What can be more readily available in every house than salt? Not only is it required by our bodies to perform a variety of essential functions, it also is a cheap, green and effective cleaning aide. Here are my 9 favorite cleaning uses for salt:
1. Scouring - Salt works as an effective yet gentle scouring agent. Salt also serves as a catalyst for other ingredients, such as vinegar, to boost cleaning and deodorizing action. For a basic soft scrub, make a paste with lots of salt, baking soda and dish soap and use on appliances, enamel, porcelain, etc.
2. Drain Cleaner - Pour salt mixed with hot water down the kitchen sink regularly to deodorize and keep grease from building up.
3. Water Ring Removal - Gently rub a thin paste of salt and vegetable oil on the white marks caused by beverage glasses and hot dishes on wooden tables
Here’s another green laundry tip for you – How to remove sweat stains. Have a favorite white shirt that’s looking a bit yellow around the pits? Try soaking the stains in a solution made from crushing two (uncoated) aspirin and mixing it with 1/2 C of warm water for 2 to 3 hours.
Wait! Before you toss that stained or smelly kitchen container in the recycle bin, try these tips to recover it:
One of my clients recently remodeled her bathroom and installed her dream bath tub – a fancy shmancy jacuzzi tub with 10 perfectly-placed jets. Her house is small and this is the only tub in it, so it’s a big deal for her. And of course, she had concerns about how to keep it clean and healthy since water can sometimes be left standing in the pipes after use.
Coming home to a house filled with chaos and clutter day after day can be emotionally overwhelming for people whose lives are already stressed to the max. After a hard day at work, walking in to your place of refuge only to find it in disorder can be well… Defeating. Yet organizing and decluttering seem to be one of the most dreaded tasks I hear about from my clients. So here are some pro tips that will hopefully make conquering your clutter a little less intimidating.
We’ve all done it – left a load of clothes in the washing machine just a little too long, only to find them smelling sour when we finally remember they’re there. And if you’re smell-sensitive like me, sometimes just rewashing isn’t enough to kill the odor. So how do you get rid of that tell-tale smell without a dozen rewashes?
If you’re like me, the coming of Spring is synonymous with opening the blinds in an effort to let every ounce of that long-awaited sunshine in to the house. Problem is, after a winter of rain, snow, and dog and cat-noses pressed against glass, my windows are filthy! Maybe yours are too. When you’re ready to clean them, sure – you can go with a commercial cleaning product and a half a roll of paper towels. Or you can try a green approach using one of these cheap, easy cleaning recipes and this week’s Mosaic Mention: the squeegee.
Every week I have coffee with my best girls at one of our houses, and one of them recently asked me how best to clean her coffee grinder. Here’s a method that will not only clean the grinder, but will also sharpen the blades!
With much of the country battened down under the great freeze, who’s not going a little stir crazy with cabin fever right now? Even I, who really enjoys being at home am starting to go a little nuts. It’s hard to be productive when you’re not really even sure you want to get out from under your covers!
Hi! I'm Laurie Burkland, owner of Mosaic Cleaning. I provide both residential and commercial cleaning services in Central Ohio: from move-ins to move-outs, spring cleanings and more. Just give me a call and let Mosaic help you "arrange whatever pieces come your way".
