TweetIf you have vinyl records at home, they will be old classics that are probably dear to you. Most of the music on vinyl records is now available of CDs but for a lot of people, there is nothing to beat the charm of listening to great old music in its original form. However, vinyl records are far more delicate that CDs and need to be carefully looked after and cleaned regularly to keep them in good condition. Playing a dirty record can both damage the record as well as the stylus of your record player.
* Dust off the records before and after each use. Make sure you use a soft cloth to gently wipe the surface. If you have a large collection to maintain its worthwhile buying a carbon fiber record cleaning brush available from music stores or shops that sell old records. Always wipe the record in a circular motion along the grooves. Do not rub too hard – you could damage or even break the record. Do not blow on the record – the moisture in your breath may get trapped in the grooves and collect dirt.
* To clean really dirty records, the best option is to use a specialty record domestic cleaning spray or solution. However, even these may affect the record if used to often so clean only when you must. Individual brands have their own usage instructions that should be followed meticulously.
* If record cleaning solutions and sprays are not available, you can make the solution yourself. Using a clean plastic or glass bowl make a solution of 80% distilled water and 20% isopropyl alcohol. Use only distilled water since tap water contains minerals that can affect the record surface. And use only isopropyl alcohol as any other form of alcohol will be too strong and could ruin the record.
* First wipe the dirt off the surface as mentioned above.
* Dip a piece of clean soft lint free cloth in the solution so that it becomes damp but not dripping wet. Use this cloth to wipe the record surface in a circular motion along the grooves. Rub any stained areas gently to loosen the dirt.
* Make sure no moisture comes into contact with the labels. This may loosen the glue and cause the label to fall off.
* Once both sides of the record are clean, wipe them dry with a clean soft cloth and then place it on a soft cloth to air dry completely.
Remember to always handle a record only by the edges and never to touch the record surface.
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TweetCleaning the inside of an oven is one of the least liked domestic cleaning jobs. This writer has a confession to make: I hate cleaning the inside of an oven so much that I only really do it when it’s time for the end of tenancy cleaning… and even then, I tend to get someone else to do it.
The reason for this is not because it’s a tough job that involves lots of elbow grease and grime to remove – well, not just because of this reason. It’s because I hate that horrible super-strong chemical spray stuff that you’re supposed to put into the oven to clean it. The fumes are absolutely vile, and I would really rather not have to buy (let alone use) something that requires the use of rubber gloves (which often have to be disposed of afterwards) and a face mask. Isn’t there a natural method for cleaning ovens?
There is, but be warned: it involves a lot of elbow grease. It also involves microfibre cloths of the Enjo type (specifically, it needs the green sort of cloth suitable for greasy stuff, if you are not used to Enjo colour-coding). Tune the radio to the sports station or get a talking book, as the job may take a while and you will need something to listen to while you work.
Start by getting a nice, big oven-proof dish or a roasting pan. Fill it with boiling water. Put it in the oven and close the door. Turn on the oven fairly high and let the water boil. Keep topping the water up (open the door with caution) so you get 1–2 hours of steam. Set it up once you’ve finished doing dinner for the evening, as once the two hours are up, you will need to leave the oven overnight after the steaming session. Leave the oven turned off!
Next morning once the oven is cold, open the door and get out your microfibre cloth. Remove the oven trays. Start the job of rubbing around the inside of the stove with the cloth. You may need to use some baking soda to help you, as this also helps cut the grease. Have a bucket of warm water handy, as you may need to rinse out the cloth a few times – or have several cloths. There is no denying that this is long job. If your oven is particularly foul, you may need to repeat the whole process, steam and all, several times. When all is looking grim, console and encourage yourself with the facts that (a) you won’t have to go to the gym, as you’re getting a great upper body workout, and possibly working your quads if you have to squat, and your cores if you twist around into odd positions; (b) you aren’t breathing in vile corrosive chemicals or adding them to the air or water.
