My Home Cleaning Tips - Weblog

There are plenty of oven cleaners on the market, but if you’ve ever gagged and wheezed your way through cleaning your oven, you know that the fumes can be unpleasant to say the least. Good news - there’s a better way!

To clean your oven more easily, pour 1/2 cup of ammonia into a glass or ceramic bowl and place in a cool, closed oven. Leave it overnight, and in the morning, use paper towels or a sponge to remove all the soil. If there are some spots that persist, scrub gently with a fine grade steel wool. Rinse with a sponge dipped in warm, soapy water. It works just as well as pricy oven cleaners, and the fumes are much easier to tolerate.

It seems that shiny faucets attract lime deposits and soap scum like magnets! Luckily, there’s an easy way to get those faucets sparkling clean without much work. The easy method is to soak several paper towels in white vinegar and wrap them around the metal faucet area. Cover the faucet and water knobs with zipper seal bags and secure them with rubber bands. Leave the bags on for two to three hours, and then remove and discard the paper towels. Then simply wipe down the metal areas with a clean, damp cloth. Mineral deposits and soap residue wipe away with no scrubbing!

Keeping Porcelain Clean and Stain-Free

Porcelain can be intimidating to clean because it can be easy to scratch, and too-harsh cleaning methods can leave the surface dulled. Your regular bathroom cleaner should be sufficient for everyday cleaning, but stubborn stains can require extra elbow grease. Abrasive cleaners can be damaging, so try this easy tip - make a paste of equal parts table salt and white vinegar. Apply to the stain and use a nylon scrubbie to gently work the paste against the stain. Rinse well, and your porcelain should be as good as new!

Maintaining Your Stainless Steel Sink

Prevention is the best way to keep stainless steel clean. Make sure not to leave anything acidic, such as vinegar, pickles, or citrus fruit or juice, in your stainless steel sink, as they cause corrosion. Also, never use steel wool to clean your sink, because it can cause rust. As always, vinegar is a safe and easy mineral deposit remover, but be very careful when using it on stainless steel! Use at most a 25% dilution with water, and never leave it to sit on the metal. Soak a cloth with the diluted vinegar and rub gently at the lime spots and then rinse with clear water.

If you notice scratches in your sink, try a product called Scratch-B-Gone. It’s specifically made for stainless steel. Keep the metal wet while you work with it. Also be sure to use non-metal scouring pads at all times. To prevent future scratches, use a rubber mat in the bottom of your sink. Just be sure to clean under the mat frequently to prevent nasty build-up from forming. If you notice rust anywhere on your stainless steel sink, try this easy tip: crumple a small piece of aluminum foil into a ball and dip it in Coca-Cola. Rub the foil across the rust spots and they disappear!

Every time we cook our favorite foods, we’re unwittingly creating build-up on our cabinets that can destroy the natural beauty of the wood. That nasty film leaves cabinets looking old and dirty, as well as making them feel sticky and unpleasant.

Without buying special products, you should be able to eliminate that greasy build-up from your kitchen cabinet doors. To start, foam two tablespoons of dish soap in two cups of water. Use clean rags or paper towels to rub the suds onto the cabinets. Make sure to follow the grain of the wood. Then rinse with a damp sponge and rub down with a dry dish towel. The grease fighters in the dish soap will cut that greasy residue easily.

There are also plenty of commercial products that can work wonders on greasy cabinets. Try Orange Glo, Greased Lightning, or Simple Green. Just follow the directions on the products. Once you get your kitchen cabinets really free from the grease, you should then clean them every other month so they won’t have time to build up much residue.

It seems silly that we’d have to clean our dishwashers, doesn’t it? After all, with all the hot water and soap swirling around in there, it seems like the inside of the machine would get as clean as the dishes. However, soap scum combines with the greasy food residue, and it can make hard-to-remove grime over every surface of your dishwasher.

The easiest home remedy for cleaning your dishwasher is to use citric acid powder. This is most commonly used for canning, so check the area in your local grocery store where canning jars are kept. Fill the soap compartment of your dishwasher with the citric acid powder, and run the empty dishwasher on the regular cycle. This should take care of any build-up and odor.

Also, to help keep odors at bay, fill a mug with white vinegar and set it on the top rack of the dishwasher and run it on the regular cycle. If you notice that the grime builds up again more quickly than you’d like, or if your dishes are still not as clean as you’d like them, put a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar in the rinse aid cup and run the dishwasher as you normally would. Also, check to make sure that you are using hot water when you run the dishwasher.

How to Clean Granite Countertops

There aren’t too many surfaces that are more durable and long-lasting than granite, which is one reason why so many people are choosing granite for their countertops. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that granite looks beautiful as well! And with proper maintenance, your granite countertops will continue to look beautiful for years.

The easiest way to keep them looking new is to prevent problems in the first place. Always wipe up spills as soon as they happen, and leave a towel on the stain for a minute to make sure all the moisture is absorbed. Use coasters for drinks, especially if they contain citrus or alcohol, which can dull granite.

Dealing With Stains

Stressing prevention is great, but accidents are inevitably going to happen. For most stains, mix two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid with about a cup of flour and enough water to make a paste. Spread on the stain and cover with plastic wrap or an overturned bowl. Leave this on overnight, and in the morning scrape it up with a spatula.

For oil-based stains, use the same mixture, but replace the dishwashing liquid with hydrogen peroxide. Ammonia can also work for oil-based stains. Try mixing a few drops of ammonia into hydrogen peroxide for stains such as coffee or tea. Straight hydrogen peroxide works well for wine or ink stains, as well.