How to prevent limescale deposits

Anyone who lives in a “hard water” area will know that limescale deposits are a problem. Limescale is a chalky, hard substance that builds up due to calcium carbonate deposits in water. Limescale can cause problems such as reduced water flow in taps and pipes, build-up on bathtubs and sinks and blocking the flow of water in shower heads and boilers. 

Drinking water with limescale in it is not harmful. Limescale is mainly formed of calcium salt crystals which should have no negative impact on your health. If you accidentally swallow some of the hard limescale it should just naturally pass through your digestive system. If you’re worried about drinking limescale, you could use a water filter to filter your water before you drink it or fill your kettle.

Limescale can leave deposits on your bathroom and toilet, making it look dirty and unsightly. Even if your bathroom is freshly scrubbed, limescale deposits can make it look grubby. When we moved into our house I thought our bathroom loo was filthy, but after hours of scrubbing I showed it to our builder who tipped some limescale remover down it, and within a couple of hours it was like new again.

For tackling bathroom and kitchen limescale there are a number of household products available which are easy to use. These may require a couple of hours to soak off the limescale deposits. Failing that, if your limescale is stubborn, there are companies who can come in and deal with it for a fee.

Likewise with your washing machine and dishwasher, additives can be used to help prevent the build up of limescale deposits. These are fairly inexpensive compared to having to repair or replace your washing machine regularly.

If you’re concerned about chemicals in your home, vinegar or lemon juice is said to be good for dissolving limescale, though you may need to soak the limescale in vinegar for some time. If the limescale is stubborn you may need to soak it for a number of days. I’ve done this with a shower head which took several days, but it did work.

Dealing with limescale deposits in a hard water area is an ongoing and potentially expensive job. You will need to keep on top of it and have regular descaling sessions of your various appliances.

Alternatively, there is a product called Combimate which helps to prevent the build up of limescale in your home. Combimate adds Combiphos to your water and is quickly and easily fitted onto the incoming cold feed pipe to a combi boiler. The Combiphos helps to prevent limescale deposits in the heat exchanger and will reduce limescale formation in the boiler, appliances and in your hot taps and is completely safe to drink and use. 

Combimate is easy for any plumber or competent DIY enthusiast to install. It doesn’t require any electrical work or special tools. It can protect boilers and appliances against limescale formation and corrosion, help to keep your energy costs down and can extend the life of your kitchen appliances.

There are several ways to keep on top of your limescale problem, but as with everything, prevention is often better than the cure. Do you have any top tips for dealing with limescale?

limescale deposits

= In collaboration with Combimate =

Funny Flowcharts: Which Phone Case Are You?

Last week hubs took delivery of a new iPhone 6. Almost immediately it slipped out of his hands, took part in a comedy juggling routine and ended up (thankfully) on an especially fluffy rug. He’s been a bit more careful since and straight away starting Googling iPhone 6 cases. A wise move indeed.

I found this funny flowchart online to help you choose the right phone case for your phone. I have the very sensible “wallet case” but this funny flowchart tells me that I should really have the “food case”, party because I do get very, very hangry! But which phone case are you?

phone case

You can download this infographic here.

= In collaboration with tech21 =

Glue Ear – Another operation for the small boy?

*Personal, meandering blog post alert*

This afternoon we are taking the small boy to hospital for a consultation about his glue ear. Almost exactly two years ago he had his first operation to have grommets put in his ears to alleviate the problem. At the time it was very apparent that he was starting to struggle and fall behind his peers, even at the tender age of 3. 

I remember him coming round from his anaesthetic, he started chattering away and he’s not stopped since. In the months following he seemed to come on in leaps and bounds, making up for lost time and we looked forward to a problem free future for him.

Regrettably that was not to be. About a year after his operation we suspected that he was starting to struggle to hear again and his ear infections, caused by the glue ear were becoming more frequent. Thankfully he was still having regular-ish appointments with ENT and following a hearing test last year they said they needed to keep an eye on him.

In December they tested him again and he had “significant hearing loss”, they sent us away to consider our options. Really there are only two options; let him suffer repeated infections, pain and discomfort as well as see him struggle at school, or have new grommets put in and his tonsils and adenoids taken out.

Today we go to the hospital to speak to the consultant. Yes we’d like him to have the operation please. Yes can you do it asap please. Yes we understand the risks and yes we’ve both tormented ourselves over making this decision. It doesn’t make it easy and it’s not something any parent wants, but we know that he needs this to be done. I just hope this will be an end to it for him. Poor lamb.

