag and cotton swab.
   

Vacuum your sofa:

1. If your sofa is still under its warranty period, make sure the cleaning solutions that you wanted to use for cleaning it adhered according to the company cleaning instructions.
   
2. You also need to determine exactly the sofa\’s fabric before starting any cleaning on the sofa. The fabric tag is normally found under the sofa\’s cushion area. After you know the fabric type, you can now purchase the correct shampoo to use for the sofa.
   
3. You can also rent a rug shampooer or if you have the budget, you can purchase it for a long term usage. Then, assemble the shampooer accordingly based on its directions given by the manufacturer. If you are not sure, you can simply test it on a small area of the sofa first, for example, either at the back of the sofa or beneath the sofa.
   
4. After you have mastered the art of cleaning, continue to clean the entire sofa. By doing so, this will prevent the creation of watermarks on your sofa.
   
5. Make sure to allow all of your sofa parts to dry thoroughly before you decide to reassemble its cushions and pillows back to its position.
   

Additional Reading:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2038177_clean-sofa.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Wash-Your-Sofa&id=2217947
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/How+to+Clean+Your+Microfiber+Sofa-a01073796181
http://www.sofasofa.co.uk/pr/30/How-to-make-an-old-sofa-look-as-good-as-new
http://www.sofasgalore.com/sofas/careandmaintenance.cfm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1507691/how_to_clean_a_microfiber_sofa.html

Image Credit:
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4885505/154802-main_Full.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thewhittierfamily/3159318777/

Cleaning your sofa properly is a post from: DIY Guides

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Whenever you are doing do-it-yourself painting jobs at home, always remember to wear old clothes or work clothes which are suitable for painting. However, sometimes we tend to forget to change our attire and start to do the job with our wearable clothes. Although the paint stain on your cloth simply just cannot be removed by using normal washing but if you manage to use the right things and steps, it can be easily cleaned without any hassle. Make sure to start immediately the cleaning process after you spot the stain on your clothes. Below are some of the steps or cleaning techniques in removing paint from clothes;

What you need:

1. Rubbing alcohol
   
2. Old cloth
   
3. Mild Detergent
   
4. Toothbrush or Stiff Cleaning Brush
   
5. Turpentine
   
6. Clean Water, for rinsing
   
7. Blunt-edged Knife
   
8. Sponge
   

Method:

1. For removing latex paint on clothes, you need to spray some rubbing alcohol on the affected area on your clothes. Then, take an old cloth to rub over the alcohol in order to take off the affected stain. You need to keep on repeating spraying and rubbing the above method until the stain has been removed. After it has come off, you can wash the clothes as usual.
   
2. As for removing oil paint stain on your clothes, the first technique that you can use is by using liquid dish soap and also an old cloth. First of all, you need to saturate the affected stained area of your clothes using the liquid dish soap and leave it for a moment.
   
3. After that, you can use the old cloth for scrubbing the stain in order to take it off from your garment. Then, you have to rinse the area with water and if you find that the stain still there, you have to repeat the whole process again until it is removed.
   
4. For cases that the oily residue of the paint is giving you a hard time to remove it, you need to use a different technique such as using a blunt edged knife for scrapping off the paint on your clothes slowly. Always remember to be extra careful when doing this technique so that you do not tear the cloth.
   
5. After you have done doing steps number 4 and there is only a small amount of paint left on your cloth, you need to take a sponge and pour a little amount of turpentine on the sponge. Rub it on the affected area of the cloth using the sponge that contains the turpentine where you can see the paint will easily come off the garment.
   
6. In order for you to clean up the oily residue of the turpentine, just use a mixture of one teaspoon of mild detergent along with a cup of lukewarm water and mix it together until it is well dissolved. Use a clean sponge and dip it into the mixture. Then, rub the sponge onto the affected area of your garment until it is clean of turpentine.
   
