Keeping Shower Doors Soap Scum Free!

Soap scum can be quite irritating and frustrating when you can't seem to get it off the shower doors, and then keep it off. Here are a few tips to keeping your shower doors clean and free of soap scum.

1. A few products that are great at getting off the soap scum are Greased Lightning, a de-greaser that can be found in most grocery and home improvement stores. Orange based solvents, like Citra-Solve also work well for removing soap scum, along with Bar Keepers, commonly used on kitchen sinks.

If you would like a more natural alternative, you can use vinegar and water in a spray bottle. For more stubborn areas, warm the vinegar and water first before spraying on the doors, then let it sit for 10 minutes before scrubbing.

1. Once you get the soap scum OFF, you can apply baby oil (on a sponge or rag) to the doors. This will keep the soap scum from building up again, once it's been cleaned. Just be careful not to get the oil on the bottom of the shower/tub, or it becomes dangerously slippery!  Rain-X (for cars) can also do the same thing, acting as a preventative.

Cleaning Stove Top Grates

Although I think that natural and non-toxic is the healthiest way to clean, for some things like stove top grates, something stronger can be very useful. Ammonia is wonderful for cleaning those greasy, caked-on stove top grates from the stove.

Although ammonia is very high in fumes, by placing your grates in plastic bags and letting them soak in the ammonia, you can lesson some of the fumes with this method. As always when using ammonia, make sure you have proper ventilation such as a fan running, or windows open while you are preparing the grates.

As always, use rubber gloves when working with a product such as ammonia.

1. Use the biggest bag you can find to hold your grates, such as a gallon size or larger.

2. Place the grate in the bag, and then add 1/4 cup of ammonia to the bag, sealing the bag when done.

3. Repeat this until all of your stove top grates are in the bags which contain the ammonia.

4. Place the bags in the sink, in case any ammonia should drip out during this process.

5. Leave the grates in the bag for 1 hour. If you need to, you can leave them in the bags for up to 5 hours. I have also heard that some people leave them overnight as well.

6. When they are ready, take them out of the bags and using a scrub brush, scrub the grates.

Do NOT add any product containing bleach! This is a deadly combination of chemicals.

7. Rinse them all thoroughly, and dry them, or allow to air dry.

For tough stains on carpets, including wine stains such as red wine, try this technique the next time you have a stain from something that has been spilled.

Get some rubbing alcohol and apply it to a cotton ball. Lightly rub the affected area, using a new cotton ball frequently, until you no longer see any discoloration on the cotton ball. Lightly pat dry after you have finished.

Cleaning For Back to School Season

Why You Should Clean Before Your Kids Go Back to School

It's the early part of August, so many children will be returning to school this month, or early on in September. With school comes homework, lots of papers, backpacks, schedules for athletic activities, and a whole host of other things that can send the household into a complete frenzy for the first few months.

If you have been slacking off on cleaning your house during the summer season, now is the time to get back into the groove of a cleaning schedule for your house. It will make everything so much easier when your kids are heading back to school, and bringing items back with them from school.

Get your living room areas clean and tidy by throwing away papers items that tend to clutter the house, and do a bit of early fall cleaning to prepare for the fall season. If your kitchen is the main hub for family gatherings and activity, get started in the kitchen and then make your way through the rest of your house.

Give The Kids a Spot of Their Own

If you haven't done so in the past, now is a good time to make a specific spot in your home for you child's school items. Perhaps a shelf, a container with their name on it, or a plastic container that can be used to store miscellaneous school items in. If you don't feel you have enough space, try organizing a small space first so you can prepare to get on track with remaining organized throughout the school season.

Once you get the space organized, you can create a small space, or a larger one, depending on how much room in your house you have, for your child's school items and supplies. It will make mornings much easier for you, creating less stress during the school year.

