How to Clean Window Screens:

Screens are like filters.Clean indoor air is an integral part of a healthy home and one of the factors that play an important role in determining air quality is the state of window screens.

Most homes across North America have screens on the windows allowing air to enter while filtering out various flying debris and stopping animals and bugs from entering.

However, since the screens act like filters they often collect a lot of dust and dirt over the course of time and eventually need a good clean. This is especially the case during the warmer months and in arid regions where airborne particles and pollution are more prevalent.

The question is what’s the best way to make them shine and assure easy breathing?

The answer is: Cleaning screens

Cleaning screens is a simple job that can be done during regular window cleaning </a> chores and all that’s needed is a soapy sponge, water for rinsing, and a towel to sop up any excess wetness.

To remove all residues the screen should be gently scrubbed with the sponge and then rinsed by letting water run from top to bottom.

The biggest decision to make on this project is whether to clean the screens in place or take them out.

Cleaning them in place means taking a few extra precautions:

Although you won’t be using much water, be careful it doesn’t spill on the floor, which may have a carpet.

Try not to let excess water drip down the exterior and flood a neighbour’s apartment through an open window. If you live above the ground floor, it’s a good idea to alert whoever lives underneath about your plans.

If the base of the window doesn’t have drainage holes you may be stuck removing any collected water.

If drainage holes exist and the windows aren’t too high up the screens can also be cleaned from the outside using a garden hose and mild scrub brush. Just make sure windows are closed from the inside before spraying the hose at the screen.

On the other hand, removing screens allows for a more thorough and freer cleaning campaign, as they can be washed in the yard, on the sidewalk, or in the bath tub and dried in the sun before being returned. Just one note of caution here: If you clean the screens outside make sure they are dry before returning them so water doesn’t drip across the house.

Extra Tips

In order to preserve your screens apply very little pressure when cleaning, as pressing too hard may dent the wire mesh or dislocate it from the frame. Try to clean the screens twice a year; once in the early spring and once in the late summer between the seasons.

Finally, as tempting as it may be don’t use chemical cleaners, even if recommended. They are unnecessary and will only pollute the ground wherever they drain. If you find there are hard residues on the screen, apply soap and water like you would with cruddy dishes and let the crud  soften. Then rescrub and rinse.

Jakob Barry writes for Networx.com.He covers various eco-friendly home improvement topics vices

10 Great Money Saving Tips:

1. No-stick Baked Goods:

If you stack fresh-baked cookies or brownies on a plate, they can stick together. To prevent this, put a coffee filter or paper doily in between the layers. It will help you having to discard broken pieces of your baked goods.

2. Keep Drains Clean:

Once a month, drop three antacid tablets, followed by a cup of plain vinegar down your drains. Wait a few minutes and run hot water to rinse the drains. The combination of acid and bubbles will dissolve any food or grease stuck in the pipes and prevent potentially costly plumber assistance with plugged drains.

3. Washable Party Decorations:

For glowing wall decorations, use liquid laundry soap to paint designs on the walls. Once it dries, turn out the lights and turn on a black light. The phosphates in the soap will glow, creating a great effect and the wall washes right off when your party is over!

4. Laundry Saver:

If you run out of fabric softener, plut a few drops of hair conditioner on a washcloth and toss it into your dryer with the clothes. Your clothes will come out soft and fresh-smelling.

5. Guaranteed Delivery:

If you are sending a get-well card to someone in the hospital, use that person’s home address as the return address. If the person is discharged before the card is delivered, it will be automatically forwarded to them at home. With the cost of greetings cards – this prevents a waste and allows your intended recipient to enjoy your good wishes.

6. Portable Sewing Kit:

Use an old lipstick tube to create a portable sewing kit. Once the tube is totally cleaned out, put a cotton ball in the bottom and stick needles threaded with various colours into the cotton ball. Then just put the cap on and toss it in your purse.

7. Button Saver:

To keep buttons from falling of your children’s clothing, put a layer of clear nail polish over the threads. It will harden the threads and “glue” them to the button.

8.Fun Punch Ice:

This works well at Halloween – but you can use it anytime! You can make some “handy” ice cubes by filling new, clean,clear rubber gloves with mixture of water and food colouring. Tie off the ends and place the gloves into your freezer. When the water is frozen, peel off the gloves and you are ready to surprise your guests!

