Most people are aware of the healing powers of herbs. But did you know that certain plants can heal your house as well?
If your toilet isn’t working properly, drop three or four hibiscus leaves into the bowl. Do not flush! The hibiscus will calm the toilet, and the problem will soon be resolved.
If your sofa is broken, place a quarter of an ounce of boneset under the cushions. This will prevent back problems.
Is your washing machine slowing down? Try “feeding” it a half cup of elderflower tea. (For a tetchy dishwasher, add half a tablespoon powdered white pepper to the tea.)
If one of your paintings is hanging crooked, drop a few echinacea leaves atop the frame. Within two days, the painting will straighten.
A broken drawer should respond to an infusion of chamomile.
A radio that broadcasts mostly static may be cured with a potpourri of rosemary and dandelion root. (This is also helpful with recalcitrant TV sets.)
Apply a maceration of stinging nettles to torn curtains.
If a door doesn’t close properly, rub it with willow bark.
A threadbare rug can be renewed with a few drops of coltsfoot tincture.
Before you throw away a broken computer, cover it with chicory flowers for a day, and see what happens.
A cracked hatrack can be rehabilitated with ginseng balm.
Troubles with your blender? Serve it a tepid blend of goldenseal and orange peel.
An aging refrigerator is sometimes no longer sufficiently cold. Half a ginger root, finely sliced and placed in the lower lefthand corner of the refrigerator should solve the problem.
Even musical instruments respond to herbal influence. If your piano is out of tune, set a decoction of yohimbe in a bowl on top of the lid. Soon the piano will tune itself.
A dull knife will often grow sharper with two drops of bayberry bark extract.
A clogged sink will usually flow freely after imbibing piping hot spearmint tea.
A broken plate can be mended with a thick blend of water and bedstraw (but if there are more than three pieces, this remedy won’t succeed).
Is your oven too hot or too cold? Poor in a cup and a third of fermented mullein broth.
A busted toaster often will be restored to health by two cardamom seeds.
Too much noise from your neighbors? Make linden tea, and paint the liquid on the wall nearest the disturbance. Almost immediately, you’ll notice the difference.
A broken chair can often be repaired with a poultice of comfrey leaves.
Is your furnace acting up? Two teaspoons of cinnamon should do the trick.
Does your roof have a leak? Place a ficus elastica, commonly known as a rubber plant, under that section of the roof. When the plant grows up to the ceiling, it will seal the hole.
But don’t just take my word for it! Try your own herbal experiments in your own household. And feel free to write me c/o Hudson Valley One with your discoveries.
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