We know how to spring clean our homes and our cars. We know the tricks for tough tasks and how to make DIY cleaners. So what’s left? Those odd items. You know the ones we mean— you don’t clean them often, or they’re super fragile, or you forget they even exist until you suddenly notice a mess. What do we do about THOSE? Easy! Just check out these 27tips for all those tough-to-clean things in your life.
- Window Tracks
- When you open your windows to catch those gorgeous summer breezes, make sure the wind isn’t blowing debris, dirt, and other messy gunk in with it. Bring your window tracks back to their new-home glory with baking soda, vinegar, dish soap and some elbow grease.
- Blinds
- Once you have your windows clean, make sure your window treatments are tidy, too! Cleaning your blinds is simple with a microfiber cloth, liquid dish soap, and warm water.
- Shower Curtain
- The place where you clean yourself should always be sparkling, don’t you think? Make keeping your shower pristine a little easier by washing the curtain in a salt bath to both get rid of mildew and prevent it from forming in the first place.
- Shower Caulking
- Another place where mold and mildew seem to spring up overnight? The caulking of our showers. Get rid of it the simple way with bleach and a toothbrush.
- Bathroom Tiles
- Once you have that bathroom pristine, you want to
keep
- it that way— with a candle! Use the candle wax to seal the grouting and prevent mildew from making a comeback.
- Porcelain Sink
- If you live in an older home – or sometimes even newer ones – chances are you have a porcelain sink in your bathroom, your kitchen, or both. While they can be pretty, they’re also easily-stained and hard to clean. Make it easier and make your sink as white as fresh snow again with white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, lemon, and salt!
- Hard Water Deposits
- Even if you have a more common metal sink in your kitchen, you can run into persistent staining thanks to hard water deposits. Luckily, all you need to take care of
that
- mess is some distilled white vinegar and an old T-shirt.
- Range Hood Filter
- Next to the sink, the messiest thing in your kitchen just might be the range hood filter. After all, what wouldn’t look filthy when being bombarded with smoke and grease every day? Make sure it can do its job by cleaning it with some OxiClean!
- Glass Oven Door
- Think the rest of your stove and oven is all set, especially thanks to the oven’s self-cleaning feature? Well, it might be, but there also might be a problem with your glass oven door after running that cleaning cycle: it’s messier than before! Use an overnight baking soda paste to take care of it.
- Toaster
- When you’re not using your oven, more than likely you’re using your toaster— but how often do you
clean
- it? Whether it’s a pop-up or a toaster oven, make it safe for your food with nail polish remover and cream of tartar.
- Refrigerator
- There’s another appliance in your kitchen that could use some more attention. Of course, we’re referring to the refrigerator, and by cleaning it we mean more than just tossing out last week’s leftovers. Make sure you’re giving it a deep clean like THIS at least twice a year . . .
- Refrigerator Coils
- . . . and vacuuming those refrigerator coils at the bottom of your fridge for more efficient, less costly power usage.
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Now that you’ve got all your kitchen appliances clean, make sure your tools are just as pristine. One of the most intimidating is the cast iron skillet, which often comes with lots of dire warnings about how
not
- to clean it. Don’t worry! All you need to clean are two all-natural items: salt, and a potato!
- Pot and Pan Bottoms
- Even if your pots and pans are the “regular” kind, there’s probably part of them you haven’t paid a lot of cleaning attention to: the bottoms! Get rid of any burn marks or leftover mess with Bar Keeper’s Friend OR baking soda!
- Mattress
- Everybody knows how to clean blankets and sheets, but what about the actual mattress? Cleaning it is a multistep but simple process. Bust out your vacuum, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap, and go to town.
- Laptop
- The biggest cleaning challenges aren’t the ones that seem
difficult
- to clean, but the ones we’re a little afraid to clean. Top of that list? Laptop computers. Demystify the process and clean without fear with microfiber cloths, mild dish soap, distilled water, compressed air, rubbing alcohol, and pipe cleaners.
- Mirrors
- Sometimes we THINK we know how to clean something, but we’re actually doing it incorrectly or even causing damage. Case in point? Mirrors! No, you don’t want to use Windex on them. Instead, use microfiber cloths, cotton pads, rubbing alcohol, vinegar and water.
- Odd-Shaped Glasses and Bottles
- Other times, the cleaning challenge is that while we know how to clean something in theory, we can’t actually
get
- to the areas we need to clean. No item is more frustrating than odd-shaped glass objects with openings too small for our hands. In that case, use this clever magnet cleaning method!
- Keurigs and Coffee Makers
- With all their tiny compartments and moving parts, Keurig machines and coffee makers can be even trickier than odd-shaped bottles and glasses. Plus, our frequent use leads to build-up, so make sure you’re regularly descaling, disinfecting, and cleaning those appliances.
- Makeup Brushes
- Anything that comes into direct contact with our bodies is obviously
super
- important to keep clean, but sometimes it can be easy to forget to actually wash them. Falling into both categories? Makeup brushes! Make sure they’re germ-free by regularly and safely cleaning them with olive oil and dish soap.
- Hair Brushes
- Don’t forget about your hair brushes, either! After all, who wants to drag a mess through freshly-washed hair? Clean them once a month with baking soda and shampoo.
- Baseball Caps
- All that running around and playing in the warm weather leaves baseball caps a mess, but you’ve probably wondered if you can clean the same way you would other clothing. Answer: no, but you can still clean it easily— in the dishwasher, of all places! Throw them in there with some Borax, and they’ll be better than new.
- Iron
- Make sure the things you
use
- to clean are clean themselves. White vinegar and salt are the best combo for a clean and effective iron.
- Air Conditioner
- Not only will a dirty air conditioner not work as well, it don’t help the cleanliness of
anything
- in your home. Cleaning it yourself is a little complicated, but it’s possible!
- Ceiling Fan
- If you don’t have central air conditioning, you probably stay cool with a ceiling fan. Make cleaning those blades easier by using this pillowcase trick!
- Dog Toys
- The furrier members of our families deserve clean things, too! Most plush toys can go into the washing machine, while others should get a soak in warm water and vinegar.
- Car Upholstery
- You don’t have to take your vehicle to the carwash or a detailer to bring that upholstery back to life, no matter how badly beaten-up it is. Make a cleaner out of equal parts club soda, dish soap, and vinegar, scrub with a scrub brush, and rinse with a shop vac or steam cleaner.
We feel like we can clean anything and everything now! There were several things on this list we’d never even thought of cleaning before, but now we’re putting them onto our regular list. What about you? If you’re wondering about an item you don’t see here, tell us about it or check this list from Diply for even more tricks and tips. Do you have any unusual cleaning hacks to share?
Source : tiphero.com
