How to Vacuum small gaps.

We've just had Christmas,hope you had a Merry Good Time. If your like us you use a few tubes of wrapping paper, here is an idea to use the cardboard tube from the wrapping paper.

In most homes there are some hard to get to areas, like the gap between the stove and the cupboard or shower and vanity. These small areas collect dust and quite often the vacuum nozzle won't fit.

Attach the cardboard roll from the wrapping paper to the vacuum hose, flatten the end of it enough to fit in the gap and the dust will soon be sucked away.

How to clean mould from fridge seals naturally

A great way to clean the mould from your fridge seals without using hard chemicals is to mix up some Bi-Carbonate Soda with lemon or vanilla essence till it forms a paste. Than using a kitchen handy brush or tooth brush apply the paste by gently rubbing in to the seals. Let the paste work for a few minutes.
Wipe off with a damp cloth.
This not only leaves your fridge seals looking fresh they also smell fresh.

How to clean a stainless steel sink with baking soda

It is great when we see our stainless steel sinks shine. This is quite simple to do with just a little baking soda and water. Just splash some water around your sink and than sprinkle with baking soda. With a scrubber rub the baking soda around the sink and let sit for a few minutes. Use a toothbrush or grout brush by the drain and faucet base. Rinse off with water and wipe dry with a cotton cloth.
If you have ½ a lemon or ½ a lime dip the lemon or lime into the baking soda and rub around the sink.
Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits.
If spots are a problem with your sink, a clean cloth soaked in vinegar can help to remove these.

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To help avoid clogged drains, pour 1/4 cup baking soda down weekly. Rinse throughly with hot water.

Washing Painted Walls

We all lean on walls from time to time or run our hands along a wall. The kids just love to touch every part of the wall as they walk along corridors, and as for pets………Unfortunately our natural oils remain on the wall and collect dust and dirt.
Before you start to wash the wall, dust it as to remove any dry dirt. Dust from the top down. A feather duster is great for dusting walls.
Now down to the hard work, the washing of the walls. One of the best products to use when washing walls is sugar soap. Dilute as per the label according to how dirty the walls are.
Taking a sponge wash the walls with the sugar soap starting from the bottom and working your way up. This stops the streaking. Wash a small section of the wall, than rinse and dry according to the sugar soap instructions.
I am a time saver and personally like to use sugar soap that does not need rinsing. Why do the work twice?
http://www.selleys.com.au/Selleys-Liquid-Sugar-Soap/default.aspx

How to remove remove Stickers From a Door

There are many weird and wonderful ideas on removing stickers like smearing sticker with mayonnaise and than scraping off, but think of the surface, the grease from the mayonnaise may stain the wood.

Two ways I’ve removed stickers from doors are: One the natural way, with eucalyptus oil. Take a slightly damp cotton cloth and some eucalyptus oil. Apply a little eucalyptus oil to the stickers edges or residue.  Leave for about a minute. Gently pull the adhesive sticker. Apply more eucalyptus oil and rub with a damp cotton cloth.

Two with chemical, WD40. WD 40, shouldn't harm your wooden door; it's good for cleaning the stickers off of anything. Just spray on let sit a few minutes and rub off with a dry or wet cloth. When the WD 40 dries you shouldn't see it on the door. Don’t forget to spot test an area first. http://www.wd40.com/uses-tips

How to remove dust from the window runners (tracks)

A forgotten area is often the window runners. Dust, bugs and other debris collect in window tracks and if left in sliding windows too long this could lead to mould growing in the tracks. To clean window tracks vacuum with your vacuum nozzle and brush attachment. If you have no brush attachment, use a soft bristled painting brush to brush the dust towards the vacuum nozzle. 
If the track is soiled spray a mild detergent cleaner into the track and let soak for a short time. Than using a hard bristled painting brush, brush the dirt lose in the runners and wipe the runners with a cleaning cloth. In the corners you may need to use a cotton bud to remove the dirt. 

Note: If the runners are really narrow that you can not use your finger to guide the cleaning cloth, use the end of a screwdriver which is wrapped with the cleaning cloth, and push the dirt to one side where it can be vacuumed.

How to remove blue tack form walls

As crazy as it seems, before spraying, scraping and cursing the kids for putting so many posters up with blue tack. Roll a small pieces of blue tack over the blue tack on the wall and this will remove the blue tack without causing damage to the wall.

If a faint blue stain has remained a citrus based stain remover is the best.

If the walls have been painted sometime ago, they can become porous which will suck the oil out of Blu Tack. In this instance, you will need to clean with Sugar Soap and generally repaint the surface. http://www.blutack.com/faq.html

How to clean a Dirty Microwave.

We all love it when we open the microwave and see the dried on left overs.....Let's clean with out the scrub. Place a wet cleaning sponge in your microwave and heat for approximately 1-2 minutes. CAUTION it will be hot! Let it cool for about 1 minute. The steam from the wet sponge should loosen any hardened food particles that are stuck on the surface.  Remove the rotating tray to wash separately, than using the heated sponge, wipe down the inside walls of the microwave don't forget the microwave roof.  Dry using a clean cloth. Clean the rotating tray, dry it and place back into the microwave. Voilà - a lovely clean microwave.

Introduction to Angie

Hi, I'm Angie and I run a cleaning business on the Central Coast NSW Australia. Although a task and a half at times, we all like clean homes and have great satisfaction to see our homes clean whether cleaned by you or a cleaner.  To assist you or your cleaners I've decided to post 100+ cleaning tips over the year which will assist with the maintenance of your happy clean home.