Easy Cleaning Secrets

• To clean windows, add a small handful of cornstarch to 3 to 4 quarts of water.  Wash the windows with this solution and dry with a paper towel.  
• To save $$ on cleaning supplies, use a wet sponge and baking soda to scrub your kitchen sink, bathroom and tile floors.  
• To clean mini blinds or shutters, use a clean paintbrush.
• To clean drains of hair and grease, pour 1 cup of baking soda into drain and 1 cup of vinegar.  When it starts to foam, flush the drain with hot water.  
• When washing windows, pour a little vinegar into a pail of warm water.  This way you won't have streaks.
• To rid a room of cigarette odor, put a pint of hot water in a bowl and add 3 TBSP of ammonia.  Leave the bowl in the closed room overnight.  Air out the room in the morning.  
• Use baking soda to polish the chrome fixtures in the bathroom.  Put a small amount on a wet cloth, rub the fixtures and dry with a soft cloth.
• To wash shower curtains, fill your washer with warm water and add 2 large bath towels, 1/2 cup detergent and 1/2 cup baking soda.  Run through and entire wash cycle.  On the rinse cycle, add 1 cup vinegar. 
  Do not spin-dry or wash out the vinegar.  Hang curtains immediately.  Wrinkles will disappear once the curtains are dry.
• To remove a soil or grease spot from a nylon or wool rug, just apply cornstarch to the soiled area, rub with a nylon vegetable brush and sweep up with a vacuum.
• To remove fruit and wine stains from your tablecloth and napkins, cover the stain immediately with salt and let stand a short time.  Wash in cool water.
• To remove stains from the inside of your dishwasher, fill the soap dispenser with dry orange-flavored breakfast drink mix and run the empty dishwasher through a cycle.
• To remove rust stains, moisten the stain with lemon juice, cover it with salt and dry in the sun.  Then wash as usual.
• An uncorked bottle of lemon juice makes an effective bathroom deodorizer.
• To get onion smell off your hands, wet them and gently rub in salt.  Rinse and wash with your usual soap.