I've almost forgotten to share this very important point!

Years ago, when I was staying in HDB, there were many cockroaches around. On and off I see cockroaches in my house, so I spray the insecticide, and put those cockroach baits. When I don't see the cockroaches, I thought they were not around, and happy.

One day, to my horror, I found that the cockroaches are building their nests in my cabinets and some of my bags are full of cockroaches eggs! What about those cockroach baits? Yes, they are functioning, but cockroaches ate the baits food would not die on the spot, instead, they were back to their colony and poison their fellow friends and relatives. This sound good as it killed the whole colony, but guess what I found, a half full pale of the cockroaches dead bodies! Believe me, this is good enough to scare and haunt the ladies better than any horror movie!

From the incident, I have learned that PREVENTION and CLEANLINESS are the two key points in battling with insects. So what do I do now?

I put the moth balls in a small folded paper bin and leave them in all the top cabinets (which I seldom open).

(can be bought from NTUC or any grocery shop at less than $2 per pack.

I still spray the insecticides on the covers to drainage and the rubbish chute, preferably those with prevention for a period of time. I spray the insecticides on a regular basis, about once every 3 months.

I also do a regular check on the top cabinets, which are a good place for the cockroaches to build their houses.

Till date, my house is still free of cockroaches, occasionally, I do see one crawling around (you can control the cleanliness in your house but you can't control it in your neigbours', so no matter what you do, you're bound to see immigrants crawling in your territory) and I'll start spraying the insecticides and checking the moth balls balance......

Note:
Moth ball is a type of insecticide. It comes in a solid form that slowly gives off a toxic gas that kills moths and other insects. It contains very high concentrations of either naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene as active ingredients. It is meant to be used in closed, airtight containers so that the fumes they produce are trapped. The trapped fumes build up and kill any clothes moths inside. If mothballs are used out in the open, they can harm people that may touch or eat the mothballs, or breathe their vapors.
Thus, use it moderately.

I have previously written an article on "Buying Furniture from Malaysia JB". I know many of you are interested in getting furniture from Malaysia, and in my article, it seem to be a good deal to get the furniture there. However, I would like to warn all of you about the risks of getting your furniture there.

One of my friends purchased her furniture from Malaysia JB last year, she did not check the reputation of the shop but put a deposit after a few walk-ins of the furniture shops. After payment made, she was told the delivery can only be made at the company's convenient time, and her furniture were subsequently separated into a few deliveries, one of it arrived her house after midnight! Till date, she has not received all the furniture she purchased, and when she called the shop, the staff there just didn't bother about her complaints and push the responsibilities away.

When I purchased my furniture from Rustica Taman Molek Branch, the salesgirl did tell me the delivery could not be confirmed yet and it depends on the delivery schedule of the company. It is understandable that the company need to arrange their delivery to minimise the transportation cost, but options should be given to the consumers. Rustica did call me every time they had available delivery, but I had the option to reject when it was not convenient to me, and it was pre-agreed when I placed my deposit. Of course, there are shops that go against their words, thus the important point here is not just what they've promised you, but their REPUTATION as well.

Matters to consider before placing your deposit (may apply to Singapore furniture shops too):
1) The reputation of the company (check out renotalk forum, or see my previous article here)
- How long has the company established? Avoid new company
- Go for those with branches in JB, not only for convenience, but these type of companies have better customer service
- Google the name of the furniture shop, it is easier to see complaints on a company than its compliments. If you see complaints from more than 2 persons, beware.
2) Pricing. Yes, we want a good deal, but we are not cheapskate, check the pricing in Singapore before hunting in JB, and do factor in GST and transportation charge.
3) Some shops absorb the GST, but not all, you may try your luck. Transportation charge can be reduced to RM100 net, or even FOC.
4) Delivery time, make known the deadline to them, place your deposit only if they can commit.
5) Bear in mind that it would be difficult for exchange, you might want to check on this point.

So far, majority of the complaints discussed online are on those small or shops without branches.

Wish you good luck in your furniture hunt!