ARTICLES

HOUSEHOLD TIPS

Its about time for that thorough home spring or fall cleaning. But after a quick walk through your home, you find your list of "things to do" includes removing a grease stain from the couch, getting hairspray residue off the bathroom walls and getting rid of the ants that keep tromping through your kitchen.

Before buying the often pricey household solutions on the market, why not try a few homemade remedies? Here are some tried-and-true tips which might help with these and other situations you run into at home:

• To clean teapots, fill with water, add two or three tablespoons of baking

soda and boil 10 to 15 minutes. After cooling, scrub and rinse thoroughly.

• Prevent clogged drains by using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar.

Pour 1/2-cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1 cup vinegar.

When foaming subsides, rinse with hot water.

• Clean tile floors with half a cup of baking soda in a bucket of warm water.

Mop and rinse clean.

• Remove crayon marks from walls with a damp sponge dipped in baking

soda.

• Rub out white rings on wooden tables with equal amounts of toothpaste

and baking soda.

• Remove wine stains from carpeting by sprinkling with baking soda. Dab

with a damp sponge. Repeat until stain is gone.

• To remove tarnish from silver, boil water and 1/2 teaspoon salt with 1 to 2

teaspoons of baking soda. Place tarnished silverware in a pan with the

boiled mixture and a piece of aluminum foil. Simmer for two to three

minutes. Rinse the silverware well, then use a soft cloth to buff dry.

• For very tough stains on grout or tile, use a paste made of 1 part bleach to

3 parts baking soda.

• To clean grease-stained upholstery, make a paste from one part water and

three parts baking soda. Massage it into the stain, then vacuum away

once it dries.

• Got a skunk odor problem? Clothes sprayed by a skunk can be

presoaked for several hours in a solution of 1/2 cup baking soda to one

gallon of water. Then machine wash clothing as usual.

• Clean suede with baking soda applied with a soft brush. Let it set, then

brush it off.

• An ink stain on leather can be removed by laying the item flat and

sprinkling baking soda on the stain. Leave soda on until ink is absorbed,

brush off and repeat if necessary.

• Keep the coffeemaker free from a build-up of lime or calcium deposits by

running white vinegar through the water reservoir and brewing it once.

Then repeat the process with two cycles of cold water brewed through the

coffeemaker.

• Sprouts of grass in the seams of cracks along the sidewalk are annoying to

any yard keeper. Try pouring white vinegar on the sprouts. It's a great

way to kill the grass without harming the environment.

• Clean the toilet by dropping two Alka-Seltzer tablets in, waiting twenty

minutes, then brush and flush.

• Another way to unclog a drain is by dropping three Alka-Seltzer tablets

down the drain, followed by a cup of white vinegar. Wait a few minutes

and run hot water.

• Clean baked-on food from a cooking pan by placing a fabric softener sheet

in the pan, filling the pan with water and letting it set overnight. The next

morning you can sponge clean it. The anti-static agents apparently

weaken the bond between the food and the pan while the fabric softening

agents soften the baked-on food.

• Are ants invading your home? Find their point of entry and apply a barrier

of chalk, borax or cayenne pepper. Be sure it's a solid line or they'll find a

way around it!

• Make little sachets of rosemary and mint and place them in closets and

drawers to help moth-proof garments.

• To conceal marks on dark wood furniture, mix instant coffee and water to

form a paste. Rub it on the scratches, then wipe off the excess with a

clean cotton cloth. For lighter wood, rub with walnut or Brazil-nut meats.

• Repair water marks in wood by rubbing the area lightly with mayonnaise,

salad oil or furniture oil. Wipe off with a clean cotton cloth.

• Try removing marks from wallpaper by lightly rubbing the area with a

piece of rye bread or an art gum eraser.

• Dull copper pots? Cut a lemon in half, dip it in salt and rub on the copper.

Just watch it shine! Rinse with warm water and buff with a soft cotton

cloth. Don't have a lemon? Try using ketchup. Just cover the copper

area with regular ketchup and let sit for a few minutes (longer for the

tougher copper projects) then rinse and buff with a soft cotton cloth.

• Remove onion, garlic and fish smells from your hands by rubbing them

with a lemon or lemon juice.

• Keep buttons on a new shirt longer by touching the center of the button's

threads with clear nail polish before washing the first time.

• Perspiration stains on shirts? Mix 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar per

gallon of water. Soak until the stain disappears then wash as usual.

• For grass stains, combine a few drops of

household ammonia with one teaspoon of

hydrogen peroxide. Rub the stain with this

mixture. Rinse with water as soon as the stain

disappears.

• To remove hairspray from walls, put a few

drops of shampoo and warm water on a sponge

or cloth and wipe down the wall. Rinse with

clear warm water to remove any residue.