Favorite Cleaning Tips and Tricks Ever!

[mommie]

borax has the same feel as baking soda I believe. gel gloss is normally carried at home depot...

[mamato5]

The borax and baking soda are pretty gritty, but it seems like once the vinegar hits it they start eating away the buildup. I don't really have to scrub. Maybe try the paste and if that doesn't work rub gently. I hope it works for you.

[FindingMe]

I hope to buy some borax today and try this! I have high hopes!  And if that doesn't work, I might pick up a couple of cans of Coke and try those...

[joy b]

I checked out a book on speed cleaning from the library.  One good tip I read was to use an apron for cleaning.  Carry around stuff like a cleaning toothbrush, rags, etc.  And have a pocket for stuff you find as you clean- marbles, BB's, hair barrettes, doll shoes, etc!  Also, keep you cleaning supplies in a bucket/caddy and take it with you from room to room.  You don't have to make so many trips for another cleaner that you need. 

I have yet to practice this! 

[English Lady]

Any ideas on how to clean plastic off the bottom of a pan and a stove burner? A plastic bag got too close to the stove while I was cooking and now the bottom of the pan is coated with plastic. I can really smell the fumes if I try to use it.

My husband's way of getting plastic off the stove burner (don't ask!) is just to turn it on and let it heat up and burn it off. He turns on the overhead fan so all the fumes go out.

[daisey]

Well, I tired BS, Citric Acid, and Borax today on my shower.  I sprinkled this on my shower then sprayed with ACV.    Sorry to say it didn't get the rust off the shower so I had to resort chemicals.    My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip.   It is hard to keep clean even with chemicals.   Anyone have any suggestions?   Maybe I should learn to love that orange glow.   

[*MommaJo*]

....  My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip. ...

Mine, too.  I guess you could say it's porus.  Mine happens to be a double-wide house bathtub from 1979!  I think I've decided to just enjoy the new orangey-rust color that streaks the walls!  LOL!  Hey, the shower curtain hides it from company anyway!

[medontdo]

while all the flu has been going around, i used tea tree oil, in a spray bottle and water, and sprayed it around the house often, we didn't have one bout of it!! also if you use lavender oil and water the same way it works, it also works with asthmatics. my son has asthma, so we use lavender and water and spray it sometimes when he gets kinda wheezy, he calms down.
those two are disinfectants. i don't know i think its like 1 tsp for 1/2 a qt that's how mine looks.  and especially get the doorknobs and light switches! LOL

[herbalmom]

Well, I tired BS, Citric Acid, and Borax today on my shower.  I sprinkled this on my shower then sprayed with ACV.    Sorry to say it didn't get the rust off the shower so I had to resort chemicals.    My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip.   It is hard to keep clean even with chemicals.   Anyone have any suggestions?   Maybe I should learn to love that orange glow.   

Oxalic acid takes rust right out. Bar Keepers Friend cleanser contains oxalic acid as well as Zud cleanser & some liquid rust removers. DON'T scrub hard with cleansers though on a plastic tub. I would really wet it so it was a soft, thin paste & gently rub it on or use a liquid. HTH Blessings. ~herbalmom

[daisey]

Well, I tired BS, Citric Acid, and Borax today on my shower.  I sprinkled this on my shower then sprayed with ACV.    Sorry to say it didn't get the rust off the shower so I had to resort chemicals.    My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip.   It is hard to keep clean even with chemicals.   Anyone have any suggestions?   Maybe I should learn to love that orange glow.   

Oxalic acid takes rust right out. Bar Keepers Friend cleanser contains oxalic acid as well as Zud cleanser & some liquid rust removers. DON'T scrub hard with cleansers though on a plastic tub. I would really wet it so it was a soft, thin paste & gently rub it on or use a liquid. HTH Blessings. ~herbalmom

Someone said rhubarb leaves have Oxalic acid in them, can I make a paste with them to clean my shower?

[healthybratt]

Well, I tired BS, Citric Acid, and Borax today on my shower.  I sprinkled this on my shower then sprayed with ACV.    Sorry to say it didn't get the rust off the shower so I had to resort chemicals.    My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip.   It is hard to keep clean even with chemicals.   Anyone have any suggestions?   Maybe I should learn to love that orange glow.   

