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How to Make Your Towels Last Longer

Posted by on Dec 28, 2012 in Uncategorized

Hand towels tend to receive a lot of wear and tear and therefore need to be washed quite often. At home, best practice would dictate that they are cleaned at the very least once a week to ensure hygiene. Hotels on the other hand should offer a daily change of towels in order to keep the highest standards in hygiene. However, we are well aware that washing can take its toll on fabric – so, how do you do so carefully to ensure they last longer?

Washing Towels:

When you wash your towels, make sure to wash them separately from other materials and colours. This allows them to come out cleaner as the risk of colours running is removed. In addition, it also prevents fluff and lint transferring onto other items and creating an unsightly appearance on clothing. Remember that towels should be washed in very warm water to kill bacteria and germs. The higher the heat the more effective this will be.

Detergent:

It is important to choose the correct detergent when washing towels. Mild detergent that is also phosphate free is the best for towel cleaning. If you want to create a full towel solution rather than purchase one in the supermarket, it is possible to create your own phosphate-free solution for washing towels quite easily.

Simply, mix up 60ml of borax and 60ml of washing soda and add it to the phosphate free detergent and solution. Not only will this clean your towels, it will also disinfect and deodorise your items and ensure they look bright and clean. One old maid’s trick is to add vinegar to the cycle for added softness. Fabric softeners will leave a coating that will affect the liquid absorbing properties of the towel – not ideal for an item solely used for absorbing water.

Drying:

When you need to dry the towels, it is best to do so outside in the sunshine. Drying towels out in the open is better for killing bacteria whilst creating fresh towels. However, though towels will often be a little stiffer or harder when dried outside, they will tend to become soft once they come in touch with moisture.

If you prefer to use a tumble dryer, then you should stop the machine and remove the towels before they are completely dry. Overly dry towels will be hard and it is recommended to take them out when they are 95 to 97 per cent dry and to let them air dry that extra little bit. When this is completed you can then fold and store them. Be sure to give them a break between usages to prevent over use.

Solo Travel: Staying Safe on Your Leisure or Business Trip

Posted by on Dec 21, 2012 in Planning

Traveling by yourself can be a bit scary; every part of your trip – from airport parking to returning home – an ordeal. But if you think about safety first, you might just be able to relax and enjoy your solo journey. Take a look at these tips for staying safe while traveling alone.

Plan Ahead

The first part of your journey begins before you board the plane for your final destination. Start by planning all the little details out ahead of time. It’s best to fly when there is lots of activity in the airport. Sure, that red-eye flight might be a great deal, but do you really want to wait in an almost deserted airport for your flight to take off?

Set up your transfers to and from the airport and hotel or reserve your rental car at the same time you book your flight. It may be adventurous to just go somewhere and then figure out how you’re going to get around, but that isn’t the safest way to travel solo.

Airport Parking

For most singles, it’s easier and even cheaper to forget about parking at the airport. You might want to stay overnight in an airport hotel and let the shuttle bus get you to the terminal on time. Another option, especially if you live in the city you are flying out of, is to opt for off site airport parking. Make your parking reservation ahead of time and it’s a breeze to get your car parked in a secure lot, then take the shuttle to the airport. This is much safer than parking your car close to the terminal and walking across the lot or parking garage.

At the Airport

Once you’ve safely arrived at the airport, don’t mess around lugging heavy bags across the terminal and through security. Sure, it costs more and takes more time to check your luggage, but it’s well worth it. A single person struggling to keep track of several bags is a target ripe for theft. Not only could your luggage get stolen, but so could your identity.

At Your Destination

One thing that thieves look for is a routine. Be sure you vary yours while on vacation or a business trip so that anyone observing your actions wouldn’t be able to expect you to be away from your room at any particular time.

If you have valuables, do use the safe or safety deposit boxes available at the hotel. Although hotel personnel are, for the most part, quite honest, there’s no point in tempting them by leaving your precious jewelry lying around – particularly with the high price of gold and silver these days.

Do talk to the concierge or bell staff about the safest places to go for a walk or enjoy entertainment. They know the city very well and can advise a single traveler about the best places to go – or not to go.

