Household Cleaning. Everything from Carpets
to Jewelry - get that toilet bowl gleaming.

Cleaning Coffee and Tea Stains from a Metal Thermos. - I use a denture cleaning tablet and about 1/4 cup of dishwasher cleaner. (powder). Fill about 3/4 full with hot, not boiling water and let stand for an half hour. Then shake the thermos. Let stand overnight and rinse the stains away. Cathy BC Columbia

Shaving cream. I pasted shaving cream all over a shower/tub that had grime built up, and let sit for a few hours. To my dismay, with a little elbow grease, my tub looks brand new, and the odor bearable. Also, this can be used on oil stains in the garage and on the driveway. -- "Gail A. Devine

Upolstery/ Carpet Stain Remover: Hello…I once tried to figure out how my friend at a car dealership got stains out of his vehicles…  he secretly informed me they use “Brake Cleaner” spray can…  spray stain well and scrub wipe with clean cloth… amazing… no residue, smells nice, and leaves colors intact… I use it for pretty much everything… help spread this little secret… Jer's

Air Quality. Clean Air inside a building can be just as important as the air outside. We regularly monitor the air quality in our London premises and found that we needed regular duct cleaning to maintain our high standards. -- Richard Stevenson

Getting Pee out of Kids Clothes. My son has a problem about wetting the bed i have found that if you take  your regular washing stuff and add a can of  cheap cola  to your laundry it takes the pee smell out. It also works great on  getting greasy stuff out of clothes just let the clothes soak for about 30 mins for both and when you dry them they will not come out smelling like pee.  ~Sabrina~ Michael Matthews

REMOVING GUM Great way to get GUM out , rub it with PEANUT butter! I think it is the OIL in in, and though I have not tried it, I am sure oil would probably do the same thing, except the peanut butter is GOOEY, and the oil runs! -- Kathy Ulmer   5 Sep 2002

Candle Wax  I recently saw a submission saying there is no way to get out candle wax... Not true... Its easy... Just use a cloth or brown paper bag... And iron over the stain... The candle wax will then transfer to the cloth or bag... Just make sure to keep the iron in motion so as not to catch the bag on fire... In college... A candle melted all over our new carpet... And this trick worked like a dream! -- Amy Gehrt    

A Couple of Tips My mother taught me that if you use baking soda on a range top instead of harsh abrasives it is so much easier to clean. It also works on bathtubs. Also if your children like to draw on walls like mine, use Zippo lighter fluid on a dry cloth it works like a charm. I love your site it is under my favorites, You have a lot of helpful hints. Sincerely, Shelia Terry --  12/04/07

Stains on Carpets. I have found that shaving cream will remove most stains. Don't use  too much but it does take a bit of rubbing. Good luck. -- JOHN N.  Feb 7 2006

Clean your Jewellery  I find that the least expensive and best way to shine up your jewellery is with a Toothbrush and plain toothpaste. It is slightly abrasive, but not enough to do any damage and boy oh boy will you gems sparkle!  Sincerely   Niina      09/07/2005

Icky Shower curtain  I don't remember where I learned this but it works! To get your shower liners/ curtains clean and looking like new again, wash in your clothes washer with about 1 cup each of vinegar and bleach. Add white towels, normal amount of clothes soap and run. Don't forget to add liquid clothes softener (it helps keep your shower curtain clean). When the load is done, return the curtains to their place in the bathroom to drip dry (the wrinkles will disappear in a day or so). I do this every few months to keep my clear shower curtain just that! -- Danielle Lewis, Boise, ID, 15 Jul 2002

Subject: Scuff Marks on Vinyl, take a rubber sole shoe (tennis shoes)  wipe across the mark and it will come off. No joke, I have tried it, it works great!!! also, I would like to know, what will take those sticky holders off walls with wallpaper and not take the finish off? We have a brand new mobile home and some people used them instead of the Command hooks, which work real well. Thank you, ~~ Carol

A couple Tips. My mother taught me that if you use baking soda on a range top instead of harsh abrasives it is so much easier to clean. It also works on bathtubs. Also if your children like to draw on walls like mine, use Zippo lighter fluid on a dry cloth it works like a charm. I love your site it is under my favorites, You have a lot of helpful hints. Sincerely -- "Shelia Terry"

Tub Stains  Use the Gel Type Dishwasher Detergent to remove tub stains. Put it on and allow it to sit for 5 or 10 minutes. It tends to be slippery so rinse very well. -- JEM- "jeanna hawley"  

Shaving cream.  I pasted shaving cream all over a shower/tub that had grime built up, and let sit for a few hours. To my dismay, with a little elbow grease, my tub looks brand new, and the odor bearable. Also, this can be used on oil stains in the garage and on the driveway. --   "Gail A. Devine"

 

