Archive Category: 'Cleaning Tips'

• Vacuum Bag Sachet Fresheners: How-To: Slip these fragrant sachets into your vacuum bag and enjoy the pleasant fragrance when you vacuum the floor. They’re easy to make using just a few simple ingredients and best part is: they don’t make a mess! How To Make Vacuum Bag Sachets Ingredients: 1/4 cup dried lavender* 1/4 cup dried rosemary* 1 TBS cloves* 1/2 cup cedar shavings 1 TBS baking [...]
• Homemade Carpet Cleaner: Recipe: Here’s an easy and natural way to clean stains from your carpet and brighten them up, just a few simple ingredients are needed! Ingredients: 2 tsp eucalyptus oil 2 tsp glycerine 2 TBS vinegar 2 TBS bicarbonate soda 2 TBS methylated spirits Directions: Pour all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well to mix. For spot cleaning: Spray stain and rub clean with [...]
• 21 Crayon Busters: How To Remove Crayon From Walls: Here is an organized master tip file of crayon removal tips that I’ve gathered over time. Keep in mind some paint finishes may be dulled or damaged by a particular method, so test a small area of your wall first. If the walls are covered in wallpaper, you’ll need to work carefully and make sure to [...]
• How To Clean Household Sponges: Did you know your household sponges should be cleaned at least every other day? They are nice for scrubbing and wiping up, but make sure to wash frequently to help prevent spreading grubbies around your home. According to Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in the Home: ”A sponge that’s been in use for no more than [...]
• How To Remove Nail Polish From Carpet: Here’s a carpet stain removal tip sent in by Charlotte, nail polish spills can make an awful mess on carpet and here’s her tip for removing it: First remove what you can of the nail polish by blotting it up with paper towels. Next pour a little nail polish remover on the stain and blot the nail [...]
• How To Clean Stainless Steel Appliances: Tips: Gleaming stainless steel appliances look lovely in the kitchen, but the downside is the ever-present fingerprint marks and smudges (especially around refrigerator and oven door handles). There’s no getting around the extra effort it takes to keep these appliances shining, but here’s how you can get rid of those pesky smudges easily. How To Clean Stainless [...]
• How To Remove Stains From Marble & Granite: Marble and granite countertops are gorgeous but they are porous and will soak in liquids that can leave stains (even sitting water can cause stains!). Here are some poultice recipes & stain removers that can help remove those. Many types of liquids and sauces can stain the stone including fruit juices, wine, coffee, tea, water, [...]
• Underarm & Deodorant Stains: Removal Tips: Deodorant & Antiperspirant Stains: Sponge stains with ammonia then rinse. If you’re cleaning clothing that contains wool or silk, first dilute the ammonia with water (50/50 ratio). Yellow Underarm Stains: Treat stains by gently rubbing a bar of laundry soap into the stain area. Spritz the spot with water first, then rub bar of soap into spot. Another method [...]
• Tips For Cleaning A Dishwasher: Cleaning the inside of dishwashers isn’t high on To-Do lists since they do a great job cleaning themselves while they wash dishes. Sometimes though there may be a few rust stains, detergent or mineral buildup or even an off-smell inside your dishwasher that you want to get rid of. Here are few quick & easy [...]
• Homemade Cleaners For The Bathroom {Peppermint}: Homemade Peppermint Shower Scrub 1 cup baking soda 1/4 tsp peppermint essential oil Mix the ingredients then store in a glass mason jar. To use: Sprinkle on a wet sponge and scrub bath and shower walls. Rinse off with water. All-Purpose Cleaner 1 cup distilled water 1/2 cup household vinegar 1/2 tsp liquid castille soap 1/4 tsp Peppermint essential oil Mix ingredients in a spray [...]
• Tips For Cleaning Laminate Floors: We recently had gorgeous laminate flooring installed in our living room and I just had to ask the flooring expert (our installer) what he recommended for cleaning it. Although laminate is much easier to care for than real wood flooring and I’ve had it for years in other parts of the house, I want to [...]
• Bed Bugs: Treatment & Tips For Getting Rid Of Them: Bed bugs (bedbugs) are usually brought into the house from the outside, on clothing, baggage, second-hand furniture or in laundry done in an infested home. Social stigma is attached to the bed bug more than to any other insect. This is unfair since the most conscientious homemaker may bring them in on his or her [...]
