Dirty Talk

For single person households or others where you can't or don't run the dishwasher everyday, put a scoop of oxygen enzyme powder in addition to dishwashing powder in the prewash cycle and it will do a good job on dishes that may not be going to wash up properly. Running this also keeps dishwasher smelling fine.

I live in an apartment, that has really inefficient old appliances. The worst being the dishwasher. If I leave just the littlest bit of food on a dish, it'll stay or wind up on my glassware. Yuck! This is what I do now to fix this problem. If I have stuck on food (like hard stuck on food left on the counters for hours), I add to the dishwasher, my dishwasher tablet, and fill the dispensers with cheap distilled vinegar. It's roughly a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of vinegar for a full load (roughly the amount of dishes 3 meals a day x 2 days x 3 people). My dishes come out sparkling and squeaky clean every time!

When preparing dinner, keep a bowl handy to throw in your veggie peelings and other garbage while preparing your food. Makes for easy clean up. As well before I start my prep. I fill the sink with hot soapy water to put the dishes in that I am using. Supper time is easy and effortless!

I love a clean house. We have 2 cats who are NOT allowed on kitchen surfaces. We all know that cats do what they want, when you are not looking. So, before I cook, I take my dish rag and run it under hot water with dishwashing liquid. I carefully add a splash of my mixture of 1 gal. of water to 1 Tbsp of household bleach to the dish rag. I wipe down all the kitchen surfaces with the rag. I also use that method as I'm cooking to catch spills and again when I'm finished cooking. I don't sit down to eat until the kitchen is clean, and as many pans as possible are clean. I enjoy eating much more, knowing the kitchen is clean. When we're finished eating, all that's left are the dishes we ate from. They're rinsed and put in the dishwasher. I can spend the rest of the evening doing whatever I like.

Clean your gold jewelry on the cheap. The following applies to gold alone or with all stones but for opals, pearls, turquoise, mother-of-pearl, or any other delicate stone. Take out a coffee mug. Put one single drop of dishwashing liquid (for dishes by hand, not the dishwasher type) in the bottom and fill with LUKEWARM water. Carefully place the ring, bracelet or necklace you wish to clean on the bottom. Leave overnight. In the morning you will find a lot of dirt specks floating on top. Rinse jewelry gently with warm (never hot) water and dry thoroughly. Warning: Again, NOT for use with opals (which absorb water and are sensitive to extreme heat and cold) or turquoise or pearls, or any other stone which might absorb the water or be damaged by it or the chemicals in the dishwashing liquid.

If you have any left over lemon from making dinner, pop it in the cutlery drawer of the dishwasher and it’ll give a nice smell and sparkle to your dishes.

Don't forget your pets! I clean my pet's supper dishes at least twice a week to avoid cross contamination of bacteria, etc. Also, if you feed your pet canned food, serve it on an old crockery plate instead of in a pet bowl. Plates are so much easier to wash up, so you won't be tempted to put doggie's dinner on a dirty plate. Woof!

if you have burnt on food stuck to your pans, add some warm water and a little washing up liquid and put it back on the hob until it boils.this shold lift that food right off

The best way to clean stains from crockery teapots, cups bottom of plates etc is bleach. Always wear rubber gloves and either pour direct into teapot, cup, then pour bleach onto a sponge and clean outside of item (remembering the inside of handles) or if the crockery is dishwasher and microwave proof, you should be able to fill your sink with hot water and bleach and leave the dishes to soak for 30 mins. make sure you rinse thoroughly and any smell has gone.

Everyday washing powder works wonders on removing stubborn food stuck to baking dishes. Simply sprinkle on a handful and soak for 10 minutes.