Glue Ear - Another operation for the small boy

Easter Crafts for Kids (and grown-ups too!)

Easter has “crafts” written all over it. There are so many Easter crafts to make, from Easter cards to Easter bonnets and beyond. Easter has the benefit of having a long Bank Holiday weekend as well as a couple of weeks off school for the holidays. That means there are an awful lot of hours to keep the kids occupied, crafting is a great way to fill an hour or two, especially if they just need a bit of quiet time, concentrating on a task and creating something lovely.

We got cracking with some Easter Crafts over the weekend. We all sat down and decorated these Egg Mosaic Baubles from Baker Ross. The pack contains everything you need to decorate four of the polystyrene eggs, including the eggs, a selection of sticky squares, ribbon and plastic pins.

Easter crafts

It’s quite fiddly to peel the backing off each individual square, so I peeled them off in rows or blocks, stuck them on the back of my hand and peeled them off as I needed them. The small boy didn’t like the idea of doing neat rows, so he stuck his on randomly, which I really like, and for some reason it made me think of Tetris the computer game.

Once the eggs were covered in the mosaic stickers I pinned the ribbons in place and hung them on a plant. I think they’re quite lovely and the certainly brighten the place up. The small boy is always so proud of his crafts and can’t wait to show them off to anyone who will look.

Later that day I was flicking through a craft magazine when I saw something I recognised. The Spring Blossom Tree kit from Baker Ross. Inspired, I got the kit out of our crafts box and made my first (and rather lovely) blossom tree.

easter crafts

The instructions are really clear and easy to understand. The tree, blossom and stand are all made from foam pieces, you stick the glittery blossom onto the plain coloured blossom and stick that onto the tree, and the stand just slots together. It’s very simple and very effective. I’m a sucker of cherry blossom, whether it’s made of foam or not.

We’ve got lots more Easter crafts and things to do over the next few weeks, so do keep an eye on our Instagram feed for new ideas and inspiration!

Review: Spring Cleaning with Astonish

This weekend the sun streamed through the windows and I saw my house properly in the warm glow of daylight for the first time in months. I like many others felt the urge to give everywhere a good scrub. I suspect I was not alone, up and down my road husbands were cutting the grass whilst their wives were hanging out line after line of washing, taking rugs outside for a good shake and polishing windows. It’s that time of year where everyone feels the need to have a spring clean.

Years ago I was less cautious about the chemicals I used around the house, I didn’t really care as long as the house was clean, but these days I’m a little more careful, I have the small boy to worry about as well as an asthmatic husband, and I try not to use cleaning products which make me catch my breath.

Astonish has a full range of products, which are all Vegetarian Society Approved, to help you clean your home from top to bottom. Better still, many of the products in the range have an RRP of just £1, so you can clean your house and not break the bank too.

We were sent some Astonish cleaning products to try out, including the new All in 1 Dishwasher Tablets, Oven & Cookware Cleaner, Grease Off Spray & Wipe, Antibacterial Cleanser and Grout & Tile Cleaner.

Astonish

The antibacterial cleaner is brilliant, often these kind of cleaners have a strong smell so we don’t buy them again, but this had virtually no smell and cleaned the kitchen surfaces really well. I’d happily use this multipurpose product all over the house again.

The Grease Off Spray & Wipe was so good on the hob. I know I should wipe it down every day, but it probably gets a scrub once a week, sometimes I have to really give it some elbow grease, but this lifted the burnt on bits and left my hob clean and shiny with very little effort at all.

I loved the Grout & Tile Cleaner, my bathroom grout has started to get a bit grubby and difficult to clean. This is easy to use, just spray it on and leave for 10 minutes, then go back and give it a rub with a cloth and it comes up almost like new. More stubborn bits of grout might need a second application, but it couldn’t be easier to use. Although we didn’t review it, we’ve been using the Astonish Mould & Mildew Remover for years and it’s fantastic for sorting out mould on bathroom sealants and very grubby tiles.

Hubs who is in charge of the dishwasher tried out the new All in 1 Dishwasher Tablets, they are formulated to remove even the toughest dried on stains including tea, coffee, dried sauces and gravy. They have a built in salt and rinse aid and they don’t contain Phosphates, so the product is kinder to the environment. They are also really good value (I’ve found them online for £2.99 for 40 dishwasher tablets).

He’s tried a lot of different brands of dishwasher tablets and he was very happy with these, the glasses were sparkly and there were no dried on bits left on the cutlery or dishes. We would definitely buy these again. It’s nice to be using a brand name product for a budget price.

