Monday, March 1, 2010

Some aquired knowledge

1.  Toothpaste will remove a kool-aid mustache.

2.  Keep Lestoil around. It is a solvent based cleaner.  I use it in my laundry.  It removes grass stains, and paint!  It works better than spot cleaners on those shirts that get grease spots on them from cooking.  They also take crayon and pencil marks off walls and woodwork.  Warning:  do not use on a surface where oil will leave a stain.

3.  Keep those old toothbrushes.  They should be at every spot that you have other cleaners.  I use them in the laundry to scrub lestoil into stains, and also use the non brush tip to break apart dried paint so the lestoil will work.  They clean any item that has grooves. They get the edges of the faucets when you clean them.

4.  My favorite cleaner is Dawn and Ammonia.  I can clean most every surface of my house with this.  If streaking is a concern, such as windows or appliances use more Ammonia than Dawn.

5.  Many people wash/rinse their dishes before they put them in the dishwasher.  It is a waste of water and time.  I just scrape food particles off, and put it in.  You may discover one or two items that aren't thoroughly cleaned, but  then you are only washing one or two items, not the whole load.

6.  Speaking of Dishwashers...when was the last time you cleaned the drain area of your dishwasher?  Most dishwashers have an assembly at the bottom that comes apart and you can clear out food and dirt debris that gets left behind.  Check your manual if you are unsure.  If you keep this cleaned, you will be amazed at how much nicer your dishes clean!

7.  Are people complaining of itchy skin in winter at your house?  Use a half cup of vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser instead of fabric softener.   If you don't have a fabric softener dispenser on your model, add the vinegar in the rinse cycle.  This dissolves any remaining soap, and besides not having detergents now rubbing again your skin, it makes the clothes softer because there isn't soap residue on them.  I use a dryer sheet in the dryer anyway, to fight static cling.

8.  If something is burnt onto a fry pan, before you even try to clean it.  Put water in the pot enough to cover the burnt on parts, and put it back on the stove until it comes to a boil.  If it is a greasy burned mess, add some dish soap to the water.  Once it comes to a boil, let it cool on the stove.  Your cleaning will be much easier.

9.  Boil Cream of Tarter in a discolored Aluminum pan to remove the stain.

10. If you hang your clothes to dry, hang the whole hem of a shirt over the line by a couple of inches, not clipped at the tails or shoulders.  They will take a bit longer to dry, but that line will stretch out immediately when you put the shirt on, but stretched tails on a T-shirt will stay with you all the time you wear it.

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