TweetCandlelight often sets the mood for dinner and other occasions. It is always seen that any holiday occasions includes the use of candlelight and the spark of it serves to set the mood right for the festivities. Candles are often known to make their appearances as vibrant pieces of decoration. Besides transporting us into a world of divine fragrance the candles also serve to bring us into the real world where we have to surrender ourselves in the effort of cleaning up the wax which drips from the side of the candle when it journeys its way to the end. But the toughness of the cleaning process also depends on the type of surface which is exposed to wax of the candle.
Most often candles are used on dinner tables and so quite often the wax falls and stains the tablecloth, place-mats, table-mats and cloth napkins. Once the wax gets dried on to the tablecloth or table mat it becomes very difficult to have it removed. The first thing you have to do in order to remove the wax in this case, is to make an application of an ice pack on the spot. This will allow the wax to get brittle and then you can scrap off the wax whenever you want by your hands. You must never make use of a blunt knife as it proves to very dangerous for the cloth and might cause damage to it. Once you have successfully removed the wax from the cloth, then take a hot iron and a few paper bags which are absolutely clean. Take one paper bag at a time and put it beneath the wax portion and then the other one at the top of the wax portion. Heat your iron to a medium temperature and then gradually iron that portion till the wax has been completely transferred to that of the paper bag.
If you wish to remove wax from any wooden furniture, then you have to follow a completely different process. Bookcases and the wooden furniture often seem to get spoiled by the dripping of wax on to it. In this case you can scrub off the wax as much possible with the help of a blunt wooden knife or that of the edges of a credit card. But make sure that the items are non-abrasive. After this you might see that a bit of wax residue will still be sticking on to the furniture. For this you got to make a minimum application of cream furniture wax solution and than you will get to see for yourself that the wax residue has completely gone.
In case of removing wax from that of carpets and other sort of upholstery you need to make an application of the ice pack and it will come off. Then proceed to use a vacuum cleaner to vacuum the place where the wax residue is present and viola, you’ll see that everything is spic and span, and all that annonying wax is gone without the need of a professional carpet cleaning service.
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TweetThe kitchen has long been the centre of many houses. Just look at the words associated with it: “hearth and home” (with a possible link to heart), and the word “focus” originally meant “fireplace.” The place where cooking goes on (and often eating and entertaining) is the hub that all the other rooms seem to revolve around.
But kitchens are often the scene not of tranquillity, order and harmony but of chaos and clutter. While dishes aren’t usually piled sky high waiting to be done if we have dishwashers, benches (and cupboards) are often jammed with appliances, gadgets, ornaments, odds and ends, papers, pictures and so on and so on. Sometimes you wonder how on earth people find the space to cook anything. And as for those people who use the kitchen table as a workspace if they work from home…
Where do you start when you declutter the kitchen? Many things could spring to mind, but the best place to start is with gadgets. You can find a bewildering amount of kitchen gadgets, each with its own specialised use, in department and similar stores. Breadmakers, pasta-makers, juicers, steamers, wands, doughnut makers, waffle makers, toasted sandwich makers, mincers, grinders, blenders, Cuisinarts, this-makers and that-makers. Quite honestly, how often do you actually use them? If you haven’t touched it for over a year, sell it online, donate it to charity or hold a garage/car boot sale. Also think twice before buying any gadgets: if it only does one thing, then maybe it might not be the best buy and may end up just cluttering everything up. Take popcorn makers. Yes, you get oodles of air-popped popcorn without having to buy packeted microwave popcorn with too much fat and salt attached, but it’s just as easy to cook ordinary popcorn in your microwave using a paper bag or a small cardboard box (e.g. of the sort used for teabags) to get the same thing. The exception here would be breadmakers – as long as you use them. Even so, you can make perfectly good bread in the oven (kids can make bread this way– it’s easier than cakes). Be ruthless.
