Household Tips

Here’s a TANG-y solution… Add a cup of Tang drink powder to your toilet bowl and let it sit over night. Brush it lightly in the morning, and you’ll be amazyed by how clean and white you’ll find it!

Don’t you hate getting out of the shower to a foggy mirror? There’s an easy fix! You know that shaving cream that we ran out of the other day? (I’m sure you’ve bought more by now!) Squirt some on your mirror (we’re talking CREAM, not gel!) and rub it all over the mirror until it disappears.

Next time you take a shower… no fog!

foggy mirror, bathroom

I’m so tired of scrubbing my tub grout! So tired, in fact, that I decided to look for solutions for less scrubbing. Here’s what I found. Next time you scrub — (Yes, I’m sorry, but you have to scrub first.) — seal your grout with car wax! You’ll have to re-apply once or twice a year, but you won’t have to scrub anymore!

grout, car wax, cleaning

Here are some handy tips for cleaning the ceramic tile of your shower.

1. Before you start cleaning, run the shower on hot for several minutes to allow the steam to loosen some of the dirt.

2. Spot the stubborn stains and apply a paste of scouring powder and water and let those sit for five mintes.

3. Scrub mildew and dirt spots with a nylon scrub pad, rinse and wipe dry with a soft towel.

4. To avoid future stains accumulating in the grout joints, wash with a solution of 2 tablespoons of bleach mixed in one quart of water. Dry thoroughly and apply an acrylic sealer.

5. Once the mildew is removed, make your tiles sparkle with a solution of ammonia and water.

In a recent visit to my in-laws house in Florida, we went into the guest bathroom to take a shower and found a severe lack of hot water. So severe in fact that there wasn’t any.

After a few cold showers and four people using the master bathroom shower, although, thankfully, not at the same time, my in-laws decided to have a plumber investigate the problematic faucet.

It turns out the repair, if you can even call it that was very simple. The mechanism that turns behind the hand-nozzle was stuck in place, from lack of use.

It is very common to have a bathroom in your home that you don’t use on a regular basis, except the very moment that you have guests in your home and NEED a second working shower. To avoid this common household malady, be sure to run your bathtub with hot and cold water and turn the shower on at least once a month. Twice a month is preferable.

Consider making a schedule or incorporating it into your house cleaning routine.

But!

I have a good shower cleaner.

We just moved into our house last December and in the master bathroom we have a stall shower. It seems people either love or hate a stall shower. You definitely shouldn’t hate your stall shower simply because it collects soap scum and water deposits and looks dingy.

I’ve been using Seventh Generation, Natural Citrus Scent, Shower Cleaner. It costs less than $5.00 and has a very mild natural scent. I really hate some of the overpowering toxic smells from the stronger cleaners, and this one doesn’t make you gag or need to hold your breath.

I spray it on the glass walls of my stall shower and wipe it off with a paper-towel. There is no residue or streaks left behind and it leaves my shower clean and shiny.

I highly recommend this product.

Seventh-Generation is non-toxic and biodegradable. The cleansing agents are hydrogen peroxide for stain removal and citrus-oil for grease removal.

It is easy to wash the outside of a car windshield, but it isn’t so easy to wash the inside with that squeegee thing at the gas station.

Recently, my Mom asked me something to clean her windshield with and I gave her paper towel wet with Windex Multi-Surface Cleaner with Vinegar.

It worked like nothing ever before!

I use this on my bathroom mirrors and faucets to make them shiny and ultra clean.

Marble, tile, & granite floors should only be cleaned with very hot water. Cleaners of any kind will pit these floors and will disolve the glazing on them over time.

tile, marble, granite, floors, cleaning

For a super clean toilet, plunge the water until the bowl is almost empty. Sprinkle with baking soda and wet the toilet brush with vinegar. Scour away. This cleans, deodorizes and disinfects. Flush and refill bowl. If any stubborn stains remain drop in a couple of tables of denture cleaner and let it set for a few hours.

baking soda, vinegar, denture cleaner

If you are feeling like you are getting lower water pressure or just less water out of your showerhead, guess what VINEGAR to the rescue. Fill a plastic bag with vinegar, personally I use those free hotel shower caps, put it over the whole shower head and attach with a rubber band. Let it stay overnight to dislodge all those mineral built up in the holes. Ah you will thank yourself in the morning.

shower, vinegar, water pressure

Multipurpose cleaners

1. Pour one cup of ammonia, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup baking soda into a gallon of lukewarm water. Mix well and use in a spray bottle for a great all-purpose clean. Label and keep out of reach of children. No rinsing is necessary.
2. If you use washing soda use one full cup ammonia, 1 cup washing soda and warm water to make one gallon. Label and put in a spray bottle to clean counter-tops, tile, appliances, vinyl floors, painted woodwork and even some painted walls
[ammonia, vinegar, baking soda, multi-purpose cleaners

My two favorite cleaners are baking soda and vinegar. Not only are they cheap, they are amazing. Use baking soda for scouring powder, it is non abrasive and will even remove coffee & tea stains from countertops and sinks. It is great for cleaning the stove top.
Burn something to a pan, wet it, pour on baking soda and let it sit for a few hours. You can then scrape the mess away with a plastic scraper and scour the pan clean. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda to the wash to boost cleaning power and have the freshest smelling laundry in town. I’ll give you more tororrow!

baking soda, vinegar, laundry, kitchen

I am such a product whore. When I find one I love I have to tell everyone. I usually feel the need to convince you to try it. One of these products is Goo-gone. It will remove the stickest tape residue from price tags and glass, plastic, and other things. Cover with a drop or two and use an old terry cloth, rub away then use the clean part of the clothe to get rid of the goo. I have removed crayon, marker, tar, scuff marks, and some unknown stuff from fabrics (test a small area, but if it is going to get tossed otherwise, give it a shot. Excellent to remove the stickers and decals that end up on car glass or bumpers

Mildew and Mold that grow on shower curtains are alive. Vinyl or fabric curtains need to go into the washer with a cup of bleach and hot water along with some old towels that will do the scrubbing and buffing. It you have a colored or printed fabiric curtain use Oxi-clean instead of Clorox. While they are washing, give the shower or tub a good scrub down with the same to get rid of mold and mildew growing in there. Hang the curtain and allow it to dry in place.

mildew, mold, Cloroc, Oxi-clean

When anyone in the house has strep you need to replace their toothbrush after the first 24 hours of antibiotics. Strep can live a long time and can’t be “washed” off. Any other toothbrushes kept in the same area need to be replaced or you’ll end up spreading it all through the family. Go ahead and pick out new toothbrushes when you are waiting on the pharmacist.