Put your car-washing sponge inside a pair of old pantyhose for a great nonabrasive, paint-friendly scrubber. The threads act like thousands of little scrapers that rub off insects and gunk with every swipe. Get more car cleaning tips and tricks to speed up the whole process.
In a 5-quart bucket, mix: 1 cup of distilled vinegar, 3 tablespoons of borax, 1 gallon of hot water and 1/2 cup of soap. We like to add 10 or 15 drops of tea tree, lavender or lemon oil for a nice fragrance. Mix the ingredients and then pour some Read more
If the grille on your bathroom exhaust fan is clogged with dust, try a trick that’s faster and more effective than vacuuming: Turn on the fan and blast out the dust with “canned air.” The fan will blow the dust outside. This works on the return air grilles of your Read more
Microfiber products attract and hold dust with an electrostatic charge, unlike dry rags and feather dusters, which just spread dust around. Machine washable microfiber products can save you money over disposable brands because you can use them over and over. Just make sure to let them air dry (so they’ll Read more
Use a bleach pen to transform your grout from grungy to great. This method is tedious, but the payoff is crisp, clean grout lines. Use the pen to ‘draw’ bleach across the grout lines. The pen allows you to target the grout without getting bleach all over the tile. Wait Read more
If you have glass shower doors in your bathroom and don’t keep on top of the cleaning, you can end up with soap scum so tough that it’s nearly impossible to remove. That’s when you bring out the heavy equipment. Pick up some polishing compound at a home center or Read more
In terms of chemistry, some soaps aren’t really true soap. Any soap in a liquid or gel form and some bar soaps, such as Zest and Ivory, are synthetic soap. These non-soap soaps are much less likely to form that dreaded layer of tough scum on your sink or tub. Read more
If the grille on your bathroom exhaust fan is clogged with dust, try a trick that’s faster and more effective than vacuuming: Turn on the fan and blast out the dust with “canned air.” The fan will blow the dust outside. This works on the return air grilles of your Read more
The next time you clean your computer monitor or TV screen, use a coffee filter. The thin, cloth-like paper catches a lot of dust and can cover a large area. You can use a coffee filter for dusting other household accessories, too.
You can move heavy furniture yourself without scratching wood floors. First, jack up the furniture piece, one side at a time, using a long 2×4 and a sturdy resting block. Then slip socks onto the legs of the furniture. Remove the jack and slide the furniture across the floor.