• How To Clean A Curling Iron: Have a bit of hairspray and hair product buildup on your curling iron? Here’s an easy way to clean that gunk off: Make sure the curling iron is unplugged and the barrel is cool to the touch. Pour a bit of rubbing alcohol on a damp cloth or a cotton ball and rub the barrel of the [...]
• Lampshade Cleaning: Quick Tips: Do you keep the plastic packaging on your lampshades to make cleanup easier? It’s easy enough to wipe the plastic down with a damp cloth, but the plastic wrap doesn’t fit everyone’s sense of style. Also, be aware that the plastic may be a fire hazard because of the heat the light bulb generates. ere are [...]
• Homemade Dish Detergent: Recipes: Today’s feature is from DIY Life with How To Make Your Own Dish Soap: blockquote>Making your own dish soap is a great for so many reasons. Homemade soaps tend to not dry out your skin and they work well for people who are allergic to commercial cleaners. But, my favorite perk is that you save money [...]
• Grout Cleaning Tips & Recipes: Some of the recipes & cleaning solutions below contain ammonia, or bleach, or vinegar (I’ve also included other homemade cleaners that are gentler to use). There are some who claim that these items will degrade grout over time–what that amount of time is I don’t know (5 years? 50 years?) or that they may affect [...]
• Cleaning A Microwave: How To & Tips: Dried, crusty insides of a microwave are voila! a problem no more with these easy cleaning methods. Here are a few tips to easily clean the grunge from inside your microwave: How To Clean A Microwave Tip #1 Place a bowl of water in the microwave (with a non-metal object such as a wooden spoon or stir stick [...]
• How To Get Rid Of Fruit Flies: Fruit flies are tiny, pesky flies that are brown and appear to have no fear of people (often it seems they’re trying to fly up your nose and in your mouth) but they’re mostly just clumsy fliers. The good news is that getting rid of and killing fruit flies is not difficult, you just need [...]
• How To Clean Cat Spray: Recipes & Tips: If you’ve ever had a tomcat stroll by and spray around your basement window or front door, you know what a stink that is! at spray is pretty potent stuff and the smell is not something that dissipates easily. The quicker you clean it up, the better chance you have of avoiding a repeat performance (the [...]
• How To Wash A Feather Duster: Did you know that handy little gadget you use for dusting can easily be washed, over and over again? Good quality ostrich feather dusters hold up to washings better than the cheapies, but if your duster is this-close to being tossed because it’s worn down and heavy from all the dirt buildup, give a quick [...]
• Dusting: Tips, Tools & Prevention: Now that the weather is nice, windows and doors are kept wide open so we can enjoy all the lovely fresh air that we’ve been missing over the past winter–the downside to this is that with so many openings into the home, dust and dirt accumulate throughout the house quicker than ever. ust buildup is one [...]
• Hanging Laundry To Dry Outdoors: Clothesline Tip Sheet: Hanging, done hit or miss, can be the most exhausting part of the wash-day procedure. Here are a few rules to follow which will make less stooping and straining: Don’t have the line so high that each piece calls for stretching. Before wheeling clothes out, put them in the basket in the order in which it is [...]
• Old-Time Stain Removal Tips: Timeless Wisdom: These tips were collected from vintage booklets dating from the 1930’s and 1940’s. The Timeless Wisdom collection is a regular feature on Tipnut where we take a look back at the methods used and advice given to tackle regular household tasks. These were the days when fancy gadgets and cleaning powders weren’t yet invented so [...]
• Salt Packed Citrus Shells: DIY Air Freshener: Here’s a neat tip sent in by Paulina for one of the most natural and easiest to make air fresheners I’ve come across yet… blockquote>I picked this tip up from a local newspaper some years ago and I’ve been using it ever since, I just love the smell of oranges: Cut an orange in half and remove [...]
• Freshen Your Home With Eucalyptus: Recipes: Eucalyptus is one of mother nature’s most powerful disinfectants, what better option to clean with! ere are a few different homemade cleaners I have on file that incorporate Eucalyptus oil and can be used to freshen and clean your home, just in time for Spring Cleaning. Floor Cleaner Add 1 tablespoon of liquid castile soap to 1 gallon [...]