For instance, today, while I was cleaning, I found my lampshades to be terribly dusty, and a swiffer was just pushing the dirt around and not really picking it up. SO-- I broke out the old lint roller (kind with sticky paper) and Viola! It picked up the dust without smearing it around and discoloring my creme lampshades.

Some other tips I've aquired over the years:

Use toothpaste to clean jewelry.Keep an old toothbrush and a small tube of regular toothpaste in a plastic bag and label it "jewelry cleaning" so that no one gets confused by it. Then, when your sparkly stuff is a little on the dull side, just clean them like you'd clean your teeth. Rinse with cool water, and you'd be AMAZED at how well it cleans!

Use lemon peels in your garbage disposal. Sometimes the garbage disposal in my kitchen sink can get kinda stinky... my remedy is to keep a lemon on hand in the fridge in a zipper bag. Whenever I clean the kitchen sink, I cut off a chunk of lemon and run it thru the disposal. The peel helps to clean off any excess gunk on the blades because it takes awhile to grind. Also, the acidic nature cleans it. Lemony freshness!

hmmmm... I'm sure there's others... I just can't remember them at the moment...

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Originally posted by MissMel:
Ummm, let's see. I usually [b]dust with used dryer sheets before I throw them away. The dirt seems to cling to them really well. I also just discovered that cleaning windows, glass tables, and mirrors with newspaper instead of a cloth leaves the surface totally streak-free. [/B]

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Putting ice cubes in the garbage disposal will help sharpen the blades.

If you spill red wine on the carpet (or anything equally dark and dangerous) you can pour seltzer on it, then put a bathtowel on top and use a hand or foot to blot it up.

Before you go out and buy a dangerous chemical drain-cleaner, pour baking soda and vinegar down the drain and see if that clears it up.

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Originally posted by pollyhyper:

I am addicted to Heloise, who apparently, seems to think you can do just about anything with a piece of "nylon net."

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Originally posted by LazyGoddess:
I think my personal favorite 'nylon net tip' is to use nylon net to chop up hard-cooked egg yolks for deviled eggs. Weird.

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And stains can be removed from your clothes by soaking the stain with lestoil. It's like pine sol but don't use pine sol!! You may have to soak it for a couple of days or even a week. Then wash it like you normally would.

WD-40 gets the sticky residue from price tags off. Use it on glass/platic type stuff. Just check to make sure it doesn't stain plasticy things. In a pinch, you can use stainless steel cleaner too.

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Originally posted by PrincessPushPin:
WD-40 gets the sticky residue from price tags off. Use it on glass/platic type stuff. Just check to make sure it doesn't stain plasticy things. In a pinch, you can use stainless steel cleaner too.

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You can also use Avon Skin-So-Soft (which has a gazillion uses) or just baby/mineral oil.

Edited to say please-oh-please don't tell me I have to hand-DRY it all, too....waaaahh....

Just have a duster in each hand and work your way round twice as fast as you can do both sides of things at once, or if you are cleaning ledges for example start with one hand at each end of the ledge and work inwards - easy!

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Originally posted by MissMel:
Ummm, let's see. I usually [b]dust with used dryer sheets before I throw them away. The dirt seems to cling to them really well.

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Hey, I'm new here, and this tip reminded me of one I learned recently...

When washing your car, use a wet(new) dryer sheet first to easily remove all the dead bugs that seem to never come off even with lots of scrubbing... it sounds crazy, but it really works

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Originally posted by Nessa:
Any advice on counter top stains?

I have white counter tops that have been stained over the past few months by spaghetti sauce, etc. Vinegar? Bleach? Do tell oh wise digsters!

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There are a couple different brands out there but I know that clor0x makes one (not sure of the name and then there's Soft Scrub (or something similar sounding). That stuff works wonders!! It comes in a twist top bottle and it is like a liquid gel kinda thing. I know I didn't do a very good job explaining. does anyone else know what I'm talking about??

Seriously. That thing is awesome. I bump the bottom of my wall with the vaccuum sometimes and it leaves a black mark- gone. I had some black smudges on my car door from getting hit with someone else's car door- gone. (And I was going to take it to a detailer to buff those smudges off!) Ajax, Comet with bleach and Lysol with bleach wouldn't clean the pale linoleum tile of the townhouse I just moved into- but Mr. Clean did. MILLIONS of uses.

quote:

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Originally posted by Nessa:
Any advice on counter top stains?

