Cleaning Tips and Household Helpers


Tips for Cleaning        Household Helpers to make your life easier!
Tips from the 1800's, 1900's and 2000's!

Monday- Mend, laundry, tidy up the house. Do your hand washables.

Tuesday- Mop, wash, sweep and vacuum your floors and stairs.

Wednesday- Do your ironing and go to the dry cleaners.

Thursday- Clean all the bedrooms.

Friday- Clean the living room, bath room and do any
other special cleaning project you may have.

Saturday- Clean the kitchen well and wipe down the refrigerator.
Do your groceries and baking.


Sunday- You have a day off!

Schedule is from "The Rumford Book on Home Management" from the early 20's.
 I have adapted it to fit modern needs.


Home made Cleaners not always Safer!

Carpet Cleaning Tips

Vacuum your carpet at least once a week, even if it doesn't look like it needs it.
The dust, and dirt, gets ground into the carpet and will slash the fibers. Have
your carpets professionally cleaned at least once a year (every 4 months is preferable)  Hire someone or do it yourself.




Always try to remove carpet stains as soon as possible. You have a better chance
at removing the stain than if you wait longer. Never use ammonia or soap on carpets  because they contain alkalis, which harm the fibers and fade the colors. Use a clean  cloth, such as a towel, to soak up liquids. Use a spatula to scoop up semi solids. Sponge  the area lightly with water, or a soapless lather cleaner. Do not rub too hard. Start  cleaning at the outer edge of the stain, then work inward. Don't use too much water.  You can use a hair dryer or electric fan to help dry the area when done.


Got ink on your nice carpet? Don't panic. Blot up the ink with a cloth or blotter.
Next, take a sponge and wet it with a solution of Lysol and Water (ratio 1 teaspoon
Lysol to 1 Quart water) 
Gently sponge area till ink is gone. Get clean spong and
 rinse with water and then dry.


Did puppy have an accident? Sponge the area with a solution of 1/2 cup of white
 vinegar in a quart of warm water. May need repeat application.


Chewing gum stuck on carpet? Rub the area with ice cubes till gum is ice cold.
Scrape up with a spatula. If stain is still there, you can try using a dry cleaning fluid.


Nail Polish spill? Use nail polish remover, but apply withan eye dropper.
Wait a few minutes, and wip with a clean, dry cloth.


Kids leave a red lollipop to melt on your carpet? Or a popsicle? Remove the food item,  then sponge with warm water. If this doesn't work, take a teaspoon of very mild detergent  (like ivory snow or dreft) and mix in a 1/2 pint of water. Sponge this on with lukewarm water.


Cigarette burns: Clip the ends of the blackened tufts. Rub the spot with water and a soapless cleaner.




How to Clean a Room

Listen to your favorite music-Never clean with the TV on
or it will take you twice the time to clean! Dust high things first, then work your way to  the bottom as you go around the room. After dusting, cover up your small furniture  and knick knacks. Shake your curtains and brush them. Vacuum carpeting . Dust the  ceilings, then dust walls, window frames and shades, radiators, floors, closet floors  and baseboards. Clean windows, lights, ceiling fixtures, mirrors and pictures.  (Includes Tv and stereo equipment, etc.) If you have hardwood floors, dust and polish them.  Put all knick knacks back in place. Last step: Polish your brass, copper, silver, etc. If you follow this in order, you will have accomplished your spring cleaning!  This list makes it sound easy and fun!


Here is another Cleaning Schedule
From the 1920's!
The modern housewife keeps her house clean rather than house cleans giving
each room a rather thorough cleaning as often as necessary. For this cleaning the
following program is suggested:

1. Dust bric-a-brac and clean metals. Place them all
together and cover them up.

2. Dust wood furniture and vacuum clean overstuffed furniture. Remove the smaller
 pieces to another room if possible. Cover those which remain. In the he bedroom,
take off the bedding and thoroughly clean the springs and mattress, make up again and cover.

3. Clean rugs with a vacuum cleaner.

4. Remove draperies and blinds and clean them on a flat surface with a vacuum cleaner.

5. Dust ceilings and walls

6. Dust wood trim, doors and baseboards.

7. Clean windows and mirrors

8. Dust pictures

9. Dust lighting fixtures

10. Clean and polish wood floors

11. Replace everything

DONE!


Stocking a Linen Closet
This is the least amount you should have.
More is always better

Bathroom
2 wash cloths per person
4 hand towels per person
4 bath towels per person
2 bath mats for each bathroom

Bedrooms
2 sets of sheets for each bed
2 pairs of pillowcases for each bed
2 blankets for each bed
1 quilt for each bed

2 bedspreads for each bed
2 mattress pads for each bed

Dining Room
2 table cloths (everyday)
1 table cloth (company)
12 cloth napkins

Kitchen
6 hand towels (to be supplemented by paper towels
6 lint free cloths for wiping glasses and dinnerware
6 dish towels


Do you have discolored wooden bread boards or rolling pins?
Try rubbing with 1/2 a lemon and then rinse with clear water.



Cleaning Vases

Do you have a white film on the inside of your vases?
Fill the vase with vinegar and let set for a couple of hours



f you have bottles of perfume or cologne which you do not care for, don't throw them out.  Try putting some in your bath water. The ratio of water to perfume will make for a nice smelling bath!