7. After finishing, you need to rinse the garment using cold water and allow it to dry thoroughly under proper sunlight.
   

Additional Reading:

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/how-to-remove-paint-from-clothing-2394.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_7263_remove-latex-paint.html
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/cleaning/removing-paint-clothing.shtml
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1714183/how_to_remove_paint_from_clothing.html
http://www.helium.com/items/1678130-how-to-remove-paint-from-clothes
http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-remove-oil-base-paint-stains.htm

Image Credit:
http://content5.videojug.com/bd/bd9a7a19-d85e-ea20-c241-ff0008c9b3c0/how-to-remove-mustard-stains-from-clothe.jpg

Removing paint from clothes is a post from: DIY Guides

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Although it is environmental friendly to bring our own shopping bag when buying grocery or foods, we still can\’t deny that sometimes we have to use it. So if you are carrying an abundance of plastic bags in your bags and there is no way you can throw it away, recycle is the answer. There are so many things that we can do with plastic bags. Plastic bags can be given a new life into beautiful and marvelous decorations. For this holiday, try making wreath by using plastic bags. The final product will impress everyone and they will be amazed that it is actually made from plastics. The method is easy to understand and inexpensive if you have lots of plastics bags at home. The clear type of plastics bags gives the best effect for this project but any colored plastics can be use also. Unleash your creativity and here\’s how to make it;

Materials and tools you need:

Plastic bags, wire hangers, pliers, ornament glass ball, alphabet stickers, safety pin, bleach, salt, thread fish line or normal sewing thread

How to make it:

First, shape the wire hangers into a circle by using pliers. You can find this wire hanger in hardware store with different thickness. Try to get the type of wire hangers that are usually used for drying clothes at the laundromat. Then, using scissors cut the plastics bags in sizes of ½ inch wide strips. What you will get are tons of plastics bags rings. You can cut both ends of these rings.

Next, fold the plastics strips in half and cut the folded end. Then, fold the plastics strips in half again and repeat by cutting the end. Repeat this step until you create 5 to 6 inch long strips. After that, affix the plastics strips onto the wire circle. Affix them by tying the plastics strips tightly together next to each other until the wire circle is hidden.

To make the floating word ornament, firstly, take the cap off and fill it up with salt and bleach. The salt and bleach solution will remove the old paint inside the ornament ball. Leave it for awhile, and drain out the solution, it will create a clear glass ball after that. Clean with running water and leave it to dry. You can skip this step if you have already a clear glass ornament or you can buy these ornaments in any craft store or decoration department.

Then, stick alphabet sticker to form your holiday greetings by placing each other letter on top of the edge of each other carefully. The alphabet stickers are for the floating words inside the ornament. You can stick these alphabet stickers on both sides so anyone can read the floating words from any angle. Poke a hole in the middle of the word by using sharp safety pin or needle.

Thread in a thin fishing line or usual clothes thread into the poked hole. Then, make a tied knot on one side and then thread it again through the ornament cap. To finish the floating word ornament, tie a knot from underneath the cap. Decorate the glass ornament with your choice of ribbon and attach it to your plastics wreath.

Additional reading:
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/12/weekly-wrap-up-diy-wreath-project.html

Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vieuxbandit/2699884466/

Recycling plastic bags into holiday wreath is a post from: DIY Guides

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If you notice that your wardrobes are outdated, some of them are torn or maybe you are bored with them but your financial situation right now does not permit you to purchase new clothes, do not worry. You just have to look carefully into your closet and be more creative to re-design your old clothes for them to look like new ones. Below are some of the steps and ideas for making your old clothes look like they are new:

What you need:

1. Choose the clothes that you want to re-design
2. Time
3. Sewing machine
4. Needle and thread
5. Scissors
6. Other optional accessories such as beads, paint, iron on transfer paper for your printer and general crafting items

Method:

1. First of all, you can re-design your long skirt first for a simple make-over. Hem the skirt by a few inches or try to add some trim design to accompany the hem. You already have a new look from your old long skirt.
2. For your old t-shirts, you can always cut-off the sleeves and make it a sleeveless top. Besides that, its bottom can also be cut-off for making it a crop top or even a cuts a V shape along the top of its neck to make a V-necked shirt.
3. Your old jeans or pants can also be modified by trimming its ragged ends to make them shorts, or Bermuda shorts, or even Capri\’s. If you do not like ragged ends, you can hem the end of the jeans or pants. You can also add some appliqué, sequins, ribbon, lace or paint to some parts of the jeans or pants for an extreme or unique look.
4. To make your old sweater look different, you can change it into a cardigan by snipping its sleeves to make it sleeveless. Then, you cut it down the middle until the end and add some buttons accordingly.

