[diyguy]

The 3400 for the pest control included 3 visits in the year to spray for roaches/ants.

[amohit]

Long long ago our house had more cockroaches than people in the city. I was happily co-existing with them. But then I got married and my wife did not like their company. I googled and found a very easy remedy. 1 teaspoon boric acid powder + 1 teaspoon sugar powder + 1teaspoon whear flour. Kend using few drops of milk. Divide it into 15-20 small balls and throw them around the house.Make sure that they stay there and are not swept away by the maid. Within 1 week all that was left was hollow cockroach shells. Keep repeating once every 3 months.
Its been 8 years and we have yet to see another live cockroach in our house.

PS: Our house was infected by the smaller variety of cockroach.

Regards,

[dre@ms]

Thanks for all the replies. Informed my owner and the PCI guys are scheduled to come tomorrow to wage their war against the roaches. Hope the war ends tomorrow and I can present my wife a new house. Wish me luck.

[dre@ms]

The PCI guys came well ahead of schedule yesterday.
Signed the voucher and they started their work righaway.
Dots of fipronil were placed all over the houses. Some kind of spray was sprayed in bathrooms, balconies and bedrooms. Since my kid and wifey are away to native, didnt stop them from doing it.
At the end, he placed 3 catch-a-roach thing in the kitchen. Which is like a small box inside which there are stickers and in the middle he has placed a small tablet.
Believe, once the roaches are invited in, their tender legs would stick to the glue and become a living dead

Suggestions given,
1, Never ever use Hit. It kills the current generation and increases the next generation
2. All the gaps in the modular kitchen should be sealed by wax/white cement. If not, roaches would come again
3. Not to clean the dots kept all over

This treatment would be repeated in the next 3-4 months.

First impression:
These guys are professional. The bill was 2921, for which I gave 2930. The guy politely returned the 10 and asked for 1 rupee.
First thought how could a small dot of fipronil help in controlling the roaches. Every 30-60 minutes went to the kitchen and made a scout. The moment I saw the roaches still roaming happily, felt a bit uncomfortable. Have I taken for a ride ?
Relocated one of the catch-a-roach in a place where the roaches roam.
Today morning, the kitchen floor is full of roaches, all big ones. The catch-a-roach had a handful of roaches living dead. Now, the cup boards are clear of roaches and I am a happy soul.

Good work PCI. And a huge thanks to all bhpians.

Questions, the guy asked to seal the gaps with wax. What is this wax and where can I source it?

Have a separate question for microwave users. I use this for eating veg/non-veg dishes. How can I get rid of the smell like, yesterday was eating the chicken gravy and today milk. But when I opened the door after eating, I get chicken gravy smell.

[khoj]

The gaps can be filled up using Silicone. This is extensively used in modular furniture.

As for the microwave, a lemon cut in two and left overnight will absorb any lingering odours. One could also wipe the internal cavity with a solution of water and baking soda, followed by another wipe with plain water (after a gap of say 15 odd minutes).

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Questions, the guy asked to seal the gaps with wax. What is this wax and where can I source it?

Have a separate question for microwave users. I use this for eating veg/non-veg dishes. How can I get rid of the smell like, yesterday was eating the chicken gravy and today milk. But when I opened the door after eating, I get chicken gravy smell.

[null]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Have a separate question for microwave users. I use this for eating veg/non-veg dishes. How can I get rid of the smell like, yesterday was eating the chicken gravy and today milk. But when I opened the door after eating, I get chicken gravy smell.

In addition to cleaning it with Baking soDA, keep a spoonful of it to absorb odors. I was told that sliced onions is also good for this purpose. Why dont you try tossing in a few slices of onion into the microwave overnight?

[dre@ms]

Originally Posted by khoj

The gaps can be filled up using Silicone. This is extensively used in modular furniture.

Where can I get this?

Originally Posted by khoj

As for the microwave, a lemon cut in two and left overnight will absorb any lingering odours. One could also wipe the internal cavity with a solution of water and baking soda, followed by another wipe with plain water (after a gap of say 15 odd minutes).

Will definitely give this a try.

Originally Posted by null

In addition to cleaning it with Baking soDA, keep a spoonful of it to absorb odors. I was told that sliced onions is also good for this purpose. Why dont you try tossing in a few slices of onion into the microwave overnight?

Will the onion doesnt leave its odour inside the oven ?

[Sheel]

Can one use the eco drum clean process w/o any detergent/liquid?

Thanks

[khoj]

This will be available at hardware shops and some car accessory shops have it too.

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Where can I get this?

Sure. We run our machine once every other week on water alone for the same purpose, there have been no problems whatsoever.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Can one use the eco drum clean process w/o any detergent/liquid?

Thanks

[saket77]

Originally Posted by saket77

My IFB dishwasher has died with F9 error

The dishwasher was repaired. It was a minor electro mechanical fault with the diverter inside.

[RSimonS]

Three years back I had procured a dishwasher from Siemens Brand showroom in Bangalore. it had been working fine all this while. On 25th April it stopped working. Below is a small account on the whole experience of registering a complaint with Siemens.

