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Cleaning Small Appliances

Deb — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:26:17 +0000

To clean your coffee or spice grinder, run some bread through it to clean it. Cut a plain slice of bread into quarters, then grind it. I will work the fine bits of spice or coffee dust out of the little corners and hard to reach places. Then toss the bread crumbs out for the birds.

Sticky Mess Cleanup

itbedeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:24:21 +0000

Use waterless hand sanitizer to clean just about any sticky mess.

Crayon Marks

itbedeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:23:26 +0000

To get crayon marks cleaned off walls, wipe with a damp rag dipped in baking soda. Almost effortless!

Pet Hair

itbedeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:52:11 +0000

Remove pet hair by rubbing the area with a sheet of Bounce. It will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.

Dish Washing Tips

itbedeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:41:24 +0000

Clean baked-on foods from a pan. Put a fabric softener sheet in the pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. Supposedly, the anti-static agent weakens the bond between the food and the pan.

Silver Polishing

itbedeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:02 +0000

Take an aluminum-foil pan (the disposable kind) and line it with a piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle in some salt, then add a dash of dish soap and fill the container with boiling water. Put your silver, including jewelry, into the mix and it cleans instantly. Of course, you’ll have to turn the larger pieces, so be careful not to burn yourself.

Mopping Tips

itbedeb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:27:20 +0000

No-Slip Mop Handles – Cut the fingers off old rubber gloves and slip the tips over the handles of brooms and mops. This will keep the handle from sliding down when the mop or broom is leaned against a wall. And don’t let the rest of the old gloves go to waste . . . You can cut strips from the wrist portion to use as large rubber bands for bundling newspaper or other materials.

Home-made Furniture Polish

itbedeb — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:05:11 +0000

To make your own furniture polish, mix two parts vegetable oil or olive oil and one part lemon juice. Apply and polish with a soft cloth.

Clothes Dryer Info

itbedeb — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:03:52 +0000

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.)

Then, he took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material – I’m sure you know what your dryer’s lint filter looks like. Well, the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that’s what burns out the heating unit. You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free — that nice fragrance too. You know how the dryer sheets can feel waxy when you take them out of the box? Well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire and potentially burn your house down with it!

He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.

He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Flexible Vacuum Attachment

itbedeb — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:50:23 +0000

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum hose. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.