9. Bathing Fun:

To make very inexpensive fun bath toys for your children, try making your own soaps. Mix 1-3/4 cups of soap flakes with water and dye it with food colouring. Pour soap mixture into candy molds, let it dry and you have your own customized mini soaps.

10. Save on Show Polish:

Use creamy cleanser with abrasives to clean white shoes. Pus a few dabs on a cotton rag and wipe shoes with it. It works as well as shoe polish!

I hope you enjoyed these tips! Please send me your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is always welcomed!

Cleaning windows is of my least favourite housekeeping chores – and I don’t really know too many people who look forward to the task. But – somehow – it has to be done! And this is the time of the year for spring cleaning inside and outside of your house – thought I put in some tips on how to make that not-so-favourite task of window cleaning just a little bit easier.

1.Squeegee

Good squeegee is an absolute must – that is what professional window cleaners will not do without. Do not be fooled into thinking that a cheap, plastic one or the one you use for your car windshields will do the job. Because they won’t! The best size to start with is a 12 – 14 inch one. This size will work well on most windows and once you have mastered this size, you can move to a larger one to make the job easier and faster. There is also a 6-inch one available, and that one is ideal for small or French windows.

2.Scrubber

A good scrubber is a definite plus. This tool looks like a squeegee but has a fluffy cover. It is used to wet and clean the window before using the squeegee. If you don’t want to run out and get a scrubber, you can use a good natural sponge instead

3.Rag or Chamois

It is a good idea to use dry rag or chamois for drying the squeegee rubber blade and edges of glass.

4.Scraper

You need a scraper to remove paint, concrete and other stubborn debris. If you don’t have a scraper or don’t want to go buy one, you can also use a good medium to fine grade steel wool pad. If that is what you decide to do, make sure the pad and the the window are soapy wet. Never use one of the pads you use for dishes – they will scratch the glass. And never use steel wool on tinted glass.

5.Extension Pole

You will need an extension pole of you have high, hard to reach windows. You can get an extension pole made for a squeegee – this will allow you to stand on the ground and reach the high windows without a ladder.

6.Bucket and TSP

A bucket of water and TSP (trisodium phosphate) or dishwashing detergent (2-3 squirts to the bucket)

And now – how to proceed:

First – fill your bucket with warm water and add the TSP or dishwashing detergent.

Be sure you have all your equipment laid out so that you don’t have to be searching around for what you need.

Dip you scrubber or sponge into the cleaning solution and wash the windows thoroughly, using very wet steel wool pad to remove any stubborn spots – such as bug stains. You don’t have eto press to hard on the steel wool. Rewet the window so you will have time to squeegee it before it starts drying out. Try not to clean in a direct sunlight – that will cause streaking and spotting.

Tilt the squeegee at a angle so that 2 inches of rubber blade touches the glass. Start aqt the top corner and draw the squeegee along the top edge of the window.

Wipe the squeegee blade on a sponge, start on the dry surface close to the frame and draw the squeegee down to within about 3 inches of the bottom of the glass.

Repeat this stroke until you have squeegeed all of the glass. Be sure you overlap each stroke and wipe the squeegee blade after each stroke.

Have a rag or chamois handy to wipe the window edges if needed. If you see a streak on your window, use poly/cotton rag (like an old t-shirt) to polish it out.

If you prefer to wash your window the spray and wipe way – here are a few good cleaning tips as well:

To polish glass or remove screen and bug stains – make a thin paste of baking soda and water, rub onto glass, rinse well and dry with a soft cloth.

To make an easy window cleaner – combine 2 quarts of warm water with ½ cup of corn starch. Apply to window with a sponge and buff dry with paper towels or soft, lit-free rags.

For tough window cleaning jobs – combine 1 pint of rubbing alcohol, 2 tablespoons of clear ammonia and 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid. Apply to your window using a nylon covered sponge, rinse and buff dry. This work especially well on hard-water spots.

Cleaning your screens:

Most people just hose down their screens to clean them. This actually just moves dirt from one part of the screen to the other. Better way to clean the screens is to soap them with a sponge dipped in a pail of warm water mixed with 2 tablespoons of dishwashing liquid, ¼ cup of ammonia and 2 tablespoons of Borax. You can really suds up the screens, then pay a rag on the ground and gently tap the screen on it. Most of the soapy water containing the dirt will come off this way. To finish, rinse the screen with the hose and stand to dry.

