diy Top @Kew Drive

[MLTR 0]

Hi KS, to me, you are very good in DIY stuff.

May I ask you what would you do/use to effectively polish surfaces (e.g. shower bar, bathroom accessories such as towel hook etc.) that have lost its shine over time?

Thank you so much in advance!

[kstoh 3]

Not really. Just that I know a little and I believe most homeowners should know the basics.

Normally, we just use a microfibre cloth to polish it a little. But if it is really bad, you can try 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish. The instructions say it is good for chrome surfaces too but I suggest you try out on an obscure area first.

[MLTR 0]

Thank you very much KS. Will go to the hardware store to hunt for this. 

[El LoCo 3]

Hi KS, can u pls review yr aircon and how u hide the trunking by the way? Any reason why do u not choose the ducted aircon?

[kstoh 3]

2 hours ago, El LoCo said:

Hi KS, can u pls review yr aircon and how u hide the trunking by the way? Any reason why do u not choose the ducted aircon?

I am very happy with my Mitsubishi Electric split unit aircon. So far no problems. Quiet too. Compared to the Toshiba units at my previous place.

All my trunking are hidden from view.

For my downstair aircon units, the fancoil units are mounted on the house wall. The trunking punches directly out and runs on the outside of my house along and above the aircon ledge.

For all other rooms, the fancoil units are mounted on the wall between room/toilet. The toilets have false ceilings. The trunking punches through into the false ceiling of the toilet.

For my master bedroom, there is a wardrobe passageway before the toilet. So the trunking needs to run some distance from fancoil unit to toilet false ceiling. Probably, it is easier to explain by showing you pictures.

[kstoh 3]

I did not choose ducted aircon for several reasons:-

1. I am not familiar with ducted aircon. My impression is that it is going to be almost impossible to clean the ducts. Some time ago, I heard of horror stories about aircon ducts in commercial buildings. Apparently, you can find dead rats etc. inside, because it is almost impossible to clean them. But I have no idea whether this is true or not. How does one clean the ducts?

2. You need to run ducts everywhere, and this lowers the ceiling. For example, if I had to run ducted aircon to my master bedroom, the ceiling of the entire passageway for my master bedroom would likely be lower by at least one foot. In my previous condo unit, there was ducted aircon everywhere installed by the developer. I removed all the ducts and installed split units. When I was selling the place, several buyers asked me why my place looked bigger than other units of the same configuration. The difference actually was that my ceiling was higher due to removal of all the ducts.

3. I believe ducted aircon system will be more expensive, but I am not sure.

4. I assume for ducted aircon, one compressor will serve all the blower units? What happens if the compressor breaks down? I like one to one split aircon units. When one unit breaks down, I can use another room.

[kstoh 3]

This is the final Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner video from start to finish.

Edited March 19, 2017 by kstoh

[kstoh 3]

Floor Mopping Robot - iRobot Braava 380t

Having found the Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum cleaner very useful, I decided to look at a floor mopping robot as well. There are many vacuum cum mopping robots but I decided to get a dedicated mopping robot. Eventually, I settled on the iRobot Braava 380t. This robot has been around for a number of years, and I was hoping that Xiaomi would come up with something better. But it seems like it will take some time. So, I decided to buy the Braava today.

I am still charging the Braava and have not used it yet. Originally, I wanted to test it before posting about the robot. But the IT Show is selling this robot at a very good price of $450 (normal $598) with one year warranty from the local authorised agent and tomorrow is the last day, so I thought I better post this information first. If you have already decided to buy the Braava, don't miss this opportunity. If you can wait, then wait for my review!

 

Edited March 20, 2017 by kstoh

[runmyhousehold 0]

Hi again!

How did you plan where to place your recessed lighting? 

[El LoCo 3]

Thanks KS! 

[kstoh 3]

Okay, I have put the iRobot Braava 380t to test. If I rate satisfaction level with the Mi Robot at 98%, then I would put the Braava 380t at 90%.

The Braava technology is a few years old, so it is not as smart as the Mi Robot. It is not able to cover every corner of the room. Whenever it hits an obstacle like the leg of a cabinet, it will turn back, unlike the Mi Robot which will go around it and continue to clean the area after the leg. Eventually, the Braava does attempt to come back to clean areas missed, but it is not 100%.

The Braava relies on a NorthStar Navigation Cube for navigation. You need to place this cube in the centre of the room. Hence, you can only clean one room at one time. At least that is what I think, unless your rooms are very small and the signal from the cube can reach all rooms. You can buy additional cubes at S$60 to extend coverage.

