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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

What's your best household tip that you don't think is widely known??

131 replies

PisforPeter · 15/08/2014 14:39

I need to up the standards on the domestic front Grin

OP posts:
tharsheblows · 15/08/2014 18:53

If you wash musty or mildewy clothes, put a couple cups of white vinegar in the rinse cycle to take out the smell. The vinegar smell will disappear when they are completely dry.

redexpat · 15/08/2014 19:02

Wash baby socks in a delucates bag to save searching through the clean laundry. I suppose each family member could have a delicates bag for their socks.

ancientbuchanan · 15/08/2014 19:04

Brilliant tips. I am the world's worst slattern but here are a few

Bicarb excellent for cleaning fridge.
Recycle your plastic bags in wpbs to act as small bin liners.
To remove burnt on deposits from saucepans, if fat based boil with something acidic, diluted, eg rhubarb, vinegars, to remove otherwise boil bio washing powder.
Old fashioned jeyes fluid and boiling water keeps bins and drains fresh.
Boil white cotton to get stains out.
Once your sheets are wearing out, if they are double and you are really thrifty, sides to middle them. Otherwise turn them into dust sheets.
Save heat by closing curtains and putting draught excluders.round doors at dusk in winter, conversely to keep house cool in summer open windows to get a through draft but close curtains on side sun is, to exclude sun.

missknows · 15/08/2014 19:06

I need to know the answer to the washing machine question too please.

I use oil to remove stickers etc.

expatinscotland · 15/08/2014 19:09

Don't have pets. They make your house stink.

WellIShouldNever · 15/08/2014 19:11

more of a gardening tip i discovered. Cillit Bang is the best weed killer ever.
We had a huge weed in the driveway, was there for years. Nothing would shift it. Apart from a load of neat cillit bang poured over it. Havent seen the said weed since, and thats been about 6 years now.

BeyoncesCat · 15/08/2014 19:12

Use one of sponges with a handle that you fill up with washing up liquid to clean your bath out.

ovaryhill · 15/08/2014 19:14

I think Shia must be a Viz top tips fan!

Dancingwiththedrummer · 15/08/2014 19:15

Put bicarb and vinegar in the drawer, then it will clean the pipes too :) I put mine on a hot setting to clean and gunk through.

Use a squeegee on the carpet to get up pet hairs

To clean mold or mildew from round the bath, soak kitchen paper in bleach and place round bath before bed. Remove paper in morning and viola! No more mold

I also use the bedding in matching pillowcase thing

SunshineOutdoors · 15/08/2014 19:16

No tip but just a thank you Thanks for calling it tips and not 'hacks'. That word's been 'hacking' me right off.

Apologies mnhq I know you've been using it.

I saw an article about 'life hacks' in a magazine that's no different to the 'top tips' that have been around for eons.

And breathe.

chinamoon · 15/08/2014 19:20

Clean bath, sink and loo with dregs of shower gel or bubble bath instead of bathroom cleaner. That way there's never harsh chemicals to rinse off for ages before DC have a bath, and the bathroom always smells nice rather than bleachy.

Clean loo every day. It takes 10 seconds. Far better than once a week. Grim.

Love the multiple bin bags tip. Going to use that.

If you live in a hard water area, get a shower screen wiper. Saves hours of scrubbing and de-scaling.

MontserratCaballe · 15/08/2014 19:21

Take whizzy arms out of dishwasher to prod holes and ensure clear running water.

Clean filters once a week in dishwasher and ensure you don't have grot on plates which you can't digest, as dishwasher can't either ( eg sweetcorn, bits of random eggshells etc)

Pour boiling water down drain if dishwasher every week to remove any fat deposits.

Run dishwasher on hottest setting every few weeks to clean.

Have spent a lot of cash on dishwasher repairs. This is wisdom from repair man.

queenofthepirates · 15/08/2014 19:27

Buy one of these and make your own cream using 4oz of butter melted with 4floz milk. You push it through the machine and hey presto, double cream. It's perfect for when you just need a bit of cream, not a whole pot.
NB, salted butter makes salted cream.

DownstairsMixUp · 15/08/2014 19:30

Acetone (nail varnish remover) works well on hair dye you might of spilled in the bathroom.

I wouldn't get someone to do the oven, I use oven pride from home bargains (2.99) once every so often and cleaning in between and it comes up brilliantly every time, I make that a take away night put it on in the evening then don't wash it off till the next day!

Also wet wipes are pretty good for everything.

annabanana19 · 15/08/2014 19:32

I use wet wipes to remove sticky stickers on furniture. I hate it when the kids put them on.

Azquilith · 15/08/2014 19:42

Burns on carpets (irons or straighteners etc) can be much helped with a vigorous sand papering (takes the dark melted tips off).

DownstairsMixUp · 15/08/2014 19:48

Oh thanks Azquilith i will give that a try!

missknows · 15/08/2014 19:53

Back to the washing machine- the bicarb in the powder drawer and the vinegar in the conditioner draw? Or both in the same one followed by the world's quickest drawer slam and button pressing?

BertieBotts · 15/08/2014 19:57

Hair removal cream for hairy plugholes. Stinks, especially if you use boiling water, but dissolves it and avoids that retch-inducing situation where you have to pull out long slimy clumps of hair.

If you get a lot of fruit flies and can't find where they are coming from stick hot water and bleach down all of your drains. They're probably breeding on the inside of the pipes.