Also look at the kitchen goodies you use that don’t have a cord and a plug attached. Are you still hanging onto a set of eggcups, even though everyone in your family loathes boiled eggs? Have you got a collection of preserving jars that have been empty for years? (oops – that sounds like me. I don’t think I bottled any fruit since a family member was diagnosed with diabetes and I had to cut back on using sugar.) A wok and a set of chopsticks that you bought in a fit of enthusiasm for Asian cuisine two years ago but never got the hang of using? A fondue set? Once again, be ruthless. However, some little-used items may be worth hanging onto for special occasions – fancy jelly moulds and shaped cake tins may only come out for birthday parties, but they do come out. Maybe a good move for all of us would be to get together with friends and compile a list of who’s got what and have a sort of cookware co-operative where everyone lends their specialty gadget and borrows other people’s (e.g. Megan has the fondue set, Wendy has the wok, chopsticks and sushi mats, Raewyn has the heart-shaped cake tins and Kathryn has the escargot dishes; when Raewyn wants to hold a fondue party, she borrows Megan’s fondue set. If Wendy is serving escargots, she borrows Kathryn’s. And so forth.)
Next, consider ornaments. The kitchen isn’t really the best place to keep ornaments, as the air is often greasy – spitting fat, etc. And if you do not have a domestic cleaner and if you’re not a regular duster (as in dusting twice a week), dust gets stuck to things with the grease and becomes very difficult to remove. Get rid of them, move them to another room or keep them in something glass-fronted.
By the way, if you do work from home (like me), then I have one thing to say about the kitchen table as a workspace: don’t. Never mind the hazards of getting food, etc. in your laptop and other files, and the distractions of dishes needing doing, you will need to have somewhere to store files and projects, and it’s a nuisance to have to clear it off every time you want to eat. Use a corner of the living room; use a hallway; use a separate table in another part of the kitchen; use the broom cupboard, even (although this isn’t a good idea).
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TweetIt’s not so much of a secret these days. Quite a few women – married and single – have battery operated adult toys stashed in the bedside drawer. You know – sex toys, vibrators, dildos, whatever you want to call them. What was once considered dirty, obscene and shocking is now quite clean and decent – they’re even sold on the party plan.
Well, they’re not considered morally/ethically dirty. But they do get physically dirty. And with something that is used so intimately, it’s important to make sure that it’s kept clean. If you don’t, the result will be a nasty case of candida at best. It is not acceptable to ask your domestic cleaner to clean it for you, so you need to have a basic idea how to clean it.
First of all, some basic hygiene rules for their use. While one of the oldest references to dildos appeared in an old Greek play and involved a group of women cheerfully lending one round their circle of friends (and enemies), this is a very bad idea. Buy your friend(s) one or two, but don’t lend them around. The second rule is the same one that applies to thermometers – if you use it inside one place, don’t then use it inside another place without a very thorough clean-up first (do I really have to explain it more graphically?).
Vibrators should be cleaned after every use if they are used internally. If they are used externally, they do not need to be cleaned as frequently.
When you clean your vibrator, be careful about immersing it in water. Some dildos are waterproof and can be washed (and even used) underwater, but the majority are not – if the catalogue (or shop assistant) doesn’t describe one as being waterproof, it isn’t. Things that aren’t operated by electricity (e.g. ben wa balls) may be washed in warm soapy water, and so can the waterproof vibrators. Just wash them like you would wash your dishes – wash scrub well, then rinse off the soap before drying. But make sure that the battery compartment is properly closed to prevent any water getting in.
If your vibrator is not waterproof, then you will need to wipe it clean. Baby wipes, in this writer’s experience, do not tend to be enough for proper cleaning, as they don’t have much of a disinfectant action, being designed for sensitive and tender skin. A wet flannel with soap works better, but remember to wash the soap off with a second flannel or sponge, as soap can also trigger candida by upsetting the internal flora. Better still for cleaning vibrators and the like is strong alcohol – surgical spirit is good, but vodka or some other strong (more than 75% proof) spirits will do perfectly well. Simply apply a generous amount of alcohol to a soft cloth and rub the vibrator well. This will clean off any residue, and kill any stray bacteria. Best of all, it will also evaporate quickly, making it easier to dry. Alcohol has one small disadvantage, however: if your vibrator has a shiny coating on it, the alcohol will eventually fade and wear this away.