Oxalic acid takes rust right out. Bar Keepers Friend cleanser contains oxalic acid as well as Zud cleanser & some liquid rust removers. DON'T scrub hard with cleansers though on a plastic tub. I would really wet it so it was a soft, thin paste & gently rub it on or use a liquid. HTH Blessings. ~herbalmom

Someone said rhubarb leaves have Oxalic acid in them, can I make a paste with them to clean my shower?

Interesting....anyone?

[marksgirl]

Question about using Coke for cleaning...will Pepsi or the generic colas work, too?

[daisey]

Question about using Coke for cleaning...will Pepsi or the generic colas work, too?

I have only ever used regular Coke so I'm not sure if the others work.  It would be worth a try.  Check ingredients.....if they are the same they should work the same shouldn't they?   Sorry I don't have a definite answer.

[WithLoveAndJoy]

Well, I tired BS, Citric Acid, and Borax today on my shower.  I sprinkled this on my shower then sprayed with ACV.    Sorry to say it didn't get the rust off the shower so I had to resort chemicals.    My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip.   It is hard to keep clean even with chemicals.   Anyone have any suggestions?   Maybe I should learn to love that orange glow.   

Oxalic acid takes rust right out. Bar Keepers Friend cleanser contains oxalic acid as well as Zud cleanser & some liquid rust removers. DON'T scrub hard with cleansers though on a plastic tub. I would really wet it so it was a soft, thin paste & gently rub it on or use a liquid. HTH Blessings. ~herbalmom

I have the same problem with rust in my shower, too.  It is tiled with a billion tiny tiles in the bottom of the shower and the best way I have found to clean them is to get a stiff tile grout brush (the stiffer and narrower the better) and to make a thick paste of just plain baking soda and water.  I just did this two days ago and it cleaned the orange glow off right away.  I hope that helps.

[healthybratt]

Question about using Coke for cleaning...will Pepsi or the generic colas work, too?

They should.  I have a friend who uses generic cola in her wash.  If I remember correctly, she said in her whites, but I'm a bit skeptical.  However, I'm pretty sure I've used RC Cola in a pinch for the same purpose.

I'm not sure what you're using it for, but I've had great success using RC and Coke to clean lime and calcium deposits out of the baby potty and off the water main shut-off in our basement (soak for 12 or more hours and it wipes right off with no scrubbing  ).  They'll also take the green gunk off your car battery connectors.   

[daisey]

Well, I tired BS, Citric Acid, and Borax today on my shower.  I sprinkled this on my shower then sprayed with ACV.    Sorry to say it didn't get the rust off the shower so I had to resort chemicals.    My shower is one that has the plasticy base that is pokey for good grip.   It is hard to keep clean even with chemicals.   Anyone have any suggestions?   Maybe I should learn to love that orange glow.   

Oxalic acid takes rust right out. Bar Keepers Friend cleanser contains oxalic acid as well as Zud cleanser & some liquid rust removers. DON'T scrub hard with cleansers though on a plastic tub. I would really wet it so it was a soft, thin paste & gently rub it on or use a liquid. HTH Blessings. ~herbalmom

Someone said rhubarb leaves have Oxalic acid in them, can I make a paste with them to clean my shower?

OK all you experimenters.......I have an update and a question.   I took 2 rhubarb leaves and just rubbed them around on my shower floor.  It is really bumpy so it bruised the leaves enough to get juice.  My shower is not orange anymore.   However............I need to come up with a better way to do this so I don't have leaf particles clogging my drain.       I didn't want to blend the leaves in my blender because I don't want the poison to get on the plastic blender.   Anyone have any suggestions?  Thanks

[*MommaJo*]

I got a couple of rhubarb leaves from my sil yesterday.  I'm gonna try this trick.  Thanks for the tip, daisey. 
I'm sure my leaves will have dried out quite a bit since yesterday, so I think I'll just put the plug in and try to catch the leaves before the pieces go down the drain. 
Did you wear gloves because the leaves are poisonous, aren't they?

[daisey]

Yes the leaves are poison and yes I did wear gloves but I wear gloves always when I clean because my hands are so sensitive to all kinds of things.   I guess I am vain but I like to keep my hands looking as nice as I possibly can.      
Let me know how it works for you.   I'm still trying to think of a better way.  I was looking at my shower this morning thinking I need to do this again.  Maybe tomorrow.