Cleaning Mini Blinds Fill the bathtub with hot water. Add 3 scoops of a product called OxiClean an unbelievable environmentally safe cleaner. Place mini blinds in tub for about 30 minutes. Rinse and dry. Even the cord is clean; and your porcelain tub is sparkling as a bonus! Thanks, -- Eileen Traylor "Eileen Traylor"

Cleaning Mini Blinds  I knew there had to an easier way to clean mini blinds without having to clean each slat. So i took the blinds outside, it's easier than bending over the tub, back breaking! Rinse off the dust, no matter even if they are smoked up from cooking. Spray them on both sides with Dow bathroom cleaner. Let them set until you see the kunk running down and spray them off and shake the excess water and whalah! You are done and no scrubbing and they come out beautiful. TRY THIS! -- D I Kelly 22 Dec 2002

Shower Curtains: To remove mildew soak shower curtains in water containing 20% chlorine bleach. To remove soap and water marks wipe with vinegar. – Essie 2000.

For more tips on cleaning mildew see the stains page

Use vinegar when cleaning windows (glass) -- Vanessa Echols.

I find ammonia pretty useful too for greasy bathroom marks. In fact ammonia is a great grease "cutter" if you can stand the smell. Keep windows open

Ammonia is an excellent cleaner in the bathroom, it used to be easy to buy it but last time I tried I had some difficulty getting hold of some, if any of our readers know of a good way to get it in their country please let us know. -- Ed

Scratched Watches. If your watch has a plastic 'glass' - like Swatches do - and it has become scratched, polish it with Brasso. It might seem to get worse at first but persevere for only a few minutes and it will become completely clear and scratch free. -- Jenny Leman

Toilet bowls come up shiny when cleaned with old, flat Coke or Pepsi.  Leave overnight to dissolve limescale -- Sylvia Burge, London UK

A good replacement for those expensive cleaners for shower stalls/doors that I have found is, believe it or not: WD-40. I never believed it until I tried it, and it certainly makes a shower door sparkle, so give it a try! --"Susan Kelly"

Use vinegar when cleaning windows (glass) -- Vanessa Echols.

Ammonia

I find ammonia pretty useful too for greasy bathroom marks. In fact ammonia is a   great grease "cutter" if you can stand the smell. Keep windows open ~~ Maroof

Ammonia is an excellent cleaner in the bathroom, it used to be easy to buy it but last time I tried I had some difficulty getting hold of some,  if any of our readers know of a good way to get it in their country please let us know. -- Ed

Answer: Cleaning Ammonia Hi Ed, I can buy what they call Cloudy Ammonia here in Oz at any supermarket. Using a bleach with Ammonia is a definite No No, as it gives off toxic fumes and can lead to reparatory problems and death. Let me know if you want more info. on how to purchase from over here. I can find out the companies names on the containers for you. - regards Sumanaju  

Answer:  Ammonia. where to get. Ask your local friendly jeweller. It is used for cleaning jewellery. Cheers from sunny Down Under -- Lilo Stadler

Answer: Ammonia I have purchased ammonia at my local Wal*mart -- lm

Old Newspapers give windows a shine, every bit as good as a chamois leather -- Wendy Quinn, Hong Kong

Silk plants Why pay expensive prices for silk plant cleaners? Just spray them with Dow bathroom cleaner and let them dry. This works just as well as the more expensive alternative --“Toni,  

Marks on Walls: Try using bread to remove marks on walls and surfaces - - Mike Weller

Brass: Clean brass with lemon juice. – Comi Edwardes.

Dry windows with old newspaper -- Nigel Hartley.

Apply mineral oil over your shower doors and tile surface. That delays the mineral build-up in future use. -- Cameo  

Marks inside cups and mugs are caused by the metal cutlery abrading the glazing coating the service. Try an old fashioned remedy from an old fashioned man - toothpaste! (Betcha it works!) -- Alan - English Bob  

The whitening toothpaste usually contains alumina which is an abrasive. I suppose that if it is safe on the teeth it has to be O.K. on cups etc. -- Ed

Stains  I use peroxide in my laundry. Half of a large bottle(32 oz. size) w/ half box (sm) of baking soda. It removes stains. I also use it straight on stains. It seems to work like the oxy wash that's advertised on TV. It's a lot more friendlier to our environment than bleach and doesn't have the offensive smell. -- Donetta   

Caution: Directly mixing cleaning products can be risky. I suspect in this case the ingredients are relatively harmless but to be on the safe side should be added separately. Chlorine bleach can react with other chemicals to produce poisonous chlorine gas. Davina M.

Use Olive Oil or other cooking oil to clean hands dirtied by engine oil -- Jean Ed

To Remove Toilet Stains, use a pumice stone and rub hard, It will not scratch and works well- did on my toilet bowl after 20 years of build-up -- James A Boyle  

Toilet bowls come up shiny when cleaned with old, flat Coke or Pepsi. Leave overnight to dissolve lime scale -- Sylvia Burge, London UK