Secret Household Cleaning Tips
Cleaning is becoming a lost art. It seems that with our busy lives, we clean with less and less frequency and we are willing to tolerate a little less pristine of an environment in order to spend more time with our kids or just to handle the daily demands. Since we are all staying at home to keep safe during these times. I thought that I would review my cleaning protocols.
The sun is shining and I see that we have work to do. I am tackling spring cleaning this weekend with the family. With just a few everyday products, you can clean any and every room and it’s good for the environment. Here are some of the best household cleaning tips from our moms.
Cleaning Arsenal
You don’t need a bunch of commercial products for every room in the house. Keep these five things in your cleaning arsenal to do most of your cleaning:
- White vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Baking soda
- Dish detergent (Dawn is the preferred brand)
- Peroxide
In The Kitchen
Make a paste with baking soda and peroxide to shine stainless steel sinks, pots, and baking trays/pans even with the nastiest sticky spots.
Add baking soda to soaking pots and pans to make them much easier to clean.
A cloth or paper towel with a small amount of oil on it (baby oil, canola, whatever you have on hand) will wipe fingerprints, watermarks, and splash marks off of stainless steel appliances and stainless look appliances.
DIY Fruit and Veggie wash. Purchase a small spray bottle, and fill it with one cup of water, one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and one tablespoon of baking soda. Shake gently to mix it together (it will bubble and fizz a bit). Spray on fruits and veggies.
Deodorize and sharpen your garbage disposal. Just toss in 4-5 ice cubes, fresh lemon and a Tablespoon of baking soda. Run down your disposal and you will have a fresh smelling and clean disposal while sharpening your blades at the same time.
In The Laundry Room
Wash towels with a cup of vinegar to remove mildew.
Put a half-cup of vinegar in with the first wash of your jeans inside out to set the color so they don’t fade as quickly.
Use lemon or orange essential oil to remove sticker residue and get gum off of fabric, shoes and carpet.
Use hairspray on ink stains, pen marks on clothes etc. This is a retail trade trick. BLOT with a clean cotton or other natural cloth. Take it out with a few sprays then launder. Cotton cloth diapers work best for blotting.
Use Baking powder to get grease stains out of fabrics. Just cover the splatter marks and add a couple of drops of water to make a light paste to rub in. Let sit overnight and wash the next day
Mix baking soda, Dawn detergent, and peroxide to form a paste and brush on stains… this mixture takes almost ANYTHING out!!
In The Bathroom
Refill foam hand soap bottle with 2 tablespoons of regular hand soap and the rest with water.
A 50:50 mix of hot vinegar and Dawn sprayed on glass shower doors removes all hard water marks and soap scum.
Pour white vinegar in a plastic bag and secure it around your shower head with a rubber band. Leave it for one hour and wipe away the grime.
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s 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.
General Household
Use 1/2 cup vinegar and 1-gallon warm water to mop the floors – even wood floors.
Use mayonnaise to remove water stains left from cups on your wood tables.
Use baking soda and vinegar to clean high traffic carpet stains. Just sprinkle the soda then pour on some vinegar. Let sit 8 min. Suck up with carpet shampooer filled with hot water.
Window cleaning. Create a natural window cleaner by simply adding equal parts of distilled white vinegar and water to a spray bottle, then add a few drops of dish liquid and shake well. Simply spray your windows with the mixture, wash with a clean white cloth. Dry with newspaper. You will have clean, streak-free windows.
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, especially if it rains, but it works and you don’t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
Foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! It works better than a cloth!
Get your family in on the action. Print our Spring Cleaning Checklist: SPRING CLEANING CHECKLIST_Layout 1
Do you have any secret household tips that you swear by? Share them in the comments section.