And a little note – no matter what you have heard about cleaning your windows with a newspaper – don’t do it! It is a dirty way to try to do a clean job and it can leave newsprint all over white window trim and paint.

Hope you enjoyed these tips and please send in your comments, suggestions and experiences – your input is always welcomed!

If you are anything like me, you continuously wonder if your bathroom is clean enough. I was thinking why that is – after all – I do clean it regularly and thoroughly! Then it dawned on me: It is the one room where people who come to visit have time to look around and check out the details! So if there are dust bunnies in corners or behind the toilet…. You can pretend you don’t care – I just know you do! I have tried just about every product on the market in the effort to have the ultimate clean bathroom – and here are some good tips for you from what I have learned:

Cleaning Fiberglass Showers and Tubs:

Heat white vinegar until it is hot (but not too hot to pour into a spray bottle and work with) Spray it on the shower and tub heavily. Wait for 10-15 minutes and then moisten scrubbing-type posnge with more vinegar and scrub. Rinse well and dry.

Stubborn Spot Remover for Showers:

For shower spots and scum buildup, use a soap=filled steel wool pad on a dry shower. Do not allow water to be involved in this process -= it would cause the steel wool pad to scratch. Follow up with the vinegar process described above and you should not have any stubborn spots left!

Keeping Plastic Showers Clean:

To make shower upkeep simple, apply a coat of car wax. Do not use on the floor of the tub or shower. After showering, use a sueegee to wipe the shower door and walls – if you do that you will not see any problems with mildew

Cleaning Porcelain Tubs:

To clean and polish a porcelain tub and remove stains, make a paste of powdered alum (you can get it in drugstores) and water. Rub well, as if you are using a cleanser. For stains. make a paste of powdered alum and lemon juice; apply and let dry, then moisten with more lemon juice and rub well. Rinse thoroughly. Borax and water also works well on porcelain – make a paste, rub well and rinse clean.

Keeping Tile and Grout Clean:

The way to stay ahead of getting the grout clean is to use a dry typewriter eraser on dry grout to remove any mildew or stain as soon as they appear. For bigger problems, make a paste of baking soda and chlorine bleach and apply to the grout. Let dry and then rinse well. Do this in a well-ventilated area and watch out for carpets and fabrics near by! Even fumes of chlorine bleach can remove colour from towels hanging in the tub area.

Cleaning Soap Scum and Mildew off Plastic Shower Curtains:

Put the shower curtain in washing machine with one cup of white vinegar, 1/2 cup of your laundry detergent and several old, light coloured towels. Fill the washer with warm water nad run through complete wash and rinse cycle. Remove from water and hang on shower rod immediately.

Cleaning Mineral Deposits from the Shower Head:

Fill a plastic sandwich bag with undiluted white vinegar. Tie this around the shower head and leave overnight. In the morning, remove the bag, scrub the head with a brush and you are ready to use your shower again!

Cleaning Chrome Faucets:

Use white vinegar on a cloth or sponge to remove water spots and soap scum. Dry and buff with a soft cloth. Rubbing alcohol is also a great spot remover. Apply, then dry and buff. To shine chrome or any metal fixtrue in a hurry, use a used dryer fabric softerner sheet on a dry fixture.

Removing Hair Spray Residue:

You can use this formula to remove hair spray residue from any surface – vanities, floors, walls, etc. Mix a solution of 1.3 fabric softener and 2/3 water in a spray bottle. Spray on surface to be cleaned and wipe. Not only does this remove the hair spray, it will also act as a dust repellent and shines vanities beautifully!

Removing Bathtub Decals:

Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the declas and heat with blow dryer on high. Work up the edge of the decal with a straight-edge ( credit cards work well) adn keep applying the heat as you pull. If the decal is stubborn, lay down the foil as necessary and heat well and peel again. To ermove the residue, try petroleum jellu, alcohol or nail polish remover – but test these products on a small area first before applying.

Cleaning Shower Door Tracks:

Plug the drain hole in the door track with a little bit of paper towel made into a ball. Pour in undiluted white vinegar. let this soak for about 30 minutes, unplug the holes and rinse track with a spray bottle of water and run a rag down it. This will flush the accumulated build-up out of the track.

Toilet Tips:

Here is a good one for you – especially if you have a pet who likes to visit for a refreshing drink!