1. You need model number for registering a complaint - You need to call their call center to register a complaint. On calling call center, they will reconfirm all your records, including mobile number, address, date of purchase, time of purchase etc against their records. But they will register a complaint only on you giving them the model number. For your reference, this model number is not mentioned anywhere on the Dishwasher - be it in the front or on opening the door of the dish washer or any other place. The model number is not a simple two or three digit number, it is a 13 digit alpha numeric number with special character. Esteemed call center of Siemens will accept registering a complaint only if you give them the model number. One question I had to the call center person was, as you have all my details and as I have purchased only one item from them ever, aren't they having the model number as well with them, the answer I got was that as per company policy the person calling them will have to tell them the model number - a number which is not displayed anywhere on the product.

Learning Number one - If you are buying a Siemens product, make sure you maintain the model number and make sure it is handy when you register a service request, else you will not be able to register a complaint.

2. I registered the complaint on 25-April-2014 (I have email confirmation on this). I was confirmed that the representative will visit my place with in 48 hours. I had a follow up/status check call with their call center on 30th April and also on 2nd May and again today. Every time I was promised that the Service Engineer will visit me in 24 hours. Please note that this is not a free visit, one would need to pay them INR 750.00 for the visit. Finally the service engineer visited our house today. As per the job card he bought, the service request was raised only on 2nd of May and he is visiting my place with in 24 hours (I am sure this is a clever ploy to make sure that their records are clean with the lead time to attend to a service request). He opened the panel and said the board seems to be faulty (would cost about INR 5000) and he would be able to check whether any further problem is there only on replacing the board. He also said that he would be able to check whether the board is available in stock only on 5th and if it is not in stock it will take 4 to 5 days to get it. So simply put, my dishwasher will not be operational for the next one month or so. One of the reason for asking the model number to be provided while registering a complaint was that the service engineer would carry all the required spares during the visit. To the extend I know, only spare he carried or ever taken out was a screw driver, tester and a multi meter.

Learning Number Two - If you get any trouble with your Siemens dishwasher, it would be better to forget about it and look for alternate options.

3. I tried calling their call center to check about why the job number was changed. As per them, if the service engineer has visited and looked into the problem, then there is no issue.

I am not the only one suffering with service issues with Siemens dishwasher. I know at least one more person, who recently procured one and is running behind the service center and begging them to get his brand new dishwasher in working condition.

There is no doubt that Siemens has a good Dishwasher, but their service is one of the worst I have ever come across. I would suggest not spend you hard earned money on them.

[diyguy]

My Karcher 3.550 pressure washer is leaking water from within and the motor is gasping for breath when the gun trigger is not being pulled. I think someone at home may have dropped it. Anyone seen this behavior? The pressure seems marginally lower but is probably wise to fix it I presume.

[saket77]

Dishwasher woes continued:
I noticed that in my IFB dishwasher, the dishes in the top rack are not as clean as the ones in the bottom rack. My immediate thoughts were that the upper spray arm must not be working properly. To check this, I had no option but to fool the door lock switch (to make the electronics think that the door is closed) and run the dishwasher with the door open. First the lower spray arm goes on work. Good nice pressure, the spray arm rotates briskly, almost spilling water in the entire kitchen. Then after a while, its the upper spray arm's turn. The spray arm makes a slow, lazy rotation and the water coming out of it is too less, esp. when compared to the lower arm. The low water pressure also results in slow rotation of the upper arm and ultimately, 'not so clean' dishes on the upper rack.
Have put up a complaint with the CRM guys. They promised that a tech will visit within 24 hours.

Will update how it goes.

[r_devakumar]

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

I am looking for a portable electricity meter, which can help me the voltage, consumption of electricity by a equipment (TV, PC, AC, Fridge etc).

I came across the below in ebay. I would like to know if this equipment will be good for doing this. Also please let me know if there is any other better options.


http://www.ebay.in/itm/ENERGY-METER-...-/190772664843

I bought this equipment couple of months back through eBay. Delivery took more than a week by the seller. It needs additional power adapter as the pins won't fit in Indian wall plugs. The equipment quality is good and operation is pretty simple. You can measure Volt, Watt and also you can set some alarms based on power consumption etc. So far i have used it mainly for checking volts and power consumption by couple of equipment.

When i just plugged in the wall outlet i was surprised to see ~ 230 volts . Then I cut of the main power to measure the home inverter output, and it showed ~ 275 volts. I thought the equipment is faulty and thought about returning. Then one day i took the equipment to office to measure the office UPS outlet and it showed ~230 volt. Then only i realized that i am getting good voltage at home (thanks to the new additional transformer installed in our apartment complex) and also the inverter has issue. Then i logged a complaint with the inverter company and they changed the faulty component and now i am getting correct voltage from the inverter.

It is a good equipment to have at home and it helped me to find out the voltage issue. Also i have measure the power consumption of DTH Box+TV+Home Threater which is connected to the inverter and Computer + Router + Amplifer + Speaker which is connected to my UPS and found the consumption level is well within the required range.

Now in the peak summer, the night voltage at home is ~ 210 so far, which is pretty good

[scarlet.fever]

Hi everyone looking to buy a new microwave Owen.
I shortlisted Panasonic and IFB any suggestions which one is good.