| Cleaning Tips for the Kitchen |
 |  For more effective dishwashing, add a few tablespoons
of vinegar along with the dishwashing detergent when washing
dishes. The vinegar cuts the grease and leaves dishes sparkling. |
 | To clean up spills in your oven, sprinkle the spills
immediately with salt. When the oven has cooled, brush
away the burnt-on food with a damp sponge. |
 | To disinfect smelly sponges, wash sponge thoroughly,
then microwave it while it is wet, for a short period. When
you see steam from the sponge, the bacteria in the sponge
will be dead. Remove carefully, it will be hot! Wash the
sponge thoroughly before use. **Make sure the sponge
has no metal components!** |
 | To remove hard-water and lime build-up in a teapot or kettle,
pour in two cups of vinegar and bring to a boil. Let simmer
for about 10 minutes, then rinse well. |
| To remove mineral deposits in a tea pot or burnt spots on
a coffee pot, put some ice cubes, cut-up lemon, and salt
with a tad water and swish around and let sit overnight. |
| To whiten an old stained sink , poor a half cup of salt in it
and then scrub it with a lemon. Let it stand for a few
minutes and rinse. |
| To remove skid marks on linoleum rub the spot with
toothpaste before washing the floor. |
| To keep your plastic containers from getting stained
from tomato based foods, rub the inside with vegetable
oil before placing the food in the container. |
| Kitchen surfaces: Mix in spray bottle, 1 part ammonia to
3 parts water. Or try diluted bleach solution in a spray bottle.
It will remove stains AND disinfect. |
| Removing kitchen and food odors: Soak pure vanilla on a
cotton ball and place in a saucer. Put the saucer in the car
or refrigerator to remove odors. Keep cotton ball out of reach
of children as it contains some alcohol. |
| Odor producing mold and bacteria in garbage cans: sprinkle
1/2 cup Borax in the bottom of the garbage can. |
| Cleaning coffee maker: Pour straight vinegar into it as if you
are making the coffee, no filter is need. Turn coffee maker
on as if you were making a pot of coffee. Repeat this with a
new batch of vinegar until it runs clear of calcium deposits. |
Cleaning Tips for the Bathroom |
| Bars of soap too small to use effectively can be
pressed into the sides of new bars softened by recent use. |
| Shower curtains can be renovated by being washed,
on gentle cycle, with a pint of white vinegar. |
| If you have more than one bath to clean, keep separate
cleaning supplies in each bathroom, that way you can
clean the bath at a moments notice. |
| To clean tubs and showers use a product that contains
phosphoric acid, their is no scrubbing involved.
Buildup on shower doors: Wipe with lemon oil. Removes
buildup and keeps doors protected longer from future
buildup. |
| Removing mildew from shower or bath: 3 parts bleach and
1 part water -- put in spray bottle. Spray on mildew areas
and it will virtually disappear. |
Cleaning Tips for the Laundry Room |
| To remove perspiration stains in clothing, soak in
warm vinegar and water. |
| Microwaves can be used to emergency disinfect
clothes, such as a child's cap that another kid has put on,
as long as they have absolutely NO metal in the zippers,
buttons, rivets etc. ALWAYS place a cup of cold water
next to the article to absorb the heat and microwave on
high until the water is steaming. |
| Removing mildew stains from clothes: Begin by
brushing of mold outdoors so you don't scatter mildew
spores in the house. On washable fabrics, pretreat by
rubbing detergent into the dampened stain. Then, launder
the items in hot water, detergent and chlorine bleach, if it is
safe for the fabric. If the stain remains, sponge it with
hydrogen peroxide, rinse and launder. If the item isn't
bleach-safe, soak it in an oxygen bleach that is safe for
colors, then wash it. Take non-washable fabrics to the dry
cleaner and tell them what the stain is. |
| Urine Stains:For washable fabrics that can
be bleached… pre-soak them in cold water for at least
thirty minutes. Launder these fabrics in hot water using
detergent and chlorine bleach according to the directions
on the bleach container.
For washable, non-bleachable items,
sponge the stained area with a solution of equal parts
of household ammonia and water then launder the item
in warm water and detergent. Rinse it well.
For non-washable items, sponge just the stained area with
clear water to which a few drops of ammonia have been added.