No matter how you clean your vibrator, be very careful not to let any moisture get into the electrics. Even in waterproof gadgets, if the batteries or wires get wet, it will either rust or short out – and both of these will wreck your vibrator. To be on the safe side, dry it thoroughly before storing it.
Another care tip: if you have any vibrators of the type that involve a vibrating device attached by a cord or wire to the battery compartment, be careful not to put any stress on the cord by pulling, stretching or bending. This will cause the wires to break, and I, for one, do not particularly fancy the idea of taking one down to the electrician to fix. Take care with storage of these things – they’re best kept in a little bag by themselves where they can’t tangle around other things.
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TweetClutter can be a big problem in many homes – I know I could do better. But even big problems can be broken down into little ones. If you’ve never tried decluttering before, here’s a quick list of little things that can be done in about 5–10 minutes just before you start with the actual domestic cleaning. Try one (or two) every day – or even every week if you’re new to the decluttering process.
Assemble all your pens, biros, felts, pencils and crayons. Test all of them. If they don’t work, out they go. Sharpen the pencils. Get rid of bitty little crayons that are impossible to actually hold. If you have a cracked ballpoint pen and a dead felt tip, you can extract the shrivelled innards of the felt tip and replace it with the innards of the ballpoint, then use a little sticky tape to make them into a working pen. But don’t hoard dead felts and broken pens for this – only do this if you have them there under your nose. If you want to declutter and be environmentally friendly, pencil ends can be composted, and if you’re keen, you can fish out the metal springs from click-up ballpoints (and other metal bits) and send them to be recycled. Then put the keepable ones in a pencil case, stationery jar or a crayon box.
Pick up all the old newspapers and magazines in the house and put them in the recycling. Resist all temptation to start reading. One or two magazines may be kept for children’s craft cutouts.
Look under your bed or behind the sofa. Deal with whatever you find there.
Check your notice board and/or what is held on the front of your fridge with magnets. If it’s out of date, out it goes.
Check your cups and mugs. Ask yourself if you really use them all – have you ever got to the stage when your mug cupboard is empty because they’re all in the wash (and not because you’ve been lazy about doing dishes)? If your answer to this is “no”, then get rid of some. Chipped or cracked things should go first – some say that they should go anyway, even if you do use them all, but if you’re on a tight budget, you can hang onto a chipped mug. Keep your favourites, a handful of spares for visitors and the like, then donate the rest to charity.
Choose three rooms and get rid of one object that you don’t really want or like from each room. Unless you’re a model of perfection and discipline (in which case, you won’t be reading this article), you will find something you don’t want, like or need in each room. For example, I have an ugly old angle-poise desk lamp that I don’t think I’ve touched for a year and dislike sitting on my desk right now (time for it to go!).
Empty out your handbag or briefcase, then go through the contents. Get rid of any rubbish (e.g. old receipts that you don’t need for the accounts), file anything that needs it, put the loose change into a jar. You may need to shake out crumbs, pencil shavings, dead staples and fluff. Weighing your bag before you organize it and after you’ve returned essentials into it is enlightening.
Repeat the previous activity for the glovebox of your car – except you can’t weigh this before and after.
Take a look at your bookshelf. Get rid of anything you don’t want to read again, or any travel guides that are more than ten years old. If you are tempted to start reading something, then don’t get rid of it. Donate unwanted books to schools (not romances or horror novels, though) or another charitable organisation. Better still, take them down to one of those second-hand bookstores that allow you to do exchanges, then swap them for something you really want to read. Old travel guides should be sent to the recycling – they’re out of date and useless (possible exception: a pre-September 11 guide to the World Trade Centre in New York).
