misc. adulting: questions I'm vaguely embarrassed about and am not sure how to ask the internet

[kaberett]

1. ... ears. ears... clean? how... clean... ears. bonus points for (i) sympathy for anxious autistic Never Put Anything Smaller Than An Elbow In Your Ear, and (ii) taking into account seborrheic dermatitis + generally oily skin + tendency to have them clog up if I'm not careful.
   
2. condensation around double-glazed windows. how... prevent? what... do? ditto condensation in an exterior corner of the house, behind a bedside table. (bedside table currently pulled forward for more air circulation.)
   
3. (white painted) wall around light switches getting grubby: still not managed to work out a competent way to tidy this up. thoughts opinions recommendations?

Comments

[ursula]

A Magic Eraser sponge will clean up the wall. In my experience, they work so well for this sort of thing that it's low-key creepy.

[lunabee34]

This was going to be my suggestion as well.

[ewt]

Yup, I have no idea how they work but they are great for this particular thing.

[kaberett]

So I have tried using these & I'm finding that most of what I'm getting is a Definitely Texturally Different patch of all, in consequence, that seems to pick up grot even more easily. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM DOING WRONG but it makes me Sad.

(I am applying small quantities of water and scrubbing carefully. I am a massive fan of the things in many other contexts but Walls Are, Apparently, My Nemesis.)

[ilyena_sylph]

Oh gods, ears are the worst in some ways. I mean, never put anything smaller than an elbow in your ear is Still Good Policy!

Mostly, your ear canals should clean themselves, but if you're having wax buildup (I sometimes do), there are a couple of kinds of mineral oil drops that you lay on your side, drip the recommended number of drops in, wait 5 minutes, then sit up and use a washcloth or tissue to wipe away the drainage. Then repeat with the other ear.

Some of the drops come with a bulb-syringe that you can use to gently squeeze warm water into the ear canal to help get the mineral-oil-and-wax out better, too.

[kaberett]

Yeah, the issue with my various allergies to my own skin flora + oiliness is that my ears do not competently clean themselves, and I do have to Actively Take Care to prevent them clogging up, and I was sort of hoping there was a better option than "the ear drops that feel horrible" or "digging around the exterior with my fingers when I'm washing my hair", but perhaps there just isn't and I'm already doing the right things, ugh.

[azurelunatic]

2 - we got a plug-in dehumidifier to run in our Damp Places. It needs its filter de-dusted about yearly, and the accumulation in the bucket gets dumped in the bathroom sink. It has an ingenious little float that will push the HOLY FUCK BUCKET FULL switch; in practice we've never hit that level.

[kaberett]

Haroom. It is... a pity... that we got rid of A's dehumidifier, though also it was probably faulty, so. Hmm. Will up the gel-dehumidifier sachets.

[vass]

1. There's a Wikihow article for that. Only do this if they are clogging up, though. If they're doing the job themselves, leave them alone. Like the vaginal canal, the ear canals are self-cleaning unless something goes amiss. (Similarly, you should be fine cleaning the external ear-parts with a wet washcloth and maybe ordinary face soap.)

And definitely don't stick a cotton swab in your ear. (Do as I say, not as I do. I practise the forbidden ear-cleaning method. Which probably means I'm leaving trace cotton fibres in there, certainly means I'm risking perforating an eardrum, and also actually makes them itchier, which is what happens when you scrape off earwax that's meant to be in there. Definitely do not do this. It is an unhealthy vice, no matter how satisfying. Sometimes a cat hair comes out.)

2. No idea, will watch this thread with interest.

3. The Magic Eraser is just melamine foam, and works by being a mild abrasive. Do with that knowledge as you will. Personally I haven't had much luck with it for that sort of stain.

[kaberett]

1. Unfortunately, my ears are frequently Amiss. to the point that every time I end up having anyone have to look in them they go "gosh there's... a lot of wax here." (combination of "allergic to own skin flora" + "oiliness" means "if I'm not super precious about them they need syringing about once every 12-6 months, which is tedious and unpleasant in the extreme, but surely there is a better way to do this than either digging around in my ears unhappily every time I wash my hair or the ear drops of misery and wretchedness and horror", but MAYBE NOT.)

3. Yeah, we have and Appreciate melamine foam for Many Reasons but while I've had some joy with it for idk -- surface marks? -- there's something about "accumulated skin oils", I assume, that it doesn't work great on. Maybe I will gird my loins and try some warm soapy water, very gently.