You won’t need to clean the heating elements themselves – these are self-cleaning, as they burn off any splatters and spills.
The oven trays are a lot easier to clean. Line a big basin (the laundry sink is ideal) with aluminium foil. Pour in hot water. Add a cup of baking soda. Put the racks in, making sure that each one touches the aluminium foil somewhere. Leave them to soak for a couple of hours. Then rub them down with a cleaning cloth of some sort (microfibre optional). Dry well before replacing in the oven.
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TweetIt’s strange how we take it for granted that the iron, which is used on clean clothes, is itself always automatically clean. Actually irons can accumulate a lot of dirt that can not only make ironing more difficult (when the base or ÒsoleplateÓ gets covered with dirt or deposits so it does not glide over the fabric) but damage both the iron and the cloth – dirt and deposits in the reservoir can block the steam vents and also produce coloured steam that will stain cloth. The more minerals there are in your water (how ÒhardÓ it is) will affect how often you need to clean your iron. This is a simple job you can do yourself with not need to depend on your house cleaning service.
Start by cleaning the soleplate. Turn off and unplug the iron and allow it to cool to room temperature before beginning. Wipe the soleplate with a soft dry cloth and then gently wipe the surface of the soleplate with soapy water and a nylon mesh pad. Be careful not to scrub so hard that you scratch the non stick surface. Wipe the soleplate with damp paper towels till no soap deposits remains.
If there are still stains remaining, place some toothpaste on a soft cloth and rub the stained areas. Once the stain is gone, remove the toothpaste residue with damp paper towels.
If there are burn marks on the soleplate, you will have to use a different procedure to remove them. Make sure your iron is at room temperature. Cover the iron completely with paper, leaving only the soleplate exposed. Make sure that there are no gaps or tears in the rest of the paper – the iron cleaner you will be using can damage the finish of the body if it comes into contact with it. Spay oven cleaner on the soleplate and let it rest for 3 minutes. Rinse the soleplate with a soft cloth and cold water.
To clean the reservoir, first use a pipe cleaner to rub the mineral deposits away from the steam vents. Once this is done fill the reservoir one quarter full with white vinegar and turn on the iron. Steam out all the vinegar. Some of the deposits loosened by the vinegar will stick to the vents as they are steamed out. Clean the vents again with a pipe cleaner and fill the reservoir with water and steam until it is empty. If deposits still appear around the steam vents, repeat the vinegar procedure again and then steam again with water.
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TweetTime and time again in natural domestic cleaning recipes, you come across recommendations to use lemons as a natural cleaner.
Lemons certainly have a lot to recommend themselves in this department:
* They smell exquisite and the essential oil released from the skin when you use it is invigorating. This ensures that household chores are pleasant and enjoyable. Who doesn’t love the smell of real lemons? The fake lemon scent added to nearly every detergent just doesn’t come close.
* Lemon juice has a mild bleaching action, especially when it gets sunshine on it. This means that it can get rid of mildew spots on whites and can remove stains on most cloth. And there’s always the old schoolgirl trick (dating, obviously, to the days when schoolgirls didn’t have much discretionary spending money to take to the hairdressers) of putting highlights in your hair with lemon juice. Or you can take a tip from Anne of Green Gables and use it as a skin bleach to fade freckles and age spots (and it will act as a mild exfoliant, too). You will need to rinse it off afterwards.
* Lemons cut in half left in the fridge absorb unpleasant smells. Presumably, one should not eat the lemon after cutting it in half and leaving it uncovered in the fridge or it will taste peculiar (if you want to leave half a lemon in the fridge for later use, cover it to stop this happening).
* Lemon juice mixed with salt makes a first-class cleaner for brass and copper, as the acid attacks the grimy outer layer so it can be scoured off with the salt.
* As lemon juice is acidic, you can use it to get rid of limescale.
