As Summer winds down and Fall arrives, a lot of people are shifting their attention towards getting their homes in order.

You might be dreading it, but one task you don’t have to worry about is cleaning your shower.

Brian Knievel, Regional General Manager from West Shore Home, joined us to explain how their showers make cleaning a breeze.

He says, “You might scrub your toilet once a week, but when was the last time you scrubbed the grout in your tile? We all know how much of a pain it is to clean grout, but with West Shore Home showers and baths you don’t need to worry about that.”

That’s because West Shore Home’s baths and showers are made with acrylic, a non-porous material which are great at keeping mold and mildew out, which means less scrubbing. They’re also grout-free.

Knievel says you simply use Windex of vinegar and water, so you can throw away all those harsh chemicals.

The material resists chips and cracks so your shower will look new for years to come.

All installations are done by West Shore Home employees, no subcontractors and they’ll be finished in a day.

West Shore Home has 5-Star reviews on Google, Facebook, Home Advisor and more.

If you call 801-877-3299 today, they will have a design consultant out to you in 24 hours for a free estimate, and the best part is you will get $500 off your project.

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Ratan Tata-backed Urban Company (UC) is hopeful of servicing 0.5 million bookings in October, a jump of about 2.5X from now, from its professional cleaning department alone, as people gear up for the festive season, a senior company executive said in an interview.

Gathering pace since 2018, UC’s cleaning service has an average ticket price of about Rs 1,200 across four categories: bathroom, sofa, kitchen and full home cleaning. Further, the company has an average take rate or earns about 15-25% from each order.

“In October alone we are expecting about 30% of the company’s business to come from our business unit. From a typical business month, around now, to October, we’re expecting a jump of about 2.5X. That means this Diwali we will witness a 3X growth year-on-year (y-o-y) after very muted two years,” said Arushi Arora, vice president, professional cleaning of Urban Company.

The company also plans to increase its partner base to 10,000 by October from the current 8,000, which has already doubled over the past year or so. It aims to have 500,000 partners by 2030. Over the past years, Arora claims her wing has been able to reduce its prices by about 40% just by moving to an individual model from an aggregator model, where it would collaborate with various business owners, which she said was very capital-intensive.

Also Read:  IDBI Bank sale to herald PSB privatisation: Tuhin Kanta Pandey

So far, Arora’s department has serviced about 2.5 million users, out of which a million came in the last 12 months alone. UC had closed calendar year (CY) 21 with 11.5 million orders, as reported earlier.

Further, UC even earns marginally from supplying chemicals, scrubbing machines and other tools. It has financing options for partners to buy equipment and also provides personal loans of up to Rs 15,000 for its select partners, a loan UC takes on its books. In total, about 10% of the department’s total revenue comes from the aforementioned categories.

On a company level, UC’s top three categories in terms of revenue are beauty and salon services at home, professional cleaning services and appliance repair category. Each division generates about 20-30% of the revenue for the company. UC had reported a 13.8% increase in its revenue from operations to Rs 239 crore y-o-y while its net losses widened 51% to Rs 207 in FY21. Going forward, the company is however expected to face competition from Flipkart’s Jeeves — the company’s services arm which began AC repair services in April and is expected to expand offerings to other electronic items, to begin with.

UC was founded in 2015 by Abhiraj Bhal, Raghav Chandra and Varun Khaitan and has raised over $470 million so far from Tiger Global, Accel, Prosus Ventures, Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal, OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal, and others who have valued the Gurugram-based company at over $2.6 billion.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning about an increase in cases of a viral infection called enterovirus D68.

Cold and flu season is around the corner, but this infection can lead to some scary problems.

Health experts said the infection can sometimes lead to a rare form of paralysis for kids.

The CDC is asking doctors to pay attention to this because during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, this infection pretty much went away.

Now during July and August, the CDC says there’s been an increase in pediatric hospitalizations with severe respiratory illnesses.

The average age this impacts is 3-year-olds. Kids with asthma could be at a higher risk.

Here are some healthy practices the CDC recommends to keep your child safe: Wash your hands often with soap and water; Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands; Cover your coughs and sneezes; Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces; Stay home when you are sick.

The symptoms really mimic a cold, but if your kid’s symptoms continue to get worse or they are having problems breathing — call your doctor.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards encourages the people of Louisiana to get the new COVID-19 booster and flu shot.

The new bi-valent COVID-19 booster shot provides protection against multiple variants of the virus. The flu vaccine offers added protection against respiratory illness.

LDH recommend all Louisiana residents get the new bi-valent COVID-19 booster vaccine and the flu vaccine to protect against severe illness that could lead to hospitalization and fatalities.

“Let’s start now to do what we can to maximum the protection, we have available,” said Governor John Bel Edwards.