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How to Clean an Iron?
Try using an 
Emery Cloth if the Plate has rust on the bottom.

More Iron Cleaning Tips
If the iron has a waxy residue on the plate: Set the iron on the highest setting .  Get a Newspaper or Brown Paper bag, and run the iron back and forth on the paper .   Stop when the waxy residue is gone.

Dip a rag or paper towel into ammonia and rub on the plate.
Then, get a clean paper towel or clean rag, and dip in cold.
Rub this cloth over the plate, to remove and ammonia residue.

< If the Iron Plate has a starch build up: 
A cleaner such as Lysol Kitchen Cleaner Spray or
 Simple Green Kitchen Cleaner
should do the trick.  Most any brand will work, as long as it is not a powdered cleaner, or dishwashing liquid.

The cleaning of the soleplate will  take some of the teflon coating off. To help make the iron glide more smoothly on cloth,  1st  iron a few pieces of wax paper.


Never, Ever immerse an iron or any electrical appliance in water!!


Dustless Duster
Want to know how to make a dust less duster?
These dusters work great and protect your furniture! You will need 1 pint of very hot water and 1/4 cup of lemon oil. Stir the oil into the hot water. Take 4 or 5 pieces of cheesecloth and soak with the oil and water mixture. Squeeze the excess water out  and hang on line to dry. The cloths will last longer if you hem them. (If you wash the cloths,  you will need to treat them with the oil and water mixture again)



Oops, did you drop a glass on your kitchen floor? Did it break? An easy way to clean up the shards is to take a damp piece of absorbant cotton. This will help you from getting cut.



How to dust a room!

1. Use soft non scratching and non-linting cloths.

2. Oiled duster should have very little oil on it.

3. Wet dusters will cloud and dull wood (always use dry)

4. Begin dusting in one part of the room.

5. Dust everything in its turn, started from the top and working down to the bottom.

6. Gather the dust in the cloth and do not scatter or stir the dust.

7. Put duster to soak in cold water with soap.

8. Wash out the heavy dirt with warm water and soap

9. Rinse duster, shape and hang to dry

A thorough dusting will help preserve your
furniture and draperies




IVORY CARE
To clean and preserve the color of ivory: Place the article in a basin of cold water
. Allow to set for 24 hours. Remove from water and lay the item on a clean, dry towel.
   
Do not wipe! Air Dry only. If any water remains , plea blow the water out. If any water is  remaining, the ivory color will become destroyed. Be careful!


PICTURE FRAMES
Dingy or rusty gilt picture frames may be cleaned by simply washing them with a  small sponge moistened with oil of turpentine or spirits of wine! Take care that the
sponge does not become saturated. The sponge should be damp, not soaking. Gently wipe off the dirt and rust. DO NOT WIPE DRY...Let the frames dry themselves.

Another method to clean gilt frames: Carefully dust the frame. Make a mixture of 1 ounce of baking soda and 3 egg whites. Beat well. Wash the frames with this mix.
Touch up scrapes with gold paint.


Ammonia Clean Up

For quick and easy cleanups, get a spray bottle and fill 1/2 with water and 1/2 with ammonia.  Why pay a fortune for other cleaners, when this works just as well (and kills germs) I use this for cleaning counters, and wiping down appliances. Spray on, wipe off! Also good for cleaning wastebaskets and garbage cans.


Crayon Marks on Walls

Have Kids? Do you have crayon marks on your walls? I do, and it sure doesn't look pretty! Try taking a damp cloth and sprinkle some baking soda on it. Gently rub the crayon marks away. Pencil Marks can be removed by using an artgum eraser.(You can get Artgum at your art supply store.


Cleaning Pots and Pans
Do you have pans and pots with stubborn burnt on food?
Sprinkle baking soda and add a little water. Let sit for about 1/2 hour. Now, wash with dishwashing liquid. Makes it much easier to clean!


Cleaning Copper Bottom Cookware
Do you use RevereWare Cookware? Or cookware with copper bottoms? I do, and try this easy  copper cleaner solution! Rub the copper with Worcestershire Sauce, let set for a minute and rinse off!  You can also try rubbing with catsup, but I like the sauce method better


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GLASS CARE
A simple glass cleaner is baking soda and water!
To prevent windows from steaming: Clean the glass ccasionally
with a cloth moistened with glycerin.
Wipe it so only a trace of the glycerin is left on the surface.
Use on the inside of a window .

Need to clean up your glass topped outdoor furniture? Rub in a
little lemon juice (can be from a bottle) Dry with paper towels and make it shine by rubbing with a newspaper! If you have any scratches on the  glass top, try rubbing in some toothepaste and this should remove the scratches.


Oven Cleaning
To remove grease from inside ovens and 
broilers, put small pan of ammonia in oven
at night and close the oven door. In the
morning, remove the pan of ammonia.
The grease inside the oven will
wipe off easily!


Need a good toilet bowl cleaner?
Inexpensive, too? Try this! Get a a bucket or pail and add 2 quarts of water, 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1 tablespoon of household ammonia. Mix well. Pour  this entire mixture into the toilet and put the toilet lid down. Let the solution set
for 30 minutes. Open the lid, scrub with brush and flush! Easy
and makes your toilet bowl sparkle!





A small bedroom with appear larger if you
keep the bedspread the same color as the walls.



Lemon Juice will remove adhesive tape
and gum from hands and clothes!




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