Cleaning without tears

Cleaning without tears
Chemical cleaners have their place but are expensive and cause damage to the environment. Whenever possible use simple, safe and cheaper alternatives. Queens of housework and TV stars Kim and Aggy and Anthea Turner have masses of ways for using everyday, non chemical alternatives in their books to accompany their respective series.

Vinegar
Vinegar has a multitude of uses, many of them not of the culinary variety.

To clean limescale from inside a kettle fill with a mixture of half and half boiling water and white vinegar. Leave overnight before giving it a god rinse. Ditto with shower heads – just unscrew and soak in a container.

A saucer of vinegar placed in an unobtrusive corner will act as an air freshener and will absorb odours.

Cleaning dried on food in the microwave is easy if you put a couple of tablespoons of vinegar in a bowl and microwave on high. Remove the bowl and wipe out the oven. Alternatively you can use a squirt of lemon in a mug of water and heat on high until the water boils. Then set the oven to simmer for about ten minutes before wiping out. The steam softens burnt on food and removes the smell of old chicken tikka masala.

Neat white vinegar is brilliant for cleaning discoloured smoky walls.

To avoid water marks on saucepans when boiling eggs or puddings add a little vinegar to the pan with the water.

Clean windows with a solution of two tablespoons of vinegar to one litre of warm water.

Remove smells of cooking from hands by rinsing with vinegar before washing in warm soapy water.

Hard water deposits can be removed from taps by wrapping them in vinegar soaked kitchen towel attached with elastic bands and left overnight.

Cola
For the following hints you can use the cheapest cola available, it doesn’t have to be the Real Thing. The active ingredient is phosphoric acid which can dissolve a nail in about four days (allegedly, but this may well be an urban myth).

If you have burnt food in a saucepan boil a cup of cola in it for a couple of minutes.

Blood stains on clothing, carpets or upholstery can be removed by pouring on neat cola and leaving for a few minutes before washing out with warm water.

Yes, chaps, it’s true, if you have run out of bleach and you want to lean the lavatory before your new girlfriend comes round then just pour a can of cola round the bowl. You can also clean sinks in this way.

Tea
Used tea bags can be used to clean a stained lavatory, leave in the bowl overnight and then flushed away.

Wooden floors can be cleaned by steeping two teabags in two litres of boiling water. Once the water has cooled use a cloth well wrung out to wipe over the floor.

Bicarbonate of soda
Pongy pet smells in carpets or on upholstery can be treated by working bicarbonate of soda into the pile and leaving overnight before vacuuming.

Olive oil and lemon juice
Wooden furniture can be cleaned using a mixture of half and half olive oil and lemon juice.

Prevent water marks forming around stainless steel taps by rubbing them with olive oil after you have cleaned them using a cut lemon.

A cut lemon can be used to clean anywhere there is a build of grease.

Lemon juice can be used to remove stains from plastic and olive oil will remove stains on plastic left by tomato or carrot juice if you rub a piece of oil soaked kitchen paper over them.