Pour several tablespoon of Tang Breakfast drink in the toilet in the morning before you leave for work. You can also do this before you go to bed. let soak, use your toilet brush to swish under the rim and flush.

To remove hard water rings. shut off the water at the toilt tank and flush. Spray undiluted vinegar around the inside and then sprinkle borax onto the vinegar. Let soak for about 30 minutes and then scrub with a piece of fine drywall sandpaper. If you have an old water ring, you may need to repeat this several times.

One more good idea – you can drop couple of denture cleaning tablets into the toilet and let it sit overnight.Then just brush under the rim with your toilet brush and flush

Hope these tips have been helpful to you and I will appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have!

There are 4 cleaning products you should never be without – and most of them you already have in your home. If you don’t, you can purchase large size containers and they will last for months! You can used them alone or in conjunction with other common household products such as salt or dishwasher liquid to help you handle most of your cleaning challenges. These products are especially good for people with allergies and for everyone who doesn’t want to have chemicals in the home.

Here are the 4 products:

White Vinegar

Baking Soda

Lemon Juice

Club Soda

What You Can Do With Vinegar:

• Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the washing machine during the final rinse to soften clothes and remove lint from dark clothes
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of white vinegar to hot water along with your regular dish washing liquid to cut grease on dishes and crystal.
• Apply white vinegar – undiluted to the skin with a cotton ball to deter bugs – they hate the way you taste and the odour will disappear immediately from your skin.
• Neutralize pet urine odor with diluted white vinegar (25% vinegar and 75% water) sprayed on carpets
• Clean stainless steel sinks with a paste made from baking soda and vinegar. Don’t let the foaming scare you – that is what makes it work!
• Make a window cleaner in spray bottle with 1/4 cup of vinegar added to 1 quart of water.
• Keep drains free flowing with 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar poured down the drain on monthly basis. After pouring in baking soda and vinegar, cover the drain for 15 minutes (it will foam), Then just flush with cold water.
• Spray vinegar on underarms of clothes and let soak for 15-30 minutes to deodorize and minimize underarm stains.

What You Can Do With Baking Soda:

• Keep food disposals fresh and free-flowing by putting the stopper in the disposal and adding 3 inches of warm water and handful of baking soda. Turn on the disposal and let water run out.
• Remove perspiration stains and odor by applying paste of baking soda and water and letting soak 30 minutes prior to laundering.
• Mix one gallon of warm water and 1/4 cup of baking soda to soak freshly washed socks in the solution for 30 minutes. Spin out in your washer (d not rinse out the solution), dry and you will have odor-eater socks.
• Remove crayon from hard surfaces with baking soda on damp rag.
• To clean grout (any colour), mix 3 cups of baking soda with 1 cup of warm water and scrub grout with a brush. Then just rinse off.
• To remove burnt food form a casserole, fill dish with hot water, add one tablespoon of baking soda and allow to soak.
• To clean up pet vomit, sprinkle on a heavy coating of baking soda. let it absorb the moisture and dry, then scoop it up or vacuum it up. The baking soda will neutralize acids and help prevent stains.
• Remove heel marks from hard floors with a damp cloth and baking soda.
• Put in the bottom of cat litter boxes to eliminate odor. Put in a thin layer of baking soda and then add the litter. This will work with with clay or clumping litter varieties.

What You Can Do With Lemon Juice

• Apply to clothes, undiluted to remove fruit based stains. let soak for 30 minutes and then launder.
• Remove rust from clothes by applying undiluted lemon juice and laying the garment in the sun. It will disappear like magic.
• Clean brass and copper with lemon juice and salt. Sprinkle salt on a half a lemon and rub metal, then rinse thoroughly. If you don’t have fresh lemon, you can use mix of bottled lemon juice Nada salt.
• Make a cleaner in a spray bottle with 2 cups of water, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice , 1/2 teaspoon of liquid dish soap, 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of borax. Shake before using and use to clean any hard surface.
• Remove stains from hands with lemon juice.
• Bleach wooden breadboards or cutting boards by applying lemon juice and letting it sit overnight. Wash and rinse in the morning.

What You Can Do With Club Soda:

• Club Soda is the best emergency spotter there is. Keep it on hand to clean up spills on carpets and clothing. Do it as soon as possible – if you act fast, the spot will not become a stain.
• Club soda will remove red wine, coffee, tea, pop,Kool-Aid and any other spills you can think of.
• If you spill on your clothes in the restaurant, ask for a little club soda and use your napkin to blot the stain. You can blot the spot and soak it with club soda thoroughly when you get home to make sure that stain doesn’t appear.

