TIPS
CLEANING
TIPS, LAUNDRY TIPS AND STAIN REMOVALI have been asked how to stop dye
from continuing to bleed from a dark blanket – the only remedy I know is to soak in salt
(1 tablespoon of salt to each pint of water). This does not prevent it entirely but
should help a bit. Of course, dark colours should always be washed separately to
prevent discolouration of other wash.
To stop dark colours from “bleeding”,
fill the washer with cold water and white vinegar. Contributed by
“Riccilyn” If you know of any other remedies please let us know – june@hintsandthings.co.uk
To avoid asthma being irritated by the mites in
pillows, put pillow in tumble dryer on hot setting for 20 minutes, this will kill off the
mites.
If you have a clogged drain try a wet/dry vacuum
cleaner. Make sure you get a good seal with the hose (don’t do this with a drain
full of drain opening chemicals present). Suck the blockage right out – it works every
time.
I would like to emphasise – this
should only be done with a wet/dry vacuum cleaner
do not use an ordinary vacuum cleaner for this job. Thank you Wendy Instead of buying expensive garbage disposal
deodorizer, throw in a few pieces of chopped lemon. Run hot water in the drain and
turn on the disposal, letting it grind up the lemon. It freshens it and helps clean
it too.
Courtesy of Mary Goff – thanks Thanks to Tia Williams Thank you
“amazonerin” For very greasy clothes, add about
1/4 cup granulated dishwashing detergent to your regular laundry.
If you prefer to hang you clothes on
the clothesline, turn the items inside-out to where the seams are facing you when you peg
them on the line. This will help retard the fading process, especially with dark
clothes.
No more lost socks – place them in a
pillowcase and knot the end. Toss them into the washer.
Sorting clothes is easy when you
colour co-ordinate your laundry baskets. Purchase different coloured baskets for you
clothes. Blue for denim, dark colours for dark clothes, white for whites etc.
Keep them in the laundry area and make sure the family knows the colour scheme to
instantly sort the clothes.
All the above tips are courtesy
of “Siren” of the USA. Grease stains – if you get
these on clothes, put paper on the clothing article that has grease on
it and run a hot iron over the paper.
Old vests can be used as
cleaning cloths in kitchen.
Cut down on laundry by
turning sheets over top to bottom periodically
Nick Wareham
www.Kentcleaningsolutions.co.uk Our thanks to Mrs. Joy Skinner for the
following tips:- One of the best and cheapest
commodities to clean a host of things is washing-up liquid. When you think of what it is
meant to clean it is obviously built to clear grease etc.
I use it on collars and cuffs of
shirts/blouses and also on stains on materials. Just apply to the collar or grease
stain direct and leave to soak before putting into a normal wash in the washing machine.
By the way I always add some washing up liquid to a normal wash in the machine. (not too much though otherwise you will have soap suds
filling the kitchen).
It is also brilliant for cleaning
tiles, baths, handbasins etc. leaving no smears.
It doesn’t matter what brand of
washing up liquid either, they all seem to work.
Fiona Shaw
In
the UK we tend to store things in the roof space (we call it a loft), but in
the USA, many people have a basement. Either way, things can get damp if
stored there.
HINT:
save any of those “SILICA GEL” packets you get with many boxed items
(especially small electrical goods and fancy goods), and save them in an
air-tight packet. Use them in
any box or other storage container that you may want to store in the
basement or loft, especially over winter.
One
item I had trouble with was a desk-fan that started to show rust-spots on
the fan-blade guards. The SILICA GEL may have prevented this if I had
thought to pack them in the bag, and stored them better.
Contributed
by Tony Davis of http://letsfixit.co.uk/
More little gems you may well find useful
and/or of interest – When installing a toilet
roll the hanging paper should be close to the wall; not away from it. This is because when you
ladies actually wore dresses or skirts, having the paper close to the
wall would prevent it getting caught up in the dress or skirt material
in the close confines of some loos. Patterned pillow cases look
very strange when in use because the ignorant manufacturer does not know
how to lay pillows. On a double/queen/king size
bed, the open end of the pillow cases should be in the middle and face
each other. This way, any untidiness or poor quality pillows is hidden
from view. It may sound like ‘Keeping
Up Appearances’, but it does look so much smarter. Moist toilet wipes are great
for removing a multitude of spills and stains from most clothing and
carpets. Pip
(Mr.)
Laundry and such If your clean laundry has become to dry to iron,
place it back in the tumble dryer together with a damp towel for about five minutes.
To prevent creases on collar edges, first iron from
collar edge to middle, turn shirt around and iron from the other collar edge to the
middle.
If you do not have an iron to hand, lay the creased
item on a flat surface and pass a hair dryer (set to hot) from side to side about four to
six inches above the fabric, using your other hand to flatten the material as you go – hey
presto! This would be particularly useful when on holiday.
If you run out of space on your clothes line, peg
socks in pairs onto a clothes hanger and hand it on the line. This takes up much
less space.
To get a sharp crease on trouser legs put some paper
glue on a pin and run down the inside of the crease. Press crease.
Stains If spot cleaning with cotton wool, place cotton wool
in some muslin or cotton to prevent the fibres being left on the clothing.
If you prick your find and get blood on an item, use
your own saliva to remove all trace.
- Fresh carpet stains can be reduced by gently soaking up with kitchen
roll, then spraying with shaving foam. Leave to soak in and repeat if necessary.
Mike Cooper Brenda Ormonde - I had engine oil, yes ENGINE OIL on my carpet but Dr. Beckmann’s
Stain Slayer removed it!
Belinda Thomas
Other uses
for vinegar. There are many
other pages on site covering stain removal, laundry hints and tips, cleaning
tips etc., The best way to see what else there is on these subjects is
to check out the Utilityroom Index
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