HOUSEHOLD TIPS

[SunFreak2]

Sounds like a great idea, SunFreak, thanks for the tip.

Monkeys, how do you all clean your trash can, the big one outside?  Any tips would be appreciated.

Take it to the local do it yourself car-wash & pressure wash it with that wand.

[Bobo2]

Those home pressure washers have lots of great uses.  We used one on our sidewalk and it looked like brand new.  You don't realize your sidewalk is dirty until you clean it!

We also used it on the wood deck.  Looked great, but has had a squeak ever since.

[Frijole]

Speaking of cleaning outside of houses.... if you haven't tried the Windex spray for cleaning windows (the one that attaches to your hose) then you haven't LIVED!   I was very suspicious at first but a friend encouraged me to try it.  My house in Florida was ALL windows everywhere and I decided WTH... oh my GOD - hook it up, spray and no scrubbing/drying.  Wonderful.

[mrs. red]

Speaking of cleaning outside of houses.... if you haven't tried the Windex spray for cleaning windows (the one that attaches to your hose) then you haven't LIVED!   I was very suspicious at first but a friend encouraged me to try it.  My house in Florida was ALL windows everywhere and I decided WTH... oh my GOD - hook it up, spray and no scrubbing/drying.  Wonderful.

yep... use it every Spring....


 OK ... looking for a hint - can anyone tell me how to get rid of the smell of mothballs in furniture?  I have an antique dresser that someone had filled with mothballs... now my sweaters don't get any moth holes because I store them in the drawer but the smell is terrible.... how do I get rid of the smell?  I have done everything!

[Frijole]

Speaking of cleaning outside of houses.... if you haven't tried the Windex spray for cleaning windows (the one that attaches to your hose) then you haven't LIVED!   I was very suspicious at first but a friend encouraged me to try it.  My house in Florida was ALL windows everywhere and I decided WTH... oh my GOD - hook it up, spray and no scrubbing/drying.  Wonderful.

yep... use it every Spring....


 OK ... looking for a hint - can anyone tell me how to get rid of the smell of mothballs in furniture?  I have an antique dresser that someone had filled with mothballs... now my sweaters don't get any moth holes because I store them in the drawer but the smell is terrible.... how do I get rid of the smell?  I have done everything!

Clueless so this is just a guess.  They say vinegar kills everything.  What if you put some vinegar/water in a container and set it in the drawer and shut the drawer and let it sit for a bit?  Read people use it to get smoke smell out of cars that way.... worth a shot I guess?

[nonesuche]

Bean-

I'm back to report that your Krud Kutter took about 5 applications but it did get a big splatter of turkey fryer grease off my deck    woohoo!

Mrs-

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?id=prod2303791&CATID=100466&skuid=sku2303269&V=G&ec=frgl_591346

Don't spray it direct onto your sweaters but up into the air over them, I had put mothballs into my attic to keep mr squirrel away and I took out some winter clothes and out of exasperation used this. It seems to work. I think vinegar could be a good idea too, long as you don't mind smelling like salad  

sorry bean, couldn't resist.......I use white vinegar, one cup to one gallon of warm water to clean tile floors. Doesn't require rinsing and works great.

[Frijole]

OH my!  Vinegar sweaters?  Sorry,  I was thinking about removing the odor first and then she could spray with pretty stuff later....  lol  Mrs. Red, you gotta keep us posted now.  

[mrs. red]

OH my!  Vinegar sweaters?  Sorry,  I was thinking about removing the odor first and then she could spray with pretty stuff later....  lol  Mrs. Red, you gotta keep us posted now.  

I am trying to get the smell out of the dresser... LOL... I can wash and rewash the sweaters!!!

[pdh3]

mrs. red - try putting baking soda in the drawers. It can absorb a lot of odors. You might try washing out the drawers with Murphy's Oil Soap first, thn put some open boxes of baking soda in there. Be sure you dry off the furniture well after using Murphy's.