Then, sponge with clear water only.
|
| Gray Dingies: One cause of the gray dingies is
overloading the washing machine. When you do this, the
clothes cannot move freely, resulting in poor washing and
unremovable soil. To estimate the right-sized load, place
dry, unfolded clothes in the washer loosely until it is about
three-quarters full. Another cause is using non-phosphate
detergents, particularly the granular type. If you`re using a
non-phosphate detergent, use the hottest water possible
and dissolve the detergent in the water before adding the
clothes. If you have hard water, you might want to add
about a third to a half cup of packaged water softener
along with the detergent. |
Miscellaneous Cleaning Tips |
| Use crumpled up black and white newspaper
dipped in vinegar to wash windows. Dip paper in
vinegar and wipe the glass until almost dry, then
shine with dry newspaper or cloth. |
| Children's stickers can be removed from wood
by applying white vinegar to the sticker, letting it soak
and then scraping off. |
| Clean those dirty, dusty, mini-blinds in your house
in a snap! Fill the bathtub with warm, soapy water and let
the blinds soak. If they are white blinds add a little bleach
to get rid of any stains. |
| Remove spilled nail polish from wood furniture:
Don't wipe it up! The solvents in nail polish soften most
finishes, and wiping may take off the finish. Instead, let
the polish dry completely; then gently scrape it off with
a credit card. Wax the surface, using superfine steel wool. |
| Use cooking or salad oil for lubricating non-essential
mechanical things like hinges, tools etc. A light coat of oil
will keep tools from rusting and you don't need to buy
expensive and toxic chemicals like WD-40 etc. |
| To get hard water deposits off of your fixtures try some
diluted muriatic acid
(available at pool stores or hardware stores), but don't
store it near chlorine- they can combine and become
explosive! |
| Consider investing in a small rug cleaner to use for quick
cleanups of pet stains and kid spills. |
| If you have a busy schedule (and who doesn't?), and hate to
clean, (and who doesn't?), make a schedule of what
needs cleaning when and who will do it. If you have too
much to do, consider hiring someone to come in once a
month and do the chores you can't get to. |
| Run your sponges through your dishwasher every few days,
and dispose of them every few weeks. They breed bacteria
because they do not get the opportunity to dry out in
between uses. |
| If you live in a two story house, keep a second vacuum
cleaner upstairs; who likes to lug those things up and
down stairs? Having 2 makes it easier to whip off some
vacuuming when the mood strikes. |
| Wash your child's toys after an illness to prevent reinfection
or infection of another child. |
| When washing windows, wipe the windows with newspaper,
it won't leave streaks. |
| Don't buy special cleaners to get out baby formula stains,
use a little isopropyl alcohol on the stain, then a regular
stain remover. Works like a charm. |
| Cleaning ceramic tile: Regular rubbing alcohol works
wonders for a ceramic floor. Just pour straight on and
rub around with mop until it drys. Make sure children
are not in the area during this process and have good
ventilation in room. |
| Removing Crayon from walls: use damp sponge and
colgate toothpaste. Rub carefully. |
| Removing scuff marks, pen, and pencil from walls:
use a dry cloth and rubbing alcohol. |
| Cleaning your carpet: Preparing for carpet cleaning?
First sweep your carpet with a broom, this loosens up
all the ground in dirt. Then vacuum. After that you might
notice a big difference in the way your carpet looks.
For wiping out stains, you can use a solution of 2 parts
water one part ammonia in a spray bottle. Spray stain
and wipe. For a dry cleaner use a mixture of 2 cups
cornmeal and 1 cup borax. Sprinkle on carpet and
let sit for one hour then vacuum. To remove pet odors,
sprinkle carpet with baking soda and let sit for one hour,
then vacuum. |
| Make your own furniture polish: Yucky but works, take a slab
of spam and rub it on your wood -- wipe with pantyhose.
Or, make a concoction of: 1 tsp olive oil, juice of a lemon,
1 tsp whisky or brandy, 1 tsp water. Mix together and rub
on furniture with cloth, buff for a deep shine. |
| Cleaning a Keyboard: On a weekly basis, carefully vacuum
the keys with the round brush attachment of your vacuum.
Never spray keyboard directly, spray the a cleaning cloth
with all-purpose cleaning solution and wipe it with it. |
| Home oil spills: Paint thinner is best for this type of spill.
Pour on spill and it will dissolve oil. |
| Garbage Disposal: If you've got a lemon that's a little past
its prime, cut it in quarters and run it through your sink
disposal to freshen your drain. |
| Use an alcohol(isopropyl)/water solution for cleaning mirrors.
1 part alcohol to 4 parts water. Cleans with no streaks.
Coffee filters make great glass cleaning cloths. |
| Dirty neck rings around shirt or blouse collars can be
removed by putting shampoo on them. Rub the shampoo
in like you were washing your hair. Shampoo is specifically
made to remove body oils. A cheap bottle of shampoo
kept by the washing machine is handy for all kinds of
stains in clothing. Don't forget this trick when you are traveling. |
| For removing ink stains: Ball point pen stains can be removed
by using hair spray - let the hair spray dry and wash the item.
Table salt will absorb ink when it is spilled - pour salt on the
wet ink and continue to add salt until there is no more
"wet ink". Then vacuum or wash. Other types of ink can be
removed using rubbing alcohol.
http://www.thefunplace.com/house/tips/clean.html |
