Kitchen Hints - Cleaning Tips

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Cleaning Tips

Something Smell Fishy?
Cleaning or handling fish before cooking can leave your hands less than sweet smelling! When I was a girl I volunteered in a tuna factory where tuna was canned for a food bank. After a few hours of cleaning tuna my hands wreaked for days and the smell of them would even wake me up at night. One thing that helps--rub hands thoroughly with lemon juice, and rinse. It helps to do the same to fishy cutting boards or countertops. Rubbing smelly things (hands included) with a raw cut potato or solution of vinegar and salt can do the trick too. Finish up with soap and water.

After chopping garlic, or other strong vegetables, chop some parsley. Chewing on a little will sweeten breath too. Grind citrus peels in your disposal to deodorize smelly drains, or poor the opened box of baking soda you’ve had sitting in your refrigerator (to eliminate odors) for several months down the drain—it freshens too. Smelly odors in a thermos, water bottle, or any closed container, can be eliminated by adding hot water, salt (and or baking soda), and shaking vigorously. I usually let sit for half an hour or so.

Cleaning More Than Teeth With a Toothbrush
What have you used a toothbrush for, other than cleaning your teeth? Use the soft kind on your teeth and purchase the hard bristle type to clean cheese graters, tile grout, corners and other hard to reach places--tiny openings that sponges and other cleaning devices can't get to. I’ve found that cleaning out the little nooks and crannies in an infant car seat with a toothbrush is very effective.

Cleaning Refrigerators ----(revised and ready)
Mix well, 1Tbsp soda and 1tsp salt with one quart warm water. Dip clean cloth in the solution and wipe your refrigerator walls and shelves, and dry with a clean, dry dish towel. This will clean, and deodorize your refrigerator without scratching.

Cleaning Your Kitchen “Wiper” is Very Important
Ideas to keep your dishcloth or sponge (kitchen “wiper”) from being the biggest spreader of germs around your kitchen include the following: Clean your “wiper” everyday by boiling it, microwaving it (when wet), running it (sponge) through dishwasher, or soaking in a hot bleach water (1 quart water to ¼ cup bleach). Change your wiper often, and especially after using it to clean up things like meat or poultry juices—a better idea is to use a paper towel for that job. Don’t use the dishcloth to wipe up spills on the floor or runny noses, dirty hands, or for general cleaning! Use wiper dipped in hot, soapy water to wipe off countertops and eating surfaces after every meal.

Don’t Replace it—Restore it!
Attack spills ASAP. The longer they sit the harder they set in. Here are a few ideas:

• Ink on fabric (including color fast carpet) may be removed by spraying with hair spray and rinsing with cold water. Repeat if necessary.
• Ink on carpet may also be removed by lightly brushing the stain with toothpaste (use a clean toothbrush). Toothpaste polishes your porcelain sinks and small scratches on cars.
• Crayon or candle wax on fabric may be removed by placing a brown paper bag over the wax and running a very warm iron over the bag. The bag will absorb the wax. Repeat until gone.
• Blood may be removed by soaking the fabric in milk before washing.
• Coffee or Tea stains may be removed by rubbing with non-abrasive cleaner or baking soda (use a damp cloth or sponge).
• Butter stains or other greasy foods may be removed by rubbing area with a grease solvent and then soaking for one hour in water with lots of detergent, before washing.
• White rings on wood tables? According to the salt institute, rub a thin paste of salad oil and salt on the spot with your finger. Let sit 1-2 hours before wiping it off.
• Wine spilled on your shirt, tablecloth or rug should be blotted with a cloth and then immediately covered with salt. Rinse fabric with cold water or vacuum rug. (The Salt Institute)
• Formica countertop stains may be removed with a paste of baking soda and water. Let sit several minute before wiping.
• Gum can be dissolved by peanut butter or an orange oil cleaner. If you don’t want all the grease on the article to which the gum is stuck, try placing an ice cube on top of the gum until it hardens. Often this makes it easier to remove.
• Caked on food that isn’t easily removed from pans and skillets, even with soaking can be by adding a little dish soap to an inch of water in the pan and bringing water to a boil.
• To clean jetted tubs put a cup of liquid dishwasher soap in the tub as you fill with warm-hot water. Turn on the jets for half an hour (or more). Simply rinse well.
• Equal parts white vinegar and baking soda with lots of warm water cleans shower or floor tiles well. Baking soda also eliminates odors from the refrigerator to diaper pail to your load of laundry (add ½ cup per load along with the detergent).
• Wash windows on a cloudy day to avoid streaks caused by the sun drying your windows before you can. Using newspaper to wipe them leaves them squeaky clean.