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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 16:14:31 GMT -5
So what funny cleaning tips have you picked up along the way? Like on the show "Cut Off" one of the girls mopped the front of the fridge because it looked dirty... Here's my favorite (please don't try this at home!) - DH was cleaning up a cat yuk and decided to put pledge furniture polish on the hardwood floors afterward. There was a slick spot there for weeks - I had to have mopped it about 20 before I wasn't worried I'd break my neck!
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steff
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Post by steff on Jan 16, 2011 16:21:58 GMT -5
When I clean the bathroom, before I mop the floor, I mop the shower & tub.... kills my back to bend over and clean the tub. I spray the shower down with cleaner, let it sit for a few minutes while I sweep the floor, then 'mop' the shower & same with the tub.
BTW, I do have separate mops for the shower/tub & the floor before anyone goes ewwwwwwwwww.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 16:33:52 GMT -5
I hate mops! One job I did I had to clean a TON of deck plating (like the diamond stuff you'll see on some pickups and toolboxes) but we could not use mops--too dangerous. Everyone else would use a spray bottle and rags, but I hate inhaling that stuff (and with lots of us doing it there it was horrible, I had to wear a paper face mask). So what I did was have a bucket of wet rags and a bunch of dry ones. I'd use a wet one to wipe stuff and then follow with the dry rag to get rid of the streaks. I would set the rag aside when it got too dirty to use--I would NOT put it back in the "clean" bucket. As soon as I "out-ranked" most of the people I worked with I told them they were not allowed to use spray bottles if I was anywhere near them--I'd rather not have any of us breathe in that crap! I adapted this for my kitchen. I use an old towel, half of it wet from the cleaning solution, half of it dry. Wipe with the wet half, follow with the dry half, clean floor
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Malarky
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Post by Malarky on Jan 16, 2011 16:35:32 GMT -5
I use a dust mop on my ceilings and walls. It's a trick I learned from a friend's mom and it really does keep the paint looking fresher longer.
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moon/Laura
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Post by moon/Laura on Jan 16, 2011 16:52:47 GMT -5
These aren't really 'cleaning' related but still kinda cool.. I haven't tried any of them myself... Helpful Hints For Winter- Keep your headlights clear with car wax! Just wipe ordinary car wax on your headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights - lasts 6 weeks.
- Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol! Wipe the wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia. This one trick can make badly streaking & squeaking wipers change to near perfect silence & clarity.
- Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on its way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water---preventing water from freezing!
- Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber
- Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe it off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.
- De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problem's solved!
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Jan 16, 2011 18:34:15 GMT -5
When my brother moved into his first place he knew his landlords previously. They made a deal if he cleaned up the place after the last tenants before moving in they wouldn't charge him any deposits. He may have even got the first month free.
I stopped by to check out the new place and he was mopping the kitchen ceiling. It was fairly greasy and yellow. He had degreaser in his mop bucket and it worked well. He probably mopped the kitchen walls too but I didn't ask. Sometimes you don't want to know what an 19yr old is doing.
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Genuine GA Peach
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Post by Genuine GA Peach on Jan 16, 2011 18:45:10 GMT -5
I've swiffered the walls. Those Swiffer pads are GREAT!
DH used some cheap ass floor cleaner from the dollar store on our gray ceramic tile with the dark grout. It took YEARS to get rid of the milky white crap on the grout. And of course we had plenty of floor cleaner...he just didn't bother to look.
DH also used my vacuum to clean out his boat. I made him buy me a new vacuum because I couldn't get all the pine straw out of the other one.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 19:05:43 GMT -5
I'm a guy so you may have already heard these (I'm the last to know) but:
Small bowl with dish soap & water in the microwave. Heat 1 minute & let it steam. Then just wipe it out.
Stove top (I use 409). for burnt on food spray it the night before, spray it again before going to bed. Then try wiping it down. Doing that cut my cleaning time to about 10%. (When I say spray, I soak it).
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steff
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Post by steff on Jan 16, 2011 19:19:30 GMT -5
For burnt on edges around a casserole dish, fill dish with warm water and throw in a used dryer sheet. Let it soak overnight. Next day it'll come right off with no effort.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 19:25:02 GMT -5
Wow, these are actually some good tips! I'll definitely have to try some of them! I was expecting to hear funny stories about cleaning gone wrong! Or doh, moments! ;D Like I remember my older brother calling my mom after he'd been in his first apartment for 6 months asking how to clean a toilet...
