- Dusting. Get it wet. While your grandmother may disagree, damp cloths will always do a better job at dusting than dry ones will. A slightly moist cloth attracts and traps dust, while a dry one simply pushes it around.
- Removing Pet Hair. Sprinkling baking soda over rugs helps loosen pet hair. Let a light coat of baking soda sit just a bit, and then vacuum. It deodorizes as well!
- Removing Red Wine Stains. Pretreat fabric with shaving cream, work into stain. Place in washing machine, using hot or warm water.
- Carpet Odor. If you have pets or smoke indoors, keep carpeting fresh-smelling with baking soda. Just sprinkle baking soda liberally on the carpet, and let it stand overnight.
- Microwave Cleaning. Place a handful of wet paper towels inside and run on high for 3-5 minutes. The steam from the towels will soften the grime, once the paper towels are cool enough use them to wipe microwave’s interior.
- Cleaning cast-iron pan. Rub with a few tablespoons of salt and paper towel then rinse. Replenish the oil film by coating the inside surface with a dab of cooking oil.
- Disinfect garbage disposal. Deep clean and deodorize a waste disposal unit by grinding ice cubes made with half vinegar, half water.
- Mildew Cleaning. Wash the surface with a solution of bleach 25 percent in water with a bit of detergent. The bleach will kill the mildew and the detergent will wash it off. Wet the surface with the solution, let sit for about five minutes, then rinse.
- Vinyl Flooring. Dissolve small quantities of household bleach, isopropyl alcohol, or oxalic acid into two cups of water. Be sure to test the chemical on a small piece of the vinyl floor.
- Bad smell in your kitchen. Simply purchase two or three lemons from your grocery store and cut them in half. One by one, throw them into your garbage disposal and allow them to be ground up; they will release their scent and the rinds will help remove any built-up gunk on the disposal blades.