[cesy]

For condensation, I found it improved a bit with decent curtains, but I haven't yet found a cure.

[kaberett]

Maybe I should be having another go at sorting out blinds that go entirely over the window recess, ugh. (We have one! In theory! It's in... a state.)

[cesy]

For the wall, I have some bits that will come up clean with soap and water, and some bits that I just paint over occasionally.

[kaberett]

This is reassuring; thank you. <3

[conuly]

If you think your ears are clogged, go to your doctor, ask them if your ears are clogged and if so, if they can irrigate the wax out.

[shanaqui]

Caveat: this is no longer going to be a free service in the UK and either there will be a charge or the GP will refuse to do it, depending on whether they're set up for taking your money.

[chiasmata]

Body-temp olive oil for ears, applied with a Pasteur pipette.

[kaberett]

mrgh. I am torn between "relief that I am not secretly Failing At Basic Personal Hygiene" and "wailing about why ALL THE OPTIONS feel AWFUL". <3

[ewt]

Ears: I use the sodium bicarbonate based or peroxide based ear drops from time to time when I remember or if my ears get hurty (this is usually from wearing earplugs or in-ear headphones, both of which seem to make my wax get stuck). Probably possible to make your own. Olive oil allegedly also works, but as sebderm flora thrive on oleic acid (and any fatty acid with a chain length between 8 and... 20? 22? I've forgotten) I can't use olive oil (or coconut oil or etc) anywhere on my face or scalp, and don't really want to try it in my ears. I clean my outer ears with a washcloth when I wash my hair. I very occasionally syringe my ears with a bulb and warm water, but only if drops alone haven't resolved the problem.

Boots do an ear-cleaning spray which I also like but don't always remember to pick up.

All the shop bought ear drop formulations I can find also contain glycerine and make my skin tacky and sticky.

Condensation at windows: use an extractor fan (one that actually goes to outside, not just one that filters the air but blows the moisture back into the room) or open a window (or both) whenever you cook or shower. Wiping down windows with a towel can also help but if you're having to do it more than occasionally, it might be dehumidifier time.

Condensation in corner: this may be a different problem than condensation, if it is low down, but it could also just be from the wall being cold. Try to figure out if it's condensing far up and running down the wall, or just appearing in the corner without the air being damp. Inspect outside of building for signs of damp coming up, leaky guttering etc. Dig moat if necessary? I don't actually know how to solve this, sorry.

I use a magic eraser thing on wall around light switches before house inspections. My mother disapproves and says soap and water is fine, so I don't tell her. Mostly our light switch boxes stick out from the wall enough that this isn't a huge problem.

[kaberett]

Sigh, okay, so the answer to ears is not that there's some secret I'm missing, it's just that all the options feel awful and I'm an unlucky person who needs them anyway.

Condensation: main problem is actually in the bedroom, overnight. I suppose there's an option on keeping the bedroom door open but I'd slightly rather not (because of the sheer number of Glowy Things in the house). Mrrgh.

I have had joy with magic erasers for many other purposes but not so much this one. I'm wondering if it's a deposition-of-skin-oils thing, but I think actually my key takeaway is SOAP AND WATER ON PAINT IS FINE, ALEX.

[alexwlchan]

Ears I try to leave to clean themselves, and when I break that habit I usually screw it up and have (1) painful ears and/or (2) temporary loss of hearing, which can only be resolved by a doctor’s appointment.

(My twisted brain tried to put my elbows into the corresponding ears, and they don’t mesh at all. Am I unusually inflexible, or did the person who coined that saying have a variety of spare, unattached limbs to stick into various orifices?)

[alexwlchan]

(And immediately after posting this I remember that, yeah, I have a collection of detachable body parts, and while they’re not ones I’ve ever thought to put in my ear, it’s absolutely plausible for somebody to have a pile of prosthetic limbs that they use for cleaning purposes.)

(I love where my brain goes.)

[shanaqui]

1. I use Optex eardrops when things are building up to soften the wax, and then usually turning the shower on gently and letting water run into my ears will be sufficient to clean things out. Occasionally I have to get my ears syringed, and this is an experience I cannot recommend.

