View Full Version : Money (and time) saving cleaning tips and tricks


FrothySilvette
04-27-2007, 10:26 PM
*edit* scroll down to see more in a following post ... starts with #13....*/edit*

Ok - so I've been making a list of all the cleaning tips and tricks from that show "How Clean is Your House?" (on the BBC - cabel - great show!) so far .. and I thought I'd type them out for you - some of them are quite different and some are things I need to do :) .. And some of these I've tried and they do work - quite well!! (the ones I've done I've put a ** by)

** 1) Removing burn marks: use lemon juice and salt
- dip a warm, wet cloth in the lemon then in the salt - scrub clean.

** 2) Paint from carpet:
medium sand paper - scrub paint for 10-20 seconds to loosen it up.
Then apply concentrated dish soap - scrub, let soak, scrub some more ... blot with a towel.

3) Tape on windows, mirrors, vinyl siding, plastic (not paint or wallpaper)
Use nail polish remover - apply and scrub with cotton ball.

** 4) Baked on Grease: (from stovetop, floor, microwave, etc)
Use wet, hot cloth - apply dishsoap to cloth, lay over grease and let sit for 5 minutes - then wipe off.

** 5) Leather couch:
mild, warm, soapy cloth - scrub. Wipe down with soap-free warm cloth then blot dry.

6) Sour milk cleans brass - wipe off with just a wet cloth.

** 7) Milk (not soured) cleans crayon and some paints - with elbow grease, of course.

** 8) Keep spiders away with a few drops of citronella in warm water - apply and wash down with washcloth. (I have moths in my cabinets - so this was their tip to keep them out! So I bought some citronella - usually sold with outdoor lawn and garden stuff for tiki torches - and mixed it with a tiny amount of warm water and washed all my cabinets out --- noo spiders! No moths!)

9)Dirty walls (brown smudges from dirty fingers around doorframes and light switches)
Shaving cream - rub on with fingers, wipe off with wet cloth.

** 10) Inside of old bottles and vases - rice and vinegar, just pour in a little bit of each and shake.

11) Drawstrings (light cords and shade pulls) ... apply gel bleach to white wash cloth - wrap around cord and secure with seran wrap ... leave for a few hours - remove ... done.

** 12) deotorize, kill and help keep away ants on carpet:
1/2 and 1/2 of salt and baking soda - sprinkle, let sit for 15 minutes, and vacuum



And there you go :) all that I've written down so far - LOL - it's a lot! But every show they go over something new so I'll have more to come!

The benifit is it's all cost-effective and the main things are:
vingar
lemon juice
salt
baking soda

all of which have multiple cleaning purposes - and it's all non-toxic so if you do it with kids around it's safe. (This is my big problem! I've been using all types of cleaners that I can't use with the babies awake ...)
AND all this stuff is cheaper than store-bought cleaners!

*edit*
Oh- something that I use all the time (I make jewelry -lots of little stuff)

A sock that's rubber banded over the end of a vacuum hose works great to suck-and-keep little things like beads and such.
Just keep your hand on the sock just incase the rubberband gives or breaks and make sure the sock doesn't have any holes in it

bunkie
04-27-2007, 10:29 PM
Rock on! Thanks

=Mrs.AiNokeA=
04-27-2007, 10:32 PM
That's neat thanks for sharing :)

Jill
04-27-2007, 11:55 PM
I love these kinds of things. I having been using vinegar and baking soda in our home for over a year now. It is the bomb!!

Jen
04-28-2007, 08:46 AM
thanks for sharing!

Jennifer
04-28-2007, 09:23 AM
thanks for sharing! Another great way to clean vases and old jars is to drop in denture cleaning tabs-also works in the toilet bowl as well!

Aymber
04-28-2007, 10:22 AM
A cup of distilled vinegar also works well for laundry.I put a cup in loads of towels and sheets.

Loretta
06-13-2007, 05:39 AM
Milk will take off crayon???

You are my hero for posting that! :cheer

knockouttrish
07-05-2007, 11:46 PM
THat's some really good information to have around the house.