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TweetInk stains are considered to be a big time hazard, both in office as well as at home. For office workers and for students it is a considerable cause of concern, because it makes one look extremely clumsy. It is still okay, if you have ink stains on your hands, but it is even more frustrating when it gets on to your clothes. If you let the stains set in, then it is even more difficult to remove. But nowadays, removing ink stains is not so much of a pain, as it used to be in the past. You don’t have to forget about your ink stained clothes, as there is a solution to removing them. So, how do we remove ink stains? Read on, and you’ll find out.
You must make sure that you first proceed to dab the ink stain with that of a wet sponge. Then make sure that you allow the stain to dry. After that pour or spray enough of the hair spray and some denatured alcohol on to the stains and let it set for a considerable span of time. Soon after sandwich the fabric which has been stained between that of two paper-made towels. After that carry on the process by blotting the backside of that of the stained fabric and make sure that the stain has completely lifted on to the other paper towel. Soon after that put an application of stain remover or you can also apply pre-laundry treatment. And last but not the least, proceed to wash the entire garment in luke warm water and then allow it to dry.
During the application of denatured alcohol, make sure that you do it with a clean cotton swab. The fabric should be washed as usual in cold water. The hair spray and the denatured alcohol are such strong ingredients that you will immediately find the paper towel taking a blue color. There are a number of things you will learn during the process of removing ink stains. The first and the foremost is that you need to change your backing sheet. After that you can easily carry the ink stain through that of the backing cloth or sheet followed to the fabric. You must also carry on with quick blots which mean that you should be putting the alcohol on the blot on a quick and repeated basis. It is because the capillary action is increased to a maximum level through this.
It should also be kept in mind that ink stains can be classified into a number of categories. There are some which are known as water based ink stains which are much easier to remove and then there are some known as permanent ink stains which poses you quite a tough challenge in the removal process. A home made quick solution tip – baking soda is also considered to be a good domestic cleaning agent when it comes to the removal of ink stains. Before proceeding on with the drying process you must make sure that the stain is gone completely.
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TweetI’ve got one in my household. If you’re reading this, you probably have one, too. My son is a sports enthusiast and quite regularly comes home with his sports uniforms covered in mud stains and grass stains. He hasn’t come home with any bloodstains yet, but as he is quite an aggressive rugby player, this is bound to happen one day. And it’s not just his rugby gear that comes home filthy – he manages to get his cricket gear grubby as well.
I’m probably not the only mother (or partner – husbands/lovers come home grubby after sports as well) who has to deal with this. If you have the luxury of being able to use a drop-off and pick-up laundry service, you may not have to deal with this very often. But sometimes, these services just aren’t available, or you need the sports gear two days running and you don’t have spares. In this case, you will have to get rid of the stains yourself.
First of all, check for the type of stains that you are dealing with. If you have bloodstains, then you must not use hot water on the garment or else you will set the stain permanently. In this case, soak in cold or lukewarm water with a good dollop of washing powder. If, however, you do not have to deal with bloodstains, then you can soak the garment in hot water and washing powder. A biological powder is the most effective, but normal washing powder will work just as well. Whether you use hot or cold water, you will need to agitate (stir) the garments while they are soaking. Soak garments for at least an hour.
If you are dealing with white sports clothes (cricket uniforms or white rugby shorts), then you can use commercial cleaning product like bleach to deal with any stains. Chlorine bleach deals with grass stains quite effectively with no need for further treatment. However, do not use chlorine bleach on a uniform that has a coloured trim or stripes along with the white. Darker colours are much more forgiving, while paler ones (yellow, pale blue) are the worst, as they show all stains but cannot be bleached.
After an hour or so of soaking (overnight is best, but if you have to get the uniform washed and dried by the next day, this is not always possible), squeeze the excess water out and inspect the clothing. Some types of material, particularly cottons, are quite susceptible to grass stains, and these will need further treatment (synthetics, however, do not seem to “take” the stains as readily; my husband’s old synthetic cricket trousers were able to be washed in a normal cold cycle to remove grass “stains”). A proprietary stain remover should be used to spot-treat the stained area, or else methylated spirits. Whatever you use to spot-treat the grass stain, leave it to work for a few minutes before putting the clothes into the washing machine and washing on a heavy-duty cycle.
