Cleaning without tears, vinegar and lemons come to the rescue

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.  Vinegar is so versatile has a multitude of uses.

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.  The same goes for 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.

Sort out the manky microwave
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 everything even old chicken tikka masala. 

Vinegar, what would life be like without it?
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.

Coca-Cola does wonderful things
For the following hints you can use ordinary cola but why not use the best?  An ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid plus other tasty goodies to give world beating refreshment.  If you have burnt food in a saucepan boil a cup of Coca-Cola in it for a couple of minutes.  Blood stains on clothing, carpets or upholstery can be removed by pouring neat Coke 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 clean the lavatory before your new girlfriend comes round then just pour a can of Coke round the bowl.  You can also clean sinks in this way.  Honestly, can this really be true?  Perhaps we had better say "Allegedly .........!"  

Tea ain't just for drinking 
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.  It's also great for cleaning fridges as it removes all the old food smells, even the old cabbage that stuck to the back of the fridge and eluded discovery for weeks. 

Olive oil and lemon juice - not just a salad dressing 
Wooden furniture can be cleaned using a mixture of half and half olive oil and lemon juice. You can prevent water marks forming around stainless steel taps by rubbing them with olive oil after you have cleaned them using a cut lemon.

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.

Eat your heart out Procter&Gamble and Lever Bros we'll never need to buy a cleaning product again!