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 19:32:59 GMT -5
Always start at the top and work down. I use a long-handled, telescoping duster on ceilings and fan blades. It's also handy for dusting baseboards. I vacuum the oven. I also take the crisper drawers out of the fridge and vacuum the bottom of the fridge, then vacuum the drawers before washing them. Instead of knocking yourself out cleaning the mildew out of the grout in your tub/shower surround, just "draw" along the grout lines with a bleach pen. Vinegar and water will clean just about anything and works especially well on hardwood floors. ETA: If it happens again that *somebody* uses furniture polish to clean up a spot on the floor, wipe it up with mineral spirits. Mineral spirits will clean up nicely if you happen to spill cooking oil on your kitchen floor...hardwood, tile, vinyl...works on all of them. It's what installers use to clean up the adhesive when laying your floors. The bleach pen won't work on the grout on tile floors. Sorry And if the caulk in the tub/shower is really bad, you're gonna have to bite the bullet and clean it out, let it dry for at least 24 hours, wipe it down with mineral spirits, and re-caulk. Buy a pumice stone to scrub a hard-water ring out of the toilet bowl. It doesn't scratch the porcelain (trust me on this), but it'll get rid of the ring. Geez, I keep thinking of stuff! If you have clear glass in your shower, after you've cleaned and dried the glass, treat it with Rain-X. Makes it much easier to keep clean. If you have opaque shower glass, once you've got the soap scum cleaned off (magic erasers and bathroom cleaner like scrubbing bubbles work well), dry the glass and then wipe with lemon oil. The oil will keep the soap from clinging to the glass and make it a whole lot easier to keep clean.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 19:47:05 GMT -5
This all reminds me of the joke about lipstick prints on the mirror...
A high school principal was alerted by one of the janitors to a persistent problem in the girls’ bathroom. Apparently, some of the female students were leaving lipstick kisses on the mirrors. The janitor had left notes on the bathroom walls requesting that the girls cease this practice but to no avail. Every evening the janitor would wipe the lipstick off the mirrors, and the next day even more kisses would reappear. It soon became a bit of a game.
Finally the principal asked a few girls from each class to meet with him in the bathroom.
“Thank you for coming,” said the principal. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are several lipstick kisses on the mirrors in this bathroom.”
The girls immediately grinned at each other.
“I just wanted to show you all how hard the janitor must work to clean the lipstick off the mirrors each day.”
The janitor then steps forward with a sponge squeegee, dips into the toilet bowl, and then uses it to clean one of the lipstick-covered mirrors.
The janitor smiles, the girls feel sick, and there are never lipstick prints on the mirrors again.
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steff
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Post by steff on Jan 16, 2011 19:51:31 GMT -5
Oven cleaner actually works great for cleaning bathtubs and the grout around the tub (plastic/fiberglass tub). I've never tried it on tile and don't know if it would be a good idea or not.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 16, 2011 19:55:55 GMT -5
ETA: If it happens again that *somebody* uses furniture polish to clean up a spot on the floor, wipe it up with mineral spirits. Mineral spirits will clean up nicely if you happen to spill cooking oil on your kitchen floor...hardwood, tile, vinyl...works on all of them. It's what installers use to clean up the adhesive when laying your floors. Really? When I was in a furniture dusting frenzy last weekend I noticed some white spots on the hardwood near the door from dragging in rock salt. I spot cleaned and now there's a slippery spot near the front door. D'oh! Anyone have the Bona hardwood floor cleaner? A friend says it's great and for $30 I want to give it a try!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 20:28:33 GMT -5
This all reminds me of the joke about lipstick prints on the mirror... A high school principal was alerted by one of the janitors to a persistent problem in the girls’ bathroom. Apparently, some of the female students were leaving lipstick kisses on the mirrors. The janitor had left notes on the bathroom walls requesting that the girls cease this practice but to no avail. Every evening the janitor would wipe the lipstick off the mirrors, and the next day even more kisses would reappear. It soon became a bit of a game. Finally the principal asked a few girls from each class to meet with him in the bathroom. “Thank you for coming,” said the principal. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are several lipstick kisses on the mirrors in this bathroom.” The girls immediately grinned at each other. “I just wanted to show you all how hard the janitor must work to clean the lipstick off the mirrors each day.” The janitor then steps forward with a sponge squeegee, dips into the toilet bowl, and then uses it to clean one of the lipstick-covered mirrors. The janitor smiles, the girls feel sick, and there are never lipstick prints on the mirrors again. LOL! That's great!
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 20:54:59 GMT -5
DS has to clean the upstairs bathroom as one of his chores. He used paper towels and told me later that the toilet wouldn't flush. Yep....don't try to flush a ton of paper towels!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 21:02:22 GMT -5
I had a brand new shirt that I got some stains on and I was going to have to toss. Nothing worked until I tried oven cleaner and the shirt came out like new.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 21:23:19 GMT -5
I think I need to go to bed. I read the title as "Fanny cleaning tips" I had to do a double take!
Oy'
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steff
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Post by steff on Jan 16, 2011 21:32:58 GMT -5
ok, not really a "cleaning" tip, but it does use a cleaning product.