The only downside of cleaning anything with lemons is that it seems like a real waste of a delicious lemon. Vinegar can substitute for the lemon juice in many cases, and can do it much cheaper. True, vinegar won’t absorb smells in the fridge (but baking soda will) and it doesn’t have the scenting and bleaching properties, but for cleaning brass and removing limescale, vinegar will do the trick.
Call me stingy, but if I get hold of a lemon, I want to use it for cooking and eating. All that tangy (and healthy!) juice… that piquant zest… You can add lemon juice to soups to give it a bit of tang (do it last to preserve the full flavour); to muffins, alongside the zest; as slices in water for a refreshing drink, as a marinade for any meat, but especially chicken and fish, in icing for birthday cakes, as a source of pectin and acid in any jam or as marmalade in its own right, as a seasoning in mashed potato… the list goes on. And as a testament to lemon’s antioxidant powers, you can stir lemon juice over a fruit salad containing bananas and apples to prevent these fruit pieces going brown – the lemon juice will deal with the oxygen that causes the discolouration.
If you are lucky enough to be able to get them, you can use limes anywhere you would use lemons. This applies to culinary uses as well as house cleaning uses.
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TweetYou probably won’t need this advice if you’re one of those people who have the latest designer handbag every six months – you won’t have time to get it dirty before moving it on (please – don’t tell me that you consign passé handbags to the back of the wardrobe – sell it on!). The rest of us who hang on to our trusty old handbags for ages (no hunting around in unfamiliar pockets trying to remember which compartment has your cellphone and which one has that business card in it). Others of us like to pick up second-hand bags, including the replaced-every-six months designer bags. People in the latter two categories need to know how to clean a leather handbag. The same advice applies to leather belts and leather briefcases, so guys, you can keep reading, too, even if you don’t own a “manbag”.
Start with the inside of the handbag. Turn it inside out and give it a good shake. Lots of dust and fluff, and possibly crumbs, will fall out, and so will loose change (if you’re lucky), paper clips, bits of paper, a bottle top, a fluff-covered raising and half an old bus ticket. Recover any hidden treasures, then vacuum up the fluff, etc. Use the vacuum cleaner to suck up any other bits of loose grime that may be stuck in the seams. While the bag is inside out, see if you can find the care label. Some leather and suede bags should only be drycleaned.
Obviously, belts don’t have an inside, so skip this step! Briefcases are harder to turn inside out, so open up and shake well to remove any “hidden treasures” before vacuuming it out thoroughly.
If your bag or belt doesn’t need drycleaning, start by sponging the inside of the bag with warm water. Let it dry before turning it right way round again. Then sponge the outside. A mixture of natural home cleaning products like warm water and sodium bicarbonate works well to get rid of the sweat and grease that leather just seems to collect. Rinse it off again by sponging with plain warm water.
Let the bag dry, but don’t put it in sunlight or in front of a radiator or some other source of direct heat. Intense heat dries and hardens the leather (too late – you’ve already dried it in the sunshine and the leather is stiff? Work it back and forwards, bending and twisting to soften it again.). Finish by polishing the leather with a wax polish, or else with saddle soap. Use a clear or neutral shade to keep the usual shade of the leather coming through without spoiling. Buff the dried polish to a shine with a soft cloth.
Patent leather should be cleaned with a little petroleum jelly and buffed back to a good shine with a soft cloth.
A common disaster in many handbags and briefcases is ink from a ballpoint pen leaking all over the place. Ink is soluble in alcohol, so the best way is to sponge the lining very lightly with a little meths or rubbing alcohol – or even vodka. Take care that you don’t get any on the leather. If you do, and even if you don’t, rinse off well with plain water. Hairspray directed on the spot (hold the spray nozzle close to concentrate the spray onto the site of the ink) will also work, and it can remove vivid marker pen. Rinse well afterwards. Regular felt pens are easier – they are water soluble and will just need wetting then blotting off with a paper towel or cloth.