2. We run a dehumidifier at night.

3. I think Lisa uses Pink Stuff Cream Cleanser on just about any such thing that dares to rear its head.

[kaberett]

1. I am a Lucky Person who needs ears syringing every year or so if I'm not Precious about ear-cleaning, but it seemed to me that surely there must exist a better option than either (i) The Bad Textures or (ii) Digging Around With A Fingernail, In The Shower, While Washing My Hair, but I am at least somewhat reassured that No, Actually.

2. Good to know thank you. <3 Our worst condensation problems are in the bedroom, which is... awkward.

3. GOOD TO KNOW also!

[recessional]

As a general ongoing thing, after you've maybe done the stuff mentioned above, I find it useful to use warm (not hot, but warm) water in one of those bulbs to sort of daily rinse my ears (lean head over horizontal and squeeze bulb full of water in, I usually do it in shower, it allows the water to flow back out) and then just make sure to dry my ears really well.

I am honestly considering getting one of this kind of thing because the only downside is it's hard to CLEAN those irrigation bulbs and I worry. But yeah.


I do not know what to do about #2 other than maybe run a dehumidifier; I'm actually continually slightly baffled by why exactly Vancouver and London, despite being roughly the same weather and humidity thru the winter, are so different in terms of "how much damp ends up in the house".

[crazyscot]

Vancouver and London have different building codes; different standards and practices for home heating and appliances; different people with different habits! Moving from the UK to NZ a few years ago really opened my eyes.

[crazyscot]

1. Ear cleaning drops from chemist may or may not help. If badly blocked, the medical profession can help - there are at least two methods they may deploy (syringing, microsuction), it's worth discussing first as the sensations are rather different and you may have a preference.

2. Condensation arises from a combination of water vapour in the home, and a cold surface for it to condense on (that exterior corner). tldr: ventilate, ventilate, ventilate.

See if you can do anything to reduce water vapour generation and circulation around the house. Use kitchen and bathroom extractor fans where fitted; ventilate where not (and try to keep the door closed during moisture-generating activities). If you have a clothes dryer, does it vent outside / to a condensing reservoir and is that working properly? Try to avoid hanging clothes up to dry inside but if you can't, ventilate. If you have a freestanding (unflued) gas heater, replace it with something better ASAP.

Check the exterior of the house (particularly around the cold corner) for defects, especially cracks, blocked/broken vents or air bricks. Check for seepage around the windows.

You may need to leave the bedside table pulled forward permanently. As a general rule, don't push furniture right up to any exterior walls.

These guys say sensible things, but there's possibly more information than you can deal with in one go.

[kaberett]

1. On this occasion I was attempting to enquire about routine maintenance (as someone whose ears do block up regularly unless babied, sigh, which means I have had several rounds of syringing in adulthood...) but it is good to know that actually no the routine maintenance I have been doing (or avoiding) is actually just. what you gotta do. in this situation.

2. Our main problems with condensation are all, annoyingly enough, in the bedroom over winter. I think my best bet is probably to try to actually sort out the secondary blind that completely blocks off the window recess, and also refresh the gel dehumidifiers, ugh.

I shall check the exterior next time I'm going out the back, and in the meantime will just Grumble about the inconvenience of Routinely Dropping Things Down The Back Of The Bedside Table, sigh. (Though maybe once I've actually got my act together to apply some spray bleach to the current problem I can reduce the gap at least a *little*.)

[sporky_rat]

For the dirt on the wall, I use a warm, damp rag and some dish soap (usually Dawn since it's really good for oil and dirt anyway and that's what the stuff is).

When I have to wash it off the cabinets, it's a hot wet rag and some soap and a little bit of baking soda for non-scratching abrasive.

[kaberett]

Many many thanks for reassure that Applying Damp To Paint is in fact Allowed. <3

[lebannen]

Ears. Ugh. Also itchy. I ... am a bad person and poke mine with things smaller than my elbow, mainly things with a loop shape such as oh just for example a kirby grip or the loop end of a safety pin. I really can't cope with the whole 'deliberately putting liquid into my ears' thing because SO MUCH UGH.

My mum has done the microsuction thing and says it's magic; as far as I can tell, once she's had it done, it all feels better for much longer than when she was doing all the complicated olive oil and getting them syringed and so on routine. On the other hand, presumably it involves a stranger getting fairly close to you with some sort of power tool, which given Current Events, is quite possibly More Ugh than it would be worth.

