Household Tips

By Cwriter, 17th Mar 2011 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1i0edo9_/
Posted in Wikinut>Guides>Housekeeping>Cleaning

A few little tips on household chores, just to make it easier.

Household Tips

Hi there, today I´m going to talk about some house hold tips to make it easier for when you´re cleaning.

Starting:

Covering yourself: people usually clean their house in old tatty clothes, I suggest wearing an apron as it stops your clothes getting dirt on them plus the pockets come in handy for odd bits and pieces you find along the way. Also the pockets can be used for putting your duster in, cleaning agent, etc.

Caring for your hands: your hands get chapped and dry after using so many cleaning chemicals, scrubbing, etc so I recommend after cleaning applying some hand cream. Otherwise you´ll have really sore hands.

Sock dusting: ever noticed how much dirt your socks pick up?? get an old pair of socks and use them to dust, they´ll save you time.

Now, let´s look at each room in an everyday household:

Living Room:

Close windows & doors: this will help keep any dust and dirt out, plus it will prevent the current amount of dust in the room going everywhere.

Initial clean -out: by this I mean clearing out things like ash trays, taking the bed sheets off, etc as it will make it easier to dust & will save you time. For example, you have just vacuumed your bedroom, then you take off the sheets and all that dust off your sheets goes onto your clean floor.

Dusting: before you mop or vacuum your floor I suggest you dust first, as all the dust falls straight on your floor. So basically you dust everything before vacuuming, this saves you vacuuming twice or even thrice. Also try using a damp cloth for dusting, it will help pick up the dust.

Radiators: if you have gas radiators you know how tricky and awkward they are to clean, so take a towel and hang it over the back of the radiator later using a hair dryer or vacuum cleaner to blow out the dirt onto the towel. Also if you keep your radiators clean they shall give off much more heat than dirty ones.

Dusting before polishing: this one is pretty obvious but just in case.

Electric appliances: dust is the biggest killer regarding electronic devices, it get inside the device accumulating on top of the components causing it to overheat a not work anymore. It overheats the components making them blow up.

Kitchen:

Keep on top: clean your cooker after every time you use it, otherwise all the fat and grease builds up and later on it is a lot harder to clean.

Spilling & salt: salt apart from eating & raising your cholesterol can also be used for cleaning, if you spill something in the oven for example just sprinkle some salt on top of the spill and later when the oven has cooled down it should come off easy.

Fridge/Refrigerator: wipe over every month or so as smells and spills build up. Bicarbonate of soda in a bowl of water will do the trick.

Venetian blinds: just put on a pair of gloves, not rubber, and dip them in soapy water, then you can use your fingers to get in between the slats.

Equipment: any equipment used for processing food or drink should be cleaned out regular, as it builds up and can cause the equipment to smell or even break.

Spills: if you spill something wipe it up straight away, otherwise it could seep into your laminate surface.

Wiping down: wipe down all surfaces with hot soapy water after serving & preparing food, this prevents bacteria like Salmonella among many others breeding. If you prefer another cleaning agent then that´s up to you.

Chop chop: use a chop board for cutting your food, this protects your surface and is easier to move your chopped food around.

Wood: wipe over with a dry cloth/duster to get rid of the dust, then polish but do not wax. The wax will soften the wood, use a furniture polish with no wax base.

Washing up: organize yourself, if there are any dishes that have food baked on let them soak. Use wire-wool to make it easier, once all the grubby bits are off soap it up and rinse. The same applies to cups. If you´re cleaning non-stick pans then be very careful, use the wire-wool very gently. Don´t forget to grease up the pan after washing.

Kettles: to prevent the kettle scaling up pop an oyster in there.

Teapots: chuck in a denture tablet and leave it overnight, this will get rid of all the stains.

Bedroom:

Hang it up: tie a piece string from side to side on your wardrobe door, then you can use to hang up your ties, etc.

Pillows: if your pillows have feathered stuffing soak them in hot soapy water, do not rub, and then run clean fresh water through them until there´s no more soap. Hang up to dry on your linen line. If your pillows haven´t got feather stuffing read the manufacturer label for the instructions.

Mattress stress: make sure you clean regularly both sides with the vacuum, if you spill something act as fast as possible so it doesn´t soak into your mattress.

Sheets & duvets: organize your sheets into two piles, S and D, Singles and Doubles. This makes it easier to pick out the one you want later. Put your duvet filling into a bath and let it soak all that dirt out, once clean let it dry outside on two linen lines (otherwise it might dry out of shape.

Bathroom:

Clean Bathing: straight after taking a bath is when it is easier to clean. Never use wire/steel wool, bleach or even toilet cleaner as these will damage the enamel on the bath. Put in a capful of washing-up liquid while you bath, this will get rid of the watermark.

Glass: if you have glass shower doors clean them with white vinegar, it will make it shine and get rid of the scale. This can also be used for any other glass surfaces.

Mould: to get rid of mould use a weak bleach solution, this can be used for walls, shower curtains, etc. If you do have mould growing on your walls I suggest you get a specialist to look at it, it could damage your house and also be a health hazard.

Tile Shine: to make your tiles shine rubbing over them with a cloth dipped in methylated spirits, later buff with a dry cloth.

Bath Mat: after using always hang it up to air and dry, otherwise mould could develop. Plus it is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, Athletes foot for example.