Belt buckles (and studs, if you wear studded leather) will need polishing to keep them nice and shiny. Use a little baking soda rubbed on with a soft cloth.
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TweetMarble is a beautiful stone. It is also expensive and, being a soft stone, susceptible to damage. Marble can add glamour and sophistication to a home or office, but if it should not be maintained properly, its look will deteriorate and the end result will be the opposite of what was intended when the marble was installed. If you are in London and using the services of a commercial cleaner to keep your office or home looking at its best, they will look after the marble for you. However, it is still worthwhile to know what you can do to clean marble, should the situation ever arise, as well as the general principles of marble maintenance.
To clean marble you will need the following:
1. Soft cloths and sponges
2. Warm (not hot) water
3. Chamois cloth
4. Neutral non abrasive marble cleaners like acetone, hydrogen peroxide or ammonia
5. Marble polish
This is how to go about it.
* Wet a sponge or cloth with the warm water and wipe the stone surface thoroughly.
* Rinse out the sponge or cloth and wipe the water away from the stone surface. If a soapy residue appears, keep wiping and rinsing away at the stone until the residue has disappeared.
* If you find the marble surface is dull or has streaky marks on it, this usually means that a soapy residue is still left on the stone. This is often not easily visible. If this is so, keep on with the wiping and rinsing until all the streaks have gone and the stone surface has an even glossy finish.
* Wipe the surface dry with a clean soft cloth. It is important not to let the marble air dry and this may cause the streaks and other marks to appear on the surface.
* While the above is all you need to do for regular cleaning, there are some more steps you can take on a six monthly or annual basis to maintain the marble. After completing the steps given above, clean the marble with the neutral non abrasive house cleaner, being careful to look for stains camouflaged by the patterns on the stone surface.
* After using the cleaner, make sure all residues are removed using a clean damp cloth.
* Once again, dry the surface with a clean cloth. Do not allow it to air dry.
* Once the surface is completely dry, apply a marble polish to the stone. Since different polishes have different application methods, make sure that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to get the best results.
Since marble is a porous stone that is easily stained, if you find any stains on the surface, it is best not to wait for the commercial cleaner to come, but to clean it yourself immediately.
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TweetCloth upholstered seats: Clean these the same way that you clean your carpet: use a vacuum cleaner. To clean a big padded chair of the lounge suite type, remove the cushions and get into the nooks and crannies. But do check first – you can often find pens, coins and other odds and ends down the backs of sofa and padded chair cushions. A spill or smear that won’t vacuum off can be spot cleaned by gently dampening the spot with water (don’t use too much) and scrubbing gently with soap and a soft bristle brush (e.g. a toothbrush). Use a damp (not wet) sponge to rinse off the soap.
Vinyl upholstered seats: Simply wipe these down with warm soapy water, or with dilute white vinegar. It couldn’t be easier!
Leather upholstered seats: To clean a leather upholstered lounge suite (or any other leather, as a matter of fact), wipe it gently with vinegar diluted in warm water and applied with a soft cloth (the cloth should not be dripping wet). Alternatively, use warm water and saddle soap (found in any good horsy shop). To care for leather furniture, apply a mixture of linseed oil and vinegar (mix in the proportion of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil) sparingly with a soft cloth. This works for cleaning leather jackets, too.
Wicker seats: The best way to clean wicker, cane or bamboo seats is to vacuum it using the brush attachment. If a wicker seat gets really dirty, you should spray it lightly with plain water (take it outside and use the hose!) then scrub it all over with a soft bristled brush. Don’t use soap. Leave the wicker seat outside to dry. This should be done annually to stop the wicker drying out too much if the wicker is untreated. You can use soap on bamboo: mix up some warm soapy water with a dash of borax and scrub the bamboo all over. One trick for extending the life of a saggy cane seat is to turn it upside down and cover it with a towel that has been soaked in a mixture of boiling salty water (1 cup salt to 1 cup water or just use sea water!). Leave this for 30 minutes before removing the towel. Leave the seat inverted for another 24 hours to let the fibres shrink and dry into place. Obviously, don’t sit on it during this process and try to keep cats off.