I have white counter tops that have been stained over the past few months by spaghetti sauce, etc. Vinegar? Bleach? Do tell oh wise digsters!

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Spray the stain with WD40. This reactivates the grease. Wait a couple of minutes and then spray with Zout or Spray and Wash (working it into the stain) and wait a couple more minutes. Then wash as usual.

I've used this method many times and it has never failed. I passed this tip along to my mother who was able to remove black lawnmower grease from a pair of pants that she had already washed and dried.

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Originally posted by Drea D:
4 words: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Seriously. That thing is awesome. I bump the bottom of my wall with the vaccuum sometimes and it leaves a black mark- gone. I had some black smudges on my car door from getting hit with someone else's car door- gone. (And I was going to take it to a detailer to buff those smudges off!) Ajax, Comet with bleach and Lysol with bleach wouldn't clean the pale linoleum tile of the townhouse I just moved into- but Mr. Clean did. MILLIONS of uses.

Try it try it try it try it!!!!!

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I absolutely agree with you on this! that Magic Eraser literally works like magic. i was amazed at the things it cleaned. i had dropped my broom on the kitchen floor and the painted green handle left a scuff on the floor that i could not remove. i tried scrubbing with a brush, mopped it a dozen times, tried a pencil eraser--no luck! i got the magic eraser and finally after 3 months the thing came off! It even takes finger prints off of painted walls, and the best part? it takes all that dirt out of the cracks of your textured bathtub floor!

Some other tips:

I've heard several people say that grease stains come out of clothes with grease removing dish detergent such as Dawn. i even had a lady say once that she put her mechanic husbands greasy shirts in the dishwasher!

Someone said about lampshades..i use the round brush attachment on my vaccuum to clean the shades whenever i vaccuum--it works great!

Also if your sink drain is SLOW but not completely clogged...the vinegar and baking soda thing does work--but i also fill the sink full of hot water after i pour it down the drain, wait 10 minutes, then pull the drain out and flush the hot water down. took my sink about 3 tries but it worked!

to remove wax from carpet..put a paper bag on top of the tax and iron over the top of the bag. the iron melts the wax and the paper bag soaks up the wax.

One more for movers--those furniture leg indentations in the carpet--put an ice cube in each one to loosen and raise the fibers!

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Originally posted by gemini:
Okay, here's one for you: How can I get red latex house paint out of dress pants?

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Originally posted by Drea D:
4 words: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.

Seriously. That thing is awesome. I bump the bottom of my wall with the vaccuum sometimes and it leaves a black mark- gone. I had some black smudges on my car door from getting hit with someone else's car door- gone. (And I was going to take it to a detailer to buff those smudges off!) Ajax, Comet with bleach and Lysol with bleach wouldn't clean the pale linoleum tile of the townhouse I just moved into- but Mr. Clean did. MILLIONS of uses.

Try it try it try it try it!!!!!

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GENIUS! I had wanted to try this but when I saw the many Digster reccomendations I ran out and bought it. IT WORKED! Got all the stains out of my counter! I wnet crazy last night magic erasing everything! I love that thing. I may marry Mr. Clean!

Thanks digsters!

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Originally posted by gemini:
Okay, here's one for you: How can I get red latex house paint out of dress pants?

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I just noticed that, in addition to the marks on my tile floor and wall, Mr. Clean removed the gloss from these areas, too. So I used Mop & Glo on the floor (AND wall!) and ta-da. Glossy finish is back.

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Originally posted by Nessa:
Any advice on counter top stains?

I have white counter tops that have been stained over the past few months by spaghetti sauce, etc. Vinegar? Bleach? Do tell oh wise digsters!

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I've used the Clorox bleach pen on white counter tops. The Clorox bleach spray should work, too!

Edited to say, oops, just saw your other post. Glad Mr. Clean worked for you!

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Originally posted by kirdy79:
To remove wax from carpet..put a paper bag on top of the tax and iron over the top of the bag. the iron melts the wax and the paper bag soaks up the wax.

One more for movers--those furniture leg indentations in the carpet--put an ice cube in each one to loosen and raise the fibers!

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