Old Fashioned Cleaning Tips that Still Work Today
These cleaning tips might be old fashioned, but back in the day, they worked better than many of our modern chemical products.
07/07/2020
Visualize back to the day when lords and ladies held glittering affairs and celebrations in mansions and townhouses. When everything in the home was shiny, spick and span and not a chemical cleaner to be found. Those where the days and a bit of spit and polish were all that was needed to get the job done, as well as some household products that we still use today. The only difference is that the majority of the old fashioned cleaning products were chemical-free and completely non-toxic and there is absolutely no reason why these cannot be used today to clean our homes.
Lemon Juice and Salt
Copper Cleaner
There are many ways to use lemon juice and salt for cleaning in the home but I have found that it is a great way to clean copper items. Just squeeze the juice of a lemon into a bowl and add some salt. Stir until it the salt has dissolved and then dip in your cleaning cloth to remove tarnish from copper items.
Taps and Fittings
Lemon juice and salt is also a great cleaner for taps and chrome fittings, and at the same time, it helps keep hard water stains at bay. Mix up a large batch of lemon juice and salt - and yes, you can use concentrated lemon juice, and keep this in a spray bottle for when you want to do an intensive cleaning in a bathroom or kitchen.
Cleaning Tiles and Grout
The citric acid in lemons helps to dissolve certain stains and using lemon juice to clean tiled walls will not only remove dirt and grime, but it will also assist in keeping the grout clean as well. You don't need to use this all the time, just a once a month treatment will work to freshen up a bathroom. For your regular cleaning simply squeeze half a cup of lemon juice into a spray bottle of water and give it a good shake. This can be used to wipe down tiles and bathroom fittings on a daily or weekly basis.
Did You Know?
When using vinegar as a cleaning solution, adding some lemon juice to the mix will help to neutralise the smell.
good housekeeping
White spirit vinegar is still one of the best ways to give windows a thorough, streak-free cleaning. Use a chamois cloth to wipe the windows dry and remove any streaks.
White Spirit Vinegar
Everyone knows that vinegar is great for cleaning areas in a home. The acidity of vinegar makes it a powerful antibacterial cleaner that also helps to break down mineral deposits and hard water stains.
Bathroom Cleaner
Like lemon juice, vinegar will remove soap scum and hard water stains around taps and fittings, shower doors and floors and even mouldy areas. You can use vinegar on its own or combine it with bicarbonate of soda for heavy build-up of stains, and you can add a dash of lemon juice so that the smell isn't overpowering.
Formica Countertops
You can use a vinegar and water solution as an antibacterial cleaner for kitchen countertops, but don't use this on granite or marble tops. A vinegar cleaner is also excellent at removing stains on floor tiles. Mix up a 2:1 ratio of water to vinegar and keep this handy for all your home cleaning, says the owner of Cleandy London.
Remove Mould
White spirit vinegar will kill off mould colonies, so use this for cleaning around the bathtub or shower. However, keep in mind that vinegar might affect the silicone sealer around the tub, so keep this in mind. If you have mould around the bathtub it might be a good idea to treat the area with vinegar, remove and the apply new silicone sealer.
Natural Scrubbing Cleaner
For stubborn stains or areas that need a good cleaning, combine white spirit vinegar with bicarbonate of soda for intensive cleaning action.
Cleaning Oven
Forget using extremely toxic cleaners like an oven cleaner and opt for white spirit vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. This will clean away grease stains easily and do it more naturally if you use this regularly to clean your oven. And talking about bicarb, make a paste to scour away grease stains from the base of your pots and pans.
Did you know that glycerin can remove stains from fabrics? Simply add 2 parts water to glycerin and rub this onto the stain. Leave for about an hour, rub and wash as normal.
good housekeeping
Keep your whites looking bright by adding half a cup of concentrated lemon juice to the rinse cycle - it works like a dream.
Bicarbonate of Soda (Baking Soda)
Clean Pots and Pans
Something almost everyone has in their home, baking powder, also known as bicarbonate of soda, is not only a good scrubbing paste for pots and pans, you can combine it with white spirit vinegar to keep blocked drains at bay.
Freshen Carpets
Sprinkling your carpets with bicarb will help to lift odours from the carpet pile, which is especially useful if you have pets in the home. Make it a habit to sprinkle carpets with bicarb and leave overnight - do this monthly and you will keep smells at bay. If you have a lavender bush in the garden, remove the flowers, dry them out and add them to the bicarb to leave your carpets smelling slightly scented and fresh.
Clean and Refresh a Mattress
Few people tend to air out their mattress now and again, or at least twice a year, and yet this not only helps reduce bed bugs, but it also cleans away dead skin and other minuscule debris that collects in the mattress over time. Sprinkle with bicarb and leave on for a morning before lighting brushing with a soft scrubbing brush and then vacuuming away.
Polish Silver to a Shine
If you have any items of silver you know that these should never go in a dishwasher. If you need to clean silver to remove tarnish and bring out the shine, place some tin foil in a bowl and cover with hot water. Sprinkle bicarb into the water and let the fizz clean your silver items.
