Cleaning Tips
| Bathrooms |
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Rub baby oil or bath oil on the bottom of your soap dish to prevent the soap from sticking to it. |
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Paint the bottom of metal shaving foam cans with a little clear nail varnish to stop them leaving rusty ring marks. |
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Toothbrush mugs are a haven for bacteria. Pop them in the dishwasher once a week to keep them fresh. |
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Shower tiles: a plastic blade window wiper is an excellent tool for swishing the water off shower tiles so that water marks don’t form. You can also keep your tiles free of water marks by polishing with car wax! |
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Toilet: Stains that are difficult to remove with a cleaning product and brush, can be removed by pouring a can of cola into the bowl and leaving it for an hour. Also, avoid blockages and neutralize toilet odours by pouring a cup of bicarbonate of soda into the pan once a week. |
| Walls |
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To remove finger marks from walls, dab firmly with a chunk of white bread. |
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Remove coloured crayon marks from painted walls by scrubbing with toothpaste. The abrasive action removes the mark. |
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| Carpets |
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Stains and spills: They should always be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Soak up the residue by blotting, never scrubbing, with a clean white towel or paper towel. For a spill, pour a little soda water over the affected area (or dissolve half a denture tablet in water is a good substitute). The bubbles in the water will bring more of the stain to the surface so that it can be blotted away with a clean white towel. Once the spill is contained, try to remove any marks using the foam from a little washing-up liquid and water. Use a soft brush, but don’t scrub or you will damage the pile. (Use a clean empty jam jar with lid, add a finger’s width of water and a few drops of washing-up liquid. Replace the lid and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Result – a jar-full of suds!). |
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Indentations caused by heavy furniture: Simply place an ice cube on the spot, allow it to melt, and then tease up the pile gently with a soft brush or cocktail stick. |
| Copper/Brass |
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Salt and lemon juice – three parts salt to one part lemon juice. Apply to articles, rinse and buff dry with a soft cloth. |
(The above is taken - and applied - from “How clean is your house?” by Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie, Penguin Books 2003)
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