Astonish

I used to think cleaning products were all the same, but they’re not (years of cleaning have taught me something at least). These products from Astonish don’t smell so bad that you can taste them in the air, they’re pleasant to use and they do the job well. They’re not expensive, with an average RRP of £1, having a clean house won’t cost the earth. I’m glad I’ve got these Astonish products in my spring cleaning armoury, I’ll be looking out for them in the future.

You can find out more about Astonish on their website. Astonish cleaning products are available from a wide range of retailers.

 

Five ways to beat hunger with my Healthy Snacks round-up

We have a hard and fast rule in our house about snacks. Healthy snacks are fine, fruit and rice cakes, that kind of thing. But if you want a biscuit or some crisps you have to put your shoes and coat on and walk to the shop and get it. The thought of making an effort to get a treat is often enough to put us off and turn to something healthier, and if you do put your coat on and go and get your treat, then you’ve earned it, enjoy it.

But try explaining that to a 5 year old. A hungry 5 year old who has to wait a few minutes to be fed is essentially a tornado of rage. The living embodiment of “hangry”.

healthy snacks

Top tip: A hungry (hangry) 5 year old will happily eat carrot sticks and other normally shunned fruit and veg if they are hungry enough. A bag of carrot sticks to munch on the way home from school is a good way to deal with the tornado of rage and the 5 a day problem at the same time.

Having some healthy snacks on hand for when your family need a little something to tide them over is incredibly useful. I’ve picked out some healthy snacks which we enjoy at home.

1. More Cheese Please!

Cheese is in the small boys top 3 favourite foods, we always have a handful of Babybel in the fridge. It’s easy for me to slip a couple in my pocket for him to munch on the way home from school and I don’t mind him snacking on cheese because it’s full of calcium and other good stuff.

2. Fruit Bowl Snacks

We discovered Fruit Bowl about 6 months ago and the boy has been enjoying sprinkling their fruit flakes on his yoghurt ever since. The Fruit Bowl peelers and school bars are great little snacks for nibbling on the way home from school, contain no added sugar and count towards your five a day.

healthy snacks

3. Chocolate!

Yes really. Sometimes you really NEED something sweet and often a couple of small pieces of good dark chocolate is enough to satisfy your craving. Of course my son won’t even contemplate dark chocolate, but having some small individually wrapped pieces of good chocolate, like these from Drop Dead Chocolates is enough to stop you accidentally devouring a 1kg bar of Dairy Milk. Sometimes.

4. Stick the kettle on

Sometimes you can feel hungry but you’re just thirsty. I always give the small boy something to drink and have water freely available to him. If I’m feeling especially hungry I find a nice cuppa can fill the gap for an hour or so, or sometimes I’ll have a glass of juice which I usually add a splash of water to so it is slightly diluted, but that’s a personal preference.

I do enjoy drinking aloe vera juice and I’ve tried for a while now to have a small glass of aloe vera juice on a daily basis. It’s not for everyone in the same way that orange juice with bits in isn’t for everyone, but it’s worth trying if you like the sound of the many health benefits of drinking aloe vera.

healthy snacks

The aloe vera juice from Grace Foods UK contains 50% less sugar than other brands I’ve tried. These handy 500ml bottles (I drink 100ml per day) are available in three flavours, Original, Strawberry and Mango and contain real aloe vera pieces. They are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians, with Original and Mango containing 100% RDA of Vitamin C. It’s available from a wide range of retailers including Tesco and Waitrose. I love aloe vera juice, I think it’s very underrated.

5. Rice Cakes and peanut butter

This may seem very dull indeed, but I always have a packet of Co-op unsalted rice cakes in my cupboard. They’re just 25 calories each and if I’m ravenous and simply cannot wait, or if I’ve no time to make myself something more exciting for lunch, a couple of rice cakes with reduced fat peanut butter are enough to tide me over until tea time. In fact the small boy is also a big fan of this as an after school snack, so we’ll often indulge together. Rice cakes are remarkably filling and contain very few calories. Trust me, I didn’t think I’d like them either.

What are your go to healthy snack choices? I’m always after munchable inspiration!

Recipe: Raw Chocolate Truffles made with Nutriseed

My local health food shop and deli make a delicious selection of raw chocolate energy bars and truffles, I have long lusted after them and wanted to try my hand at making them for myself. I often think making things from scratch is part of the fun, and these days when I’m trying to cut a few things like dairy out of my diet it makes sense to make some things myself. I was asked by superfood aficionados Nutriseed to try out some of their products, so I seized my chance to try making raw chocolate truffles myself. I was not disappointed.