If you come into contact with poison ivy, IMMEDIATELY wash the area with Dawn dishwashing liquid. No other dishsoap works as well as Dawn. It pulls the oils from the poison ivy off the skin and can keep it from spreading and sometimes from even reacting, if you do it AS SOON AS you hit the poison ivy. it's not gonna work if you try it the next day. It also doesn't hurt to as soon as you finish any yard work where you might have hit poison ivy, to wash your arms and any exposed areas really well with Dawn. Don't wait until you start itching. Can also use a sponge dripped in a Dawn/water mixture to wipe down a belt, gloves & boots, then rinse with a clean water sponge.
we have a lot of poison ivy down one fenceline obviously....lol
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The J
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Post by The J on Jan 16, 2011 21:41:16 GMT -5
Women's Secret antipersperant stops the itching from mosquito bites.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 21:44:36 GMT -5
Women's Secret antipersperant stops the itching from mosquito bites. I am really starting to worry about you ITBIC
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The J
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Post by The J on Jan 16, 2011 21:47:00 GMT -5
Women's Secret antipersperant stops the itching from mosquito bites. I am really starting to worry about you ITBIC I need to start prefacing all this stuff with "my ex taught me that...." The one time she got a different antiperspirant, I got bit a bunch. The other one didn't work, so I told her she was no longer allowed to buy any other antiperspirant -- Secret only.
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steff
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Post by steff on Jan 16, 2011 21:49:42 GMT -5
Avon skin so soft is a great misquito repellent. Buy the biggest bottle they have and mix 2/3 skin so soft & 1/3 water into a spray bottle.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 21:54:03 GMT -5
Not really cleaning, but J's post reminded me that the wrestling coaches used to carry tampons in the first aid kits. They'd use them when one of the guys got a bloody nose. The guys really hated getting a bloody nose!
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Befferz
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Post by Befferz on Jan 16, 2011 21:54:42 GMT -5
Women's Secret antipersperant stops the itching from mosquito bites. My dad used Mitchum on my sister and I when we got really bad bites. I actually read some article about using deodorant on mosquito bites, and that it's basically just in your head. You've got stuff on there so it's messy to scratch it, so you don't, and eventually it stops itching.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 23:07:21 GMT -5
Oh! If you have a shirt or something with red and you don't want the color to bleed, soak it in white vinegar before the first wash--it will help set the color.
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Befferz
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Post by Befferz on Jan 16, 2011 23:18:59 GMT -5
Ok, I've got a question that maybe you cleaning wizards can help with... I moved a little over a year ago, and my house has a newer front loading HE washing machine. It smells mildew-y, but I did some looking online and that seems to be a common issue, and as long as I keep the door open between washings it should be ok. Supposedly.
But over the last few months, I've noticed that my workout clothes come out of the wash and still smell less than clean. And sometimes my towels smell mildew-y when I pull them out to use them, although I thought they smelled clean when I put them away. But after thinking about it, I'm wondering if it's an issue with the washer. Do I need to clean it? How?
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Post by marjar on Jan 16, 2011 23:40:24 GMT -5
Ok, I've got a question that maybe you cleaning wizards can help with... I moved a little over a year ago, and my house has a newer front loading HE washing machine. It smells mildew-y, but I did some looking online and that seems to be a common issue, and as long as I keep the door open between washings it should be ok. Supposedly. But over the last few months, I've noticed that my workout clothes come out of the wash and still smell less than clean. And sometimes my towels smell mildew-y when I pull them out to use them, although I thought they smelled clean when I put them away. But after thinking about it, I'm wondering if it's an issue with the washer. Do I need to clean it? How? I believe there is a commercial cleaner available to clean HE machines. Not sure who makes it. Have you run a load with bleach through the machine? I had the same problem and did an empty load, but added a good slug of bleach to the water. It cleared the odor. Another product I love is Odor Ban. Sam's Club carries it. It will deodorize trash dumpsters. Great stuff and a gallon goes a long way. I've also used this in my washing machine. I also think that HE machines tend to not get odors out of clothing as well as old style washers. I think less water makes a difference in cleaning. OTHO, it saves money and energy.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jan 16, 2011 23:50:13 GMT -5
Dammit!!! Right now I wish I could access the old boards since we just went through all this on SS a few months ago! Here is what I can remember from that thread...
Make sure you wipe out the rubber seal--the water doesn't completely drain and it stays damp so it gets icky.
Do no use regular detergent! Some washers can handle it, some can't. Because regular detergent "suds up" so much it leaves a lot of residue behind that will get mildew-y. Use either homemade laundry soap or soap specific to HE washers.
Leave the the door propped open so that it can dry out.
Run vinegar or bleach through an empty cycle (or throw in a couple towels) then run plain water throw it a few times. I know a packet of Kool-aid Lemonade flavoring (or tang, but tang is more expensive) can help clean up a dishwasher so it might clean a regular washer also.
Pull out the soap tray and make sure you clean up back there--mold/mildew will grow behind it.
Hmmmm.....thinking, thinking........can't remember anything else right now.
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2kids10horses
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Post by 2kids10horses on Jan 16, 2011 23:52:40 GMT -5
Does it have a drain? Our LG has a drain on the lower front panel. You're supposed to drain it once a month.
Also, check to see if the rubber seal collects water. Open the door, and usually there is some water that has collected in the folds of the rubber seal. Wipe those out when you're done washing for the day.
Run an empty load, and add chlorine bleach. Then run an empty load with just water. That will kill any mildue and rinse it out.
Make sure you don't have a skunk in your dryer vent.
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