Spring cleaning tips
After being cooped up in a stuffy house all winter long, it’s finally time to open the windows, dust away the cobwebs, and take on your annual spring cleaning.
Below are some tips to help you get through this task.
Before you throw out that old kitchen apron, stash your essential spring-cleaning supplies in the pockets and use it as you go from room to room.
It will leave your hands free to scrub and polish and you won’t have to carry a heavy cleaning bucket around the house. To create storage compartments, turn up the bottom of a long apron. Determine pocket widths by using the size of your cleaning supplies as guides. Stitch vertically using a sewing machine.
A simple chemical reaction causes tarnish to disappear naturally. Place sterling or plated silver in an aluminium pan, it must be aluminium. Sprinkle half to one cup baking soda over the silverware. Keeping the pan in the sink to minimise splashing, pour enough boiling water to cover the utensils. When the tarnish disappears, remove the silverware, and buff with a soft cotton cloth.
The chore of cleaning small-necked and antique bottles can be avoided. One easy solution is to fill the bottles with water, drop in a tablet or two of a denture cleaner, let stand overnight and then scrub with a narrow nylon brush.
Candlelight may be romantic, but there’s nothing lovely about scraping melted candles out of their holders. Not only is it ineffective; you also risk scratching or breaking the delicate glass. Instead, try placing the glass candleholders in the freezer for a few hours. Once frozen, the wax will shrink just enough to pop right out.
To avoid scuffed floors when rearranging furniture, fold two clean towels (dirty ones can scratch floors), place one under each end, and slide the piece across the floor.
When it comes to mildew, prevention gives you the upper hand. So be sure to keep surfaces clean, improve air circulation, and reduce dampness (for example, don’t bunch wet towels). In poorly ventilated rooms, install open shelving, use a dehumidifier and fan, and store items in airtight plastic containers.
Here’s a bright idea! Keep your fabric lampshades dust-free with an adhesive lint roller. Hold the shade steady, and pass the roller over the exterior.
The insides of glass bottles can be a challenge to dry. You can’t air-dry them; the water only condenses and becomes trapped, eventually discolouring the glass. Try tightly rolling a paper towel, and insert it three-fourths of the way into the bottle; it will absorb the moisture.
q Information obtained from www.marthastewart.com.