Dry the clothes as normal. In fact, I have noticed that sometimes, sunshine can give a final “bleach” to grass stains. If you have the misfortune to have no tumble drier and less-than-ideal drying conditions, but still need the uniform by the next morning, drying in front of a radiator or log fire or (as a last resort)with an iron is your best option. Synthetics, once again, dry more easily than cottons.
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TweetAre you checking through the items on your laundry shelves and seeing if you need to stock up on stain removal products? You never know – even if your commercial products have run out, you may have plenty of stain removal products in your house already without knowing it. Or you might consider switching to these unusual alternatives, especially if you are looking for more environmentally friendly, less toxic methods of cleaning your house.
This list is an A-Z of more unusual domestic cleaning products and what they’re good for. How many have you got in your cupboards?
* Alcohol. This includes methylated spirits, rubbing alcohol and strong drinkable (?) spirits like vodka and whisky. These are great as disinfectants and for removing ink-based stains. Alcohol is your best friend for removing permanent pen stains. Some varieties of hairspray contain alcohol and can be used to remove stains.
* Baking soda: This is such a safe, useful and versatile cleaner it’s a wonder that commercial cleaning products ever made it onto the market. It absorbs smells and is an all-purpose cleaner.
* Bread: White bread (preferably stale) can be used to rub greasy marks off wallpaper and as an improvised sponge for spills and slips at the table.
* Cigarette ash: This can be mixed to a paste with lemon juice and/or linseed oil and used to remove stains from wooden furniture. However, smoking is an appallingly dirty habit and you’ll do more for the cleanliness of your home (to say nothing of your health) if you quit.
* Denture cleaners: These are good for cleaning more than just false teeth. Leave in the toilet bowl overnight to soak out stains, or use it as a soaking solution for white cottons.
* Epsom salts: Good for cleaning stains and spills off floors.
* Lemon juice: a mild bleach, especially if you soak a stain in lemon juice and pop it into sunshine. This works on hair to put highlights in blonde hair and is reputed to fade freckles and other brown marks on the skin.
* Meat tenderiser: This contains enzymes that break down proteins. Use it for any protein based stain (in cold water) such as blood or egg.
* Milk: While some milk products can stain, milk itself can be used to soak out ballpoint pen marks from fabric. Milk added to water is also good for soaking leather that has been accidentally splashed with salt water (salty water can wreck leather). Wash the item in cold water after removing the stain to get rid of the milk.
* Onions: These make a cleansing polish for leather goods, including shoes.
* Potatoes: The starchy juice of a raw potato can be used as a stain removal stick. You can also use a cut up potato and baking soda (or salt) to clean rust stains off metal cookware.
* Salt: Use salt in the water when soaking protein stains. Salt also absorbs liquid stains – it’s an old remedy for dealing with spills of red wine on tablecloths or carpets. Salt can also act as a mordant for dyes – if you have bought new fabric for dressmaking, put it through the washing machine with salt but not washing powder to help set the dye in (you can also do this with home-dyed items).
* Soda water: The effervescence of soda water means that it floats the stuff doing the staining up to the top. An old remedy for wine stains on ties, and for most other things that can get spilled at the table – including blood.
* White vinegar: a mild bleach that works wonders on mildew and on wine stains.
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TweetChandeliers add glamour and grace to a room because of their innate beauty and intricate design. The greater the intricacy of the design, the greater the beauty and the more a chandelier adds to the dŽcor of a room. But that is where the problem lies. The more intricate and eye catching it is, the more dirt and grime on it will be noticed. Cleaning a chandelier can be one of the most difficult aspects of house cleaning, but there are some short cuts you can take to make the job much easier. Please note that what is suggested here will not take the place of disassembling a chandelier and cleaning it piece by piece, but is enough to remove surface dirt and keep it looking clean and nice.