How can you wipe out your oven after use if it's still hot? Or do you all have fantastic memories?

babbas · 15/08/2014 20:10

Re the washing machine I put the vinegar in the drawer and bicarb in the bum.

babbas · 15/08/2014 20:11

Drum drum. Not bum. Bloody phone.

newnameforanewstart · 15/08/2014 20:17

Drier sheets - if you have ruined a cooking pan or pot put a drier sheet in fill the pain with hot water and leave over night something about the antistatic stuff in the drier sheet helps break down the bond between burnt food and the pan.

Every night put your kitchen sponges in the microwave, ring them out and blast them for about a min on high it will kill all the bacteria. You can do the same with chopping boards if they are microwavable and fit.

A damp sponge and bicarb will get rid of scuff marks on a vinyl floor.

Rubbing a teaspoon of lemon oil or baby oil on glass shower doors, sink etc twice a month causes water to bead up and roll off. Less cleaning YIPPIE!!!

Play doh is excellent at picking up broken glass you know the tiny bits you cant see - obviously bin play doh afterwards!

If rearranging furniture has left you with carpet imprints stick an ice cube in them it will puff the carpet back up and you need to do nothing.

If you want to clean the bottom of an iron, sprinkle salt on the ironing board and run the iron back and forth over it. Alternatively polish it with tin foil.

To clean a stainless-steel sink, put the stopper in the sink with two denture-cleaning tablets and half fill with water; leave for several hours or overnight and the next day it should be sparkling. Then use the water to clean the draining board, too.

To remove marker pen off hard surfaces, spray on hair spray and then wipe it off.

To restore toilet bowls back to their shiny best, clean with old, flat Coke or Pepsi. To dissolve lime scale, leave the soda overnight to soak. eg tip cheap bottle of coke into the pain and go to bed.

To get rid of the smell of garlic from your hands, rub against stainless steel – your sink is ideal. Then wash hands with soap or detergent.

lime scale on taps can be cleaned by soaking an old rag in vinegar, then wrapping it around the relevant location on your tap and secure with a hair bungee or elastic band. Let sit for an hour, then take off rag and dry faucet.

Paint brush - a new one with LONG bristles or a pasty brush is idea for dusting picture frame, blinds anything with groves or places where dust settles into corners.

Use a lint brush with disposable sheets to dust lamp shades

To clean a narrow vase, bottle etc, pour in 2 tablespoons of dry rice and ½ cup warm water, cover with the palm of your hand, shake vigorously, then rinse.

Shine brass using a dab of Worcestershire sauce or ketchup.

To remove ring around the collar, draw over the stain with a piece of white chalk. Let it soak up the grease for a few minutes, then dust off excess chalk and launder as usual OR rub hair shampoo directly on the stains. Rinse out the shampoo then launder as normal. Milk also get rid of ink - put ink stain in a bowl and cover with milk leave to soak over night then lauder as normal. To get blood out of fabrics, use hydrogen peroxide. Apply it directly to the stain and then launder in the washing machine.

To get rid of smells in rooms with carpet sprinkle the carpet with Bicarb, leave to rest for a while then vacuum as normal place a few drops of your favourite essential oil (such as lavender or peppermint) near the vent where the hot air is released. The air warms the oil and blows it into the room.

To keep pinking shears or scissors sharp, cut through a sheet of folded aluminium foil.

Use baby wipes to clean leather, sofa´s, jackets etc.

Once your hob is clean if a spill happens cover it in salt ASAP. this is why the salt pot is next to my cooker. It will soak everything up when cool nudge it with a spatula and it will come clean away.

What to get rid of cooking odours? In a saucepan, mix 3 tablespoons of white vinegar and 1 cup of water and boil for several minutes. Vinegar is acidic and odours are alkaline, so the former will neutralize the latter.

Got glass shelves etc. that wont fit in the dishwasher. Wash as normal then wash with dishwasher rinse aid swill and leave to dry - shiny glass and no hand drying involved!

Put an uncovered pot of bicarb in the fridge to absorb odours, or coffee grounds (new or used), both work.

In the winter / bad weather, was socks in a delicates bag, then put WHOLE bag in tumble drier - dry socks, great if like us you have multiple sock wares that must wear their and only their socks - do a bag each.

Want fluffy towels, wash without fabric softener then put in tumble drier with two NEW tennis balls the balls bounce around and fluff the towels up.

I´m sure I have some other things tucked away, I am one of those people (If you haven´t guessed) that likes a clean house but doesn't have the enthusiasm or time not to use short cuts and tricks.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 15/08/2014 20:25

Buy a Brabantia bin and the proper liners, they never, ever leak.

Magic eraser blocks are brilliant for stainless steel sinks, uPVD windowframes and white goods (fridges etc) as well as paintwork.

Microfibre cloths beat wipes hands down, I even clean my car with one.

Use tablets of washing powder in the drawer rather than liquid or loose powder your drawer will be as good as new 5 years on with no cleaning. I do a maintenance wash once a month with vinegar at 90C too.

A bit of scrunched up newspaper dipped in the ash pan will bring up the glass in woodburner doors like new with minimal effort.

CantEvenKeepAnOrchidAlive · 15/08/2014 20:27

The windscreen wipes you can buy for your car are perfect for windows, mirrors and the TV screen. Effortless and leaves no marks. Tesco own aren't even that expensive.

TheBigBumTheory · 15/08/2014 20:27

Take your specs off/turn off overhead light and light a candle

Have a Wine

Now, doesn't that look better already?