Monsoon season means a welcome break in the heat and the joy of feeling the freshly falling rain on the parched earth. Unfortunately, it also means clothes that won’t dry, fungus in the most unexpected places, that damp musty smell and other issues. Here are some monsoon hacks that can make life easier
A bulb in the closet helps keep the interiors of a dark, crowded place like a closet, dry. Rather than pile clothes one on top of the other, hang them from hangers on a rod to let some air circulate. Use mothballs to deodorise and keep that damp, musty smell at bay. Leave the cupboard doors open for a few hours with the fan on to let the air circulate. Watch out for seepage from the walls that could make the inside of your wardrobe damp and promote the growth of fungus.
Don’t keep damp clothes lying around. Sometimes they remain forgotten at the bottom of the laundry hamper and sometimes on the hook behind the door in the bathroom. When you check they could well have mildew growing on them! Make sure damp clothes are washed promptly.
Many of us are obsessed with drying clothes out of doors because the natural disinfection of the sun is important. However there isn't much sun in the monsoon and showers at any time could mean that clothes don’t dry; instead they get wet again and again. So, dry clothes indoors, preferably under the fan to air dry them a little faster.
To dry damp clothes use an iron. Use a hairdryer for other things that feel damp – say a sofa cushion or an upholstered chair. Wet shoes not only promote the growth of fungus they can smell terrible too. So toss them into the washing machine if possible. Then to dry them quicker, use this tip that my mother used to use: turn on the convection oven on high, open the door and keep footwear close to the oven to dry faster.
Shoes not in use can be wrapped in and stuffed with newspaper to absorb moisture, prevent the growth of fungus and prevent the shoes getting misshaped. Roll and put away carpets and so on in this weather. Not only will they get dirty with all the mud that shoes bring in, the damp will promote fungus here as well.
If you're planning to spruce up your furniture, now is the time to give it that lick of varnish or polish or even some hair oil! This will help to prevent the growth of mildew. Kitchen cabinets can also be kept open for a while or during the night to air them out, to prevent growth of fungus inside and on the wood.
Things will remain fresher for longer in the fridge of course, even things like bread and roti which you wouldn’t usually keep in the fridge. This increases shelf life and prevents fungus. Putting nuts, atta, maida, besan and sooji in the freezer is also an excellent idea to prevent these developing grain beetles or becoming rancid. Also, put your cosmetics, moisturisers and creams in the fridge to increase their shelf life. This is not just a monsoon hack, if you have the space in your fridge, use it to store cosmetics all the time.
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