Really dirty sofas: If you have just bought a second-hand sofa that is absolutely revolting, you can clean it yourself rather than calling in a professional upholstery cleaner. This writer did this with what she thought was a grey-green sofa that ponged of cats and cigarette smoke. Wait for a sunny day. Start by giving the sofa a thorough vacuuming all over, including under the cushions. Any coins and paper clips you discover are a bonus. Then scrub the sofa everywhere with warm soapy water. Work up a good lather to get the grub out. Leave it to dry in the sunshine (takes a couple of hours). When dry, sprinkle the sofa with baking soda to which you’ve added a few drops of essential oil of your choice (lavender is good). Leave this to sit and absorb smells before vacuuming again. Repeat if necessary. The sofa I did this on turned out to not be grey-green at all, but a delicate moss colour – the grey was caused by the old cigarette smoke. Alternatively, you could try hiring a steam cleaning machine of the sort used for cleaning carpets and try that on a grotty old sofa. It should work.
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TweetRemember the times when our parents used to absolutely detest cleaning the exhaust fan? However, cleaning an exhaust fan these days is no big deal, as the number of ways and techniques as well as products that can be used to clean an exhaust fan has increased by number. The thick coat of dust particles that accumulates on your exhaust fan is a bit tough to remove but not at all impossible. Well keeping ourselves apart from the debate of how tough it is to clean exhaust fans, let’s just go through the knowledge of a simple process on how to clean your exhaust fan.
The list of things that you would need to clean your exhaust fan is a couple of soft rags, liquid dish soap, paper towels, window cleaning solution, old toothbrushes, vacuum cleaners, crevice tool vacuum attachments. The very first step that you need to follow by going through the cleaning spree is to turn off the power of the fan from that of the fuse box. After that you can proceed to remove the cover and then soak the whole thing in warm water in which you have added a substantial amount of dishwashing liquid. It is at this time that you can take an old toothbrush and then scrub and clean the parts which would have been impossible for you to reach otherwise. Make sure that you scrub these parts a bit too hard as they are the most stubborn places where dirt seems to accumulate. Then unplug the whole of the unit of the fan and pull it out. Following that, set the whole thing out on some cardboard or an old newspaper.
After the cleaning process is over wipe the whole fan unit, with towels which are completely dry. When the entire dust gets cleared away you might need to spray some window or door cleaner on it and then slowly wipe it off with the soft rag. The window cleaner is the best possible product to clean the blades of the fan and you can get rid off the stubborn stains very easily with it. After that you need to vacuum out the whole of the enclosure with the help of a crevice tool and then slowly clean it with a dry cloth. Gradually then put the unit back together and put on its cover to prevent any further accumulation of dust particles.
While cleaning an exhaust fan you keep certain things in mind, which are extremely vital in the process. The units of some fans cannot be removed. If you are going through the same problem then you might have to follow another step and that is simply soaking the filters in warm water and then cleaning it off. You must never make use of any abrasive scouring powders while cleaning your exhaust fan. You must also keep in mind not to spray any kind of liquid whether it is home cleaner or plain water directly into the electric parts. Make sure that you follow all these tips well and you will see your exhaust fan in a brand new condition, in little to no time.
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TweetSuede upholstery not only looks great, it is extremely soft and comfortable. This is why suede is such a popular upholstery material. However, it is more delicate than normal leather and requires special care to keep it looking good for years.
Even if you have a domestic cleaning agency coming in to clean your house and your upholstery regularly, keep in mind that suede absorbs liquids and other kinds of stains more the normal leather and if you get a stain on suede, its best to clean it up immediately before it gets ingrained in the material, rather than waiting for the domestic cleaning agency to come and clean it – it may be too late by them.
