Household Hints

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JackFavell
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Household Hints

Post by JackFavell »

I looked to see if there was a thread for household hints, but couldn't find one. I thought I would share the miraculous (well, maybe not) discovery I made this week.

I have my mother's old set of stainless steel tableware, I'll just call it silverware, even though it isn't silver. I've been using it for years and years, it's a set in the Oneida Spanish Court style.

I drink tea and lots of it so my spoons were looking very brown and unsightly. To make a long story short, I discovered the wonders of baking soda - I made a paste of it and soaked my silverware in it, while I scrubbed off the worst stains using the paste. It worked wonders, and cleaned even the stains that were probably left from my mother's coffee drinking years. The handles have a raised swirl pattern, and the paste even cleaned deep inside the grooves! It looks like a brand new set of tableware!

I swear, vinegar and baking soda are all you need to clean anything!
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Household Hints

Post by charliechaplinfan »

It's true, you can, what a good idea for a thread.

One of Joe's favorite programmes is How Clean in Your House, these houses featured really are awful and that's why Joe loves it so much. The programme itself has loads of hints and tips and none expensive. I'm not great at thinking at the moment but when cleaning the microwave, I slice half a lemon put it with some water in a bowl and give it a spin in the microwave for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how bad the microwave is and then wipe it down. We don't even use it that much but it does make it easy to clean and it kills any over powering smells.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: Household Hints

Post by JackFavell »

That's a great idea, Alison! I know I read somewhere that lemon will kill smells on your hands too -- if you have just cut an onion, for instance. I also read that stainless steel takes away the smell of onion or garlic on your hands, which is easier for me because I have knives with stainless handles- I just rub my hands on the handle and the smell disappears. Then you wash the knife and you are all done.

Half a lemon dipped in salt is one way I've read to clean copper. I have to admit though that I got a wonderful, very expensive copper cleaner from Mauviel that really and truly takes tarnish away completely and immediately. It's 20 dollars for a small jar, but I have cleaned all my copper bottom pots and 2 teapots with it and have barely cracked the surface of the jar.

I don't think we get How to Clean Your House. I wish we did. I did see a British show once that was wonderful, it was sort of like How to Clean Your House, but they interviewed the butler and housekeeper at either a country estate, or maybe it was even a royal house or palace.... The only thing I remember clearly was how they cleaned the tile floor in the entry - hundreds of years old, they used linseed oil. They went around cleaning chandeliers, paintings and giant vases, laid the table for dinner, and things like that. I'd love to see it again. It was wonderful and the butler was just a great man.
Last edited by JackFavell on February 9th, 2011, 4:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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knitwit45
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Re: Household Hints

Post by knitwit45 »

I swear, vinegar and baking soda are all you need to clean anything!
I've heard, no kidding, that VODKA works wonders, too!
here's an article from Yahoo!

First, put away the Absolut and Grey Goose. Cleaning with vodka is best done with the cheap stuff. Vodka works well for a number of everyday and more unusual cleaning applications, and there are more uses for vodka than you may expect. As a cleaning agent, vodka is a good alternative to more toxic cleaners, bringing the sparkle back to your diamonds and freshening your home.
Difficulty: Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need:

* Inexpensive vodka

1. Use vodka on your laundry. High-proof alcohol has a solvent effect and can work very well for removing some types of stains, including grass and vomit stains. Simply blot the stain with a clean cloth soaked in vodka. You can also use vodka to spot clean heavily beaded garments or clean beading. The alcohol will make the beads sparkle and clean the underlying fabric. By diluting one part vodka with five parts water, you can make a spray for freshening your clothes. Add a bit of lavender oil or other essential oil if desired. Diluted vodka spray is quite effective at removing cigarette odors, either by itself or after washing.

2.Clean your bathroom. Vodka will help make a dingy bathroom sparkle. It is ideal for both glass and chrome and can remove that spotty dullness that effects the fixtures in your bathroom with little effort. Diluted in a spray bottle, it will remove hairspray and soap residue from the surfaces of your bath, especially ceramic tile. Cleaning with vodka is also effective on mold and mildew.

3. Use it to clean small, delicate items. Many types of jewelry, with the exception of softer and more delicate items like pearls and opals, will come clean with a soak in vodka. Vodka is also ideal for cleaning your eyeglasses without leaving streaks. If you own a chandelier or lamps decorated with glass prisms, vodka will make them sparkle. Apply to a soft cloth and gently wipe each prism or dilute and spray, then wipe.

4. Kill and prevent unwanted household pests. A diluted vodka spray can be used to kill ants and other common household insects. Houseplants can be cleaned with a soft, damp cloth and then wiped with diluted vodka to prevent aphid infestations. You can also use vodka to kill weeds. Combine 1 oz. of vodka, 2 cups of water and a bit of dish soap. Spray on weeds. These uses for vodka can keep your home free of unwanted visitors.

5. Remove residues of various sorts. Vodka is an eco-friendly solvent and works quite well for removing adhesive from items of all sorts, even skin. Save yourself the money on expensive and smelly adhesive removers.