On Tuesday morning, Governor Edwards and the Louisiana Department of Health leaders received their seasonal flu and updated COVID-19 booster shots at Our Lady of the Lake’s North Baton Rouge Clinic.

Lt. Billy Nungesser relaunches African American Heritage, wants to implement in schools

During the meeting the Governor addressed how “It is safe and appropriate to have both at the same time.”

Governor Edwards adds that Tuesday morning alone, over 331 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Combine that with what health officials say, this will be a very active flu season.

Some countries in the southern hemisphere, which can be predictors of flu activity in the northern hemisphere, are experiencing their most severe flu season in five years.

In the 2018 flu season, LDH estimated more than 1,000 people died and more than 14,000 people were hospitalized from the flu.

“We don’t want to have that happen this year, while we’re still dealing with COVID,” stated Governor Edwards.

The governor also added that the Pfizer booster is available for anyone who is 12 and older. The Moderna booster is available for anyone who is 18 and older.

LDH says ideally everyone six months of age and older should get their flu shot by the end of October.

 In addition to flu vaccines, there are other ways you can fight the flu:

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick,
• If you are sick, stay home and limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them,
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze,
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer,
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way,
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with viruses that cause the flu

If you’re looking for locations closest to you that provide COVID-19 booster and flu shots, click here.

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KEEPING up with cleaning your house is a job that never seems to end.

But one cleaning expert has revealed five simple steps to make keeping up with it easier.

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Caroline revealed five rules she lives by to keep her house cleanCredit: TikTok/@neat.caroline

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And keeping clutter to a minimum is key to having a clean homeCredit: TikTok/@neat.caroline

Posting to TikTok, Neat Caroline, from New York, US, revealed the tips will ensure your house stays relatively clean and tidy at all times.

In the short clip, she said: “Here’s some rules to help you keep a cleaner home.”

Caroline first recommended making your bed as soon as you wake up, as it will instantly make your room look clean and tidy.

Not only that, but it will also give you the motivation to keep the rest of your home clean and tidy throughout the day.

The cleaning expert also suggested giving your kitchen surfaces a wipe down immediately after cooking to stop grime and oil building up.

She added you should also clean down the dining room table after you’ve finished eating.

Caroline said: “This prevents gunk build up and makes your home feel so much cleaner.”

The pro added you should always clean as you go, especially when cooking as it means you won’t be stressed out thinking about cleaning the future mess.

Finally, and the most important trick to keeping your house clean and tidy is to put your dirty clothes immediately into the laundry basket instead of leaving them on the floor.

The cleaning expert added: “Clutter has a tendency to attract other clutter, so if you are tidying up regularly you will avoid that mountain of stuff in your room.”

Caroline also revealed how to get your bathroom clean in just ten minutes.

She revealed keeping your surfaces free from grim and dust will make the biggest difference.

She recommended using a microfibre cloth for a more flawless finish and to spray them down with an all-purpose cleaner.

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Making the bed first thing will get you in the right headspace to keep your place tidy throughout the dayCredit: TikTok/@neat.caroline

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A staple for most home cooks, wooden spoons, spatulas, and other utensils are extremely versatile, working equally as well with cast iron pans as they do with nonstick, enamel, copper, and other materials (via Southern Living). They don’t conduct heat like metal does, so you don’t have to worry about burning yourself, and when properly cared for, they are extremely durable. It makes sense that most people who like to cook have more than a few of them around.

And yet, wooden utensils have to be babied a bit. They can’t be washed in the dishwasher, lest their natural oils get stripped. They can’t be dried lying flat, lest they warp and crack. And since wood is porous, it can also hold onto food stains and smells, making it necessary to carefully clean and even occasionally disinfect. And that’s where good ol’ baking soda comes in yet again. MasterClass recommends making a simple paste of one tablespoon of baking soda mixed with one teaspoon of water, rubbing it on a stained or smelly wooden spoon, and then rinsing and drying the spoon. If you’re one of the only people on earth to not have a box of baking soda around, then simply soak the spoon in lemon juice, MasterClass advises. Either way, your utensil will emerge fresh — and ready for another few rounds of stirring and scraping.

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This before and after shot shows the effects of an expert treatment by Goulburn Washers. Picture supplied

The recent spate of constant wet weather has been bad news for home exteriors.

Mold, mildew and algae have taken over driveways, roofs and guttering, causing a serious maintenance problem for many residents.

And that’s where Aaron Wadsworth of Goulburn Washers comes in.

Aaron started up his business about a year ago when he noticed mold and algae across the region “covering everything – houses, paths, driveways, and even Rambo”.

“I could see there was a clear need as I began to observe the situation getting out of hand for people with only standard domestic machinery,” Aaron said.

Goulburn Washers offers high pressure cleaning of exteriors, roofs, gutters, driveways, paths and public spaces, as well as a gentler cleaning of gravestones, statues and memorials.

