Dirty Talk

To clean walls and tubs, use a Magic Eraser. No hard scrubbing!

Although I have improvised with an episode from K&A this one is a gem and worth the effort. Grimy ceramic tiles...biological washing up liquid (used for clothes - doesnt matter how cheap it is) mixed in warm water and a little bleach. Gloves, scrubbing brush, damp cloth and a window squeegee (I think thats how it's spelt). Have another bucket to hand filled with warm water, start scrubbing with the floor brush (the one like cinders used) scrubbing in circular motions, get a damp cloth to wipe the parts which you have scrubbed, then get your squeezgee and wipe away the excess water, get a clean mop soak in the bucket of warm water (prepared earlier) and wash over the part you have scrubbed and squeezgeed, leave to dry and admire your hard work!!!! And your arms will be lovely and toned too!!

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!

i had a red wine stains on my light ivory coloured leather sofa we had a few people over and the wine wasnt noticed until the next day. i used lemon cif on my sofa to remove a wine stain and wiped it off with a baby wipe. i regularly clean it with a lemon and always wipe it off with a baby wipe. this has completely removed the stain no hard rubbing needed, it keeps it nice and fresh also.

when i need to clean my gas barbeque i spray on oven cleaner and steam it off with my steam cleaner it comes up like new. for grease hard to remove i add a bit of washing up liquid with water in a spray bottle.

Your assistance is required on this one. My husband just came in from the garage and asked if I knew how he could best remove some hard water stains from his 1978 Corvette. Any suggestions???

Also for americans, if you live in an area that has hard water (ie. New England or Southwest) or water that has very heavy mineral deposits, this can make it hard for detergents to get your clothes really clean. Add a little Borax to your wash to soften your wash water. Your clothes will smell fresher and be cleaner.

to mckinsey79...i live in a shared house with all men...everything in my bathroom had yellow limescale on it...try the hard bit on a sponge with normal malt vinger...little bof scrubbing n the yellow dirt was gone n left everything sparkling...hope this helps!

Pots and pans that have hard to clean burned on food........place a bounce sheet with water to cover the burned on food......leave overnight.....food will just clean right up in the morning.no need to used elbow grease anymore

Not necessarily a tip, but I have a lot of trouble keeping my stove clean. It's a gas stove and it is on by pilot light all the time. When I go to clean it, its a pain in the booty to get clean. There are no drip pans. Granted I live in a rented townhouse. They supply nothing. It's an old stove. So, everything is burnt on. I work really hard to get it clean. I wipe it down when I am done. It just doesnt stay clean. I also have a dog that sheds a lot. So, there is always dog hair on it. I wipe it and try and keep her out of the kitchen but not always successful. Any help or tips? Thanks.

brighten a whole room by dry dusting the light bulbs! Also from learning the hard way: NEVER wipe those light bulbs with a dryer sheet! It smells so good at first, then the perfume burns and smokes and turns your bulb black. Live & learn!

A suggestion for getting dishwasher clean. I make a paste out of warm water and baking soda. With those new "cleaning erasers", I scrub all the insides with the mixture. Then take a clean rag or towel and dip it in warm to hot water and go over the entire surface. It not only cleans, but neutralizes odors. For the outside, I use a soft cloth and window cleaner. I wipe my dishwasher, inside and out about once a week to keep it clean and fresh. That way, you don't have to ever work hard scrubbing it.

Remove chewing gum from carpeting by using ice cubes to help. Freeze up the gum with the ice; it will turn very hard, and you can pick the gum out of the carpet fibers much more easily.

To get hard water stains and marker, pen, etc. out use the magic eraser. No gloves needed and the grime that comes off your supposedly clean bath and shower will amaze you. I also have a question. I have a mirco-swade sofa in which my son decided to pour coffe on. How do I get it cleaned without getting the softness all messed up?

Puppy urine accidents on carpet, blot with paper towels to remove as much as possible then cover the spot with table salt. Make the salt pile pretty thick, 1/2" to 1" thick. Salt will draw out moisture that has gone deeper than the towels wil reach. Let the salt dry completely, it will be hard and crusty. Pick the salt off the carpet and then vacuum.

Puppy urine accidents on carpet, blot with paper towels to remove as much as possible then cover the spot with table salt. Make the salt pile pretty thick, 1/2" to 1" thick. Salt will draw out moisture that has gone deeper than the towels wil reach. Let the salt dry completely, it will be hard and crusty. Pick the salt off the carpet and then vacuum.

The best cleaning brush I've ever used was a denture brush with a plastic pick on the handle. They're heavy duty enough to handle tough stains (especially when used with baking soda-bicarbonate for those not used to us Americans- water and dish soap), but gental enough not to scratch anything. The pick can get into the hard to reach places.

I learnt the hard way that pre-soaking something for hand washing isn’t as simple as it may seem. Always submerge the entire garment in the liquid. My top had a corner peaking out of the water and has faded at an alarmingly different rate to the rest of it.

Save money and the environment – dust the back of your fridge. While nobody can see it, the dust on the back of your fridge is making yours inefficient. The science is that the pipes on the back heat up and cool down to keep your fridge at the right temperature. Once they’re covered in dust, which is an insulator, they can’t exchange this heat as well. You’ll save money on electric bills and keep your fridge in better shape as it won’t have to work so hard.

to remove stickers from any hard surface, scrape what you can off, then spread on peanut butter. leave for 10-20 minutes, then scrape off gently. it should come off perfectly clean! the peanut oil deteriorates the adhesive.