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.
Plastic, invented in the mid 1800’s, has become part of our everyday lives. The stuff is absolutely everywhere. A person can’t even fart without having the fumes come into contact with something made of or with plastic. While in some ways I am morally opposed to plastic (the amount of time it takes for the stuff to biodegrade is frightening), there are some undeniable benefits to the stuff. Besides that, it ain’t going anywhere. So, in the interest of convincing people to keep their plastic pieces around for awhile instead of just tossing them in the dumpster and buying new ones, I’ve put together this article. It’s actually surprisingly easy to clean plastic. With a little time and patience, cleaning plastic can be done from home using things you’ve probably got already. So, if you’re ready to learn how to wash plastic, check out my article How to Clean Plastic.
I know a thing or two about how to clean walls. The two worst experiences I’ve had with dirty walls both occurred while I was renting apartments up in Bemidji MN. The first these, when we moved in, aside from having little nasty dirty hand prints all over hell, was also riddled with spit balls. I did my wall cleaning in that building wearing a dust mask, a wide brimmed hat, and rubber gloves. It was disgusting. The other place I lived in that suffered from a severe lack of any clean wall surfaces was just a few blocks away and had what appeared to be poop smears on the bedroom wall. I would like to believe they were paint smears, but I can’t. It washed off too easily. When it comes to cleaning walls in apartments, those two were definitely the worst. But pretty much every place I’ve lived in (current apartment excluded) has required me to put my knowledge of how to clean painted walls to use. If you would like to know how to clean walls and how to wash walls…please…check out this article.
Crystal is as delicate as it is beautiful. For this reason, cleaning crystal can be a very daunting task. Besides that, crystal can be expensive as hell and you don’t want to have to replace it if you break it. Often times, as in the case of antiques, it can actually be irreplaceable. So it’s very important to know how to clean crystal properly. I myself am not really one for finery. My mother on the other hand, loves crystal. She even likes cleaning crystal. And because crystal and crystal care was (and still is) important to her, when my brothers and I were growing up, she felt it to be one of her civic duties to try and pass her crystal appreciation on to us. While I can’t say the appreciation stuck, I can say that the knowledge of how to go about cleaning crystal did. I’m pretty certain that at some point that knowledge will be useful to me. But in the meantime, I just hope it can be useful to you. So, check out this article and start washing crystal properly and safely.
Mirror cleaning is grossly underrated. Mirrors remind us to comb our hair, cast out nose goblins, and put on pants. They tell us when we’re looking smoking hot and when we need to donate an unflattering, snug blouse. Though often too late, mirrors warn about the axe murderer standing behind us. Mirrors can make small rooms larger - and sometimes creepier. We take our mirrors for granted and allow them to become dirty with our paw prints, our snot blasts, and our generally filthy nature. This can’t go on. Today, you will make a solemn pledge to clean mirrors on a regular basis. Cleaning mirrors will become your passion and your life’s meaning. Your clean mirrors will reflect with such penetrating flawlessness, guests will look into them and become self-actualized. Yes, I will teach you these dark arts. Follow any of the links to learn how to clean mirrors using effective, environmentally friendly methods.
When I was born, vinyl albums were still popular but, they were beginning to phase out with the advent of the 8-track. Which was quickly followed by the cassette tape. I always felt like I missed out on something really special. Growing up in relative isolation I listened to my parents vinyl collection frequently. So the first Beatles, Dylan and Young albums I listened to were on vinyl. Which for someone who grew up predominately in the 90’s, is pretty damn good. Well anyway, in college I started to collect my own vinyls and so had a nice vintage collection. To spin my albums I was using whatever garage sale player I could find. I had been through a couple of them by the time I purchased my first Stanton direct drive turntable. I never looked back. SO anyway you should start collecting vinyl and when you need to clean them. Read my article How to Clean Vinyl Records. Happy hunting.
The notion of cleaning concrete sounds just about as fun as watching paint dry, watching grass grow, counting raindrops or whatever other mundane activity you can think of. But in all actuality it’s not that bad and it doesn’t take nearly as long as one might expect. Yeah, you’ll probably have to devote an afternoon to the chore but so what? Cleaning concrete is easy work and you get to be outside while you’re doing it. Just make sure there’s a couple beers in the fridge and remember to check the weather before you set a date. Also keep in mind that if you choose to (you certainly don’t have to) you get to play with a pressure washer. Good times. If you don’t want to use a pressure washer you get to pretend to be a pirate scrubbing the deck. OK. Maybe not. If you’re doing that you might want to dump the rest of that beer out. Really though, whether you’re cleaning concrete indoors or outdoors, there’s several easy and completely safe ways to do it. If you want a crash course, read my article on concrete cleaning.
Wild party. Four in the morning. The last sorry soul just dragged himself out of your kitchen and you’re ready for bed, but wait - Is that red wine all over your granite floor? And is that more red wine all over your granite countertops? Yes, these things happen. If they were chipped yellow tagboard countertops (like mine), you might really not care, but we’re talking granite here. The thought of damaged granite strikes fear in those who have dished out loads of money to finally have them, so it makes sense that the thought of cleaning them is scary too. What if you use the wrong thing (like vinegar)? What if you make them…less beautiful? Granite is indeed beautiful, but it’s also tough. As long as you know what it likes and what it doesn’t, you should be able to keep your granite for as long as you want. Hey - your great-grandchildren may someday be spilling wine on your floor! Read my latest article on how to clean granite and you’ll keep it looking good for years to come.
So, ok. Maybe you’ve not yet been able to fund that amazing marble statue of your favorite Greek god, but perhaps you do have some fantastic marble countertops, or a floor. It would be great if all you had to do was stand there and admire the smooth texture, and the colors running in veins all over each other, but — no. You’ve got to do some cleaning, too. And if you really do have something in your home that is marble, I’m guessing that it wasn’t on sale at Walmart. No wonder people can get worried to the point of a nervous breakdown about how to clean marble - it’s fragile, and it’s not so easy to replace. The good news is that, as long as you’re aware of what to avoid (like vinegar, and wildly stabbing your countertops with a knife), your marble should be just fine. Check out my article on how to clean marble and you can move on to other worries – like how to finally score that statue.