There are two quick ways of cleaning a chandelier – the wet and dry methods.
The fasts way is the wet method. For this you will need a step ladder, plastic sandwich bags, rubber bands, a tarpaulin, and chandelier cleaner or any other cleaning spray which will drip dry without leaving any marks.
Here’s how to go about it.
* Make sure the chandelier is off and the bulbs are cool
* Spread the tarpaulin on the floor below the chandelier so that it will catch any liquid that drips off
* Set up the ladder so that it is stable and you can reach the chandelier easily
* Climb up the ladder and fit a sandwich bag over each bulb, using a rubber band to tightly secure the bags below each bulb
* Spray the complete chandelier with the cleaning spray. Use it liberally to cover every surface
* Wait till the cleaning fluid stop dripping and carefully gather up the tarp, making sure nothing spills on the floor
* You’re done.
If you don’t have or don’t want to use a cleaning spray, you can do a dry clean. For this you will need glass cleaner and a few soft microfiber cloths.
* As in the wet cleaning, place the tarp to catch any dirt that may fall from the chandelier, make sure it is off and the bulbs are cool and set up the ladder.
* Start working from the top of the chandelier and move down.
* Spray the glass cleaner on one of the cloths and wipe a piece of glass.
* Use another piece of cloth to wipe the dirt off and polish the glass.
* Change the cloths as they become dirty
Whichever way you go about it, you will have a clean chandelier in far less time that you thought possible so you can then relax or go on to some other aspect of house cleaning.
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TweetThe American Shower Report, a survey of 1,000 Americans, conducted in the year 2006 shows very surprising results indeed. Most of the Americans clean themselves in lesser ideal conditions. The survey results show that nearly one third of those surveyed admitted to cleaning their shower only once every month or lesser than that. Not many people like to clean up their showers and it is quite a daunting task for majority of the Americans.
Cleaning of Shower: If the showers are not cleaned on a daily basis, then the soap scum tends to get deposited on the walls along with spots of hard water, mildew and lime scale. There are many products and brands available in the market for cleaning showers. There are some domestic cleaning products that need to be used after every shower. You have to use this spray after every shower. The basic idea is to clean the shower after every use, so that it does not get scummed in the first place. This is quite a good idea, but it proves to be costly and time consuming.
Ylang Ylang Method Daily Shower: The Ylang Ylang Daily Shower needs to be sprayed on the shower surfaces and bath areas after each shower to remove the dirt and debris from the shower surfaces and prevent buildup of scum. This product is very effective and has an intoxicating scent. The spray removes the grime from the shower surfaces and if it is used on a regular basis, then there is absolutely no need for scrubbing.
Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner: This is a new breakthrough in shower cleaning products. It has an innovative automatic system of spray cleaning. Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner has a patented formula for cleaning that mixes with the water on the shower walls to remove grime and goes on cleaning daily just at the touch of a button. The dirty shower is cleaned in just a few days and a clean shower is kept sparkling clean right from day one. The scrubbing is done away with forever. This product is fitted with a power sprayer that spins at 360 degrees, sprays the cleaning solution from a distance of over 8 feet. All the four walls of the shower are well covered by the power sprayer of Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner and it works best for both types of showers, with glass doors or curtains.
303 Shower Shield: 303 Shower Shield is an easier and less expensive solution to cleaning showers. It has manifold cleaning benefits as well. You have to follow simple steps like cleaning the shower, and then spraying it with 303 Shower Shield and wiping it completely dry. It is just a matter of few minutes and you will have the most clean and shining bathroom. 303 Shower Shield adds on a new luster to the shower doors, walls and fixtures and removes the mineral deposits, soap film and mildew. The effect of this product is quite long lasting and it lasts for about 6 weeks or longer. 303 Shower Shield is an environmentally safe and biodegradable product with a pleasant scent of lemon.
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