I hope these tips will be helpful to you – and please send in your comments and suggestions, your input is always very much welcomed!

]]> http://www.mama-knows.com/household-hints-and-tips/top-cleaning-tips.html/feed 1 http://www.mama-knows.com/household-hints-and-tips/top-50-household-hints.html http://www.mama-knows.com/household-hints-and-tips/top-50-household-hints.html#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:10:15 +0000 Hanna Trafford http://www.mama-knows.com/?p=3343 I love collecting, recording and sharing household hints and tips! Lots of times, my eyes just open wide and all I can say is: “Oh – really???” and then go a try the helpful information I just found. And here I am sharing 50 hints I like – and I promise to keep more coming!

Top 50 Household Hints:

1. Save money by buying the least expensive dishwasher soap, then add a few teaspoons of vinegar to the dishwasher. The vinegar cuts the grease and leaves the dishes spot-free and sparkling.n

2. Keep an empty soda bottles handy, in case you need a hot water bottle. Jusat fill it up with hot water, wrap in a towel and there you go!

3. To slow the tarnishing process of silver, place a piece of chalk in your silver chest or drawer. The chalk will absorb moisture and your silver will not tarnish so quickly.

4. If you place bay leaves in all your kitchen drawers and in the flour and sugar containers, you will keep any crawling critters away.

5. Nice can’t stand the smell of fresh peppermint – so plant it around your house or put some oil of peppermint on a piece of cloth and place it in locations you suspect the mice may be visiting.

6. For a quick ant kill, mix 2 cups of borax with one cup of sugar in a quart jar. Punch holes in the lid and sprinkle around the outside of your house.

7. Another way to get rid of ants is to pour Ivory Liquid Soap around where they are. The apparently is the only soap that works.

8. Empty ketchup of mustard containers are great for decorating cakes or cookies.

9. To unclog plugged drain, try using a cup of salt mixed with a cup of baking soda – no liquid. Pour the dry solution into the drain, followed by a pot of boiling water.

10. To raise the nap of carpeting after heavy furniture has matted it down, place one or two ice cubes on the area overnight. In the morning the carpet should be back up.

11. To remove most coffee stains from fabric, mix egg yolk with warm water and apply until the stain is gone.

12. Corningware cookware can be cleaned by filling them with water and dropping in couple of denture cleaning tablets. Let stand for 30-45 minutes.

13. When postage stamps have stuck together, try placing them them into the freezer for about 10 minutes – they should come apart without damaging the glue.

14. Any cloth material that has chewing gum stuck to it can be placed into the freezer. After about an hour the gum should break off easily.

15. If your white socks are getting dingy, place them into a pot of water, add 2 pieces of lemon or a teaspoon of lemon juice and soak for about 10 minutes. Then wash as you normally would.

16. To keep your pizza crust crispy, try placing the cheese on before the sauce.

17. To save leftover wines, freeze them in ice cube trays. They can be used for any dish you would season with wine or can be also used in coolers.

18. Cottage cheese can be used in place of sour cream when making dips. Just place it in the blender until it is creamed.

19. Cream cheese can be coloured with liquid food colouring as a filler for dainty rolled sandwiches. Try a different colour for each layer and slice as you would a jelly roll.

20. Freeze red and green maraschino cherries in ice cubes. You can also do this with cocktail onions, mint leaves or green olives for martinis.

21. To remove a cork from inside of empty wine bottle, pour some ammonia into the bottle, set in well ventilated location. In a few days, the cork will be gone.

22. You can make your own Easter egg dyes – boil the eggs with grass for green, onion skins for yellow and beets for read.

23. For attractive individual butter servings, squeeze butter through a pastry bag or plastic beg onto a cookie sheet, set in refrigerator to harden.

24. If red wine is spilled on a carpet, it can be cleaned with shaving cream, then sponged off with water. Club soda also works.

25. To fancy up the top of a cake, cookies or pie, try placing a wide-patterned doily on top, then sprinkle powdered sugar over it and remove.

26. To peel thin skin fruits and vegetables easily, place in a bowl and cover with boiling water, let stand for one minute then peel with sharp paring knife.