Kitchen Tidbits

Helpful Hints for the Kitchen

• Stains on Plastic Containers-If you have ever reheated tomato-based food in the microwave in a plastic container, then I am sure you have plastic containers with permanent 'red' stains/rings on them. To prevent this from happening, spray the container with cooking spray before adding the food, so the food cannot be absorbed into the plastic.
• Keeping Sponges Clean(and free of musty smells)-Throw your kitchen sponge into the dishwasher where the larger utensil compartment is, and wash it when you run your dishwasher. This will keep the sponge clean and free of that musty sponge 'smell'. If you cannot live without your sponge that long, just keep 2 and rotate them.
• Water Spots on Dishes-When hand washing your dishes, add a little vinegar to the water, so when the dishes dry, you won't have water spots on them. You can also add vinegar to your dishwasher for the same purpose if you don't want to use a commercial water spot preventative.
• Best All-Purpose Cleaner-Dish Soap. Yes, I said dish soap! The soap you use to wash your dishes can also be used as a general all purpose cleaner in the kitchen. It's great for soaking stove burners, and is usually pretty effective at removing grease. Add a few drops to water in the sink, or mix in a spray bottle.
• Quicker Microwave Cleaning-Before cleaning the inside of the microwave, put a small glass of water inside and turn the microwave on. You can use the setting for 'beverage' on the microwave. About a minute or so is all you need. The steam from the water being heated will loosen all the stuck-on particles, making for easier cleaning. Just sponge off....

What's Your Biggest Cleaning Issue?

We want to hear your biggest cleaning issues!

Problems with rust in your showers, tubs or toilets? What about lime scale buildup?

Mold problems have you pulling out your hair?

Need ideas or certain cleaning tips?

Let us know your biggest cleaning concerns, and we will address them here in our blog!!

Get Organized!

Simple, Effective Ways to Organize

If the clutter in your home seems to be taking over, it's time to fight back and get organized!

Here are a few tips for getting your house organized, so everything has a place, and everything is in its place.

1. Start small- Don't overwhelm yourself by trying to remove clutter in ALL the rooms at the same time. Start with a small room, closet or wall space, and take it from there.
2. Make 3 piles to work with-Keep, Give Away, Trash. If you haven't used a particular item for over one year, it's safe to say that you won't be using it again and you can get rid of it.
3. Start sorting-Begin working in the space of your choice, sorting the items into the 3 categories that are listed in number 2. Use cardboard boxes or bins to temporarily hold the items while you are sorting.
4. For anything you are giving away, separate into sub-sections-(thrift stores, donating, friends, family, etc...) Put them in boxes/bins/totes and clearly label them, so when the time comes to haul them away, you won't have to search.
5. Once you have the items sorted, you can organize the remaining items. If you are working with smaller items such as books, knick knacks, etc... decide how you would like to store and/or display them. You can shop in stores to purchase baskets, pretty & functional bins, etc...for storing and displaying your items. One great place to find almost anything you could need is The Container Store.
6. Don't overwhelm yourself! If it takes you days to finish one area, that is o.k. Don't push yourself too hard or get overwhelmed, because you might be more likely to stop and not get the job finished if it becomes too much of a task.

With a bit of patience and work, you can have your house back in no time!

I have been reading a few articles online about green cleaning and the new green cleaning products and happened to stumble across this article about a link between breast cancer and house cleaning. I thought I would share it, because my Mother is a survivor, and I recently went through treatment for breast cancer myself.

House Cleaning May Lead to Breast Cancer

I just cooked a fabulous dinner! Now my hands smell like the onions I used in the casserole!

Onions are great-in your food! But they aren't so great when they leave a lingering smell on your hands that never seems to leave. Here's a sure-fire way to remove that leftover onion smell on your hands if you have a stainless steel sink.

Wash hands with your choice of hand soap, then just rub the palms of your hands over the insides of your stainless steel sink a few times. Your hands will be free of any remaining smell of onions! Simple, but it does the trick every time!

Making Your Own Green Cleaner

You can make this basic green cleaner for your home with very few ingredients. It can be used as a general all purpose cleaner and disinfectant for counter tops and more.

Tea Tree oil is a natural disinfectant which will kill staph, streph, e-coli and many other bacterias. It is also an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. The smell is similar to Eucalyptus, so if you don't care for the smell you could also add a few drops of lemon or lemongrass to the mixture.