It’s finally come to this…your home has become so out-of-control, so chaotic that you’ve turned to the Internet to learn how to clean house. Risky, but if you’ve made it here you’re heading in the right direction. Here at How to Clean Things our philosophy is that house cleaning should be easy, low-maintenance, and non-toxic. Sounds simple enough, but following through on this will show you how different this strategy is compared to the just-spray-this-on-it, take-some-speed-and-clean-all-day method pushed by our commercial culture. We are constantly urged to bring more things into our homes, and when things get dirty, we use untested chemicals to get the job done. Yikes. (That’s right…yikes.) Read my latest article on how to clean a house, lest you end up like Mrs. Cuddles Bear.
When I was nearing completion on my research for the article How to Clean Laminate, I sent an email to one of my very close friends (who I know to have laminate floors) to ask her if she had any laminate floor cleaning tips. What she told me was rather astonishing. While she did confirm for me that it’s not necessary to clean laminate flooring very often, she also confirmed my suspicions that it’s pretty common for people to not know how to clean laminate flooring correctly. Almost everything she told me she was doing to clean laminate wood floors was in direct opposition to my own research… research that included care instructions from several manufacturers of laminate flooring. Needless to say, the moment I get this blog post finished, I’ll be sending her a link to this article. I’m just hoping she hasn’t already done irreparable damage to her wood laminate flooring. And while I’m at it, may I suggest that you, too, read my article on cleaning laminate flooring.
While it seems like you should be able to clean stone with whatever the hell you want in whatever manner you want (I mean, it’s stone right?), that just simply isn’t the case. I’m gonna go ahead and guess that the old codgers you’ve talked to about this have probably told you to just use some good ol’ TSP, muriatic acid or bleach. Yeah. Right. Next time you’re over at their house take a good look at their stone floors and see what kind of shape they’re in. I’d bet my left jelly bean that they’re etched, cloudy looking and the grout is crumbling. When it comes to cleaning stone, my advice to you is to listen to what the old folks have to say, tell them you’ll take their advice, promptly disregard their advice, read my article on how to wash stone, and learn about cleaning natural stone with proper stone cleaners that won’t damage your investment.
With as common and ancient a building material as brick is, you would think that the specifics to cleaning brick would be stacked near the front of every homeowners mind. This, however, is simply not the case. The knowledge of how to clean bricks seems to be slowly fading away with the passing of each year. OK, maybe I’m being a bit over dramatic, but I do believe that many of us don’t take care of things as well as our forefathers did. Luckily, since I know a good many people are going to read this article on washing brick, there are still enough of us out there who care enough to not let things go to pot. But there I go being over dramatic again. Before I embarrass myself further, allow me to stop ranting and direct you to my latest article, How to Clean Brick.
Published by Amber on January 1, 2010
in cars.
Once upon a time, when I was about 16, my stepmom paid me $20 to clean and wash her car. Because she actually hated doing it herself that much. Me? I kind of like cleaning cars, although you’d never be able to tell by looking at my Saturn. But that’s what makes it so satisfying: once every year or two, I thoroughly clean something that thoroughly needed cleaning. And that just feels good. What doesn’t feel good is learning that cleaning and washing a car is, almost by definition, an environmentalist’s nightmare. All that water; all those chemicals; all those poor aquatic creatures living near where the storm drains empty into the river. So this year, when it came time to give the car a bath, I did some research and learned how to clean a car using only nontoxic everyday household products. And to save water, I resisted getting entranced by the ripples in the water flowing over the hood. Turns out, cleaning a car the environmentally friendly way can also mean cleaning it the inexpensive, efficient way.
Without question, the worst thing about cleaning the bathroom is removing soap scum. And unfortunately, it needs to be done. The stuff is not only disgustingly ugly, it’s also an embarrassing testament to your lack of cleanliness. It really shouldn’t be embarrassing, but it is. Most people actually have good excuses for not cleaning soap scum. Sometimes it was already there when they moved in. sometimes they have six kids and the stuff builds up before before you have the chance to combat it. And sometimes people just don’t have the time to clean soap scum from shower doors, showers, and tubs. Soap scum, if it’s been left for long enough, is unbelievably hard and has a stubborn streak to match. Through years of having the misfortune of moving into apartments where the prior tenants were slobs, I have successfully learned the fine art of cleaning soap scum. I’ve also learned how to do it without the use chlorine products or TSP. If you want to learn how to remove soap scum safely and effectively, check out this article.
Nasal congestion can hamper your quality of life in many ways. First of all, not being able to breathe clearly can lead to poor moods and grumpiness. Grumpy or not, congestion also interferes with work, both mental and physical. What’s more, without a clean nose, you’ll undoubtedly be forced to mouth breathe. And mouth breathers are (unfortunately) widely considered to be subhuman in our society. Also, you’ll probably never have sex with someone once they have seen your nose goblins. Ok…you’re horrified enough already. You want to know how to clean your nose. Well, there are many ways to dispatch snot and defeat boogers without the use of your index finger. There are saline nasal irrigation products, neti pots, OTC drugs, and natural treatments like eucalyptus oil . Learn about these and more in my latest article.
First of all, cymbal cleaning is completely a matter of preference. Many great drummers are content to let their cymbals develop a deep, dark tarnish. This happens to cymbals when they are exposed to air or moisture. Tarnish actually protects metal. Some percussionists get rid of the tarnish for cosmetic reasons. They want to shine on stage; it’s part of the presentation. Others believe that shiny, clean cymbals emit a sharper, more resonant sound suited for heavier music. Whatever your reasons are, you can learn how to clean cymbals by reading my latest article. I cover commercial cymbal cleaners, common metal polishes, as well as natural, homemade metal cleaners. You’ll also find tips for cymbal care, maintenence, and storage. Follow any link to see how it’s done.
Nothing can bring me back to my childhood quicker than the phrase “clean your room.” As children, cleaning our rooms is just about the worst thing our parents can ask us to do, save brushing our teeth or taking a bath. Why do children hate to do these things? Is it simply because these tasks are not fun? Maybe, or perhaps it truly is a rare and pure form of torture that only children are aware of, the pain of which is numbed with time. I still hate cleaning. But now, I also enjoy the benefits of walking barefoot around my house without getting little bits of shit stuck to them. And I have cats. When I vacuum, I enter into a Zen-like trance and I transcend my conscious reality. Especially when I chase the cats around with the vacuum cleaner. My point is that cleaning your room will most likely never be all that fun. Like an irritating family member, cleaning must be entertained frequently enough to keep up appearances. That doesn’t mean we have to enjoy it. But we should try. If you choose to continue reading this article, I think you will find the advice helpful and perhaps a little humorous. Especially the part about your mom.
Microfiber is perhaps the best fabric to hit the market since…cotton? Okay, okay, I don’t mean to get carried away here. But really, microfiber is pretty fantastic stuff. We have microfiber couches, microfiber sofas, microfiber towels and all sorts of other microfiber products. The only problem with it, is that you have to be very careful when it comes to cleaning microfiber. If you don’t wash microfiber properly, be it your rags or your couch, you can very easily ruin it or at the very least make it ugly. And since the stuff isn’t exactly cheap, this is a bad thing. So, with all the new and different microfiber products hitting stores of late, I decided it was high time to write an article on how to wash microfiber. And here it is. If you need to learn a little something about washing microfiber (be it microfiber furniture or microfiber cloths) then please, check out my article How to Clean Microfiber.
