| Cleaning
Windows - Wash windows on a cloudy, but not rainy day. Working in direct sunlight causes streaks because the cleaning solution dries before you can wipe it off. This is the best time to vacuum the frames and sills.
Use horizontal strokes on the inside and vertical on the outside so you know which side the streaks are on. for drying windows, a wad of crumpled newspaper works just as well as expensive paper towels. Wear rubber gloves to keep your hands free of ink.
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Clean Doors Give a Great Impression
- If company is coming, clean and wash the doors in your house. No one knows why, but your whole house looks good. Scrub the door from top to bottom with a rag and soapy water, using a scrub brush for especially tough spots. While you're at it, wipe down the top edge of the frame. With all the dust that collects up there, it probably looks like velvet. Along with the upper side of a ceiling fan, the top of the door is one of the most missed spots in the home.
Best Way to Tackle Cleaning
- Start at the top of the room and work your way down.
- Take cleaning tools with you into each room to avoid unnecessary trips back and forth.
- Eliminate clutter. An uncluttered home looks better than one that is dust-free but strewn with odds and ends.
- Clean as you go! It takes a lot less time to remove new dirt than old, and to clean and put away stuff as you use it, than to clean and store the pile-up you can accumulate.
- Leave baking soda on carpeting for the night to absorb musty odors, vacuum in the morning.
- Keep a hamper in every bathroom.
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Removing Crayon Marks
- Remove crayon marks from painted walls by scrubbing with toothpaste or an ammonia-soaked cloth. Rinse and dry.
Removing Tar Spots - Use paste wax to remove tar from floors. This works on shoes too.
Removing Candle Wax
- For spilled wax on carpets and upholstery, put a brown paper bag over the dried wax and run a hot iron over it. The bag will absorb the hot wax.
Dried wax on wood floors can be removed by softening the wax with a hair dryer, then removing with paper towels. Wash spot down with a combination of vinegar and water.
Cleaning Soiled Shirt Collars - Take a small paintbrush and brush hair shampoo into soiled shirt collars before laundering. Shampoo is made to dissolve body oils.
Polishing Furniture
- Carved furniture- dip old toothbrush into furniture polish and brush lightly.
To remove polish build-up mix one cup water and one cup vinegar. Dip soft cloth in the mixture and wring out before wiping furniture. Dry immediately with another soft, dry cloth.
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Cleaning Wallpaper
- To dust papered walls, tie a dustcloth over your broom and work from the top down.
- To remove pencil marks and other non-greasy spots from non-washable papers, use an art-gum eraser or a slice of fresh rye bread.
- Wipe off fingerprints with a damp cloth, then sprinkle the moist area with fuller's earth. Let it dry and then brush it off.
- To prevent splash marks when you're washing baseboards or other woodwork, mask wallpaper with a wide
ruler or a piece of rigid plastic.
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Cleaning Wicker - Remove dust from wicker by vacuuming with the dust brush attachment.
Use a paintbrush or a toothbrush to get at hard-to-reach places. Rinse well. Air dry in the shade.
Cleaning Mini Blinds
-Slip your hands into a pair of socks for cleaning the
mini blinds. Dip one hand into a bucket of warm, soapy water and hold the blinds between your two hands. Rub back and forth until you've cleaned the whole surface. Then reverse sides so the dry sock dries the blinds.
Wipe mini blinds with damp fabric softener sheets to eliminate static that collects dust. The same trick works for your T.V. screen.
Linen Closets - Linen closets can be a jumbled mess, especially when you have children making their own beds. Organize bed linens in sets. Fold flat sheet in half twice lengthwise, then fold fitted sheet the same way and lay it on top of the flat folded sheet. Add one or two pillow cases folded long ways and roll them all together into a neat roll. Whoever is making the bed can grab only a roll instead of rummaging around and making a mess.
Odor and Moisture Removal - To get rid of odor you have to remove the source, not just cover the odor up with perfumed air freshener. Clean up and disinfect. Kill the germs that cause most household odors. The quicker you get after odors, the easier they are to remove.
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