Cleaning out the pantry could be all you need to disinfect your home. Here's our list of top ten surprising cleaners... most of which you probably already own! Photo: kaiton, Flickr
1) Lemonade
To clean and deodorize, pour a few scoops of dry sugar-free lemonade (or Tang!) into your dishwasher detergent compartment and run an empty cycle. You may not notice the difference, but next time your child crawls into the dishwasher during a game of hide-and-seek, you'll be the best mom ever.
2) Salt
The next time you let your daughter crack the eggs on pancake day and she spills, sprinkle a few dashes of salt on the gooey yolk. Let sit a few minutes and wipe clean with a paper towel.
3) Tin Lids
No, not this kind. Save a few tin can lids from your mother's spaghetti night and place them underneath your honey and jam bottles to keep sticky edges from taking over your cabinets. You'll thank us when the ants don't.
Use cotton balls to deodorize smelly areas, such as your refrigerator, closets and/or drawers. Photo: Splendicity
4) Hairdryer
Removing tags and labels from gifts. Just plug in and blow on high. No more embarrassing adhesives!
5) Floss
Cleaning the goo (the official word, I'm sure) from sink faucets and other hard-to-reach crevices. Minty flavor optional.
6) Newspaper
Place a few crumpled sheets of newspaper -- preferably the sports section, of course -- to deodorize your son's soccer cleats overnight.
7) Vegetable Oil
Shine your best leather shoes with the same oil you stir-fry with. Dab a bit of vegetable oil on a cotton ball to remove scuffs and protect leather.
8) Mothballs
Yes, they stink like your grandfather's attic and keep insects at bay, but they also prevent silver from tarnishing. Stash a few with your silver to keep it shiny and bright while in storage.
9) Cotton Balls
Dab a bit of vanilla extract onto a few cotton balls and place in the compartments of your too-smelly fridge. The cotton will absorb the bad scent, leaving the good!
10) Old Socks
Never found the pair to last season's Christmas sock? Use it as a replacement Swiffer pad to save your floors and your dough. (Hint: Wash it first, especially if it's spent time in your son's aforementioned soccer cleat.)
Read More: How to Make Your Home Less Toxic
Removing tags and labels from gifts. Just plug in and blow on high. No more embarrassing adhesives!
5) Floss
Cleaning the goo (the official word, I'm sure) from sink faucets and other hard-to-reach crevices. Minty flavor optional.
6) Newspaper
Place a few crumpled sheets of newspaper -- preferably the sports section, of course -- to deodorize your son's soccer cleats overnight.
7) Vegetable Oil
Shine your best leather shoes with the same oil you stir-fry with. Dab a bit of vegetable oil on a cotton ball to remove scuffs and protect leather.
8) Mothballs
Yes, they stink like your grandfather's attic and keep insects at bay, but they also prevent silver from tarnishing. Stash a few with your silver to keep it shiny and bright while in storage.
9) Cotton Balls
Dab a bit of vanilla extract onto a few cotton balls and place in the compartments of your too-smelly fridge. The cotton will absorb the bad scent, leaving the good!
10) Old Socks
Never found the pair to last season's Christmas sock? Use it as a replacement Swiffer pad to save your floors and your dough. (Hint: Wash it first, especially if it's spent time in your son's aforementioned soccer cleat.)
Read More: How to Make Your Home Less Toxic
Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)
ERIN, I'm a single Dad to my three young kids. Please, eliminate the sexist comments about "being the best mom ever" type of stuff. I enjoy your insite, but I take GREAT exception to the concept that only mothers raise children and care for the house. Hey, this is the year 2009, not 1960.
ReplySteve, I disagree with Kate's comment that you are an idiot because you mispelled insight. Obviously, she does not know the correct form of the contraction for you are. Your shows possession
you're is the contraction of you are. Grammer lesson for you Kate.
Steve, you can tell Kate if she is going to say "your" an idiot--it should be "you're" an idiot! But, in any case, I do not agree with her--and she should eat some humble pie.
