The Home Cleaning Thread

[Lily Adler]

A thread for the Hype clean freaks. Where we can share our cleaning tips to one and another. My tip is a easy do it yourself cleaning solution. Just mix white vinegar, Dawn dish soap, lemon juice, and rubbing alcohol. Just dilute with water and you have an all purpose cleaner for the kitchen and around the house. Not recommended for hardwood floors.

EDIT: There are two ways to go about with the lemon juice. You can use 1/4 a cup (or less to prevent stickiness) of store bought lemon juice from a bottle or you can use fresh lemon peels and a mason jar and soak them in white distilled vinegar for about two weeks to achieve the same effect minus the chance of stickiness.

 

[Holiday]

I don't consider myself a clean freak but I've noticed that my level of depression is tied in with how clean or neat my place is so I like to clean regularly, lol.

I'll be cleaning today for an inspection on my apartment later in the week, I'll try the white vinegar and lemon spray for my kitchen and bathroom.

 

[Jenocide]

I don't like the way vinegar smells. That's why I don't clean with it.

 

[Lily Adler]

The lemon juice is there to make the vinegar less pungent, but you could substitute the alcohol and vinegar for hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. The latter with Dawn makes a stronger degreaser.

Also I've noticed on Pintrest that some folks are actually recommending mixing vinegar and hydrogen peroxide which is a huge NO as they create a corrosive acid if mixed in the same bottle.

 

[Lily Adler]

Also I think I'm going to change to using Kitchen towels instead of paper towels for general use (my paper towel consumption seems to be getting out of hand). I plan to use the paper ones for raw meat and anything too icky for my cloth ones. What do you guys think?

 

[squeekness]

I think it's always better to use things that can be reused rather than throwing away too much.

 

[ComicChick]

Also I think I'm going to change to using Kitchen towels instead of paper towels for general use (my paper towel consumption seems to be getting out of hand). I plan to use the paper ones for raw meat and anything too icky for my cloth ones. What do you guys think?

i think it's a great idea. i've been really taking stock of how much waste i produce that i could cut down by using alternatives. i bought some kitchen towels the other day at walmart for .88 cents to cut down on my paper towels and i want to start using more glass and cut down on plastics.

i love this idea for a thread. i just started getting some good cleaning done and while i dread starting sometimes, the payoff has been great. i cleaned out one of my kitchen cabinets the other day and threw out some bad food and cleaned it out. i also cleaned the door and the top two shelves of my fridge. i have the bottom shelf and two drawers left to do. something came up and i couldn't finish

 

[Spider-Aziz]

My tip is a easy do it yourself cleaning solution. Just mix white vinegar, Dawn dish soap, lemon juice, and rubbing alcohol. Just dilute with water and you have an all purpose cleaner for the kitchen and around the house. Not recommended for hardwood floors.

I don't see this specific brand of soap in my country. What makes it special? I hope to find a proper alternative for this combination.

 

[C. Lee]

I don't see this specific brand of soap in my country. What makes it special? I hope to find a proper alternative for this combination.

DAWN dishwasher soap is great. Here's my story -

Years ago when I worked at a water treatment plant, we sometimes had to use carbon dust (It absorbs odors) in the treatment process....well the carbon dust would get all over you and it was extremely hard to get off with standard soap or cleaners. One day I'm at the sink trying to get it off as usual when I see that someone had left the DAWN on the sink. For the hell of it I put a little on my hands and stuck them under the faucet. The dust came right off. Best cleaner in the world.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

DAWN dishwasher soap is great. Here's my story -

Years ago when I worked at a water treatment plant, we sometimes had to use carbon dust (It absorbs odors) in the treatment process....well the carbon dust would get all over you and it was extremely hard to get off with standard soap or cleaners. One day I'm at the sink trying to get it off as usual when I see that someone had left the DAWN on the sink. For the hell of it I put a little on my hands and stuck them under the faucet. The dust came right off. Best cleaner in the world.

There goes any chance of finding a nice replacement for this one.

 

[Lily Adler]

Where are you from by chance? Maybe it could be under a different name.

Also a nice tip for those who just bought new kitchen towels and don't want to do a load of laundry. Soak the towels in a sink full of water, add 10% of bleach, vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. After about 15 minutes, wring the towel out and put it in the microwave for about 3 minutes. It helps quicken the dry time on the towels, sanitize them, and loosens grime in the microwave. Air dry and they're ready to go.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Where are you from by chance? Maybe it could be under a different name.

Bahrain.

 

[Jenocide]

Also I think I'm going to change to using Kitchen towels instead of paper towels for general use (my paper towel consumption seems to be getting out of hand). I plan to use the paper ones for raw meat and anything too icky for my cloth ones. What do you guys think?

Not only does it result in less waste, but it costs less in the long run. Just make sure you wash the towels often as they can become infested with bacteria.



Can't really do this with towels, but if you use a sponge quite often, toss it in the dishwasher every time you do a load of dishes. Keeps it from getting smelly and gross.

 

[Lily Adler]

Bahrain.

There's a product called Seventh Generation that seems to be getting great reviews cause it has the similar cleaning power as Dawn minus the chemicals. What kind of dish soaps are common there?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

There's a product called Seventh Generation that seems to be getting great reviews cause it has the similar cleaning power as Dawn minus the chemicals. What kind of dish soaps are common there?

Fairy and Jeff.

 

[Lily Adler]

Not only does it result in less waste, but it costs less in the long run. Just make sure you wash the towels often as they can become infested with bacteria.



Can't really do this with towels, but if you use a sponge quite often, toss it in the dishwasher every time you do a load of dishes. Keeps it from getting smelly and gross.

Works with the microwave too.

 

[Lily Adler]

Fairy and Jeff.

Fairy is the one you want. It's made by P&G who makes Dawn and is very similar.

 

[Jenocide]

Works with the microwave too.

I think it smells funny. Maybe I'm overdoing it. Guess I shouldn't be cooking my sponge, but, such is life...

 

[Lily Adler]

I would do the dishwasher idea...

If I had one!

 

[Jenocide]

I got a dishwasher for the first time in my life and I'm celebratin'!


But there I go being insensitive, thinking everyone has a dishwasher. My bad.

 

[ComicChick]

the only dishwasher i have is me lol

 

[Matt Mortem]

Y'all got any tips for cleaning bathrooms? I hate cleaning the bathroom because I feel like I'm just chasing gunk and dirt around the room without making any progress.

 

[Lily Adler]

Get a vacuum and a rubber (microfiber works too) broom those two cleaning items are powerful weapons on a bathroom floor. If you want to take on soap scum vinegar and Dawn will tackle 90% of your cleaning worries in the shower. The other 10% involves hydrogen peroxide and baking soda paste and a nylon scrubber. As for mirrors, use a mix of vinegar and vodka to make your mirror sparkle or if you don't like vinegar just buy a can of Sprayaway Glass Cleaner. It's ethonal based and it's amazing. Once I'm done with this bottle of Windex I'm switching to that.

EDIT: Remember to use a microfiber cloth or paper towels when cleaning the glass to get more of that sparkle as well.

 

[Holiday]

Reading this thread, I regret going for Walmart brand of soap over Dawn to save a couple dollars, lol. I'm sure it's just as good though, right?

 

[Lily Adler]

Maybe. I haven't tried the Walmart brand. I've seen a Dollar General brand and it looks like it could work too.

EDIT: I did some research and generic dish soaps usually have less soap in them and may take more to get the desired results.