I was sent a Nutri Box, a box full of nutritional goodies. I’d asked if my box could have cacao butter and cacao paste and I was happy to see some yummy goji berries and pumpkin seeds in there too. Nutriseed are an online nutritional food company based in London, creating vegetarian friendly, all-natural, raw, nutritional goodies by hand. 

raw chocolate truffles

My Nutriseed box was well packed and I loved the individual packets of goodness inside. Each of these “brown paper” packages are foiled inside so everything is fresh and in perfect condition, and they’re resealable too.

The Nutriseed website has so many different products to choose from including teas, treats, seeds, cereals, cocoa, capsules and superfoods. I think they are good value, for example my 500g of cacao paste was just £8.99 which I thought was very reasonable having priced up raw chocolate products elsewhere; delivery is free too if you spend over £29.99. Their product descriptions are packed with information, with all of the benefits of each product listed as well as nutritional information.

The Nutriseed website suggests that I use my Cacao Paste to…

  • Blend into smoothies for an extra nutritional kick
  • Sprinkle over yoghurt for a delicious breakfast
  • Bake into muffins, pancakes, or sweet bread
  • Add some to your breakfast porridge
  • Stir into a coffee for a homemade Mocha
  • Create a guiltless hot chocolate

But I wanted to make some raw chocolate truffles. There aren’t really many recipes around for making raw chocolate truffles with cacao paste, so I had to experiment a little with the quantities until I got it right. My recipe below is for cherry and rum raw chocolate truffles, but you could add whatever you wanted. I rolled mine in cocoa powder and dessicated coconut, but I really fancy making some pistachio truffles. Basically once you’ve made your chocolate truffle mixture you can add whatever you want. Here is my method…

Cherry & Rum Raw Chocolate Truffles

Yields 12
Delicious raw chocolate truffles made with cacao paste and cacao butter.

Ingredients
100g cacao paste
50g cacao butter
5 dessert spoons of carob syrup or similar
12-15 cherries
1 cap of rum
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of dessicated coconut

Instructions
Over a bain marie gently melt to cacao butter and cacao paste together, once melted remove from the heat and add the carob syrup, chopped cherries and a cap of rum, stir well. Put the mixture in the fridge to chill for two hours.

In a bowl mix the cocoa powder and coconut. Remove the chilled truffle mix from the fridge and using a teaspoon get enough mixture to make a truffle, shape in in your hands and roll in the cocoa powder and coconut mix, set aside. Make truffles with the remainder of the truffle mix.

Once all the truffles are made, chill in the fridge until they are to be eaten.

Notes
If you don’t want to shape the truffles using your hands, you could dust a silicon ice tray with the cocoa powder and pour in the warm runny truffle mix and leave that to set in the fridge. Just pop out a truffle as and when you need them.

I had a girls night in and offered my raw chocolate truffles around to my very discerning friends and they were a hit! We’ll be making some variations of these easy truffles in the run up to Easter and giving them as chocolatey gifts.

Raw Chocolate Truffles

I really loved my Nutriseed box, it’s the kind of grown up pick n mix of interesting and exciting ingredients a foodie can enjoy experimenting with. I’m already eyeing up several other of their hard to find ingredients for future recipes. 

Note: We were sent this Nutriseed box for review purposes, all images and opinions are our own.

Days Out: Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire

Most people will be familiar with the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire as the place where Stargazing Live is filmed. Jodrell Bank is owned and run by the University of Manchester and it is the home of the Lovell Telescope, the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world. It is open to the public and has a lovely new visitors centre as well as exhibits and gardens to explore, as well as the chance to have a look at the Lovell Telescope up close and personal.

We visited Jodrell Bank one sunny but bitterly cold day in February. It’s not actually that easy to find as the signposting is few and far between, but if you look for the giant telescope and head towards that you’ll eventually find it (or just use sat nav like normal people). There was ample parking in the car park and it cost £7 per adult and £4.95 per child to get in, which we felt was good value for money.

The visitors centre is not huge, it houses the cafe, shop, reception and a display room with information about various parts of the universe as well as a clockwork Orrery, something I’d never seen before but instantly wanted to have one in my house. An Orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system. There was a handle at child height which we turned and watched the planets and the moons on the ceiling move around. It was something quite special and we spent a lot of time looking at it and talking about the planets.