“We endeavor to improve the lives of our customers,” Aaron said.

“We’re flexible, affordable, reliable, friendly and wholly effective. There’s no harm in getting someone in to remove the mold and muck and really add value, and we really believe the easiest and most reliable way to do that is with us.”

Goulburn Washers is the only high-quality owner-operator business in the region with a range stretching all through the Tablelands and beyond.

“Our customers have come from as far as Binda to the north, Tallong to the east and Yass to the west,” Aaron said.

“We work with what you need and are willing to take on jobs that some local businesses don’t consider worth their time, like grave cleaning.

“If we didn’t believe we were the best at what we do, we wouldn’t be recommending using our service.”

Aaron said do it yourself attempts to restore the external surfaces of your home can often be problematic.

“In maybe just under a tenth of our customers people go out to try and restore their externals themselves,” he said.

“They spend days earning the money for a machine that just doesn’t cut it, then end up after three weekends with a project that looks worse than when it started.

“That’s usually when they call us, and we get it done perfectly in a day.

“In some cases they overcompensate for their lower-strength machines by working too close and too rough and end up etching marks all over their surfaces.

“Besides that, the chemicals used by DIYers might not attack the discolouration; but they might attack nearby plants and the surface of what’s being cleaned itself,” Aaron said.

To see what’s possible and find out more about the benefits of pressure washing you can go to the website at www.goulburnwashers.com or phone 0429 78 9161.

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Hala seeds and leaves infested by hala scale prior to removal

The hala tree, its sprawling leaves famously used for woven lauhala pieces and iconic in Hawaiian and Polynesian culture, is being threatened by a critical invasive pest—the hala scale. Experts at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), the UH Campus Arboretum and UH Mānoa Landscape Services teamed up to save the trees on campus. Thanks to their collaborative efforts, the pest was eradicated at UH Mānoa in August 2022.

Close-up of hala scale on hala seed

The hala scale is an invasive insect that damages hala leaves as well as the tree’s fruit and young seedlings, which can prevent the regeneration of new hala. Common signs of infestation include wilted leaves and tiny black specks found primarily on the underside of leaves, as well as on the tops of leaves and on the hala fruit. Hala scale originated in Hāna, Maui in 1995 but has since spread to Molokaʻi and Oʻahu. In November 2021, UH Mānoa was identified as one of three Oʻahu hot spots of the pest.

Prior to hala scale removal, UH Mānoa was home to 54 hala trees. The hala scale on UH Mānoa’s campus was concentrated in two main areas: the lower campus athletics complex and the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies. In addition to being a popular landscape plant, the hala is iconic in Hawaiʻi and Polynesia for its versatility.

Hala trees on campus prior to hala scale eradication

“It was used by many cultures for thousands of years, most notably the leaves being used and woven into basic necessities at the time, 1,500 years ago,” said Nōweo Kai, curator at the UH Campus Arboretum. “It was used for medicine, famine food and fibers. Hala leaves (lauhala) were even used to make sails for double-hull canoes.”

Researching solutions

Zhiqiang Cheng, an associate professor and extension specialist at CTAHR’s Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, has been researching hala scale with his Turfgrass and Landscape Pest Management Lab since 2016.

“HDOA staff reached out to me in 2016, and asked me to review the hala scale infestation situation on Chaminade University’s campus and set up a field research trial there,” said Cheng. “I then received funding to conduct a larger scale research trial on Maui, where hala scale is widespread.”

Working alongside Cheng is Mason Russo, a CTAHR PhD student in entomology. Their research has so far identified several low-risk insecticides that are effective against hala scale. One of the insecticides—imidacloprid—was used to combat the hala scale at UH Mānoa.

Eradicating the pest

Landscaping personnel cutting down infected hala
Removed hala in a dedicated roll-off bin

Starting in January 2022, UH Mānoa Landscape Services collaborated with Cheng and Russo to begin efforts for hala scale removal and treatment. Cheng communicated best practices for managing the pest, which landscaping then implemented.

Their efforts mainly involved the careful removal of infected hala. Landscaping personnel would cut down infected hala, placing it into a dedicated roll-off bin. After removal, they would drench the contents of the bin with imidacloprid (the insecticide that Cheng recommended), and leave the bin covered for two weeks before sending it to H-POWER for incineration. As a preventative measure, they also applied the insecticide to the ground below each tree that was removed. Anyone who worked on removal each day had to disinfect themselves and their tools with rubbing alcohol to prevent further spread of the pest.

Fifteen hala trees were removed from campus due to scale infestation. Hala that were not infested to the point of removal were also treated with imidacloprid. These efforts were well worth it, when the hala scale was officially deemed eradicated at UH Mānoa.

Going forward, landscaping plans to continue the pesticide treatment on an annual basis. Through continued collaboration and due diligence, the hope is to prevent the remainder of the hala on campus from being infested and to mitigate further hala scale spread across Oʻahu.

