Household Cleaning Tips

The tried and tested method is to keep the fruits and vegetables in foil bags. You need not rush out to the stores to buy them, or start googling for them in your favorite online store. You can recycle foil bags from potato chips bags (those that are non-oily after you finish the chips), oats or cereal refill packs in foil bags, coffee or other drinks refill foil bags. The shiny surfaces of the bags keep the vegetables or fruits from being frozen in the fridge. The other way would be to wrap them up in newspapers before keeping fresh fruits and vegetables in the fridge. However, be careful to keep the newspapers dry as damp newspapers will cause ice to form on the newspapers and result in fruits and vegetables rotting faster.

Pour a cup of stale milk into the iron skillet. Bring it to a boil and keep it boiling for 5 minutes Pour away the milk and wash up the skillet

Put a bunch of pandan leaves or bay leaves in an old pair of panty hose. Place the leaves in the car boot or dark corners where bugs and cockroaches hide. The bay leaves and pandan leaves will keep the bugs and pesky insects away. Another advantage of using pandan leaves, it will freshen up the interior smell of the car too!

Some of us may wonder, cleaning the washing machine? Is it necessary? Well, the washing machine is meant to clean our clothes and it needs to be kept clean all the time too. However, due to hard water or excessive usage of laundry detergent, soap scum do accumulate over time in the washing machine. Especially in the hoses of the washing machine and the drum. Here is a simple way to clean up the scum in the washing machine and hoses: Pour a cup of white distilled vinegar into the soap tray of the washing machine Run a regualr wash cycle without any clothes or laundry detergent This will flush out the scum within the drum and hoses of the washing machine.

Rub the scuff marks with a clean pencil eraser, OR Clean off the scuff with some non-gel toothpaste and wipe clean with a soft cloth, OR Rub the scuff marks with lighter fluid and wipe clean with a soft cloth, OR Rub the scuff marks with some methyl silicate fluid and wipe clean with a soft cloth OR Rub the scuff marks with some petroleum jelly or mineral oil and wipe clean with a soft cloth OR  Only for black patent leather - To cover up a stubborn scuff mark, dab ink from a black felt-tip marker onto the scuff mark until it disappears. Let it air dry To give the patent leather a brighter shine, wipe the surface with white distilled vinegar and let it air dry

Stainless steel sinks are by far the hardiest sinks and requires minimal maintenance. However, having said that, kitchen sinks can be the dirtiest place in the kitchen after stovetops. They are where we wash everything from uncooked food to dishes and oily pots and pans. Here is a tried and tested method of cleaning the stainless steel sink and giving it a showroom shine without busting the household budget or using any harsh chemicals : Wet the sink Sprinkle baking soda or bicarbonate of soda over the surface of the sink Scrub out the sink with the abrasive side of the sponge to remove accumulated scum and dirt Rinse out the sink to remove the dirt Dry out the sink completely Sprinkle a scoop of flour or more on the surface of the sink Use a soft cloth or microfiber cloth to buff the surface till it shines

To get rid of smell from shoes, do the following: Fill old socks with baking soda Knot up the ends of the socks Stuff the socks into the shoes and leave them overnight Remove the socks in the morning and shoe odor is fixed OR Sprinkle baking soda liberally into the smelly shoes Lace up the shoes if possible Leave the baking soda in the shoes overnight Throw away the baking soda before putting on the shoes Baking soda should not be used on leather shoes as it may dry out the leather and cause damage to the shoes