[herbalmom]

How about finely shredding them with a knife & making a tea out of them? Or finely shred & soak in some room temp salt water- salt will pull the juice out of the leaves. Then you can strain it & use the liquid to do the cleaning.

Personally though I would just use the Bar Keeper's Friend or Zud. Bar Keepers Friend can be gotten at the grocery store, it's only $3-4 a can, lasts a long time & is MUCH easier, esp for something that is going to be a reg cleaning chore. But that's just my opinion on the matter. But then too, I don't have any rhubarb anyway to even GET any leaves.  Blessings ~herbalmom

[drfalk]

I have neat trick( or tip) I do with my bathroom mirrors. I actually have two ways. The first one is: I take a hand towel that does not have any fabric softener on it and dry rub the mirror. I noticed a while ago that if I did this then many of the spots would come off and I didn't need to use any cleaner. The second ( and my fav ) is: after I have taken a shower and the hot steam has fogged up the mirrors I take a clean rag ( again with no fabric softener on it) and just rub it down twice.  This works amazingly well for me and I don't have to mess with cleaners, natural or not. 

I don't know if fabric softener would smear the mirror or not if its on a hand towel. We don't use it anymore so I don't even have any to find out. But I know that paper towels would work just as well.

[FindingMe]

FindingMe, I don't know anything about citric acid, but we have really hard water too and the only thing that works is baking soda, borax, and vinegar. You mentioned the baking soda, so I was wondering if you've tried all 3 together? I sprinkle the baking soda and borax in the tub and then put vinegar on my sponge an it works great. I've tried everything and that's the only thing I've found that works. Hope it works for you. You at least won't have to worry about the fumes. 

Okay. I've tried the baking soda, borax, and vinegar mixture. It got some of the buildup off, but NOTHING is removing the buildup right around the jets. I've tried scrubbing is with a stiff bristle brush, an old toothbrush, a scrubby sponge, along with the borax/baking soda/vinegar mixture. The stuff just won't come off. I had great success with my kitchen faucet, though - mostly just soaked it in vinegar for hours, and the majority of the build-up just came off easily. Way cool.  But my faucet is metal, and my tub is fiberglass, I think. I've noticed that the build-up doesn't seem to come off very well when it's coated anything more "plastic". Does anyone have any great tips for cleaning calcium deposits off of fiberglass or plastic?

Also, I haven't tried using Coke, but from what I've read, you have to let it sit on for hours. I haven't figured out a way to soak the outside edges of the jets on the sides of the tub with Coke... I can just pour it over them, but I doubt that's going to help much. I tried spraying them with vinegar, but it either didn't sit on there long enough, or it just didn't help.

Any ideas, or am I gonna just have to start saving for a new tub? (Or more likely, learn to live with the calcium deposits!  )

[herbalmom]

I think at this point if it were me I would either run the tub with 5-10 pounds of citric acid in the water or use CLR & a toothbrush to scrub the jets. Personally I would go with the CLR. You can get CLR (stands for Calcium, Lime, Rust) at the grocery store, drugstore, WalMart, etc. It's not bad on fumes. I am chemically sensitive & I can use it.

When DH had to take our front load washing machine apart b/c it needed repaired we found that the outer drum (the drum is plastic) & support arm (metal)  was covered in water deposits. We decided to clean it up since it was apart anyway. After trying vinegar, citric acid, etc that helped a little but just wasn't doing it I tried the CLR & it took care of the build up much better then anything else I had tried. I just used the liquid straight to wet a paper towel, plastered the paper towel to the area, let it sit for a while, then scrubbed with a toothbrush dipped in more straight CLR. If a paper towel is wet you can mold it to an object & get it to stick.  I think I used the paper towel 2-3 layers thick so it would hold more liquid & I re-wet the paper towel with more CLR if it started drying out. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

[FindingMe]

I think at this point if it were me I would either run the tub with 5-10 pounds of citric acid in the water or use CLR & a toothbrush to scrub the jets. Personally I would go with the CLR. You can get CLR (stands for Calcium, Lime, Rust) at the grocery store, drugstore, WalMart, etc. It's not bad on fumes. I am chemically sensitive & I can use it.