—By Alisha Churma

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NEW YORK — The heavy rain overnight brought with it some intense flash flooding. The city felt it just about everywhere.

CBS2’s Kevin Rincon has more from hard-hit Rego Park, Queens.

It didn’t take much rain to cause financial strain.

“All my goods are like wet. The whole store is messed up,” said Karim Budhwani, owner of BBS Supplies.

Budhwani said keeps most of his beauty supply inventory underground, and on Tuesday morning water poured in.

“I would assume it’s probably more than $50,000,” he said of the damage.

He’s now left cleaning up a mess he didn’t bargain for.

“My basement is flooded. My store got pretty much damaged again as what happened like last year,” Budhwani said.

Twelve months ago, the flood waters from the remnants of Hurricane Ida ripped through the same part of Queens. Budhwani’s concern is this becoming a new normal.

“This is not a flood zone, but now it’s getting worse,” Budhwani said.

Just blocks away, Rincon found more cleanup.

“The whole building got flooded, so I gotta clean the whole thing from front to back now,” a maintenance worker named Brad said.

And it’s not just rain water to contend with.

“Well, our basement is flooded and we got a big mess. It’s sewage water,” Rego Park resident Bill Yu.

Throughout the neighborhood, you can smell that rather unpleasant odor.

“There’s some issue going through the sewage lines. I don’t know if the city is keeping up with it,” Ellen Yu added.

The flooding wasn’t just in Rego Park. In other parts of Queens, cars got stuck along an underpass on Cooper Avenue and in Flushing the waters left roads unpassable.

Earlier this month, after the one-year anniversary of Ida, Mayor Eric Adams said the city would do more in the way of flood prevention, but many in Queens say those investments need to made faster.

Kevin Rincon

Kevin Rincon is a reporter for CBS2.

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Imran Riza, who is also Resident Coordinator, said in a statement that “swift and urgent action is needed to prevent further illness and death. UN agencies and non-governmental organizations partners are coordinating closely with health authorities to ensure a timely and effective response.”

The outbreak was declared on 10 September by the Syrian Ministry of Health, following 15 confirmed laboratory cases, including one patient death, said Mr. Riza. A total of 936 cases of severe acute watery diarrhoea were reported between 25 August and 10 September, which led to “at least eight deaths”, he reported.

Most cases were reported from Aleppo (72.2 per cent), and Deir-ez-Zor (21.5 per cent), with cases also reported in Ar-Raqqa, Al Hasakeh, Hama and Lattakia.

The number of confirmed cholera cases so far is 20 in Aleppo, four in Lattakia and two in Damascus – both of those infected in the capital had travelled from Aleppo.

Euphrates link

“Based on a rapid assessment conducted by health authorities and partners, the source of infection is believed to be linked to people drinking unsafe water from the Euphrates River and using contaminated water to irrigate crops, resulting in food contamination”, said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator. “Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity.”

He said the outbreak was an indicator of severe shortages of water throughout Syria, an issue the UN has “been sounding alarm bells on”, for some time.

Mr. Riza said that while the Euphrates levels were dropping with drought-like conditions and a national water infrastructure damaged by 11 years of war, “much of the already vulnerable population of Syria is reliant on unsafe water sources, which may lead to the spread of dangerous water-borne diseases, particularly among children.”

“Water shortages are forcing households to resort to negative coping mechanisms, such as changing hygiene practices or increasing household debt to afford water costs.”

Coordinated response underway

A closely coordinated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health response is underway, the senior humanitarian official said, led by the Syrian health ministry with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, working with a wide network of partners on the ground to respond.

“Since late August, health partners have been actively working to strengthen preparedness and response capacity for potential outbreaks in all affected governorates. Early warning surveillance has been intensified in areas where the outbreak has been reported and other high-risk areas, including in camps hosting internally displaced persons.”

Tests and treatment

Some 4,000 rapid diagnostic tests have been delivered to support the work of rapid response teams deployed to investigate suspected cases. Intravenous fluids and oral rehydration salts have been also delivered to health facilities where confirmed patients are admitted, said Mr. Riza.

Partners have mobilized health and WASH supplies in the affected governorates. Chlorination activities to disinfect water are being scaled up and dosing rates are being increased in fragile and highly vulnerable communities to curb the spread of the disease.

Clean water is also being trucked to those areas impacted. Partners are similarly engaging with local authorities to begin periodic, focused water testing procedures and support the collection of water samples.

“The UN in Syria calls on donor countries for urgent additional funding to contain the outbreak and prevent it from spreading”, said Mr. Riza. “We urge all concerned parties to ensure unimpeded and sustained access to affected communities, as well as the support of neighbouring countries to expedite the necessary approvals to ensure the timely delivery of life-saving medicines and medical supplies.”

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