There is no mapping app like the Xiaomi app which can tell you which area the robot has covered. So, you need to watch or figure out where the Braava has missed.

Unlike the video shown in iRobot's video, the robot does not always move in a straight line. It does so only for dry mopping. I use it for wet mopping. For wet mopping, the Braava will move forward to the right, reverse, move forward to the left, reverse and so on. Like a skater.

The battery runs out quite fast. In my case, it lasts only for about two rooms. Then I have to recharge again, for 2 hours. When the Braava runs out of battery, it returns to starting position. Unlike the Mi Robot, it is not able to dock itself to the charging station.

If I can wait, I may wait for a better robot to appear in the market. Hopefully something equivalent to the Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum cleaner. Nevertheless, this Braava still mops better than my helper! Maybe because for 90% of the floor, it mops 100%.

 

[kstoh 3]

On 3/18/2017 at 11:06 PM, runmyhousehold said:

Hi again!

How did you plan where to place your recessed lighting? 

I had several considerations:

1. Ceiling to be as high as possible
2. Downlights (recessed) for lighting
3. Cove lights for ambience (but in practice I seldom use)
4. Ceiling fan (against ID's wishes)

For my previous and current place, the recessed light are all pushed to the sides. If possible, all 4 sides. But most rooms, only 3 sides or 2 sides (L shape) as not big enough for all 4 sides. I try to put the ceiling fan in the centre. I show you as an example, the layout in my previous place.

Edited March 20, 2017 by kstoh

[runmyhousehold 0]

Thank you so much! So is it safe for me to say that cove lighting is really not very necessary? The reason why I ask is that I'm thinking that without cove lighting I can get rid of an extra horizontal surface to clean. heh.

[Alpc 1]

5 hours ago, kstoh said:

Okay, I have put the iRobot Braava 380t to test. If I rate satisfaction level with the Mi Robot at 98%, then I would put the Braava 380t at 90%.

The Braava technology is a few years old, so it is not as smart as the Mi Robot. It is not able to cover every corner of the room. Whenever it hits an obstacle like the leg of a cabinet, it will turn back, unlike the Mi Robot which will go around it and continue to clean the area after the leg. Eventually, the Braava does attempt to come back to clean areas missed, but it is not 100%.

The Braava relies on a NorthStar Navigation Cube for navigation. You need to place this cube in the centre of the room. Hence, you can only clean one room at one time. At least that is what I think, unless your rooms are very small and the signal from the cube can reach all rooms. You can buy additional cubes at S$60 to extend coverage.

There is no mapping app like the Xiaomi app which can tell you which area the robot has covered. So, you need to watch or figure out where the Braava has missed.

Unlike the video shown in iRobot's video, the robot does not always move in a straight line. It does so only for dry mopping. I use it for wet mopping. For wet mopping, the Braava will move forward to the right, reverse, move forward to the left, reverse and so on. Like a skater.

The battery runs out quite fast. In my case, it lasts only for about two rooms. Then I have to recharge again, for 2 hours. When the Braava runs out of battery, it returns to starting position. Unlike the Mi Robot, it is not able to dock itself to the charging station.

If I can wait, I may wait for a better robot to appear in the market. Hopefully something equivalent to the Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum cleaner. Nevertheless, this Braava still mops better than my helper! Maybe because for 90% of the floor, it mops 100%.

So you got a Mi Robot too? Does it do more than 1 room ah? I am contemplating to buy the Mi Robot, but not sure if it only cleans 1 room...

Edited March 19, 2017 by Alpc

[kstoh 3]

On 3/19/2017 at 10:02 PM, runmyhousehold said:

Thank you so much! So is it safe for me to say that cove lighting is really not very necessary? The reason why I ask is that I'm thinking that without cove lighting I can get rid of an extra horizontal surface to clean. heh.

I guess it depends on your individual preferences. Cove lighting is normally "warm" lighting for ambience. Downlights and other lights are mainly while light for lighting up the place. Although I always install cove lighting, I find that I rarely use. It is always down lights on (room bright) or off (no lights). So if you are like me, cove lighting is not really necessary. And yes, you will get rid of this ledge where dust can gather. Come to think of it, I have yet to clean for many years. And if you are able to get lower profile downlights, the false ceiling can be higher, resulting in an higher overall ceiling.

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Edited October 21, 2018 by kstoh