cleaning tips

— plain olive oil is great for cleaning and polishing wood surfaces, though you can use a cheaper grade than what’s used for cooking. Most green cleaning recipes call for some combination of olive oil and lemon or vinegar (yes, you’re cleaning with salad dressing — for a floor you could eat off). The ratio …

Nasty rings in the toilet bowl are cause by hard water mineral deposits. To remove those toilet bowl rings, you can use either full strength white vinegar, a commercial mineral deposit remover, or if the deposits are heavy a pumice stone, will do the job quickly. First, turn off the water supply to the toilet. …

Washing soda, or sodium carbonate, is a somewhat caustic green cleaner — wear gloves if you’re using this to scour out the stains and mildew in your shower, sink or other wet tiled places. This powerhouse green cleaner can beat up just about any household crud you can throw at it — it cuts through …

Lemon juice and fresh cut lemons are among eight other natural cleaning product you should know about. Lemon is a good way to clean with a strong acid that leaves a fresh scent behind. First, get a lemon and cut it in half and rub it on a barbecue grill, or dip in in salt …

Think vacuuming your carpet gets it clean? Think again. Even the best vacuum cleaner collects a fraction of the dust and other allergens in your carpet, including pet dander and dust mites. Dust mites you bet. There are billions of these insects that thrive on the stuff your vacuum cleaner doesn’t –and can’t-get out of …