Jodrell Bank

From the visitors centre we went outside, there were gardens to explore, but as it was very cold we decided to head straight for the outdoor science experiments area. There were a number of large scale experiments to try, each with a plaque explaining what to do. We particularly liked the “Whispering Dishes” or parabolic reflectors, two dishes opposite each other, but some distance apart, one person would whisper into the dish and the other could hear it. It was brilliant and very popular. 

Jodrell Bank

We were close to the base of the telescope, there is a large fence around it so you can’t actually go and touch it, but you can get very close. The Lovell Telescope is huge and the dish measures 78 metres across, I was in awe of the size of it, even though I remember visiting as a child.

Jodrell Bank

Having spent around an hour outside conducting experiments in the cold, we headed into the Space Pavilion to have a look at some of the indoor exhibits and to discover how the scientists at Jodrell Bank use radio telescopes to learn more about distant objects in space. 

Jodrell Bank

There were lots of hands on exhibits to look at and play about with, as well as a little room where you could sit and watch a film about space. The boys loved it in here, the was lots for them to look at and learn about. I felt the Space Pavilion would have benefited from having someone there to help explain and demonstrate some of the exhibits, but I like to have things explained to me. 

Jodrell Bank

After a few hours exploring we felt ready for a hot cup of tea and some cake, sadly the Planet Pavilion Cafe was heaving, so we headed to the shop to buy some space souvenirs and experiments we could try at home, then hopped in the car and left.

Jodrell Bank

We’d had an especially lovely afternoon at Jodrell Bank. We’d explored both the observatory and the outer edges of the universe, learned a little bit about science and got some fresh air. It was a great afternoon out and we are planning to return in the summer when it’s a bit warmer.

For more information about Jodrell Bank visit their website.

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, The University of Manchester, Macclesfield, Cheshire, Sk11 9DL

Kids Health: The Smart Kids range from Bioglan

Like most parents I have a niggling worry that despite his love of broccoli that somehow my boy is lacking the essential nutrients he needs in order to thrive. Last October he had to take a week off school and was really quite poorly, he had a very nasty ear infection and spent the week on the sofa looking miserable. I’m keen to make sure he’s as healthy as possible so his body can fight off future infections. I was interested to try the Bioglan Smart Kids range of supplements and to see how my boy liked them.

bioglan

We were sent the full range to try, here’s what the small boy thought…

Smart Kids Omega 3 Brain Formula
These supplements contain Omega 3, B Vitamins and Iron which all play a vital role in transporting oxygen to the brain and the rest of the body, as well as contributes to the normal cognitive development of children. I tried these first and they are little gummy  capsules which you chew and they have a squirty liquid inside which tastes of citrus. I really didn’t think he’d like these very much, but once he’d bitten into one he enjoyed it. Half the battle is getting kids to take the tablet and this is a little bit different.

Smart Kids Fussy Eaters Multi
These  multivitamins have been designed for fussy eaters, they contain a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals. The tablets are small, chewy and taste of red berries, they’re also a bit fizzy in your mouth, these were my favourite. I warned the boy that they were fizzy and he made that lovely “sherbet face” you get when you eat something slightly sour. I’d be very happy to take these and I think he would too.

Smart Kids Happy Tummies
These were his very favourite, though he was skeptical at first. They are strawberry yoghurt balls designed to boost your child’s live culture intake and provide their tummies with the good bacteria they need. He loved these so much he would happily eat them as sweets and kept demanding more, which we didn’t give him obviously.

Smart Kids Superfood Shake
This is a very different product and I was looking forward to trying it out with him. I don’t know a child who doesn’t love a milkshake so this is potentially a great way to get some extra nutrients inside them without much fuss.

The milkshake is apparently packed with lots of hidden fruit and veg. It’s simple enough to make, just mix it with milk, but it doesn’t dissolve like normal milkshake powder so you do need to whisk it. He did drink it and say it was yummy, but he did take his time over it and I thought it smelt a bit veggie. I’m not sure it’s something he’d drink every day, but as an occasional boost when he’s run down I think it would work well.

bioglan

I like the fact that the Smart Kids range from Bioglan has thought about different ways to help supplement and boost kids’ diets. I’d like to see more of the yoghurt ball style of supplement because that’s what our boy likes the best; but all kids are different and differently fussy and I think there is something for everyone in this range.

Bioglan supplements are widely available from a range of retailers.

Note: We were sent this selection of Bioglan Smart Kids supplements for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.