Alphabetical List if Natural Household Hints [I-Z]

The Best Household Cleaners are Right in Front of You

Solve those everyday household problems …learn.
How to clean up more quickly and easily without environmental waste.
You will be amazed what everyday items can do to save you money and time.

In Alphabetical Order from I-Z.

Iron Cleaned of Lime Scale

Pour equal amounts of vinegar and water into the water holder. Put on the steam setting and let it stand for 5 minutes. Cool and drain.

Iron Plate Stain Removal

Heat equal parts vinegar and salt in a small pan. Rub solution on the cooled iron surface to remove dark or burned stains.
Use a paste of bicarbonate of soda & water to clean the bottom of your iron.

Laundry Stains Gone

Put about 1/4 cup of bicarbonate of soda in washing machine It helps soften and boosts cleaning power. Great in laundry to remove cigar/cigarette smells and stains/.

Mold and Mildew Removers

Mix a solution of two teaspoons tea tree oil to two cups of water and keep in a spray bottle. Spray onto mold or mildew. Don’t rinse.
This solution will also remove musty smells from cloth items and clothes. Soak clothes for a few hours, then wash normally. What can’t be soaked can be sprayed and then aired for a few days until the fragrance of the tea tree oil subsides.- On non-porous washable surfaces, try vinegar or a solution of borax and water.

Oven Decreasing

Warm the oven, mix a cup of water with half a cup of cloudy ammonia in an oven-proof bowl, turn the oven off and place the bowl in it for 10 to 15 minutes, wipe the walls of the oven with a stiff brush and some bicarbonate of soda, wipe over with a damp cloth. The racks should be easy to clean with a scourer and some bicarbonate of soda after the cloudy ammonia treatment. After you have cleaned your oven, wipe it over with a solution of 1 heaped teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and 300mls of water. This will make the job easier next time.
Wipe oven with vinegar to prevent grease build up.

Plastic & Electronics

Some bicarbonate of soda on a damp cloth removes dust from the plastic parts of electronic equipment.

Plastic Crockery and Plate Stain Removal

Remove stain by rubbing with a paste of equal parts bicarbonate of soda and coarse salt.

Plastic Food Container Odours

To remove odours, fill the containers with scrunched up balls of newspaper, and then place in the freezer for a few days, or soak in a solution of bicarbonate of soda and water, and then scrub with a damp cloth and bicarbonate of soda.

Shower Curtain Cleaner

Bicarbonate of soda is excellent for cleaning shower curtains – in or out of the washing machine.

Silver Tarnish Removal

Clean with a solution made from one and a half teaspoons of salt and one and a half teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in one litre of water, bring to the boil and drop silver cutlery in, boil for 3 minutes and then polish with a soft cloth. If the silver is badly tarnished, add a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil. This will react with the soda to lift the tarnish.

Sinks & Bath Skin Removal

Bicarbonate of soda cleans porcelain sinks and bath.

Stainless Steel Cleaner

Vinegar cleans stainless steel & Copper pot.

Use bicarbonate of soda as a pot scrubber. Make it into a paste and scrub stainless steel, iron or copper pots and bottoms with it
Surfaces Soapy water or a small amount of bicarbonate of soda.
Thermos flask Soak thermos flasks with about 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and hot water. It takes out coffee and tea stains. Also sprinkle bicarbonate of soda into the dry thermos before putting the cover back on and storing it. It keeps it fresh. JUST remember to rinse out the bicarbonate of soda before you fill it next time.

Wallpaper Remover

You can use vinegar to remove wall paper. First remove top layer of wallpaper. Then spray vinegar on and let stand for a minute or two. Then pull backing away. Scrape excess glue off wall. Wipe remaining glue off with vinegar and rinse with water.
Washing machine & dishwasher

Add vinegar to the soap container and run through a regular cycle to dissolve detergent residues.
Use vinegar in place of rinse aid. Fill powder holder with bicarbonate soda.