Miscellaneous Household Hints

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Bathroom Odors:


Place a shallow dish of baking soda behind the toilet to absorb bathroom odors. 


Candle Wax:


To remove wax from carpeting you should first scrape away any excess. Then, using a warm iron and a clean cloth or even a paper bag simply place the iron on top of the cloth over the wax and as you iron it will adhere to the cloth instead of the carpet. Continue moving the cloth around as you pick up the wax so you are always using a clean section of cloth. If a little grease stain remains sprinkle on baking soda and let sit overnight before vacuuming which will remove the grease residue and deodorize at the same time! If colored wax leaves a stain, blot with spot remover or carpet cleaner, following label directions. 


Chimney:


To keep your chimney clean, throw a handful of salt on the fire.


Chrome:


To remove rust from chrome, wipe it with aluminum foil dipped in Coke. To polish chrome, use a crumbled up piece of aluminum foil and rub!


Make your pillows extra fluffy


You can rejuvenate your feather pillows.  Tumble in a cool dryer for about 10 minutes.  To make them really fresh then add a cloth dampened with fabric softener to the dryer.


Another way is to freshen up pillows is to put them in a tumble dryer on a warm heat setting along with two or three clean tennis balls.  It will freshen them up a treat.


Remove lint from clothes


Here is a simple and easy way to get rid of the lint that collects while washing.  Add 1/2 cup of vinegar to laundry in the rinse cycle. Your clothes will leave the washer soft, smoth and clean.


Advice for the airing cupboard


To keep table linen from creaseng, install a wooden or metal rod just beneath a low shelf and hang the linen on hangers padded with cardboard tubes, from finished rolls of kitchen towl. Fold and store bed or bath linen in sets, rather than by size. that way you can grab a complete set when you want in instead of having to pic through several stacks.


Travel Saver:


Whenever you travel carry along a stain pretreatment stick. Taking the time to use it on stains before they set ensures that they will wash out when you get home.


White-Out / Liquid Paper & Permanent Marker Stains:


Dab some sunscreen over the stain and rub off with a paper towel. Repeat until stain is gone.


Yellowed / Greyed Whites:


Rit®, the makers of clothes dye, makes a white-wash that works well for bleachable and non-bleachable clothing that has yellowed or greyed. You can also hang yellowed clothes out to dry whenever possible to reduce the yellow.




Cloudy Drinking Glasses: 


Soak them for an hour or longer in slightly warm (not boiled) white vinegar. Then use a nylon-net or plastic scrubbie to remove film. Still there? The damage must be etching (tiny scratches that occur in the dishwasher) and is permanent, sorry to say. To avoid this altogether, hand-wash your best glasses.


Coffee Grinder: 


Grind up a cup or so of rice in a coffee grinder to clean the grinder and sharpen its blades.


Copper:


To polish copper, rub an ample amount of catsup on the copper and let it stand for 5 minutes. Rinse off the catsup with hot water and dry to find an incredible shine. 


Try these easy solutions to common kitchen cleaning problems. 


Oven Spillover     


As soon as the spillover occurs, pour on a mixture of 5 parts salt and one part cinnamon. The salt absorbs the spill, the cinnamon prevents a burned smoky smell. After the oven cools, lift out the salt mixture with a metal spatula and wipe with a damp sponge.
Burned Pans    Sprinkle with baking soda and dribble with just enough water to moisten. Allow to sit for several hours. The burned stuff will lift right out.


Garbage Disposal   


To freshen the garbage disposal, sprinkle a few tablespoons of baking soda down the drain, drop in two ice cubes and turn it on. Flush with hot water. 


Oven Racks     
Place racks the bathtub with 1/2 cup dishwasher detergent and several inches of warm water. Allow to soak for 45 minutes. Just rinse. No scrubbing needed.
Dishwasher 


To remove scale, stains & odors from the dishwasher, 


start the cycle with the dishwasher empty. When it has filled with water, add two cups of white vinegar and allow the cycle to complete.


Glass Light Fixtures
    
Run these through the dishwasher to get them sparkling clean without any effort. 


Tea Kettles


To remove scale from a tea kettle, fill with equal parts water and white vinegar. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and allow to sit overnight. Clean and rinse. 


Plastic Melted on Toaster   


Nail polish remover will remove this easily.   


Blenders & Food Processors    


Let these clean themselves. Fill partway with warm water, add a drop of dishwashing liquid, cover and run at low speed. Run with clear water to rinse thoroughly. 


Range Hood Filters      


If your range uses the permanent metal filters, clean them in the dishwasher. 


Smelly Kitchen      


Place a sliced lemon on a pie plate in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.


Kitchen Drawers   


Use the vacuum cleaner to quickly clean kitchen drawers without removing everything. Place a layer of cheesecloth over the suction tube and vacuum out any crumbs, dirt and debris. 


Lime & Mineral Deposits   


Place vinegar-soaked paper towels around faucets for one hour. Not only does it break down the mineral scale, but the chrome will be clean and shiny. 


Clean Glass  


Use crumpled newspapers instead of paper towels or cloth rags to clean windows and other glass surfaces. They are lint-free, very absorbent, and leave the glass sparkling. 


Crayon on Walls or Washable Wallpaper:


Spray with multipurpose lubricating oil. Then gently wipe, using a paper towel or clean white cloth. If mark is stubborn, sprinkle a little baking soda on a damp sponge and gently rub in a circular motion. If lubricants residue remains, dampen a sponge with a solution of one or two drops of mild dish-washing liquid to one cup water. Squeeze out sponge and gently rub in a circular motion. Rinse sponge; lightly moisten with water to go over area; dry with a clean cloth. Another method is to use a blow dryer. It heats the wax and wipes away instantly. If the color reamins behind, like red usually does, wet a cloth with bleach and wipe.


Deodorize dishes, pans, cutting boards or utensils with those same pungent odors, simply add 1/4 cup of lemon juice to your dishwater.


Fireplace Soot Odor: 


To diminish and remove this odor, after you clean out the ashes, place a shallow pan of baking soda for a few hours or overnight in the fireplace.


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