The days of grabbing clothes from a laundry pile may be over for your university-bound teen, as job interviews and formal school events require them to (gasp!) iron their clothing. Since ironing incorrectly can cause damage to your clothing, Going Solo offers a few pieces of advice to avoid disaster. A big no-no is ironing stained clothing; the steam from the iron will actually set the stain, making it near impossible to remove. Also, if you're ironing an item made of rayon or wool (like a suit), iron with a dampened cloth between the fabric and the iron. This avoids leaving shiny areas on the fabric, a look you do not want when trying to snag that coveted co-op job.
4. Temporary fix for that drip, drip, drip
Studying for exams is stressful enough, but adding annoying distractions like a dripping faucet to the mix is enough to drive you crazy. A temporary fix in is to tie a string around the faucet head, so that the water soaks onto the string, then into the sink to avoid the dripping. If the problem continues, advise your kids to call their landlord to get a professional in.
5. Avoiding a clogged drain
If your teen is sharing a place with friends, especially if they have long hair, the shower drain is bound to get clogged. One way to avoid this is to get a strainer for the drain. It's an inexpensive way to avoid drain build-up and can be purchased from any hardware or dollar store.
6. Cooking with meat and poultry
The danger of raw meats is a very important lesson you have to teach your teens when they move out on their own. One piece of advice that you simply cannot tell them enough times is never to place cooked meat back on a tray that held it raw in the first place. All utensils that touched the raw meat should also be thoroughly washed before reuse. Your teen could risk food poisoning, E. coli or salmonella poisoning through ingestion of raw meat, so buying disinfectant spray for countertops is an easy and cheap way to get rid of the bacteria.
7. When in doubt, throw it out
This piece of advice applies to food, creams, sunscreens, make-up, medications and everything else with an expiry date. As tempting as it is to save money by using something past its prime, things expire for a reason, and the last thing you want is to get sick from expired food or a rash from a past-the-due-date face cream. So, when your products expire, or you're just not sure if they’re in their prime anymore, teach your teens to throw them out.
Read more:
• Why go to university?
• 5 things university students want parents to relax about
• How to survive university
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