6 French family merchandise I can not stay with out

In case you stay in France for any size of time, you’ll discover instantly that there are totally different merchandise, costs, and methods of doing issues. In relation to merchandise, shifting to France opened up a complete new world. To that finish, let me get into a listing of six family merchandise you want if you happen to stay in France. 

French family merchandise

Whether or not you’ve lived in France awhile, are planning on shifting quickly, or are simply curious, let’s get into my prime picks for French family merchandise. Some need to do with cleansing and others are simply, effectively, essential.

1. Anti-limescale laundry tablets

Arduous water is dangerous to your pores and skin, hair, home equipment, and your garments. To guard your load of laundry from the damaging results of arduous water in France, get your self a field of those laundry lifesavers.

Positioned within the laundry detergent aisle of your native grocery store, these little anti-calcaire tablets get popped into the wash together with your detergent and won’t solely shield your garments, however will shield your washer from odor and dirt as effectively. I by no means do laundry with out certainly one of these anti-limescale tablets.

2. Anti-limescale lavatory spray

I’m embarrassed to say I simply discovered this miracle product final yr. It is perhaps my favourite French cleansing product! Earlier than then, I used to be elbow greasing all of the taps with my very own vinegar concoction after ones from the grocery store left quite a bit to be desired.

However then I spotted there was a greater method! Enter Antikal.

This Antikal spray really smells nice and will get the job finished. It significantly takes white limescale buildup proper off your lavatory fixtures. Simply spray, wait 5 minutes, and rinse. Voilà. It’s actually that straightforward. NO loopy scrubbing required.

You’ll have to deal with closely calcified areas just a few occasions or for an extended time frame to get picture-perfect outcomes, however when you begin utilizing it usually, you’ll see what a lifesaver it’s. Want I had found it sooner!

How my procuring habits have modified since shifting to France >>

3. Arduous water hair packets

I advised you concerning the prevalence of arduous water in France and in need of putting in a water softener for the entire home, there’s not a ton you are able to do about it. I’ve tried bathe attachments, however they don’t appear to work. FYI, you may get check strips to examine your water and I take advantage of them usually once I journey. Hey, it’s not definitely worth the harm to my hair!

So sure, I nonetheless wash my hair with filtered water by hand like I discussed in that publish. It’s a small value to pay when you take into account the choice.

In case you usually shampoo with arduous water, I’ve discovered these Malibu arduous water hair packets to be nice at getting all of the ick and discoloration out that’s left behind by the minerals in arduous water. Use them usually. One therapy will go away your hair softer and shinier. They’re additionally 100% vegan. Whereas they aren’t a French product per se, they’re very essential if you happen to stay in France.

4. Skinny radiator duster brush

Many properties in France have radiators in lieu of central heating. Even new properties with trendy radiators can profit from certainly one of these radiator dusters as a result of they’re nonetheless arduous to mud behind even when they don’t have a lot of nooks and crannies.

In our case, our house has a handful of old-fashioned radiators, filled with nooks and crannies which simply accumulate mud. That is the goat hair duster brush I’ve that works wonders in between and behind all my conventional column tubes.

French vs. U.S. house variations >>

5. Dishwasher salt

In France and different areas of Europe, it’s commonplace for dishwashers to require salt. There’s a particular reservoir for it on the underside of your dishwasher and the rationale pertains to — yup, you guessed it — arduous water.

Dishwashers in France include a built-in water softener that removes calcium and magnesium within the water, however for it to work, it requires a particular salt product. I’m speaking a couple of product utterly separate from the precise detergent that you simply use with each load. 

Wikpedia explains that “dishwasher salt, which is coarse-grained sodium chloride (desk salt), is used to regenerate the resin within the built-in ion-exchange system.”

Each couple of months (depends upon how typically you utilize your dishwasher), our salt indicator mild lets us realize it’s time to refill the salt compartment. All you do is unscrew the cap and refill the compartment with a field of coarse dishwasher salt like this one which you can purchase on the grocery store. It’s straightforward to search out.

Dishwashers within the U.S. don’t typically require salt so this entire idea was new to me once I moved to France. Now it’s second nature, however you probably have a dishwasher in France, you’ll discover it is advisable to replenish on particular salt.

6. Bug zapper racquet

This electrical bug racquet is my greatest pal in the summertime months. I’m not a fan of mosquitos within the least, so every time there are uninvited bugs flying round — which is commonly, let’s be actual — I zap ’em like loopy. It’s efficient and reasonably priced.

For the report, I don’t get pleasure from killing bugs. But when they arrive in… be careful! We relocate spiders as an alternative of killing them, however I draw a line in terms of hard-to-relocate mosquitoes. When it’s me in opposition to them, my pores and skin is all the time going to win. Mosquitos and flies can stay exterior or take their possibilities. 😉

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Do you utilize any of those family merchandise in France? What French merchandise are must-haves for you?

Disclosure: This publish comprises affiliate hyperlinks however is not sponsored. I personal and love every part I discuss.

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