PRESERVE CLOTHES FROM PESTS USING NEEM LEAVES

Your favorite silk saree gifted on your 1^st wedding anniversary is smelling foul as it is seldom used. You are also seeing signs of damage at the folds of the sari. This is a common observation for clothes packed in boxes or covers and kept in cupboards. The problem is severe for clothes lying in open cupboards as it is exposed to dust and infestation of silverfish and mites. In the rainy season clothes attract fungus due to dampness in the air and they cannot be worn due to bad odor.

Maintenance of clothes and books is an essential factor for home management.  Naphthalene balls are commonly used in homes. The naphthalene balls evaporates in the air and will keep away mites and insects. Main disadvantage of using naphthalene balls is the strong odor on the clothes and discoloration to the metallic work done on clothes .You need to be careful with clothes that have zardosi work ,silver and gold threads used in embroidery work becomes pale.

The clothes that require delicate handling are silk saris, sari with zari work, Woolen clothes, Chiffon and other delicate materials. The mites and silverfish attack clothes stored in metallic cupboards too.

You can preserve your clothes and make them smell good. Nature has provided mankind with a natural ingredient to protect clothes from deterioration and lasts longer. Neem leaves are having anti-pest and anti-fungal properties. Use Neem leaves and preserve your favorite clothes so that you can wear them with pride.

Follow this procedure for protecting clothes from pests by using Neem leaves:

• Pluck 10 to 15 bunches of fresh green Neem leaves.
• Dry the Neem leaves under the shade.
• Take a cloth large enough to wrap your silk sari or favorite dress.
• Spread the cloth on a flat surface.
• Spread a handful of dry neem leaves on it. Place the sari or dress on the leaves.
• Spread another handful of dry neem leaves on top of the sari /dress.
• Wrap the dress with the cloth and store.

You can be assured that the clothes remain fresh even if you do not use the sari / dress for 2 to 3 years also. There will be no signs of pest infestation especially silver fish or mites and there will not be any odor or discoloration.

An important observation is that dry Neem leaves do not leave any color on the clothes.

Tips:

• It is important to dry the Neem leaves in shade . If the leaves are dried in the sun, the essential oil of the leaves will evaporate reducing the potency of Neem leaves.
• To avoid dry Neem leaves falling on the floor when the sari / dress is taken out from the wrapped cloth, place dry neem leaves in small cloth pouches. Place one pouch each on top and bottom of the dress.
• It will be convenient to place the pouches containing dry Neem leaves in the pockets of Coats, jackets and trousers. This will preserve the clothes.
• Pouches containing dry Neem leaves can be kept in the Books and clothes Almirah. This will keep away the musty smell which develops in the Almirah during rainy season.

You can preserve your costly and favorite clothes in an inexpensive and guaranteed method. Your clothes will remain fresh , smell fresh and will not develop and mite/silver fish . You can follow the same method and extend the life of books and clothes.

There are several benefits of neem leaves  at home.  Best Insect free Storing tips for Rice and Dhals

BEST INSECT FREE STORING TIPS FOR RICE AND DHALS

Rice and dhals when kept for long time get infested with pests and thus get spoilt. In the current situations one month itself is a big time for pests infestation in dhals. To preserve them for a long time it is advisable to use natural products instead of the chemical preservatives available in market. Mother Nature has gifted us the Neem tree which is like a ‘Kalpavriksh’. Neem leaves is the best naturally available pesticide, insecticide and germicide. Neem preserves the cereals and pulses (Rice ,wheat, any type of whole or broken pulses) without any side effects.

General guideline is to avoid usage of artificial preservatives for your grains when nature has provided mankind a natural preservative.

It is annoying to see flying insects inside the dhal and lentil containers. The insects will bore the dhals and peas and they will leave a residue in the bottom of the container. In the rainy season the rain the problem becomes intense.

Material Required for Preserving  1 kg Grains, Rice or pulses:

• 30-40 Neem Leaves

• Thin cotton cloth (muslin or lining cloth) 

Direction for Preserving Grains:

• Pluck fresh green Neem leaves and shade dry them. (It will take 2-3 days during summers to shade dry Neem leaves and 5-6 days during winters )

• Keep approximately 10 dried leaves aside.

• Crush rest of the leaves to coarse powder.

• Make 4cm x 4cm pouch of the cloth.

• Fill the cloth with coarse powder of dried Neem leaves.

• Stitch the open end of the pouch to seal it nicely.

If you are storing larger quantity i.e app 10 kg of rice or dhals , make 5-6 pouches of the same size. Follow below mentioned procedure:

• Spread the dried Neem leaves kept aside on the bottom of the container and cover with cotton cloth or dry paper.

• Fill 1/4 grain in the container.

• Place two pouches at two corners of container on the grain and then fill half of the remaining grain in the container.

• Keep the remaining two pouches at the other two corners of the container and fill rest of the grain.

• Place the remaining two pouches on the top of the last layer of grain.

• Close the lid of the container, the grains will remain pest free for almost a year.

Tips:

• Do not use synthetic cloth or plastic sheet to make the pouches because the essential oils of Neem which has anti pesticide effect will not be able to permeate in the grain.

• Do not dry Neem leaves under the sun because it will cause most of the essential oil to evaporate and the effectiveness of Neem will decrease.

• It is advisable to buy commodities in smaller quantities. Store them in air tight containers to prevent pest infestation due to improper sealing. In current time most people are moving into apartments and there will be space constraint. In nuclear families the consumption is less and therefore 250 gms purchase also will take over a month’s time to complete.
• It is a good practice to place dhal in air tight containers, place them in the sunlight week once a fortnight . Removes smell and dhal remains fresh. For smaller quantities place bay leaves. It will keep away insects.

Watch outs:

• If you mix the shade dried leaves directly with the grains for storage, it will become a tedious task during usage of rice or pulses. This will cause hassle in cleaning before use. The dried leaves will break coarsely while dispensing. It is advised to use cotton cloth pouches to avoid the hassle.