Home Care
Senior 2 · Home Science
Home Care
Lesson 1 of 4
18 min
Every home collects dirt, whether it is an apartment in Kigali with tiled floors or a brick house in Nyamagabe with a cement floor. In the long dry season, red dust from murram roads blows in through doors and windows. In the rainy seasons, mud comes in on shoes. The cooking area collects grease and soot every day.
Not all dirt is the same. Dust lifts off with a broom, but the same broom does nothing to grease or to a tea stain. If you can name the kind of dirt in front of you, you can choose the tool and the product that remove it with the least effort and the least damage to the surface. This lesson teaches you to recognise the main types.
Soiling (or dirt) is any unwanted matter on a surface: a floor, a wall, a dish, a piece of cloth. Some soiling you can see, such as mud. Some you cannot see, such as the germs on a door handle.
| Type | Examples | Where you find it | How it holds on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dust and loose dirt | dust, sand, hair, crumbs, cobwebs | floors, shelves, window sills, ceiling corners | lies loosely on the surface |
| Mud and soil | wet earth from shoes | doorways, floors, door mats | sticks when wet, crumbles when dry |
| Grease and oil | cooking oil splashes, fingerprints, body oil | stove area, pans, light switches, shirt collars | sticks firmly; water runs off it |
| Food residues | porridge (igikoma), beans, milk, egg, sugar | plates, pots, tables | starch and protein harden as they dry |
| Soot and smoke | black deposits from charcoal or firewood | kitchen walls, ceilings, the bottoms of pots | fine particles mixed with tar; smears when rubbed dry |
| Stains | tea, coffee, ink, blood, rust, fruit juice | clothes, tablecloths, cups | the colour soaks into the fibres or the surface |
| Scale | hard white crust left by hard water | kettles, taps, shower heads | a mineral layer, mostly calcium carbonate, bonded to the surface |
| Mould and mildew | black, green or grey spots | damp walls, bathroom corners, clothes stored damp | a living fungus that grows into the surface |
| Germs | bacteria and viruses | toilets, chopping boards, taps, door handles, cleaning cloths | invisible; a surface can look clean and still carry them |
It helps to sort soiling into three levels by how firmly it holds on:
Uwase's family has cooked beans on a charcoal stove (imbabura). She finds: (a) charcoal crumbs and dust on the floor, (b) oil splashes on the wall beside the stove, (c) dried beans stuck in the pot, (d) spilt milk on the table, (e) black soot on the bottom of the pot.
Step 1: name each soiling. (a) loose; (b) grease, stuck; (c) food residue (starch and protein), stuck; (d) protein food residue, still fresh; (e) soot, stuck.
Step 2: choose a method. (a) sweep into a dustpan; (b) wipe with a cloth dipped in warm soapy water, then with clean water; (c) soak the pot in water for about 30 minutes, then scrub; (d) wipe up with a cloth and cold water, then wash the table with soap; (e) scour with a scouring pad and a little sand or ash while washing the pot.
Step 3: decide the order. Wipe up the milk first, because a fresh spill is the easiest to remove and milk soon smells. Put the pot to soak so that the soaking time runs while she works. Clean the wall, then wash the pot. Sweep the floor last, because crumbs and ash fall while she is working.
Tip
Memory hook: Loose, Stuck, Set, then Sweep, Scrub, Treat. In an exam question about removing dirt, first say which level the soiling is, then give the matching method. Remember too: protein meets cold water first.
Try each one on paper before you read the solution.
Classify each as loose, stuck or set: (a) cobwebs in a ceiling corner, (b) a brown rust ring under a tin, (c) grease on a door handle.
Solution. (a) Loose: a long-handled brush lifts it off. (b) Set: rust is a stain that has bonded with the surface. (c) Stuck: grease needs warm water, a detergent and rubbing.
Why does plain water not remove oil from a plate?
Solution. Oil and water do not mix, so the water runs over the oil and leaves it behind. A detergent is needed because it attaches to both the oil and the water, and so carries the oil away in the rinse water.
Mutesi's white school shirt has a small blood stain from a nosebleed. Describe how she should treat it.
Solution. Act quickly. Rinse the stain from the back of the cloth under cold running water, then soak it in cold water with a little soap and rub it gently. Wash the shirt in the normal way only when the stain has gone. Hot water first would cook the protein in the blood and fix the stain.
A kettle has a hard white crust inside. Name the soiling and suggest a treatment using materials found at home.
Solution. It is scale, a mineral deposit left by hard water. Fill the kettle with equal amounts of water and vinegar (or water and lemon juice) and leave it to soak for an hour. Empty it, rinse it several times, then boil clean water once and pour that away before using the kettle again.
Remember
Sources and credits
