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Have you got any domestic cleaning tips
Posted by rocketrobin • 3/10/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: cleaning tips, domestic cleaning, domestic cleaning tips
Have you got any domestic cleaning tips that you would be happy to share? I am looking for a few new short two or three lines long cleaning tips to add to my blog @ www.dollychar.com/blog
User Comments
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1. when in doubt, throw it out.-
If you haven't used it for a while do you still need it!
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(Okay, this is really shameless) but it's true ~
There is nothing like a yarn dishcloth (crocheted or knitted) for getting your dishes & utensils sparkling clean! Many people, including moi, sell them on places like Etsy ~
www.etsy.com/search_results_shop.php?search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_6002040&s...
And they work great as washcloths, too, so you can clean yourself up after you've done your housework
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I love those Jan! Can you send me the link for your shop? -
Jan,
I agree totally with you. -
Yes! I've been "hooked" on thos since I can remember - my great nana used to make them. -
Hmmm, I have never tried a yarn one. I have store bought woven ones and they don't work so good. Does the yarn leave threads on your plates?
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Thanks all - the link to my shop is right there in my post
Anok, good on your Nana. I've been crocheting all my life, and I never used yarn cloths until I tried making them to sell
No, the yarn does not come off on your plate - I use acrylic or cotton knitting worsted yarn whixh is extremely durable and has a scrubbing action when wet - just use your favorite dish or bath soap.
Oh yes, you can keep your yarn cloths clean & sanitary (unlike sponges) by throwing them in the washing machine whenever you do a load of towels, jean, etc.
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1.) If you have black mold use strait up bleach and don't dilute it.
2.) If you have stainless steel pots and pans w/ caked on food boil a water/ baking soda paste to clean it out.
3.) If you have a rusting iron skillet, use warm water and salt to remove the rust.
4.) Water costs too much get a rain bucket and start collecting.
5.) Get a clothesline it will save you energy by using the dryer less.
6.) Purchase cloth diapers they make great cleaning rags.-
Some very useful cleaning tips there Shiley many thanks.
Robin
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Lemons!!!
Not kidding, I (a guy) use lemons to clean my bathroom (not a metaphor) and many other surfaces in my apartment.
Here's what you do:
Get some baking soda
Mix it with some dish liquid (preferably natural)
You should have a slightly abrasive paste
Cut a lemon in half
Grab it gently like a sponge, dip the "fruit" side of it into the paste, and gently wipe the paste onto the filthiest nastiest surface in your house to test. Wait 2 minutes or so and wipe with a wet cloth - for the bathroom use a mop. See?-
And "cooking" lemon juice in water in a glass bowl in the microwave makes all the yuck on the sides and top wipe away easily. -
Lemons are abit like WD40 they have many uses!
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Stained coffee pots (this is great for restaurant industrial cleaning too) -
Fill the pot with small chunks of ice (crushed, but not to bits), kosher salt, and 1/2 a squeezed lemon. Add a splash of water, and swirl it around the pot for a minute. Let it sit overnight, rinse, wash, and the stains should be gone.-
Won't that make a nice lemonade? -
Not with salt! yuck!
If you want to make really good lemonade, take one cup of sugar, one cup of lemon juice, and one cup of boiling water - mix.
When you are ready to drink it, simply dilute with ice cold water - and enjoy! (That makes enough concentrate for 2 quarts of lemonade). -
If you swirl the ice/lemon/salt mixture around for several minutes after you discover that your co-workers left the pot on all night again, you can get most of the stains and nasty taste out in time to brew a fresh pot for the morning regulars, as well!
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Pay someone else to do it.-
unfortunetly for me not everyone can afford to pay for it!
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Yeah! That's the best - but if you can't, use a yarn dishcloth
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That is cheating ;-)
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Here's another good hint: An effective cleaner & disinfectant is ordinary rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol! I use it in the bathroom for quick-cleaning & disinfecting sink and toilet seat, etc. Just pour it on a paper towel, cotton ball, or kleenex, and wipe away. Be sure your have good ventilation if you're doing a lot of this!
I also add a few teaspoons of rubbing alcohol to my laundry - add it to the water when the machine is filling, or along with your detergent. It really boosts cleaning, by killing bacteria & mold which causes stains. Great for those yarn dishcloths I wrote about above -
you can get pet odor out with:
1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon of liquid soap-
Did you know that peroxide and baking soda with a little water will a also remove the stink of a skunk from your or your clothes?
That's how awesome that stuff is -
get pet odour out of where?
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Furniture, carpets, clothes - anywhere your pets will go, lay on, or pee on.