27. For an easy dressing for fruit salad, try a grated orange rind and orange juice added to sour cream.

28. Raisins won’t stick to the food chopper of they are soaked in cold water for a short period of time.

29. Cream won’t curdle when pour over fruits if you add a pinch of baking soda with the cream before serving.

30. If you add a small pat of butter when cooking fruit for jams and jellies, you won’t have any foam to skim off the top.

31. If you have a problem with fruit jellies not setting, place the jars in a shallow pan half filled with cold water, then bake in moderate oven for 30 minutes.

32.   To make ripe olives taste better, soak them overnight in olives, place them in a brown be oil with a clove of garlic added.

33.   To ripen fruit, place it in a brown bag in a dark place for a few days.

34.   If citrus fruits are warmed in the microwave or warm oven for a few minutes, they will yield more juice.

35.   Toss freshly cut fruit in lemon juice and it won’t darken. The juice of half lemon is enough for a quart or two of cut fruit.

36.   Cook cranberries only until they “pop”- further cooking will make them bitter. And always use a teaspoon of butter to each pound of cranberries – it will eliminate overboiling and excess foam.

37.   If you allow grapefruit to stand in boiling water for a few minutes, it will be easier to peel.

38.   Salt will make grapefruit taste sweeter.

39.   If you sprinkle lemons with water and refrigerate them in a plastic bag, they will last a month or more.

40.   Oranges that need to be peeled for dishes should be soaked in boiling water for at least 5-7 minutes before peeling. This will make it easier to peel and remove all the white pulp.

41.   To ripen a pineapple, cut off top, remove skin and slice. Place in a pot and cover with water, sweeten to taste, boil for 5 minutes, cool and refrigerate.

42.   To prevent soggy salads, place an inverted saucer in the bottom of the salad bowl. The excess liquid will drain off under the saucer and the salad stays fresh and crisp.

43.   When cooking onions or cabbage, boil a small amount of vinegar in a pan to remove the odours.

44.   If you sprinkle salt into the water when you are washing vegetables, it will draw out insects.

45.   If you cook your vegetables with a small amount of milk, it will bring out more colour

46.   Use a well-greased muffin tins to bake tomatoes, apples or peppers. They will keep their shape better.

47.   When making pickles, cut off ¼ inch from each end. The ends contain enzymes that may cause the pickles to soften.

48.   Pickle juice should be saved and used for making coleslaw, potato salad, etc.

49.   To revive limp asparagus, try placing them in a tall pot with ice water in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

50.   To ripen avocados quickly, place them in a wool sock and set in a dark place.

Hope you have enjoyed reading these tips and as always – your comments, suggestions and experiences are most welcomed and very much appreciated!

1. Rose Fertilizer: You can recycle old banana peels by using them as fertilizer. The peels are a great source of potassium and phosphorus, which roses need to grow and bloom. Bury the peels in about an inch of soil around your rose bushes.

2. Spare Key Solution: To help remember which key goes to what, take a picture of the object (desk drawer,filing cabinet,car,back door,etc.) and tape the key tot eh back of the picture. Then store the pictures in a recipe box so that you can find them easily.

3. Attack the Static: To keep your television screen and stereo equipment dust-free, wipe them with used fabric softener sheet. It leaves behind a light residue that will reduce static electricity, which attracts dust.

4. Homemade Mouse Repellent: When mice invade your home, put out sacks of crushed peppermint leaves to chase them away. Make them by filling old stockings, socks or pantyhose with peppermint leaves (from your garden or from your local health food store) Mice dislike the smell and stay away.

5. Packing Tip: Packing shoes and clothes together is difficult – who wants to get clothes dirty with putting their shoes next to them? The next time you travel, slide your shoes into old, clean socks for packing without problems.

6. Fresher Leftovers: When storing leftover bottled spaghetti sauce or soup, place a double layer of plastic cling wrap under the metal cap. This stops the chemical reaction between metal and the contents, so the leftovers taste better longer.

7. Refresh Your Celery: If your celery stalks get limp, put them in a tall container with a few ice cubes and some water. In no time at all, they will be crisp again.

8. Trash protector: To discourage dogs, cats and birds form ripping into trash bags, spray the bags lightly with insect repellent. The smell drives the animals away.

