A Handy Device to Clean Mini-Blinds
If you’re tired of spending hours on the messy chore of cleaning mini-blinds, consider this new helping hand.
Just introduced by IdeaWorks Inc. in Pacific Palisades, the Mini Blind Vac Attachment looks like a small hand with four fingers. It attaches over any standard size vacuum to clean dust off mini-blinds through small holes in each of its plastic fingers.
The device, whose attached handle adjusts to several positions so it can slide along blinds, also is easy to wash when you’re done cleaning.
“Nowadays no one has the time to hand-clean mini-blinds,” IdeaWorks president Fred MacMurray observed. “It takes hours to take them down and hose them off. This simplifies the whole process, by avoiding messy cleaners and reducing the time involved.”
The attachment comes with two adapters so it can fit on vacuums with odd-sized hoses or on Dustbusters. In stores, it retails from $7 to $12. It’s available in Southern California at Home Club and Home Depot; in Northern California, at Thrifty stores. Or you can order it for $9.99 plus $1 postage from IdeaWorks Inc., 15237 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades 90272; (213) 454-7621.
Guide for Gardeners
Home gardeners might want to check out Garden Guides, a new low-water, low maintenance reference booklet that tells what plants, vines, shrubs and trees are drought-resistant and when to plant, water, prune and fertilize them.
The Southern California guidebook was developed by Newport Beach landscape architect Lynn Capouya who uses low-maintenance native plant material in her landscaping projects. She “first saw the need for this project nine years ago when I noticed that many of my clients’ landscapes did not hold up due to poor maintenance,” she said.
Capouya offers 35 examples of drought-resistant plants in her guide, which consists of a set of 12 plastic-coated cards attached to a metal ring so they can be hung in the garage or tool room for easy reference. She also gives tips on spacing plants and trees and how to stake trees if needed.
Garden Guides are available in selected garden centers, gift shops and hardware stores. If you can’t find them in a store in your area, you can order them for $9.98 plus $2 postage and handling (and 6% California sales tax) from Lynn Capouya Inc., 3822 Campus Drive, Suite 120, Newport Beach, Calif. 92660; (714) 756-0150.
