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WITH the colder weather and drying clothes indoors, you may notice a musty smell in your home.

This is likely to be caused by dampness and is not only bad for your property but your health too.

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Thankfully, with the below simple hacks, it’s never been easier to combat the problem. 

Manish Jain, IICRC trained and certified Water Restoration Expert and business owner of Ministry of Cleaning, has revealed his top five hacks to combat damp smells.

Boost circulation

Trapped air is common, especially when windows and doors are kept shut.

For this reason, it’s recommended you open them regularly.

Even doing it for 10 minutes a day has been proven to reduce moisture in the air and therefore minimise the risk of dampness and mould.

Interior doors should be open too and furniture pulled away from walls to keep optimum air flow. 

Use natural moisture absorbers 

Baking soda naturally absorbs excess moisture and neutralises smells. This makes it an effective solution for damp rooms.

Simply place bowls of baking soda around your home – or rock salt as it works just as well.

Be sure to replace the contents every four weeks for best results.

Essential oils can even be added to the bowl for extra freshness.

Treat condensation quickly 

Wipe away condensation from windows and doors every morning using a clean cloth.

If left, the excess moisture can turn into damp, smells and mould.

You can even place bowls of rice near windows to act as a DIY dehumidifier.

When showering or boiling food, keep doors shut and try to use an extractor fan or open a window to stop the steam from spreading. 

Deep clean soft furnishings 

Mattresses, carpets, curtains and upholstery should be cleaned regularly to remove lingering smells, excess moisture and bacteria.

Those items that can be put into the washing machine should be, but those that can’t can be freshened up with a homemade cleaning spray made from white vinegar and water.

Baking soda can be sprinkled on items, left for 30 minutes and vacuumed. 

Keep your home smelling fresh

Despite best efforts, some smells just linger. In these events, you can place bowls of white vinegar around rooms.

The solution absorbs any smells and the vinegar smells disappear too.

Simmering a pot of orange peel, cloves and cinnamon works a treat as well.

But Manish adds: “While these methods can mask or reduce odours, addressing the underlying dampness is crucial for long-term results.”

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LUKE LITTLER has warned fans not to follow a fake Snapchat account pretending to be him.

The darts superstar, 18, has gathered a huge following on his social media accounts over the last 15 months.

Alamy

instagram @lukethenukelittler

He has 1.8 million Instagram followers and nearly 300,000 on X.

As for Snapchat, Littler has urged fans to report a fake account.

Posting a screenshot of the account, featuring the handle “lukethenukelit”, Littler wrote on his Instagram Story: “Fake Snapchat account going round of me so just watch out people.

“Funny enough the account has blocked me but yeah watch out people.”

He then went on to add: “I haven’t added the account I got a screenshot of someone who did.”

Littler then posted another screenshot, this time featuring the handle “luke.littler07”.

The Warrington wonderkid wrote: “Someone has sent me this so whoever it is has changed the name of the account if anyone can report it.”

Alongside a further screenshot, he reiterated: “Fake account.”

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Littler is set to be in Premier League Darts action this Thursday night.

This week, the eight stars will be competing at Exeter‘s Westpoint Arena.

Littler triumphed on Night 2 in Glasgow, defeating Luke Humphries in the final.

But he will be looking to bounce back from losing his opener to eventual winner Gerwyn Price in Dublin last time out.

Littler is set to open his night on Thursday against Stephen Bunting, who is still chasing his first Premier League win.

Should he triumph, he will meet Chris Dobey or Nathan Aspinall in the semis.

A MONTHLY payment for homeowners who provide accommodation to people fleeing the Ukraine war looks set to be cut.

Currently, there are over 15,000 households across Ireland receiving the tax free €800 monthly payment straight into their bank accounts for providing housing to around 36,000 Ukrainians.

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The Accommodation Recognition Payment was originally introduced in 2022 with a rate of €400 as an emergency measure after the government struggled to find housing for Ukrainians and other people who arrived here.

The ARP, which is exempt from means-testing for social welfare payments and grants, is now paid at the higher amount of €800.

It is available to those hosting in their own home, those providing accommodation in a vacant property and people who made hosting arrangements privately or through the Irish Red Cross.

However, with the scheme set to end on March 31, Minister for Integration Norma Foley and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan have both signalled that changes are on the way.

A decision on the scheme’s future is due to made shortly, with the payment expected to be extended over fears that tens of thousands of Ukrainians could all lose their accommodation at once.

It is also possible that the €800 monthly payment could be cut to €600.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Integration confirmed that the future of the scheme will be “considered in the context of the continued whole of Government response to the war in Ukraine“.

Angie Gough, co-founder of Helping Irish Hosts – an organisation that supports hosts throughout the country and their Ukrainian guests – told RTE that they want the payment to be extended for 12 months.

She said: “Right from the beginning of this, and each time people don’t hear what’s coming down the line, or don’t get a clear indication about what’s about to happen next, it just makes things makes people feel more anxious.

“We need a clear messaging around what happens next for people.”

‘PROBLEMS OF UNFAIRNESS’

However, Sinn Fein has urged the government to end the scheme on March 31.

Sinn Fein spokesperson on Home Affairs Matt Carthy said the scheme was “commendable” when set up initially, but claimed that it is now putting ordinary renters “at a severe disadvantage”.

He said: “The Accommodation Recognition Payment scheme for Ukrainians is creating serious problems of unfairness in the private rented sector, as Sinn Fein had predicted.

“In many areas, including my own constituency, where rents have traditionally been lower than in the large urban centres, it is placing families and those seeking to rent private accommodation at a severe disadvantage because landlords are able to get €800 tax free from the state, which is equivalent to €1,600 rent from any other tenant which is taxable.

“The end result of this is that people cannot find places to rent in their own home towns.

“This issue is a growing problem in towns in many parts of rural constituencies in particular, and is creating a tension that we, quite frankly, could do without.”

McCarthy added: “I look forward to an early pronouncement from the Minister and the government on how they intend to move forward as the scheme is due to lapse in a number of weeks unless it is again extended by government.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, around 113,600 Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection in Ireland and, although some returned home, the CSO estimates that around 85k remain.

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