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Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jan 17, 2012 15:21:17 GMT -5
Cleaning Tips You Haven't Heard Before
The best way to dust blinds: Close them, then wipe up and down with an old dryer sheet. It'll create an antistatic barrier that helps prevent dust from building up again.
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is your friend. It will cut your cleaning time in half for bathtubs, sinks, countertops, and dirty walls.
To clean glass and mirrors, use coffee filters, not paper towels. They leave no streaks or lint — and they're cheap.
Vinegar and water is a great deodorizer for a musty bathroom. Spray your shower down as you're getting out. It really absorbs the odors, and the smell of vinegar goes away in an hour.
A wet pumice stone will clean a dirty oven faster than any spray-on product.
Vacuuming bathroom mats is a nightmare. Toss them in the wash every week or two instead.
To damp-mop wood floors, use plain water or a water-based floor cleaner like Bona. Don't use vinegar. The acid in it will pit your polyurethane finish, can void your warranty, and may reduce shine over time.
Seventh Generation dish liquid diluted with water is a great nontoxic all-purpose cleanser. Just put two squirts in a spray bottle and fill it with water.
Our biggest secret weapon? A powdered product called Bar Keepers Friend (amazon.com). We use it on everything. Its active ingredient is rhubarb powder, which really cuts through grit and grime. It cleans glass-top stoves, counters, toilets, porcelain and more. Your sink will never be shinier.
To clean your microwave oven, microwave a cup of water with some baking soda in it until it's boiling. That eliminates odors and makes it super easy to wipe away all that stuck-on stuff.
Clean cobwebs with a yardstick covered by a tube sock. That also works for cleaning under stoves and refrigerators.
Shine your bathroom tiles with lemon oil. It also helps prevent mold and mildew.
To eliminate that ring in your toilet, drop in a bubbling denture tablet, and leave it for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The stain will come off with just a few swishes of the brush.
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Post by shann0 on Jan 31, 2012 21:47:37 GMT -5
I LOVE BarKeepers Friend!!! It's the most awesome stuff for getting my stainless steel pots and pans clean.
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Post by baydoll on Feb 10, 2012 8:38:39 GMT -5
I'll have to try that on my stainless steel sink...it's seen better days.
Here's one I really like (it's cheap and works really well too):
Dawn and Vinegar a Team
(From a blog) "I too had a problem with overpriced shower cleaners - but right there under my very nose (for years) was the "wonder-cleaner"..... Dawn dishwashing liquid. I have a plastic tub and have always struggled with getting soap scum off. Dawn works better than any harsh (on your lungs and skin) cleaners - better than bleach. It leaves a wonderful shine and virtually no scrubbing.
If you want a wonderful deodorizer to use with your Dawn, throw in about as much white vinegar as you can handle (in my opinion, you can never have too much vinegar). I clean the sink, counter, tub, toilet, stove, dishes, just about everything with my Dawn and vinegar mixture. It's wonderful!!! I've only used Dawn, so I don't know if other dishwashing liquids work well or not."
I also use it on my tile floors.
This stuff works!
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Post by shann0 on Feb 15, 2012 18:42:54 GMT -5
Cool, I'm gonna try that.
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Post by baydoll on Mar 6, 2012 12:43:56 GMT -5
(from a blog)
Really Random Tips
First, let me explain¡..My grandma sent these to me, and thought they were too good, not to share!! Some of the tips you may already know or have thought of, but some of them are original!
Have Fun Learning Some New Things with these Really Random Tips!!
Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it
with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You
get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place
them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper Weeds-Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go,
cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic, they will not get through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken pieces of glass ¨C the
fibers catch ones you can¡¯t see!
No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes
away.
Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn¡¯t hurt the plant and the
squirrels won¡¯t come near it.
Easier thank you¡¯s
When you throw a bridal/baby shower, buy a pack of thank you cards
for the guest of honor. During the party, pass out the envelopes and
have everyone put their address on one. When the bride/new mother sends the thank you¡¯s, they¡¯re all addressed!
After Purchasing New Bike
If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their picture
inside the handle bar before placing the grips on. If the bike is stolen
and later recovered, remove the grip and there is your proof who owns
the bike.
Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an
empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It
can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not
have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling
when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ¡ª voila ¡ª static is gone.
Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with
hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don¡¯t dry the cup. Next, add
your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it
comes right out.
Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser!
Works better than a cloth!
Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for
an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.
(Of course, you could steam the envelope open, too, with your
kettle)
Hair Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It¡¯s a lot cheaper
than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It¡¯s also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn¡¯t like when you
tried it in your hair¡
Good-bye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2¡å>with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well.
You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
¡°home,¡± & can¡¯t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or
so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don¡¯t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
Take baby powder to the beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you¡¯re
ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder
and the sand will slide right off your skin.
Bed Sheets
After drying my sheets, put both sheets and one pillowcase in the
other pillow case. Fold neatly in a square. Next time you change
sheets, you just take the one pillow case and all the sheets and
pillow case are inside. No need to look for matches.
Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove,>set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.
No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really
works.
Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
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Post by baydoll on Mar 6, 2012 13:06:42 GMT -5
From the same blog:
Good Ideas for Dryer Sheets–Bounce
1. All this time you’ve just been putting Bounce in the dryer! It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near them.?? It also repels mice.
2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.
3. It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that don’t get opened too often.
4. It repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.
5. Eliminate static electricity from your television (or computer) screen.
6. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television screen with a sheet of Bounce to keep dust from resettling.
7. Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a sheet of Bounce.
8. To freshen the air in your home – Place an individual sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.
9. Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.
10. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
11. Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.
12. To freshen the air in your car – Place a sheet of Bounce under the front seat.
13. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan.
14. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets. Place a sheet of Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.
15. Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
16. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.
17. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
18. Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.
19. Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce in your shoes, boots or sneakers overnight.
20. Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to keep the bees away.
21. Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent before folding and storing them. It will keep them smelling fresh.
22. Put a sheet of Bounce in your pockets while outdoors to keep yellow-jackets away.
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