Nightly Cleanup
Cloudy Glasses
There’s nothing like a stained drinking glass to swiftly undermine your cleanly reputation. For hard-to-clean lipstick smears and coffee stains on glasses and mugs, Meg Roberts, president of Molly Maid, is a huge fan of vinegar. Just soak the glasses in warm soapy water and add half a cup of white vinegar, she says. If they’re extra tough to remove, soak them overnight and use a nylon net to remove the film.
Silverware Stains
They may be fresh out of the dishwasher but you wouldn’t know it, thanks to those unsightly water stains left on the silverware. An easy way to be free of them? Fill a cake pan with aluminum foil and then fill with water. Add 1 tbsp. of baking soda per 2 cups of water. Heat the pan to 150 degrees in the oven and then lay silverware in the pan so that it’s touching the aluminum foil and fully immersed in the water mixture. Check the silverware after five minutes and the stains should be gone, says Roberts.
Pots & Pans
To rid pots, pans and casserole dishes of burnt food stains, just pop open a can of Pepsi or Coca-Cola. According to Roberts, the combination of phosphoric acid and carbonation are a best-kept secret when looking for an easy alternative to scrubbing your cookware. Just pour in the soda, let sit overnight and wipe the stains off the next day.
Crayon Markings
Though the kids meant well by adding their artistic flair to the walls, crayon markings don’t have to be a permanent fixture in your home. To remove, add a squirt of non-gel toothpaste to a scrub brush, which will act as an abrasive that removes markers or crayons from walls or cabinets, says Roberts. Apply as much toothpaste as needed to fully cover the wall and gently wipe the crayon remnants away.
Designate Days
Rapinchuk has discovered that saving all of her cleaning for one day rarely makes her home as clean as she wants. Instead, she’ll allocate larger cleaning tasks to specific days (For example, Monday is bathroom day and Tuesday is dusting day). “This method keeps the house tidy most of the time and assures you that you won't waste a whole day cleaning,” she says.
Garbage Be Gone
To give your garbage disposal a proper cleaning (and a far more pleasant scent), let it grind up a few ice cubes. "The ice doesn't harm it and crunching it up will dislodge bits of grease and buildup," says Itaya. Follow with a lemon (cut into quarters), which will fully clean and deodorize the disposal.