9. Button Saver: To keep buttons from falling off your children’s clothing, put a layer of clear nail polish over the threads. It will harden the threads and “glue” them to the button.

10. Keep Drains Clean: Once a month, drop three antacid tablets, followed by a cup of plain white vinegar, down the drain in your kitchen. Then wait a few minutes and run the hot water. The combination of acid and bubbles will dissolve any food or grease stuck in the pipes.

Hope you enjoyed these household smart solutions – please send in your comments or suggestions – your input is always welcomed!

Cleaning with Baking Soda:

This is commonly known – Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) is great for absorbing odours. So remember to put opened box into your refrigerator or bottom of your shoe closet – it will help!

Do you have a jar of jam or sauce that was left with a gunk around the lid and now won’t open? Dip a toothbrush in a paste of 2 tablespoons baking soda and 1 tablespoon water and use it to dislodge the stubborn thing.

You can pour washing soda generously on oil and grease spots in your garage, sprinkle it with water until a paste forms and let stand overnight. The next day, scrub with damp brush, hose down and wipe clean.

To clean garden tools, dip a moist stiff-bristled brush in washing soda to scrub trimmers, clippers and other tool that need cleaning. Rinse and place in sunny area to dry. Just a little note: Don’t use washing soda on aluminum tools!

To combat tough stain on grills and barbecue utensils, dip a moist stiff-bristled brush in washing soda and scrub away!

To clean stove burners, place them in a dishpan and soak in about 1 gallon of warm water and 1/2 cup of washing soda for 30 min. Rinse and dry.

You can remove old stains from coffee and tea cups by soaking them in a mixture of 1 part baking soda and 2 parts water and soaking overnight. Then just rub with a sponge and rinse.

There is something you can do with old furniture as well – if you need to refresh the upholstery. Just sprinkle generously with baking soda, let sit for a while and then vacuum.

Baking soda can be very helpful when you need to erase crayon marks on your walls. Mix up a paste (equal parts or baking soda and water) and apply to the wall. Let dry before brushing it off with a clean cloth. If you wall is coloured, you will need to be careful – baking soda can dull the paint!

Hope this was helpful to you – and as always – your comments and additions are more than welcomed!

Now – give this a try! And you don’t have to run out and buy it, because I am sure you have cooking oil in your kitchen right now!

Cleaning with Cooking Oil:

• Vegetable and plant-based oils, such as sunflower and olive oils have the ability to  remove dirt, diminish scratches and imperfections as well as hydrate wood that has gone dry and aged.
• You can also make a paste from cooking oil and salt and use it to remove stubborn cooked-on mess
• If you get paint on your skin, rub it with vegetable oil and then wash with soap
• You can easily remove scuff marks by rubbing vegetable oil applied to a soft cloth over the scuffed area.
• Leather shoes will buff beautifully using few drops of oil on a chamois
• OIl does a great job on wicker or rattan furniture, preventing it from drying or cracking. Lightly brush the furniture with oil, then rub with soft cloth. You can warm the oil a little first, it will be easier to apply.
• Stainless steel will sparkle if you buff the surfaces with olive oil on a soft cloth.
• And you can make your own furniture polish by mixing 2 cups of olive or vegetable oil with the juice of 1 lemon. Use soft cloth to apply and buff, removing any excess.

Hope you enjoy trying these tips and I will – as always – welcome your comments and suggestions

Lemons

• The acid in lemon juice removes dirt and rust stains. It works even better when mixed with table salt – it will make an excellent scouring paste.
• To clean your countertops, dip the cut side of lemon in baking soda, scour your countertop and then wipe clean with a wet sponge.
• Get line scale off your faucets by wiping lemon juice on them, letting it sit overnight and then just wiping with a wet cloth.
• You can freshen your garbage disposal by cutting a lemon in a half and running it though the disposal
• Coffee stains or other stains in the grout of your tile countertop or backsplash can be cleaned by adding lemon juice to couple of teaspoon of cream of tartar – making it a natural bleaching agent. Apply the paste with a toothbrush and rinse clean.
• Use lemons after working with fish – just rub your hands over cut lemon – it will neutralize the odor.
• In the laundry, you can add about 1/2 cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle to brighten your whites.
• Plastic food containers can get stained with storing items such as tomato sauce – rubbing lemon juice on the stains and letting them dry in a sunny spot will help that.

Watch for the next Back-to-basics cleaning post – with Cooking Oils

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