- Keep glass tabletops sparkling
If you have a glass table, you’ll be used to cleaning it frequently to remove smudge marks. To add a shine every time, squeeze the juice of a halved lemon onto the surface and rub it with a clean cloth. Remove any excess juice, and then buff the tabletop with a wad of newspaper.
- Cut down on mess when cleaning a chandelier
To clean all the pendants and bangles and bits on a crystal chandelier, do you have to go to the trouble of taking it apart? Not if you use this easy method and don’t mind standing on a ladder. First, make sure the ladder is secure and that your shoes have soles with a good grip. Then push out the tray at the top of the ladder and set a small bowl of diluted surgical spirit on top (1 part alcohol to 3 parts water). Slip an old cotton glove over your hand, dip your fingers into the alcohol and wipe the glass clean with your forefinger and thumb. Then soak a second cotton glove in fresh water and go over the same areas again. Then dry all Parts of the chandelier with a clean, soft cotton cloth and it should sparkle again.
- Clean-ups for candlesticks
We often have more than romantic memories to remind us of a candlelit dinner: a collection of wax-encrusted candlesticks. Next time this happens, gather up your candlesticks and take them into the kitchen to try any of the following cleaning options:
- Hold the candlesticks under hot running water and rub the wax off with a soft cloth.
- Wash them in hot soapy water until any wax residue disappears.
- If the candlesticks are glass, lay them in the microwave on a paper towel and run the oven on Low for 3 minutes. After this, you should find that the wax has been transferred onto the paper. Discard the paper.
- Put any sort of candlestick into the freezer for a couple of hours. When you take it out you should be able to lift the wax off.
- Clean stove doors
When the doors of a wood burning stove are covered with soot it may look bad, but it’s not hard to clean the glass. If the dirty side of the glass is easy to reach, leave the doors attached when cleaning; if you need to remove the doors, lay them on a soft towel to clean. (Most doors have spring-loaded clips at the top for easy removal.) Start by scraping away any built-up deposits with a razor blade. Then fill a bucket with water, add 1 cup (250ml) white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon washing-up liquid and scrub with newspaper crumpled into a ball. Rinse well with a clean sponge or towel, dry the doors, then stand back and admire the view.
- Mirror, mirror…
Your mirrors will be streak-free if you wash them with equal parts water and white vinegar. However, technique does matter: spray-cleaning a mirror can result in moisture seeping behind the glass and turning the silvering black. Instead, dip a clean sponge or wadded-up newspaper (without coloured ink) into the solution and clean the mirror. Wipe dry with a soft cloth, a paper towel or more newspaper.
- Cleaning monitors and TV screens
Less is more when cleaning a computer monitor or TV screen. Turn off the monitor and simply dust with a clean cloth, preferably an antistatic wipe. Wipe the screen with a clean cloth barely dampened with water, from top to bottom; if fingerprints and other marks remain, add a small amount of white vinegar to the cloth and wipe again. Liquid crystal display (LCD) screens should be wiped very lightly and only with a clean cloth (paper towels can scratch the sensitive surface). Never clean an LCD screen with commercial glass cleaners, which contain ammonia, acetone, ethyl alcohol or other substances that can cause serious damage.
- Reduce tarnish with charcoal or rice
Sooner or later silver cutlery or other items will need to be polished, but you can make the task easier by keeping tarnish to a minimum. Protect your silver from moisture, which can cause tarnishing, by placing a few charcoal briquettes or a small bowl of rice in the cupboard where your silver is stored; both are highly absorbent. And place a briquette inside a silver teapot or coffee pot to prevent moisture from building up.
- Shine silver with banana peels
You can polish up tarnished silverware with the inside of a banana skin or plain old toothpaste. Whichever you use, rinse the pieces well after wiping them clean and then buff dry using a clean soft cloth.
- Banana peel Remove the banana (then eat it — it’s packed with heart-healthy potassium) and, holding firmly, massage your silver-ware with the inside of the peel. For tougher tarnish, puree the peel in a blender and then massage the paste into the silver item. Remove with a soft cloth.
- Toothpaste Rub non-gel white toothpaste onto tarnished pieces of silver and work it in with a damp soft cloth.
- Keep brass looking golden
For a tarnish-free shine, clean any brass item in one of these two ways: sprinkle a slice of lemon with bicarbonate of soda and rub it onto the brass. Or sprinkle salt onto a soft cloth dipped in white vinegar and rubs the surface. Rinse the brass with a cloth dipped in warm water and then buffs it dry. For some extra shine, rub just-cleaned brass with a little olive oil.
- Tomato sauce makes brass shine
A good way to clean knick-knacks, drawer handles and other items made of brass is to boil them in tomato sauce or a hot sauce such as Tabasco. Just put the items in a saucepan, cover with tomato sauce (easier and cheaper than using Tabasco), and place the pan over a high heat. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the brass shines up nicely. Rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.
Credit : Reader’s Digest
Picture Credit: Google