Lifestyle

11 life changing cleaning tips

Dec 24, 2014

Cleaning is a chore to most of us, but what if there was a way to cut down on the time you spent wiping away or mopping the floor? You want to know about it, right? Well, luckily we have some great life changing and time saving tips so you can start spending more time doing what you enjoy!

1. Whiten yellowed pillows

Items needed:

Almost boiling water
1 cup of laundry detergent
1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent
1 cup bleach
1/2 cup borax

Instructions:

Combine all items together in a bucket or tub and lay pillows in and soak for 4-5 hours.
Wash as normal and hang dry.

2. Make your own grout cleaner

Items needed:

3/4 cup bi-card soda
1/4 cup bleach
an old toothbrush or a scrub brush

Instructions:

Mix the baking soda and bleach together in the bowl until it forms sort of a thick paste.
Apply the paste to the dirty grout lines and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. The bleach will do most of the work just sitting there
After 5-10 minutes, scrub it with your toothbrush to really work the cleaner deeper into the grout.
Wait another 5-10 minutes and then rinse the cleaner off of the grout.
If you have a handheld shower head, use that, otherwise just use a damp rag and rinse it out often as you wipe the cleaner away.

Remember, grout does sometimes turn darker when it’s wet. So if you’re not totally impressed with how sparkling white your grout is right when you finish rinsing it, wait a few hours until it dries!

3. No scrub cleaner for stove burner

Items needed:

1/4 cup of ammonia
ziploc bag

Instructions:

Place ammonia in the ziploc bag and place your burner in with it. You are not trying to soak the burner, you just want to seal it up with the ammonia fumes
Leave overnight and drain ammonia down sink and take out the burner top with gloves on.
Wipe off ammonia excess with a sponge

4. Clean cloudy glassware

Items needed:

White vinegar

Instructions:

Each time you run a cycle in the dishwasher, just pour what looks like about a cup into the bottom. You’ll still want to use dishwasher detergent. You don’t have to mess with putting it in the rinse aid slot, or any slot, just pour it right in the dishwasher and start it up. If your glasses are really cloudy, it may take a few cycles to get them completely clear.

5. Get rid of rust spots of cutlery

Items needed:

bottled lemon juice

Instructions:

Soak your knives in lemon juice for a few minutes then scrub a little with the scratchy side of the sponge, and you’re done!

6. Get mould out of shower silicone

Items needed:

bleach
hair cotton coils or long strips of 100% cotton

Instructions:

Cut a piece of the cotton coil then soak it in bleach
Let it sit overnight on the mould and push in with cotton tips

(Tip: I put a disposable pie pan in the tub, poured the bleach in the pan, then soaked the cotton in there before transferring it to the mould – helps with the dripping)

7. Clean your oven naturally

Items needed:

Bi-carb soda
Vinegar
A bowl or a squirt bottle (Preferably a squirt bottle)
A dirty oven
A spatula

Instructions:

Remove the racks. Using a spatula, scrape up as much of the debris as you can, and throw it away. Most of the big stuff should come up pretty easy.
Using about a cup of bi-carb soda, more or less depending on the size of your oven, sprinkle it all over the floor of your oven.
This is where a squirt bottle comes in handy. Spray vinegar all over the bi-card soda. Use your fingers or a rubber spatula to spread the bi-carb soda around so that it comes into contact with the vinegar and every dirty part of your oven floor. Let sit for 10-20 minutes.
Get a scrubbing pad and scrub in a circular motion, rather than back and forth – this will make your job go by so much more quickly.
When you can slide the pad gently all over the oven floor and no longer feel any rough patches, you are ready to clean up the excess bi-carb soda/vinegar mixture.
Use a damp sponge and get it all out