When DH had to take our front load washing machine apart b/c it needed repaired we found that the outer drum (the drum is plastic) & support arm (metal)  was covered in water deposits. We decided to clean it up since it was apart anyway. After trying vinegar, citric acid, etc that helped a little but just wasn't doing it I tried the CLR & it took care of the build up much better then anything else I had tried. I just used the liquid straight to wet a paper towel, plastered the paper towel to the area, let it sit for a while, then scrubbed with a toothbrush dipped in more straight CLR. If a paper towel is wet you can mold it to an object & get it to stick.  I think I used the paper towel 2-3 layers thick so it would hold more liquid & I re-wet the paper towel with more CLR if it started drying out. HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

Thanks! I'm going to try the paper towel trick over the jets - except I think I'm going to try soaking them in Coke first. I haven't had any luck with the CLR, but the last time I tried it was years ago on a different project, so maybe it's time to try again.

You suggested using 5-10 pounds of citric acid ... do you buy yours in bulk cheaply somewhere or am I right in estimating that it's going to cost me $35-40 do try this? 

[Farm Wife]

I read you should not run CLR through tub not good for plastic pipes and you bath in iwhat stays in system. Use the Citric acid or 5 gallons of white Vinagar. I found the following tips at another web site:
 He put 5 gallons of vinegar in and fill the rest with water. Run the jets for about 30 minutes. You will see brown scum float to the top while it's working. Drain and clean up the scum. Fill again to rinse and run for about 15 minutes. I usually do 2 rinses, on the last rinse add 2 cups of bleach. run for 15 minutes.
I try to do that every six months.
Sometimes if it's really dirty with hard water deposits in the jets I screw them out and soak them in CLR individually.( I don't want the CLR in the inner workings of the tub because I don't want to take a bath in CLR.)

or try this: When I worked at hotels as a housekeeper, we would fill the tub with water and a couple of cups of bleach and then run the jets for 5-10 minutes.

[mommyoftwins]

Just wanted to share what cleaned dh's shirts of stinky underarm odor. He works outside all day, so the armpits of his shirts are impossible to get clean & fresh, with homemade laundry soap or store-bought. I mixed some bakings soda & a little water in a cup, dipped the stinky part of the shirt in the mixture, and scrubbed them for a few seconds. The smell was already gone before putting them in the washer. I just washed with my homemade soap, and they came out perfect! Finally!

[AgainstTheGrain]

Does anyone know if baking soda would neutralize the amonia smell from my DH's shirts?  He plays racquetball before work and soaks his shirts with sweat then leaves them in the hot car trunck all day and they have sort of a built in amonia smell.

Any suggestions?

[jenstar]

My Mom always put a cup of washing soda in with the "stinky" loads or like was mentioned, rubbed some soda paste directly on the the smelly parts of the garment.

I have been using baking soda for cleaning my tubs and sinks. But I found that it did not cut the greasy-soap-dirt stuff. I added a squirt of dish soap(liquid, NOT dishwasher soap) and it worked REALY well! Does anyone have any other suggestions that are more natural?

[healthybratt]

Does anyone know if baking soda would neutralize the amonia smell from my DH's shirts?  He plays racquetball before work and soaks his shirts with sweat then leaves them in the hot car trunck all day and they have sort of a built in amonia smell.

Any suggestions?

If baking soda doesn't work, you could try enzyme spray.  I've seen it both in the baby dept and the pet dept.  The one in the baby dept had a pink label and is touted as a super stain remover and the one in the pet dept is touted for pet smells.  They both use live enzymes to take out the stains and odors.  They sell both of these at Walmart.  They also have an enzyme pet spray at Petco.  These are becoming more common and easier to find.  For best results you should pretreat and allow the garment, carpet, etc to air dry and then wash.  This gives the enzymes enough time to do their work before you wash them out.

[Grace]

If you got a cleaning solution with the following ingredients on glass windows, what would you use to remove it? It left a residue.
(Hydroxyacetic Acid)  (Hydrogen Fluoride) (Nonionic Surfactant) (Phosphoric Acid) (Citric Acid)

[DHW]

Several of those ingredients are acids, so baking soda might work to neutralize them.