Read more: How to Cleaning With Vodka | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4556886_cleanin ... z1DUwnhcpe
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JackFavell
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Re: Household Hints

Post by JackFavell »

Nan, that's great! You solved a problem I have that has completely stymied me. I got a new set of sheets and took them out of the wrapper. I took out all the cardboard in between but somehow, there was a sticker stuck right on the fabric that I totally missed. It was large, about 6 inches by 6 inches, but I just wadded up the sheets and threw them in the washer. When I took them out, I found the sticker had melted onto the sheets, leaving a huge gluey sticky spot right in the middle of the sheet. I didn't want to use goo gone, because it's oily and even says on the bottle not to use it on fabric. I am going to try vodka!
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Household Hints

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I never knew about stainless steel, I have stainless steel knives and I'm always chopping onions and garlic.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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JackFavell
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Re: Household Hints

Post by JackFavell »

It's weird but it works. They even sell little blocks of stainless steel to do the same thing!
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mrsl
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Re: Household Hints

Post by mrsl »

.
I don't know how old or well known this is, but to clean both real and high fashion jewelry and make it really shine, especially your wedding rings, use the old type of tooth paste. By that I mean the original stuff without all the gels, whiteners, and breath cleaners in it - just the plain old white stuff that you can usually get at the local dollar store, or in the little travel packs they usually hand out as hotel gifts. Just smooth it on, use a small child's soft toothbrush to clean crevices, then rinse in warm water and dry with a towel. The fun part is doing half a cheap necklace, and seeing what a difference it makes.
.
Anne


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knitwit45
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Re: Household Hints

Post by knitwit45 »

This sounds crazy, but it works. When the kids were little, I had a couple of mystery spots on the carpet. They were hard shiny black spots..CHEWING GUM that had been ground in ( the infamous and very popular "Not Me" was the culprit). I had tried to clean it, no success. Finally, someone told me to try...PEANUT BUTTER. Just a little rubbed into the spot, and lots of elbow grease, and it completely removed the gum.

Another one I used once and had pretty good success, was rubbing a mixture of cigarette ash ( :oops: :oops: I quit years ago) and MAYONNAISE into water rings left on a wood table by "Not Me". Never did catch that rascal....
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JackFavell
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Re: Household Hints

Post by JackFavell »

toothpaste and peanut butter! I sometimes use a tiny bit of toothpaste to brighten the faucet at night when I am brushing my teeth.

Now all I need is to get some cigarette ash - does someone sell it? :D :D :D :D
jdb1

Re: Household Hints

Post by jdb1 »

Hiya.

When the Internet was first up and running, mass e-mailings (we didn't call them "blasts" or whatever they're called now) of household hints were bombarding us daily -- the kinds of things that we now see on the home pages of Yahoo! and the like.

The best one I ever got in the olden days was about how to get burn-on food off the bottoms of pots and pans. It works.

Fill pot halfway with water. Add a very generous squeeze of dishwashing liquid. Bring to a rolling boil, and let boil for about five minutes. Turn off heat, allow water to cool. You should be able to easily scrape off the burnt substance. If you can't get it all off the first time, repeat the process.
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JackFavell
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Re: Household Hints

Post by JackFavell »

Hey! It so nice to see you! Thanks for the tip....

How are you doing? Did you make it through thishorrible winter OK?
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Household Hints

Post by Rita Hayworth »

knitwit45 wrote:This sounds crazy, but it works. When the kids were little, I had a couple of mystery spots on the carpet. They were hard shiny black spots..CHEWING GUM that had been ground in ( the infamous and very popular "Not Me" was the culprit). I had tried to clean it, no success. Finally, someone told me to try...PEANUT BUTTER. Just a little rubbed into the spot, and lots of elbow grease, and it completely removed the gum.

Another one I used once and had pretty good success, was rubbing a mixture of cigarette ash ( :oops: :oops: I quit years ago) and MAYONNAISE into water rings left on a wood table by "Not Me". Never did catch that rascal....
Knitwit45 - you are absolutely right about this. My dear Grandmother did this trick many years ago when I coughed up my chewing gum on her carpet. It took her 5 minutes to remove the gum and did not harm the carpet. I was coughing that time and she got out a jar of Skippy's and proceed her magic on her carpet. It was a piece of cake.
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Household Hints

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Peanut butter and chewing gum, who discovers these things. I can fully understand the vodka loving person who first discovered that vodka was a good cleaner.

Nice to see you again Judith.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
TheBride
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Re: Household Hints

Post by TheBride »

Found out over the weekend that Stink Bugs don't die. They act like they're dead but they're faking it! Best pesticide is a spray bottle of soap and water. Clogs up their pores so they can't breathe. There are a couple of web sites

http://www.hgic.umd.edu/content/BrownMa ... inkBug.cfm

Also the baby bugs look very similar to Lady Bugs but they're orange.
See a picture of them and more info on the bugs at...
http://www.washington.umd.edu/files/How ... 20Bugs.pdf

Hugs, Carolann
[i]Last night I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I don't know.[/i]

Hugs, Carolann
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