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Clean glass with ammonia and newspaper (don't use colored or glossy newspaper newspaper - black and white only).
And DON'T mix ammonia with bleach - never ever! -
many thanks for all your new tips
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Use rubber dish washing gloves to remove cat or dog hair from your sofa, your carpets, curtains, clothes, car seats and so on... Place one glove on your hand and sweep the area with the glove. Hair will clump together. Very easy to remove.-
I have always advocated putting a band of sticky tape around one hand with the sticky side out.
Then stroking your hand over your furniture this picks up the dog and cat hair very effectively also.
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I love those Norwex cloths. They make everything like windows and stove tops sparkly clean with no chemicals, just water. -
My tip? Hire a housekeeper. Only the feeble minded can truly enjoy housework. -
not everyone can afford one unfortunetly, but it is something I strongly try to advocate to those that can!
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That's true. I cut down on other things so that I can afford one. I also have a debilitating back condition that makes it hard for me to clean (like really clean--I can straighten things up).
I don't buy a lot of silly things though--and this is most definitely a priority for me.
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Buy twelve medium sized dusters and then cut them up into very very tiny squares and then every time you find a spider or a fly in your house, pin them down and tie the little squares onto their feet and then wherever they go they are doing your dusting for you.-
Good one lol I will have to try that one!
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haha.....put those household pests to use!!!
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Lemon juice for everything. Buy the big ones at Sam's or Costco,dilute and clean away leaving a great scent. And those knitted or crocheted cloths are wonderful. I make them for myself not to sell but sell these which are great for cleaning YOU!!!
www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19510604-
I have to admit that lemon juice can be a good cleaning agent
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I had written some tips on my blog... here are 2
1. To remove mold around your bathroom sink (I guess u can also use it in tub) us peroxide. It'll removed it instantly.
2. When your trying to get the smell out of Tupperware use newspaper, it absorbs those smelly smells.-
I have looked through your blog to be nosey and couldn't find your tips, what catorgory do you have them under?
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Oxiclean! That mad bugger who was selling the stuff on your TV was right - the darn stuff will clean just about anything. -
I bought a pack of cheap toothbrushes at the Dollar Store. I used them for scrubbing around tight edges and into nooks and crannies in the kitchen and bathroom.
Peanut butter gets heel marks off linoleum floors without dulling the floor's shine. Just use a paper towel and some elbow grease.-
Its the first time I have heard of peanut butter been useful for anything else other than making a sandwich.
Many thanks. -
I think the peanut butter thing originated with Helpful Hints from Heloise.
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Olive Oil is excellent for oiling wood furniture.-
I presume it would be ok for doors also. We use wax on all our wood, skirtings, architraves, doors etc
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Only until it goes rancid, which all food grade oils do. Tung oil is better for wood - it comes from wood. -
I have accepted you comment now by the way, sorry for the delay, I have left you a testimonial for your blog on here also.
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Thanks a lot!!
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Margo:
I think I will try that... I use Murphy's Oil soap and it works well, but there are some cases where I need something better... -
I posted my suggestion on the blog, but it's still in moderation 8 hours later.
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I will go and take a look, I usually spend an hour in the evenings updating my blog
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OK, cool. Thanks for reading, joining and favouriting!
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Use bleach. Bleach is great for most things-
Providing you use it with care, if it leaks and you don't realize and trample it all over your carpets it can be a nightmare!
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1/ To make your silver cutlery sparkle like new take a piece of day old cat poo from the litter tray and use it to buff up your knives and forks, in no time at all they will be cat poo new.
2/ Instead of using a vacuum cleaner why not just buy an old blind ant eater and scatter a few ants about the place, by time he realises he has been tricked your carpets will be spotless.
3/ Crack cocaine isn't only a great smoke it's also a great insect repellent. Around a hundred rocks a day burned in an ashtray will keep your home free from all pests (Except crackheads obviously, I recommend you buy a shot gun if you are going to use this tip)
4/ Sick of having to wash your windows? Simple smash them out with a hammer and replace them with stylish style sections from the local paper. Newspaper "glass" is not only stylish it's also a good way to air condition a room.
