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9 Easy Ways To Use Dark Paint In Your Home
We've got the quick and easy solutions if you've only got a few hours. But if you're ready to roll up your sleeves and dive in, we've got the down-and-dirty approaches too. Pick your poison and er, enjoy?
Clever Cleaning Tactics
The Challenge
Baking and roasting pans with a layer of gunk that never seems to wash off no matter how hard you scrub.
Make Do
Soak with water and a dryer sheet -- overnight is best. We've gotten unanimous approval ratings on this one.
Go All the Way
Get to the problem before it even starts. Lay two sheets of aluminum foil across the bottom of the pan. It'll serve as a buffer and keep the food from sticking. We found this one from the trusty folks over at TheKitchn.com.
The Challenge
Globs of hair in the shower drain -- ick!
Make Do
A preventative measure courtesy of, er, us! Don't let it get there in the first place! (If you did, click on to the next slide). It seems pretty basic, but here goes: when washing, conditioning and wringing out your hair, pull through to the ends so that any hairs that come out do so in your hands. No need to trash them mid-shower -- you'll only soak the bathmat. Instead, stick the clump of hair to the shower wall (sound gross, but trust us this works). When you're done, rub it in a circular motion with your pointer, middle and ring fingers. It will clump up into a perfect ball of hair for easy disposal.
Go All the Way
If it's that clogged, you'll probably need a snake. Get instructions on how to use one at This Old House.
The Challenge
A dirty toilet bowl.
Make Do
Oh, sweet multi-tasking. Straight from Apartment Therapy. Kill two birds with one stone: clean your mouth and your toilet. Swish with an alcohol-based mouthwash and spit it into the bowl. Use a toilet brush and gently scrub the bowl. The alcohol helps kill germs and the mint leaves a nice scent. Another smart idea, drop a few Alka-Seltzer tabs in there. The citric acid and baking soda will clean porcelain the way it does dentures. Let it soak for about 15 minutes.
Go All the Way
Before hopping in the shower, douse the bowl with a cleaning agent (baking soda is a nice natural alternative). When you get out, it will be ready for scrubbing. If you have really stubborn stains, an old pumice stone is great. Our friends at CasaSugar swear that it works wonders. Wet the pumice stone and rub gently over stains. They suggest wearing a pair of gloves to reduce the "ick" factor of this one. Yes, we agree.
Bonus Round!
Bring in the blacklight! It will show urine salts and missed cleaning in and round toilets. Frankly, we'd rather not know.
The Challenge
Hard-to-reach dust build up in the grates of your radiator.
