Cleaning Hacks
Cleaning the house is not easy. House old tasks takes forever, and it also involves buying of expensive and toxic cleaning supplies. But it doesn’t really have to be that way, below are some cleaning hacks that can help you with your cleaning routine.
Lemon
Fill a glass dish with water and a halved lemon or two, and nuke it for a few minutes. The resulting steam will loosen and soften all the nasty stuff on the surfaces of the microwave, making it easy to wipe off! With that, you should have a clean microwave with very little work.
Vodka for cocktails
If your mattress has seen better days, put vodka (or a vodka solution) in a spray bottle, and let the alcohol go to work on your bed's bacteria!
Remove Carpet Stains with Vodka
Pour some vodka onto a soft white cloth and dab it over a stain on carpets or area rugs, leaving the wet cloth atop the stain for a minute or two to loosen it. Allow the area to air dry. Remove mold or mildew stains on bathroom tiles by wiping them down with a sponge dampened with vodka.
Oil against oil!
If your cooking leaves a greasy mess on the stove, remember that oil attracts oil! A few drops of oil on a paper towel will help to loosen and clean away grease in seconds!
Magic of Vinegar
We usually use vinegar for cooking but did you know that it is also a fantastic cleaning product.
Clean your coffee pot and stained mugs. Leaving them to soak for an hour or two in a vinegar and water mixture. When they’re finished soaking, give them a little scrub and watch the stains come right off.
Deodorize your kitchen drain. Pour a cup of vinegar down it. Leave it for ten minutes then flush it out with cold water.
Cleaning your windows and mirrors. Using vinegar will leave them shiny and streak free. Just fill a spray bottle with a vinegar and water mixture, spray and wipe.
Stain remover. Whether it’s clothes, furniture upholstery, or carpets, getting out pesky stains can be a nightmare. Vinegar provides you with an easy alternative. Make a mixture of half vinegar and half water, apply it to the stain, rub gently and rinse. It may require several treatments for pesky stains.
Clean your coffee maker. If you are using a coffee maker and having a hard time cleaning the build-up every time, then the white vinegar is your savior. Just fill up the reservoir with white vinegar and run a brewing cycle. Then empty the carafe, rinse away the vinegar by running a round of water through another brewing cycle, and voila… now you are ready to make some hot fresh coffee.
Clean your blinds. To clean your blinds, you can use a mix of white vinegar (half a cup), ammonia (1 cup), baking soda (a quarter of a cup) and about 3.5L of warm water. Just use a soft sponge or cloth to wipe your blinds with this powerful mixture, and they will look good as new in no time.
Make an all-purpose disinfectant. Simply mix equal parts white vinegar and water and store the mixture in a spray bottle.
Clean your shower head. If your shower head is covered is hard water deposits, tie a bag of distilled white vinegar and let it soak overnight. Tomorrow morning you'll be wiping it with little to no effort.
Prevent mildew on shower curtains Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 concentration of vinegar and water. Doing this once a week will stop the growth of mildew.
Clean wood chopping board Use this instead of harmful soap and water to get your wooden chopping board clean. Simply wipe it down with some vinegar after every use.
Remove stickers of new purchases. Simply soak the sticker in vinegar and leave for about ten minutes, then wipe it.
***A couple of quick notes:
l Don’t mix vinegar with Ammonia, unless you want to end up in the emergency room.
l Never use white distilled vinegar on stone surfaces including limestone, travertine, granite or marble. The acid can damage the surface.
Power of Baking soda.
Unclog your sink. One cup of baking soda plus one cup of vinegar will help unclog your drains at home. If your drain moves slower than a tortoise, unclog it by pouring down ½ cup baking soda, then ½ cup vinegar. Cover the drain with a wet cloth, and let sit for five minutes. Uncover, and flush with steaming-hot water.
Polish silver. Brighten your silver with a baking soda and water paste. Rub onto silver with a clean cloth, rinse, and dry.
Clean baby clothes gently. For a non-harsh cleanser, add half a cup of baking soda to chemical-free liquid laundry detergent and wash clothes.
Clean dishwashers. Deodorize and cleanse your dishwasher by putting baking soda in the wash cycle.
Brighten your floors. Get rid of grime easily by using half a cup of baking soda in a bucket of warm water. Mop and rinse clean for a shiny new floor. This also helps scuff marks.
Clean patio furniture. Sprinkle baking soda under chair cushions to freshen your patio furniture.
Clean crayons from the wall. A wet cloth with baking soda will remove crayon marks from a wall.
Boost your laundry detergent. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to your liquid detergent to get your clothes brighter.
Clean vinyl shower curtains. Sprinkle baking soda on a damp brush and scrub the curtains, rinse clean and hang to dry.
Make a simple soft surface scrub. Sprinkle baking soda lightly on a damp sponge and scrub your bathtubs, tiles and sinks. Rinse and wipe dry.
Clean cars. Use baking soda and warm water applied on a soft cloth, sponge or brush to remove road dirt and bugs.
Remove oil and grease stains. Light spills can be cleaned by sprinkling baking soda on the spot and scrubbing with a wet brush.
Clean the oven. Sprinkle baking soda on the bottom surface of your oven and spray with water to dampen the soda. Let sit overnight and scrub in the morning, rinsing thoroughly.
Clean pots and pans. Remove baking residue by shaking a generous amount of soda onto pots and pans. Add hot water and dish detergent, soak for 15 minutes and wash.
This cleaning hacks is good to know and great ideas, but some of you may find it time-consuming. Yes, cleaning can be really time-consuming. You really have to invest your time and energy when cleaning the house. For people that have a hectic schedule, most of them spend their time to do something else and cleaning of their home can get to be quite challenging. That is why most of them prefer to hire maids/cleaners to do the cleaning for them. Great thing there is Vivian’s Maids in Seattle. They make your lives easier by doing the cleaning job for you.
Vivian's Maids in Seattle offers one time and recurring/regular cleaning services. They are also using eco-friendly cleaning products, meaning our home is free from toxic cleaning supplies. Who wouldn't love natural product?