I have been resident at various times in various places and I'm pretty sure that my ears are less horrible to me in places that are drier and less dusty than others; this has still not been quite enough incentive for me to deep clean my bedroom lately, but it's a thing. I have washed my pillow recently and possibly it has made a difference.

Condensation. Ugh. Other people have said all the things. I really need to move the bureau away from the ground floor exterior wall to its forever home, but before I can do that I need to finish sanding it and haha guess what, this is why it's been there all summer.

Painted walls. UGH THERE IS SO MUCH BAD PAINT IN THE WORLD. This comment brought to you by having recently helped my sister clean the house she was moving out of, where the policy of 'really cheap emulsion everywhere' had been (insufficiently) applied by the landlord. Repaint everything in Dulux Kitchen Plus, you can repeatedly wipe tea and hot chocolate off it no problem, I can't imagine that it would be any different around light switches. If your place is currently done in cheap emulsion, some of it will probably come off when you wipe a damp cloth around, this is just a thing that happens and not the end of the world. Obviously repainting is a big thing to do and should be done as part of a scheduled maintenance thing, see also the fact that my actual kitchen is currently done in cheap white (over a first coat of Fancy Zinsser Primer in some places to cover up the BRIGHT ORANGE SHINY paint we found under the wallpaper; I recommend various types of expensive primer for trying to cover up that kind of thing or anywhere that might get mouldy). Do not under any circumstances go near vinyl silk, that stuff is way creepy.

[sporky_rat]

Oh my gosh cheap paint is the worst, I really would rather whitewash than cheap paint.

[ironed_orchid]

I use very diluted sugar soap on grubby patches around lightswitches and doorways.

grubby walls near lightswitches

[brainwane]

Have you tried a rubbing-alcohol wipe, of the cloth-like type used to clean skin before an injection? I believe I've used those to good effect in this situation.

[indywind]

1.Ears: I'm a naturally oily person prone to cystic acne rather than seborrheic dematitis. I occasionally get significant wax buildup but never enough yet to cause blockage. The thought of purposefully adding oil to my oily self is appalling and I would not put olive or coconut oil in my ear unless told by a physician backed by lots of strong clinical evidence featuring people who are slimy like me. I clean with standard otc 8% peroxide solution about once per month (tilt head, drip in enough to fill the ear canal, wait a moment, tip head the other way and let it run out) and dry with cotton tipped swabs (insert only shallowly, swirl around the edge rather than mash in, don't use if the fit is tight -- the eardrum is at least .75cm deep and around a little bend for many people, so it's hard to poke it accidentally while keeping close to the edge) or a small twist of cloth after peroxide cleaning or, rarely, when my ears have got full of water some other way-- it seems good for blotting up liquid, not removing solid wax. I don't necessarily recommend this for anyone else, it's just how I do. IANAD. (*If it's an reassurance, I was once cleaning the exterior of my ear with a cotton swab and got my elbow jogged, bumping the swab painfully pretty deep into the ear canal but I don't seem to have seriously damaged my eardrum. I put a drop of topical antiseptic/anesthetic in and was fine next day.)

2. No idea. The entire interior of my house suffers from condensation in the rapid-temp-and-humidity-cycling season of late winter/early spring.

3. I have used: soap and water, or sodium bicarb water solution, or vinegar solution, or very dilute bleach solution, or manufactured cleaning spray of various sorts; on a cloth, or a sponge, or a paper towel, or a mildly scrubby scouring pad. They all seemed to work about equally well, maybe some variation for different kinds of grubbiness being more responsive to different solvents (kitchen wall grubby versus bathroom wall). But the clean-up was decidedly temporary in any case. Eventually just had to repaint. Eggshell or gloss texture paint rather than matte makes the cleanup easier/gunk slower to accumulate (my house had one bathroom painted in matte, one on in gloss, so I have a direct comparison), but it also kinda looks stupid to have shiny walls in some places, so.

[azurelunatic]

Matte walls are The Objective Worst and cannot be meaningfully cleaned to my knowledge. Anything involving scrubbing them seems to result in paint coming off. Do Not Want.

[azurelunatic]

My ear-cleaning process involves:

a) do ears Feel Wrong and/or is there something in there that can be made to resonate by humming in That Way That Irritates Silver
b) if so, carefully insert The Forbidden Cotton Bud
c) preferably After Shower, so softened
d) and use a motion sort of like scraping the sides of a jar with a scraper-spatula