Cleaning Tips

I hate streaked or smeared windows. When I see a car going down the road with windows so smudged that the driver must have special vision to see out of, it makes me cringe. I want to pull them over and ask them if I can wash their windows for them. Yuck!

I have several cats, so my windows at home do not stay as clean as I would like, due to cat fluids, but I try my best to keep on top of it.

The 3 best glass cleaners in my experience are...

1) Glass Plus
2) Family Dollar store brand
3) 409 Glass & Surface (it's purple)

Paper Towels...use harder, plain white paper towels if possible. The softer ones such as Bounty tend to streak and/or leave lint behind. I like the following brands...

1) Brawny
2) Target store brand
3) Sparkle

The above are not too soft, but yet they are not so thin that they fall apart like some of the cheaper brands tend to do.

You can also use crumpled newspaper instead of paper towels.

Someone once gave me a great suggestion for wiping windows. Clean the outside in the North & South directions (wiping up and down), and clean the inside in the East and West directions (wiping left to right). That way if your window is smeared, it's easier to see if it's outside or inside depending on the direction of the smear.

Is that white or cream colored sink stained? Try scrubbing it with Calgon liquid (or powder) dishwasher soap.

If that doesn't work, fill the sink to the level of the stained area with hot water and disolve one cup of Borax in it, and let it soak for a while (overnight would be great, if that's an option).

If that doesn't work, try cutting a lemon in half and place on the stain for an hour or so, then scrub with a cleanser (Comet, Ajax, Borax).

In a drinking glass, or other object large enough to fit over your shower head, pour 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water, and hold the glass so the vinegar mixture covers the shower head completely.

Take an old toothbrush or scrubbie, and scrub the holes in the shower head.

Repeat as needed. You can even use straight vinegar if desired.

I don't know about you, but I leave my dish drainer on my counter, and it's black, so it shows every dried water spot clearly.

One day I thought, "Hmmm...vinegar works well for water spots on windows..."So I poured straight vinegar on the drainer and let it sit for 5 minutes or so, then wiped with paper towel.

It brought almost all of the water spots off. Sparkling clean. Aaaah. That's what I'm talking about!

For those of you who own stainless steel appliances, you might already know that VINEGAR works great at removing fingerprint smudges.

I never had stainless steel appliances, but I did purchase a stainless steel coffee pot, and the vinegar not only works great at cleaning the pot out (by running vinegar through it like you would do to make coffee), but also took those smudges right off!

I have also found VINEGAR to be useful in cleaning backspash tiles!

Try placing charcoal briquettes in a pie tin (or any container that's pretty flat), in one or more areas of a musty room. They will absorb the odor.

Pour 1 cup of ammonia down the drain followed by one cup (or more) of hot water.

This will also keep the drain flies away.

1. When you replace boxes of baking soda in your refrigerator and freezer, dump the old boxes down the drains and flush with hot water. This will freshen your drains.

2. You can brush your teeth with baking soda if you can stand the taste and texture. Your teeth feel sparkly clean afterward!

3. Use an open box of baking soda in a stale smelling closet to freshen it up.

Apply a thick coat of Mayonaise, and let it sit for an hour or more. Wipe of with a clean cloth. You might have to use a wet cloth then a dry one.

Re-apply as many times as necessary. It works, and it makes your table shiny and conditioned.

1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 qt. water

1) Add all together.
2) Put aluminum foil on bottom of sauce pan.
3) Bring it to a boil.
4) Dip silver in the mixture.
5) Dry with clean soft cloth.

I receive this information in an email, and am passing it on in hopes that it will help others.

I had a neighbor who had bought a new
pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that
someone had spray-painted red all around the sides of this
beige truck (for some unknown reason). I went over, woke him
up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was
trying to figure out what to do: probably nothing until
Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor
came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It
removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his
paint job that was on the truck. I'm impressed! WD-40
who knew?

Water Displacement #40 .

The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a "water displacement" compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. The Corvair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts.

Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.

When you read the "shower door" part, try it. It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It's a miracle! Then try it on your stovetop... Voila! It's now shinier than it's ever been. You'll be amazed.

1) Protects silver from tarnishing.

2) Removes road tar and grime from cars.

3) Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.

4) Gives floors that 'just-waxed'
sheen without making it slippery.

5) Keeps flies off cows.

6) Restores and cleans chalkboards.

7) Removes lipstick stains.

8) Loosens stubborn zippers.

9) Untangles jewelry chains.

10) Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.

11) Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.

12) Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.

13) Removes tomato stains from clothing.

14) Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.

15) Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.

16) Keeps scissors working smoothly.

17) Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles a ND doors in homes

18) It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for
those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn't seem to harm the
finish and you won't have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just
remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.

19) Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!

20) Gives a children's play gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.

21) Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.

22) Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.

23) Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.

24) Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.

25) Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.

26) Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.

27) Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.

28) Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.

29) Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.

30) Keep s rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.

31) Removes splattered grease on stove.

32) Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.

33) Lubricates prosthetic limbs.

34) Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).

35) Removes all traces of duct tape.

36) Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.

37) Florida 's favorite use is: "cleans and removes love bugs from grills and
bumpers."

38) The favorite use in the state of New York WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.

39) WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a LITTLE on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.

40) Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.

41) WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.

42) Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and re-wash. Presto! Lipstick is gone!

43) If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and
Allow the car to start.

The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.

P. S. I keep a can of WD-40 in my kitchen cabinet over the stove. It is good for oven burns or any other type of burn. It takes the burned fee ling away and heals with NO scarring.