Additional Reading:
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/5599-how-to-revamp-old-clothes
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Whole-New-Wardrobe-by-Recycling-Your-Clothes
http://www.ehow.com/how_2266133_make-old-clothes-new.html
http://diyfashion.about.com/od/recycledprojects/tp/Recycle-Your-Clothes.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/739637/how_to_make_old_clothes_look_new.html?cat=46

http://beyondjane.com/fashion/style/how-to-make-old-clothes-look-new-and-fashionable/

Image Credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scaarika/1552063996/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boboniaa/2504937442/

Making your old clothes look like new is a post from: DIY Guides

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Some people would like to create their own image and style which represent their personality when decorating and designing the bedroom. The bedroom by most of us is considered a personal haven where you will be resting and also a private place for relaxing. Some of the ways for decorating a bedroom are using various types of wall decor such as photos, paintings or posters or other items that can reflect and represent your personal feelings. Below are some of the steps required for decorating your own bedroom by reflecting your feelings;

What you need:

1. Sentimental bedroom accessories such as old family photos, antique jewelry from ancestors, high school memorabilia, trophies or collection of tourist items.
2. Bedroom lighting that should normally be soft, calm, soothing and romantic.
3. Comfortable bedding set with soft tone and materials.
4. Bed headboard.
5. Decorative screen.
6. Candles and aromatherapy scents.
   

Method:

1. First of all, a bedroom is where you have a total control of your world that makes you relaxed without thinking of stress and the outside world. You can decorate one corner of the bedroom with family photos, an antique jewelry from your ancestors, your high school memorabilia, trophies that you have won during school days, an erotic art and also collections of tourist souvenirs.
2. You also need to put up a soft, calm, soothing and romantic type of lighting in your bedroom to enable you to really rest and relax. Use a lampshade that displays low wattage bulbs or comes with tinted bulbs. You can also place a lamp near a mirror for creating a reflecting light concept.
3. Then, choose comfortable bedding sets which can suit any kind of whether so that you do not have to change it all the time and it also must come with soft tone and materials. You can also choose bedding with lace and frills to add for a more romantic feel to the room.
4. If you do not have a bed headboard, you can always create a simple one such as creating it using wallpaper and placing it behind your bed and outline it with a different wallpaper border, or just hang a drapery rod behind it and drape a suitable fabric behind the bed.
5. You can also use a decorative screen that comes with fabric or paper which is suitable with your bedroom décor.
6. Last but not least, use a candle to create the romantic ambiance combined with an aromatherapy scents such as lily of the valley, narcissus, lilacs, apple blossoms, cherry blossoms or nicotiana (flowering tobacco) to bring fragrance into your room. Some of your perfumes; creams and lotions also can be use as a highly scented and beautiful display if you place it nicely on your dressing table.

Additional Reading:
http://www.helium.com/items/1459888-bedroom-decorating-ideas
http://www.bibak.net/bedroom-decorating

http://www.zimbio.com/Bedroom+Decorating/articles/Sh6Wumput07/Modern+Bedroom+Decorating+Ideas+Cool+Contemporary
http://www.ehow.com/way_5150784_ideas-decorating-bedroom-walls.html
http://www.overstock.com/guides/how-to-decorate-for-a-cozy-feeling-in-a-bedroom
http://www.home-decorating-room-by-room.com/bedroomaccessories.html
http://www.sideroad.com/Interior_Decorating/decorating-master-bedroom.html

Image Credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chanadaal/3594066948/

Decorating your bedroom by reflecting your feelings is a post from: DIY Guides

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