[Anna]

Mrs Red,
You will have to store the sweaters somewhere but just loosely wad newspaper and put in the drawers and change it about every three days.  At least this removed the smell of mildew from a dresser a friend of mine bought at an auction.

I told her she would never get that smell out but she did with the newspaper thingy!  

I buy Simple Green concentrate by the gallon in auto department at WalMart or an auto store as that lasts forever and is more or less natural since so many things trigger allergies for me.

Then at the Dollar Stores, I buy all kinds of the microfiber cloths.  Those are the greatest invention in recent history for me.  As long as you don't launder them with fabric softener, they continue to work, too.  I use them for everything now and wonder how I got along before them.  I also have ordered them from home shopping and have  a variety of sizes and uses, some for drying, polishing, etc.  I even bathe with one of them for that is what that Miracle Cloth that used to sell for $12 to erase wrinkles was.

CBB, I am trying to get everything put back that I frantically drug out looking for mice but have decided to try to reduce by 1/4 at least.  So far, so good.  And it fits back so much better!  Discard some, some in box for Good Will.

Justins, I use a quilt on the sofa where the dogs jump.  It is thick enough to absorb spills, etc.  They are not supposed to have accidents but sometimes they do barf, etc.  A sheet is much too thin and plastic uncomfortable but an old or cheap quilt works well as does a quilted comforter, etc. just get to match the sofa and remove when you have guests, etc.  Not worth getting upset as this too shall pass and all too quickly will come the day you wish he were still home spilling things.

I have a couple of books on these kinds of tips I will try to dig out over the weekend provided no more home disasters happen.

[Bobo2]

Mrs Red - as a last resort you can seal the inside of the drawers with varnish or polyeurethane.

[mrs. red]

mrs. red - try putting baking soda in the drawers. It can absorb a lot of odors. You might try washing out the drawers with Murphy's Oil Soap first, thn put some open boxes of baking soda in there. Be sure you dry off the furniture well after using Murphy's.

I went through about 100 boxes of baking soda already... LOL... GMTA

[mrs. red]

Mrs Red - as a last resort you can seal the inside of the drawers with varnish or polyeurethane.

We did varnish them... and it worked for about a week, then the smell of moth balls again... I am wondering how long the dresser was stored and if they just dumped the moth balls in!

[pdh3]

mrs red. - you have stumped the panel. You should get a prize.
Maybe a new dresser?

[Bobo2]

We did varnish them... and it worked for about a week, then the smell of moth balls again... I am wondering how long the dresser was stored and if they just dumped the moth balls in!

Those are some mighty strong mothballs!

I would suggest airing the dresser out in the sun, but if all the above failed I doubt that would work either.

[justinsmama]

Febreeze?

[nonesuche]

mrs-

why don't you try sanding the interior of the drawers? Then varnish them again? Mothballs have oils in them, and a good sanding might take away the layers with the oils in them. Worth a try.......sandpaper is cheap.

[Lala'sMom]

Mrs. Red
I would try the newpaper trick that Anna recommended.  I used this once to remove the musty smell in an old chest of drawers.  After which I just revarnished the inside and viola! No more mustiness on my clothes.  Let us know how it works.  Never tried it on mothballs.

[Sue]

Great thread with wonderful ideas! Now one from me:

Lime and other hard water deposits are easier to remove when using toilet bowl cleaner, the "cling" type. Should that fail, use a standard screw driver to (carefully) chip away the deposits.

I have horrible water that leave stains in toilets and showers
When toilets get bad ring I shut water off to toilet flush water out and pour
bleach to ring line and leave soaking

also bought Lysol  toilet bowl cleaner with bleach  it is thick blue gooie
stuff I spray under ring and I dont scrub i just let it soak and flush
when toilet is used take like a week to flush all the stuff away but my toilets are way cleaner

also
weekly i plug bathtub run water  and pour bleach and let soak several hours and rinse cleans that crud right off NO scrubbing  

[justinsmama]

Sue, The Lysol cling is exactly what I use. It's great for removing hard water deposits from glass shower doors!