5/ Instead of splashing out on a fancy electric steam iron why not find a big smooth rock and heat it over an open flame before rolling it onto your creased clothes. It not only saves electricity but also marks you out as different. -
if you get chewing gum on carpet, clothes etc. use the tip of an hot iron and a damp cloth to wipe the tip, it will be totally gone in minutes.-
Many thanks I will try that tip out
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My tips is how to use the BC search utilities to locate references to cleaning tips
Cleaning tips
*All results www.blogcatalog.com/topic/cleaning+tips/
*Directory www.blogcatalog.com/blogsearch/cleaning+tips/
*Blog posts www.blogcatalog.com/posts/cleaning+tips/
*Social search www.blogcatalog.com/dashboard.search.php?q=cleaning+tips
Discussions www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/search/thread/cleaning+tips/
Blog tags www.blogcatalog.com/tag/cleaning+tips/
Posts tags www.blogcatalog.com/post-tag/cleaning+tips/-
Thank you for that it is very educational and a real eye opeener.
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@rocketrobin
You're welcome. I hate seeing new members wandering around in the dark and thinking that the only options for locating what they need is posting to the forum. There are 200,00 BC member and most don't ever post to the forum(s).
(1) Cleaning products - vinegar, borax, baking soda, Vip Soap, ammonia, sweet oil
(2) With simple ingredients like sweet oil, castor oil, boric acid and glycerin, you can easily mix a household potion, preserve plants and wax a table to a glasslike shine.
(3) A more "natural" and safe way to polish wood furniture is to use a three-to-one mixture of sweet oil and vinegar. Mix well and apply with a clean cloth as you would traditional furniture polish. (Note: Not to be used on unfinished wood or laquer).
(4) When putting a new vacuum cleaner bag in, add a cotton ball soaked in clove oil inside the bag (or in the plastic container of bagless models).
(5) After wearing shoes or boots, place a piece of plastic wrap into the shoe and place a cotton ball with a dab of clove oil onto the plastic wrap.
Check out this site: www.doityourself.com/scat/cleaningstainremoval -
I usually give a new site about a month of my time and if I do not appear to be making a few reasonable contacts and I can not see any tangible proof or benefit monitoring google dashboard and webstat then I tend to lose interest and move on.
Thanks again for your help.
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I avoid cleaning at all costs.
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You and me alike, delegation is the word!
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How about a discussion about how to hire just the right cleaning person!
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Do you want to start it? or would you like me to? I have wrote an article or two on the subject one of which is here @ www.dollychar.com/blog/2008/11/recruiting-domestic-cleaning-maids
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Use vinegar for cleaning counters, appliances, ect. instead of harsh chemicals. -
Domestic Cleaning Advice...
Stand her outside on the patio and hose her off
(sorry...am in a goofy mood!)-
No need to apologise its good to be goofy now and then ;-)
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Agoofy mood is good at times ;-)
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Vinegar is great for cleaning brass. It is also great for de-oderizing areas inside the home. Q-tips are wonderful for cleaning dust off electronics in those hard to reach spots. It's important to clean off your TV. Eliminating a potential fire hazzard.-
do you know how to clean a plasma screen safely?
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I use a spray called Sprayway that is purchased at Cosco on my monitor which works fabulous. I have an LCD plasma screen monitor for two years. I make sure all power is off and connections unplugged when I clean it. I have a flat screen TV and use the same type of spray. It comes out in a foam substance. No ammonia, no streaks, and no dust left.
For TV Plasma screen, I don't know how to clean it safely, because I don't own one. Unless my monitor is the same, then yes I do know how to clean it safely.
Tip:
Try a microfiber cloth to remove the dust, but for cleaning solution and how to's, read the plasma screen manual for the recommended way to clean would be the safest way.
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To Clean Appliances:
Microwaves – Mix 1/2 of water with a few teaspoons of baking soda in a microwave safe bowl. Put the bowl in the microwave and run it for 2 minutes. Take out the bowl and wipe it clean with just a rag; every last spot will come out!
Coffee Makers – When the coffee maker is empty, pour in a mixture of 1 cup white vinegar and some hot water to fill up the reservoir to the top. Run the coffee maker like you were making coffee, just without any beans in it. Once the cycle has finished, run it twice more with just plain water, which will rinse out the vinegar and any build up left inside. The coffee will taste better the next time you make a cuppa Joe! -
Clean with no technique or violence. Clean casually but more often! And dont miss corners and hard to get at areas -
Hi rocketrobin: I was just at your blog thru MBL - it's great you're keeping up with it! I actually have a requested cleaning tip: How do you remove tape residue from windows? The tape residue I have is from gaffer tape (the famous silver "duct tape"), but any and all info would probably be well-received.
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Seabuckthorn I have found rubbing alcohol will do the trick.
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To remove sweat stains from the underarms on shirts and/or blouses
Pour peroxide on stain before washing. Presto, stain gone! -
@Kowgirl: Thanks! I have some, I'll try it.
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empty beer bottles make great disposable ashtrays and I have plenty for the neighbors, just ask.
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