Ask Mum Now - hints and tips and solutions » household cleaning

Quick tidy-up

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:33:24 +0000

When cleaning the house, take a clean bucket or large plastic bag and pick up things that are lying around. When cleaning is finished, empty the bag or bucket and put all the ‘found’ items back where they belong.

Shine aluminium kitchen utensils

admin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:27:09 +0000

Shine aluminium kitchen utensils by boiling them in a solution of 2 tablespoons white vinegar in 1 litre water.

Prevent blocked drains

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:24:02 +0000

you can prevent household drains from blocking if you give them a monthly treatment with baking soda and vinegar. First slowly pour 1/4 cup dry baking soda down the drain. Then pour in 1/4 cup white vinegar.

The vinegar will fizz as it mixes with the baking soda. Once the fizzing has stopped, flush the drain with cold water from the tap.

Remove mildew stains from shower curtains

admin — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:20:48 +0000

To remove mildew stains from shower curtains, soak curtains in a mixture of one part vinegar to four parts water. Rinse in hot water and hang to dry, preferably outside in the sun.

To clean your computer keyboard

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:33:09 +0000

Did you know you can use ordinary wet wipes to keep your computer keyboard dust and germfree.

Cheaper than the special computer wipes and just as effective.

Keeping steel wool cleaning pads ready to use

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:31:14 +0000

Cut steel wool pads in half to make them last longer.

Exclude air from the used part of the pad by keeping it covered in a small container or water or wrap it in aluminium foil. This will stop the pad form rusting after use.

Cleaning floor corners

admin — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:28:51 +0000

getting dust out of the corners of your room can be a nightmare, especially if it’s been there a while.

To get dust out of the corners of floors or stairs, use a small soft paintbrush then sweep or vacuum the collected dust away.

Cleaning silver

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:50:48 +0000

I found this cool way to clean silver. It’s so easy and it’s fun to watch! I’ve used it on silver cutlery and jewellery (silver chains etc).

Line a deep bowl or jug with aluminium foil.
Add ½ cup washing soda crystals and dissolve in 1 cup boiling water.
Leave to cool a little and immerse silverware in the solution.
Remove silverware from the solution, rinse in warm water and buff dry with a soft cloth.

So just how does this work? The blurb on the back of the Washing Soda pack says “the chemical reaction between the soda crystals and the aluminium foil generates hydrogen to remove the silver oxide (the tarnish)”.

Note – this won’t work on aluminium or plated silver, so check your metal first.

To wash outdoor furniture

admin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:08:11 +0000

Wash outdoor furniture, children’s outdoor play things etc with a solution of equal parts of vinegar and water. Keep this solution handy in a spray bottle.

Cleaning brass ornaments

admin — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:37:55 +0000

Kutch has asked for the best way to clean brass. Ellen has given us her favourite method.

I used to hate cleaning the brass things in our house with the commercial brass cleaner my mother used to give me. Everything got black – black cloths, black hands, black under my fingernails! Yuck!.

I much prefer, even enjoy, cleaning brass with this mixture – it’s so much easier than using that commercial cleaner.

Dissolve ¼ cup washing soda crystals in 1 cup hot water and add 1 tablespoon liquid ammonia.

Dip a soft cloth into the mixture and rub brass ornaments gently then rub with a clean dry cloth till they shine.

For smaller items, pour the liquid into a small deep bowl and place the ornament into the bowl for a few minutes.

A word of warning, make sure you are cleaning brass and not brass plate. I understand that might not be so successful. I can’t test that for you because I don’t have any brass plate around.