TOP CLEANING TIPS FROM A HANDYMAN'S WIFE
1. When washing glasses, sprinkle a small amount of salt into the washing-up water - it helps to bring glass up really clean and shiny.
2. When cleaning open-toed shoes, slip your hand into a plastic bag before putting it inside the shoe. This stops polish staining your hand.
3. After cleaning the oven, get rid of any lingering smells by putting a few pieces of orange peel inside and turning the oven on to a low setting for 10 minutes.
4. To clean the inside of a narrow vase, put 1 tsp of dry rice into it, then top up with a hot, soapy solution and shake vigorously.
5. Remove black scuffmarks from white shoes by putting a little drop of nail polish remover on some cotton wool and rub gently over the mark.
6. If a hot cup or dish has left a mark on dark furniture, rub gently with a walnut shell and then a little polish.
7. A small bottlebrush is ideal for cleaning those difficult-to-get-at sink overflows.
8. To clean plain gold or silver jewellery, dilute a little washing-up liquid in warm water in a glass, leave the jewellery in the liquid for a few hours, then rinse with cold water and dry with a tissue. Your jewellery will glitter.
9. Get the most from light bulbs by dusting them once a week.
10. When putting a new dust bag in your vacuum cleaner, put a handful of fresh or dried herbs into the bag. The fragrance will help freshen rooms each time you vacuum.
11. A saucer of vinegar left in a room overnight removes all traces of cigarette smoke.
12. Use a bit of toothpaste to shift stubborn stains on polished table surfaces.
13. Scorched your favourite shirt? Soak it in milk and the mark should just vanish.
14. After you've decaled your kettle, use the water to soak your dishcloth. It will come up beautifully clean.
15. If you have trouble removing pet hairs from carpets or clothes, use a dry green kitchen-scouring pad as a brush. The hairs simply come away on it.
16. To clean Lego bricks easily, put them in a pillowcase tying the top loosely. Wash them in the machine at 40C and then spin dry. They'll look like new.
17. If a white garden table is looking dull and dirty, try cleaning it with a Brillo pad. It'll come up like new.
18. To remove permanent marker ink from any kind of hard surface, spray with deodorant and rub with a soft cloth.
19. To clean grubby white canvas shoes in a hurry, wipe down the rubber surfaces with a damp cloth and then rub some talc into the canvas.
PENNY PINCHING TIPS
20. Turn your central heating down one degree. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes to your heating bills. .
21. An egg timer by the phone will remind you to keep calls short.
22. Mend a broken lipstick by warming the broken section and the container over a candle. Then press the lippie back into position.
23. To get the most out of your toothpaste, clamp a clothes peg over the end of the tube and roll it up round the peg.
24. Save on dry-cleaning bills. Shift shiny patches on fabric by brushing them with a mild vinegar solution.
25. Just 1 tbsp of oatmeal mixed with a little milk makes an excellent cheap exfoliating scrub.
26. Turn off the lights when you leave a room!
27. Make shampoo and conditioner go twice as far. Double the quantity by adding water. It won't lessen the effect.
28. Make sticky nail varnish go further by adding a few drops of nail-varnish remover.
29. A drop of oil on the end of a dry mascara wand will give you more applications.
30. Forget firelighters, use dry potato peelings to start a fire.
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