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Community Corner

Three Miracle Solutions for Cleaning Stubborn Stains

Frugal, easy cleaning tips take some of the agony out of cleaning stubborn stains.

I hate cleaning.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love for my home to be pretty and tidy, but unlike some women who get receive some kind of high from the process of mopping floors and cleaning windows, I don’t gain much pleasure from the actually work.

That’s why I’m always on the look-out for tips that make cleaning a little easier. I’m especially in love with tips that utilize every day household items to take care of stubborn cleaning problems. You know the ones I’m talking about: burnt on food or spills on the carpet.

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The chance to pretend I’m a mad scientist helps me tackle my chores with more enthusiasm and sometimes, even helps me trick a child or two into helping!

Baked on, Burnt on, No More

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One of my most annoying cleaning challenges is cleaning the burners on the stove. My husband and teenaged son cook like stereotypical men, which means the burners often have mystery stuff covering them. I’ll admit I’ve been less than frugal in the past, throwing out badly stained burners rather than trying to scrub the crust of yuck off.  Last month, however, I ran across an awesome tip on The V Spot blog that solves this very problem! Simply place your dirty burner in a large ziplock bag, pour in one-fourth cup of ammonia and seal. Leave the burner in the bag overnight and in the morning, even stubborn stains will come off with a little rubbing.

Citrus Wonder for Bathroom Stains

We share our shower with our teenaged son and two younger children who spend most of their summer hours playing as hard as they can outside. You don’t even want to imagine the rings they leave in the bath tub and not one of them ever remembers to wipe it down when they get out. That’s why when I saw Re-Nest’s tip for cleaning a tub with half a grapefruit and some salt, I thought it would make an excellent punishment for the kids. To my surprise, it worked liked a charm and left the bathroom smelling good! Try it yourself by cutting a large grapefruit in half, covering it with a liberal sprinkling of salt, and scrubbing away.

Splatter Stained Microwave Horror

Young children, spaghetti and the microwave—need I say anymore?  Of course the disaster wasn’t discovered for several long, tomato-based-stain-setting hours in our brand new microwave. Just looking at the mess made me want to cry. Fortunately, I’d saved a tip from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking that came to the rescue. Pour a cup of vinegar into a glass container and microwave on high for about five minutes or until it boils and splatters your microwave a bit.  Let it sit for another three or four minutes before carefully removing the hot vinegar (using oven mittens because it’s really hot!). Then use a wet towel to wipe out the microwave. I’ll warn you, your house might smell like warm for a bit, but your microwave will be sparkling!

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