Just because you’re traveling by yourself doesn’t mean you have to be overly cautious, but it does pay to err on the side of caution. After all, you wouldn’t have a very good time away from home if your possessions or identity were stolen or you got into a nasty scrape, right? From airport parking to checking into your hotel, be safe and be happy on your solo trip!

Travel in 2011 – Where Will Your Destiny Take You

Posted by on Dec 13, 2012 in Destinations

Every now and then we’re tempted to know what our horoscopes have for us. Even if we deny being led into believing such superstitious thoughts, we do get enticed by foretelling charts and cards to some degree at least don’t we? Obviously who wouldn’t want to know what tomorrow has in store of them.

Do you want to know which place would make the best holiday destination for you this year? Know whether it’s the right year for inviting adventurous challenges or would you be better off lazing on a beach? Read along for what sort of a traveler you are generally and what your horoscope predicts as your ideal holiday destination(s) this year.

ARIES – African Wilderness:

When planning to travel, these people generally prefer to discover something different; epic may be. Their ideal holiday destination is one that offers them an utterly new and entertaining environment having sharp contrast with their home atmosphere; literally like a whole new world.

The starting of 2011 may not have brought along headlines of traveling for Arians. However, the last three months this year bring strikingly bright prospects for adventurous traveling for you guys. Adventure, exoticness and tons of variety are the three indispensable features required of a Holiday destination to please you this time. Purchasing cheap tickets to Brazil or cheap flights to Kenya appear to be the most appropriate options for you. Other possibilities could include booking Thailand or New Zealand flights for blending some shopping adventures with mountain trekking. Or you could very well end up booking cheap flights to India if you’re somewhere in the United Kingdom.

TAURUS – Total Luxury:

Being sensitive-natured yet passionate, this bull sign is always yearning for luxury and comfort. And this year their desire for opulence seems to reach new heights. For travelling this year, Taurians would not settle for anything less than the best. They’re ready to exhaust budgets or go for a little saving up plan but lavishness is the flavor they want in the end! If you’re a Taurian, seek booking Business class flights to Dubai for a luxurious stay in any of its five star hotels. Or take a luxury cruise trip. Booking relatively cheap flights to Pairs or Switzerland will also prove to be great.

GEMINI – Spontaneity:

This year, Gemini’s could invite the most unpredictable adventures on their holiday trips, for they want things to be excitingly spontaneous. November appears to be the best time of the year to travel for a holiday trip somewhere to Las Vegas or you could be tempted to book cheap flights to Amsterdam by the end of the year. To quench your thirst for spontaneity this year, select any one place from Las Vegas, Tokyo or purchase tickets to Hong Kong for the many surprises the celestial energy has planned for you!

LEO – Pure Relaxation:

These kings of the jungle want some seriously regal treatment when it comes to traveling aboard. This year however, they’ll be happy with any destination that could bring comfort and joy simultaneously. You’ll prefer a sun soaked beach with refreshing downs of margarita in the day and might feel like partying hard at night time. This year book flights to Bali or cheap tickets to Cape Town.

CAPRICORN & VIRGO – Pure Entertainment:

All you’d want on a holiday trip this year would be to be yourself! Being hip-natured and all time ready for fun, Capricorns would want to be at the best of their spirits on a holiday trip. Hence, they expect some place that can complement their energy and let them party hard. Pick a place like Sydney or book cheap flights to Harare if you’re looking for an expedition or exploration on your trip.

LIBRA – Laze Around:

It seems like Librians would travel towards the tail of the year for pretty much just lazing around. They would want to go for a holiday where nobody would disturb them and they could be their own boss. This year, cheap flights to Gold Coast Australia and flights to Durban are expected to bring pleasurable raveling results for you.

SCORPIO – Gets Inspired:

Scorpions are in the mood of getting inspired this year. They’re look for someplace that is very mesmerizing and awe-inspiring. Perhaps some place with interesting historic tales or fascinating cultures. These guys are in search on a once in a lifetime experience. You should search for flights to Nigeria or hunt for cheap tickets to China.

SAGITARRIUS:

When you travel, you like enjoying the journey from the start, from getting on board, to the end of it. Further, you’re more interested in discovering culture more than anything else. You like to explore how people from various setups operate in their surroundings. This year traveling to Asia or South Africa would be especially entertaining.