Household Chores Tips
Read these 46 Household Chores Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Senior tips and hundreds of other topics.
Avoid clogged drain pipes
One good way to avoid clogging the drain pipes is to stop using powdered soaps. These soaps can turn into 'grease' in your pipes, and eventually cause clogging. Change your washing detergent to liquid, only!! Both in the dishwasher and the clothes washing machine. A few years back, my plumber found lots of grease in my pipes. "But I don't put any grease down my drains...not at all!!" I told him. This experienced plumber advised me of the problems of using powdered soaps...I changed, and have not had troubles since.
Removing ink from white fabrics
Ink can be removed from white fabrics by applying salt and lemon juice to the stained area, then placing it in the sun for a while.
A good clean/rinse solution
Vinegar is the best, all-'round cleaning solution, with cost very low. Use vinegar-water for washing windows, and as final rinse for bathroom tile, floors, and painted cabinets to remove dulling film and streaks. Solution: 1 cup vinegar, 2 quarts water.
Clean laundry
For the best cleaning of your laundry, never 'overload' the load. The excess of water allows detergent to work best, the rinse cycle to be more effective. Never 'squash' dirty laundry into machine.
Maintaining bright colors
To maintain the bright colors of new clothes, use cold water and add 1/2 cup of vinegar with detergent when washing for the first time; seals in the colors.
Detergents for washing clothes
I learned this tip the hard way, by the clogging of my sewer lines. A liquid detergent is best to use for your laundry: Cheer, Tide,and many others brands. I was advised by my plumber that powdered detergents can turn to 'grease' in your sewer lines, thus clogging them! YES! I have not had a clogged drain in that area since switching to liquid detergents 5+ years ago! Same usage works with liquid detergent in your automatic dishwasher. Switch and ease your mind of clogged drains.!
Removing stains from toilet bowl
To remove stains at the bottom of the toilet bowl, drop in a denture-cleaner tablet before retiring at night. If heavy stains, use two tablets, then repeat procedure if necessary until stain is gone.
Brighten & freshen your carpet
A simple way to brighten and freshen your carpet is to sprinkle thoroughly with cornstarch; let stand about an hour, then vacuum.
Avoid sludge build-up in drains
Easily avoid sludge build-up in your drains by using one cup baking soda, adding one cup vinegar. When this solution foams, flush with a tea-kettle full of boiling water.
Cleaning ashtrays
Try waxing the inside of your ashtrays - the ashes won't stick! Then you can simply wipe them clean with a tissue, eliminating the constant washing. Messy ashtrays don't smell so good :o)
Window spots inside or out...
By using side-to-side strokes outside and up/down strokes inside, you can easily tell which side of your windows has streaks/spots on them.
Sanitary tableware
Always place your tableware into the dishwasher with the fork-tines, knife-blades, etc. down. When removing from washing, you will be touching the handles only; much more sanitary.
Cleaning windows without streaking
Avoid washing windows when it is sunny; windows dry too quickly, causing streaking. Always wash windows starting at the top.
Doing laundry
Laundry chore? Say, you're not using a scrub board in the wash house, are you? Probably the hardest part of laundry is separating colors. All white (only) should be washed together, with added clorox/bleach. Unless there are silk whites (see below), these could be washed with hot temp. setting/cold rinse. NEVER put colors with whites. Heavy clothing (jeans, khakis, denims) should be washed separately from lighter fabrics (knits, shirts, blouses, night clothing) on warm to cold wash settings/cold rinse. Delicates (silks, sweaters, fine materials) should be washed on cold setting/cold rinse. If using a dryer, dry only as separated above to protect your articles. Sheets, towels could be washed together, but do NOT overload washing machine or dryer; a lighter load is much better.
Keep home 'uncluttered'
A good way to keep our homes less cluttered: never leave a room or go up the stairs without carrying those 'out-of-place' items with you. One or two items at a time, the clutter becomes manageable.
Bounce® Sheets - venetian blinds
Eliminate static electricity from venetian blinds by wiping the blinds with a sheet (or sheets - depending on the amount of blinds in your home :o) of Bounce®...this will prevent dust from resettling.
Poor suction on vacuum
Always check your filter bag if you are getting poor suction from your vacuum. A clean/empty bags gives better suction.
A bleach alternative
When washing whites, use oxyclean instead of bleach. Not only will the whites be whiter, but your clothes will last longer, since it doesn`t damage the material like bleach does.
Best detergent for my dishwasher
As I have stated in my tip for laundry detergent, if you are using a powdered dishwasher detergent STOP! Powdered detergents can turn to 'grease' in your sewer lines - a fact from a plumber! Always use the liquid type detergent in your dishwasher (I like lemon-scented Cascade). Use up the rest of your powder, diluted in water, to wash furniture or car upholstery or TOSS OUT. Much cheaper than a plumbing bill!!
