The Best (and Least Expensive) Cleaning Tips Ever!!

shesulsa

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Some of you know I'm a fledgling in the landlording business. Cleaning a house for rentability is of tantamount importance to successfully obtaining a good tenant. A clean home, place of business, dojo/dojang is important on many levels.

Here are my top three cleaning tips and I hope everyone else will share some:

NOTE: I strongly support the least invasive, least caustive, least expensive, no-nonsense products. My oldest is very sensitive to chemicals and we all have allergies and asthma-like problems, so scented products and harsh chemicals and expensive cleaners just aren't options for us.

1. CLEANING STAINLESS STEEL SINKS (from a close personal friend and professional housekeeper - this is a trade secret):

-Save the sink for last.

-Scrub it using a steel wool pad until all water spots and stains are up.

-Thoroughly dry the sink.

-Spray with Old English, Pledge or other furniture polishing oil / wax (some people smear olive oil, but it can turn rancid and doesn't work as well) and let sit for a while. Remember stainless steel is porous and will pull everything into it.

-Wipe up extra oil / wax and discard.

-Buff the sink. It's beautiful and will repel water and other objects.

Extra tip: Keep a rag with a little polish / oil on it in a tray under the sink so when you use the sink, dry it again and wipe it out with the oily rag.

2. LAUNDRY STAINS (This was passed to me from a woman who swears by the Queen of Clean - I've never read her stuff, but this really works):

-Buy a Fels-Naptha soap bar; they cost about $1.50 + tax. This is a detergent bar that looks like, well, a long bar of soap, but you don't use it on your person nor should you use this on dry-cleanable fabrics. It's inexpensive and lasts forever! It's much safer than other stain removers I've had (on fabrics and to have around children).

-Dampen fabric appropriately.

-Peel off some of the paper wrapping from the bar

-Rub the bar right on both sides of the stained fabric (like you would a crayon) and let sit for about 10 minutes.

-Launder as usual.

-Check the spot before you put the garment in the dryer; if a little of the stain is still there, reapply and relaunder.

This works on just about everything I've ever had happen to clothes - spaghetti sauce, blood, grass, chocolate, some pen and pencil, even some old stains. I've never been successful at getting oily stains out of fabric, but I hear that Fels-Naptha is a great last step in the process.

3. GENERAL SURFACE CLEANING:

I just got the best tip from a former tenant. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is a WONDERFUL product to use on all kinds of surfaces. I used it on walls I've previously tried cleaning with 409, hot soapy water, diluted bleach, you name it. I thought I'd just have to paint over the dirt, crayon, magic marker, spaghetti sauce splatters (I have kids), fingerprints, etc.

This sponge is just incredible - I used one sponge to clean about the equivalent of a 10' x 10' wall, my counter surfaces and my kitchen faucet.

I have to say that I don't know if these sponges have any detergent or solvents in them or not. No cleaning solvents or detergents or any chemical ingredients are listed on the label. If they do contain such, they are odorless and did NOT irritate my hands. I rather think that it's the SPONGE that does the job, since I used nothing but clear water. They don't last terribly long, but with what I just saw it do, they are WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD when it comes to a cleaning product. Speedy, effective, and relatively inexpensive. A package of two at Safeway (arguably the most expensive grocery store around) cost me $3.50.

So I would use this on walls and trim, counter surfaces, ceramics, chrome or other faucet materials, metal surfaces.
 

Shodan

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Just got this the other day from my Aunt. I haven't tried any of the suggestions yet, but she had tried the TV one and said it worked great.....I will have to try some of these.....

Enjoy-
:)


Great Tip....Who woulda thought?

The US Postal service sent out a message to all letter

carriers to put a sheet of Bounce in their uniform pockets to keep

yellow jackets away. The yellow jackets just veer around you. And all

this time you've! just been putting Bounce in the dryer!

It will chase ants away when you lay a sheet near

them.

It also repels mice. Spread them around foundation

areas, or in trailers, cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from

entering your vehicle.

It takes the odor out of books and photo albums that

don't get opened too often.

Repels mosquitoes. Tie a sheet of Bounce through a

belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season.

Eliminates static electricity from your television (or

computer) screen. Since Bounce is designed to help eliminate static

cling, wipe your television screen with a used sheet of Bounce to keep

dust from resettling.

Dissolve soap scum from shower doors. Clean with a

sheet of Bounce.

Freshen the air in your home. Place an individual

sheet of Bounce in a drawer or hang in the closet.

Put Bounce sheet in vacuum cleaner.

Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle

through sheet of Bounce

before beginning to sew.

Prevent musty suitcases. Place an individual sheet of

Bounce inside empty luggage before storing.

Freshen the air in your car. Place a sheet of Bounce

under the front seat.

Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet

in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The

antistatic agent apparently weakens the bond between the food.

Eliminate odors in wastebaskets.. Place a sheet of

Bounce at the bottom of the wastebasket.

Collect cat hair. Rubbing the area with a sheet of

Bounce will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.

Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds.

Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from resettling.

Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used

sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.

Eliminate odors in dirty laundry. Place an individual

sheet of Bounce at the bottom of a laundry bag or hamper.

Deodorize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of Bounce

in your shoes or sneakers overnight.

Golfers put a Bounce sheet in their back pocket to

keep the bees away.

Put a Bounce sheet in your sleeping bag and tent

before folding and storing them. Keeps them smelling fresh.
 
C

Crom

Guest
Does someone here have shares in bounce? :)


I'll give it a go sometime.

Vinegars great too, for cleaning kettles and metal work.
 

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