* Any spill should be blotted with a clean white cloth or paper towel. Never rub the stain as this will push it deeper into the fabric.
* Do not use any cleaning fluids or sprays that are not specifically designed for use on suede. They could damage the finish of the material.
* You can try removing small spots or stains by using a clean art gum eraser to rub the stain away. But never rub too hard and if the eraser does not seem to be having any effect, stop immediately.
* It is advisable not to try to remove major stains or spills from suede yourself, you could do more harm than good. It’s safer to call in your domestic cleaning agency for a special job or a profession leather cleaning expert to do the job.
* Never try and scrape away any coagulated dirt from suede. You could scrape off the nap along with the dirt.
Besides stain removal, regular brushing of the suede will increase its life. Here are 4 easy steps for doing this:
1. Use a soft napping brush and suede (or Nubuck) cleaning cloths that are available from furniture shops to brush away dirt. Do not over brush or rub any one area. A good brushing once a week should be fine.
2. Move the brush and cloth in different direction so as to clean all sides of the nap and ensure that dirt is not being forced into one side.
3. After brushing the suede, run a clean dry sponge over the surface to give the nap an even look.
4. Ask your house cleaning agency to recommend a good water proofing agent to keep the suede clean between the periodic cleanings.
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TweetOK, you may have got the hang of using vinegar around your home as a natural house cleaner for things like unblocking drains, washing windows and the like, but what about in your car? Have you tried cleaning with vinegar in there?
Some auto buffs are going to throw up their hands in horror at this point. Acid? Near the paintwork of their dearly beloved vehicle? Won’t that wreak havoc, rust and general deterioration? No, vinegar won’t. And when you stop to think about it, vinegar is a much weaker acid than car battery acid, and you don’t have too many worries about that being around your car, now, do you?
The obvious place to use vinegar for cleaning your car is for cleaning the windows, just as you would around your house. Use the same drill as you would for cleaning any other bit of glass, and don’t forget the mirrors while you’re at it. Spray the vinegar on, then buff dry with a nice soft lint-free cloth. Do this inside and out. The vinegar is strong enough to soak off fly spots and even the dead insects plastered to the dirtiest windscreen. Use a soft-bristled brush to help remove the really stubborn little bits.
Vinegar will also help get rid of that awful bumper sticker promoting that political party that you no longer support – or the stupid joke the previous car owner thought fit to decorate their wheels with. Soak a cloth in vinegar and hold this very firmly over the unwanted sticker. Alternatively, spray vinegar liberally onto the sticker until the paper is soaked. Then go away and leave it for an hour or two. Don’t let it dry out. Then peel the sticker off. You may need a cloth and/or strong fingernails to help any leftover residue on its way.
Vinegar will not hurt the chrome trim, whether that chrome trim is inside or out. So dab a little onto a soft cloth and get polishing.
Vinegar is also very good for removing general gunge and old dead bees from wiper blades. Soak a cloth in vinegar and give the blades a good wipedown. It’s a good idea to use a soft brush (e.g. an old toothbrush) to remove any bits of bee so you don’t get stung – the poison keeps working even if the bee is dead. If you do get stung, don’t use the vinegar to treat the sting. Use a paste of baking soda instead.
I haven’t tried this one, but rumour has it that if you mix 3 parts of vinegar with one part of water and pour this over the windscreen of a car left outside on a clear winter’s night, you won’t have problems with a windscreen frosting up. No guarantees, but it might work.
Not many cars these days have vinyl upholstery (not a good mix with bare legs – haven’t we all got memories of this?). But if you do have an old classic with a vinyl interior, or even a bit of vinyl upholstery amidst the cloth trim, then wipe it down with diluted vinegar (1 part water to 1 part vinegar). Leather upholstery can be cleaned with a mix of vinegar and linseed oil. Dab it on with one cloth then buff up with another.
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