Good for you Steve. Agreed
and I am a mother.
Well, well, well, this has been most humorous! Seems like we all (humanity) have a LOT to gripe about, huh? I would love for everyone to come to my house for a dinner party so we could all simply converse about how to correct someone else, with tact. Here, I post my original comment ALMOST SIX MONTHS AGO, and there's still some action going on, but not about the original issue. I can see that Erin now speaks to both women, and men, because we are all homemakers to some extent. By the by, yes, Spell Check has confirmed my spelling here, within. Everyone, please go and find a way to enjoy life everyday, thanks.
*you're
Replydried coffee grounds remove odors from just about anything.I even used them to get the smell of dog urine out of a rug.
ReplyI find that Baby Wipes (any brand) are fantastic for cleaning leather products. I use them for shoes, purses, coats, chairs, etc. They clean and shine without drying out the leather.
you've got to be kidding me right... ok, after you used the coffee grounds... how did you get the coffee stain out! Maybe it was a brown rug?
Jean, Thank you for the tip on coffee grinds! Can you please let me know exactly how you get the dog urine smell out of the carpet? Do you leave the coffee grinds on awhile, then vacuum? Also.does anyone know how to remove cigarette burns off of linoleum? Thanks!
Heres a tip for plants. Used Coffee Grounds are great to put a yhin layer over the top of soil. It is a natural fertilizer & good protection for the roots from cool weather . This is a proven one, from my Grandmother.
ReplyDee
this list is like one you find in magazines. you know 10 tips to keep your lemon parfait fresh. this list has tips that are so old i have forgotten some. refrigerator stinks? through out the expired and rotten food and put good old baking soda in refrig and freezer they will last a lot longer than a cottonball and has hundreds of other uses.
ReplyLemon juice is great for cleaning. My father was custodian at a bank after he retired and they had glass everywhere. His secret was vinegar to clean the glass and wipe with newspaper, not a paper towel. Works wonders. Vinegar is great on the calcium deposits around the faucets, too. Lemon juice should work, too. Both are acids. Yes, acids. Keep hands away from your eyes when using them and dilute when necessary, but they are good cleaners and the lemon makes for a wonderful scent. I also keep orange peels, dry then and use them to improve smells. They do wonders burned in the fireplace with the wood. And vinegar is a great hair rinse. It gets all the soap out for squeeky clean locks. Also will tint the hair a little red.
ReplyTwo lait, Kayt. Yorrr innsultts on pour Steve are jusst meeen.
ReplySew hee dint speell the whay you wented. Sum of ussins aint as brite as yewins.
I betcha his howse is cleener then yors, Kaytie, gurly !
Yu go, Steve !
Tin lids that have been removed from any can do have sharp edges that can cut you...Instead use the plastic lids on containers placed under a bottle of honey to avoid the bottle of honey sticking to your shelf.
ReplyWHY NOT JUST RINSE THE HONEY CONTAINER OFF??? IT IS A NO BRAINER ..DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Mom told me that all you need to keep a house clean was a box of baking soda, a few lemons and white vinegar. To keep your hair clean and shiny, finish shampoo with lemon juice. To clean out your inside "pipes" drink a cup of hot water with a bit of apple cider vinegar and a drop of honey in it every morning. She lived healthfully until 94, and my home and I are in fabulous shape. I am 83.
Replylol. Your mom was only 11 when you were born?? Do the math. But you should have added!!!
You did not mention when your mother died. I am 78 and my mother lived to be 93 also. She was 32 when I was b orn, but she has b een dead for a long time. What kind of idiots make comments on here. I easily understood you and incidentally, you are correct.
Vanilla extract is not only good for your refrigerater. Use Almond, or Coconut extract on cotton balls and place around your house for a pleasant scent. If you need a quick odor cover up, place a cotton ball with your favorite smelling extract in a bowel with about 1-2 TBSPs of water in the microwave and nuke for 30-60 seconds. The steam will fill your kitchen with a wonderful scent.
Reply