Avoid shower mildew
To avoid mildew in your shower, keep HandiWipes® (sponge sheet) handy. Before stepping out of shower, wipe moisture from shower walls, floor, door, and shower fixtures.
Care of furniture
To remove white spots and rings on furniture, dab a cotton ball in iodine, then rub spot vigorously.
Washing fluffy sweaters
Got a new, fluffy sweater and want to keep it like-new? Hand-wash, then final-rinse in cool water with a capful of hair cream-rinse; this will help retain its prime condition.
Easy tarnish-rid of silverware
Don't ever fret over removing tarnish from sterling (or silver plate) again...Start with an aluminum (MUST be aluminum) pan placed in sink, add silverware, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 cup baking soda over silverware, then pour in enough boiling water to cover utensils. After tarnish disappears, remove silverware and wipe thoroughly with a soft cotton dishcloth.
Freshen-up the coffee pot
Coffee pots need freshening regularly; at least once a month. To do this, rinse with a strong solution of baking soda-water, then rinse with clear water. For auto-drip coffee makers, I rinse twice with clear water.
Removing gum from carpet
Easily removal gum from carpet by rubbing ice cubes on
the gum. When it becomes hardened, break off and use a good spot remover to get rid of the rest.
Bounce® Sheets - shoes
Bounce® sheets placed in those 'yucky' shoes or sneakers overnight will deodorize them.
Removing tea stains
This is especially good for removing tea stains from cups or counter tops: sprinkle baking soda on a clean, barely moistened rag then wipe the area, followed by a rinsing of cold water.
Avoid tomato stains
To avoid tomato-based sauces or meat dishes staining your plastic storage dishes, spray insides with nonstick cooking spray before adding sauces.
Lint on denim
To avoid lint from clinging to blue jeans and corduroys, add a half cup of vinegar to each wash load.
Bounce® Sheets - bed linens
For that refreshing scent at bedtime, place a sheet of Bounce® 'tween the sheets; that is, place between the mattress cover and bottom sheet when changing bed linen, about half-way down the bed.
Bounce® Sheets-Car
To freshen the air in your car, place one sheet of Bounce® under a front seat. If you are a smoker, add a sheet under both sides of front seat(s).
Alternative to moth balls
If you don't mind the 'spicy' aroma, you can use whole cloves in the pockets of wool coats, or in a bag with sweaters when storing for the off-season. Prevents moth damage with a better aroma!
Stubborn dirt on floors
We can remove stubborn patches of dirt on floors by rubbing lightly with fine steel wood dipped in turpentine. Rubbing alcohol will work on most vinyl floors. Then mop or rinse spot to remove all traces of the turpentine or alcohol.
Removing crayon marks
To remove crayon marks from walls, dip a damp rag into baking soda and rub off marks (with a little elbow grease :o).
Hair Spray Residue on Mirrors
To remove hair spray residue from bathroom mirrors, dampen a paper towel with rubbing alcohol and wipe mirror clean.
Turning down the bed linen
When replacing clean linen on your beds, reverse the top-sheet (wrong side up). When you turn down the bedding (or partially turn down) the finished side of the top will be visible...more appealing than viewing the 'raw' seams.
Cleaning plastic dinnerware
Quite often plastic dinnerware accumulates a 'film' on it; this film can be removed with a damp cloth dipped in baking soda.
Bounce® Sheets-home
We can freshen the air in our homes by placing individual sheets of Bounce® in drawers, hang in closets, or place under chairs and sofas. Replace periodically.
No tangles or snags
Prepare your clothes before laundering: zip-close all zippers, button the buttons, tie drawstrings; this will prevent snagging and/or tangling.
Bounce® Sheets-repel mosquitoes
Bounce® sheets will repel mosquitoes; just tie a sheet through a belt loop when outdoors during mosquito season. You can also rub on arms and legs to accomplish this. Don't forget to pack some sheets into sealable sandwich bags when going camping or on a picnic.
Remove black spots on silverware
To remove black spots on silverware, drop a little machine oil on each spot, bur, then polish as usual.
Bounce® Sheets-wastebaskets
Eliminate those strange odors in wastebaskets by placing a sheet of Bounce® at the bottom of each wastebasket. Replace with a new one when you empty the trash.
Washing walls and trim
This should make our washing of painted walls and wood trim a bit easier: wash from the bottom up! Doing so will prevent water from running down over a soiled surface, thus causing streaks that are almost impossible to remove.
Getting the scorch 'out'
When ironing special 'holiday' linens, and you accidentally scorch a piece, just treat the area by rubbing it with a cut onion and soaking in cold water.
Dried egg on dishes
Dishes with egg and dough left on them come clean more quickly if soaked in cold water.
Bounce® Sheets - suitcases
We can prevent musty suitcases by placing a sheet of Bounce® inside empty luggage before storing.
