Some kitchen and cookware does well with a good soak before you can scrub away at it, but the rule doesn’t apply across the board.
Certain cooking utensils like stainless steel pots and pans shouldn’t ever be soaked, seeing as they are prone to water stains, and leaving them to soak could result in pitted surfaces. You should also avoid soaking your wooden utensils since the water will cause them to curve and crack.
Homemade Window Cleaner
Having clean windows doesn’t mean you have to splurge on expensive cleaning sprays. Simplicity is key when it comes to wiping down your windows.
Feel free to skip those commercial cleaners altogether and deliver great results with a homemade solution by combining equal parts of vinegar and water.
How to Clean Your Washing Machine
Just because we rely on our washing machines to keep our clothes clean doesn't mean that they're necessarily clean themselves.
Your washing machine will require a good intense wash from time to time and keep it working at its best, so it will suffice to run a brief but hot wash cycle every now and then with the works detergent and, if it's been a while, maybe use some bleach and then rinse the machine out.
Hot Water As a Disinfectant
Hot water can kill some bacteria, but it has to be piping hot (around 212 degrees Fahrenheit), and the contaminated surface must be exposed for a few minutes for it to be effective. Since most home water heaters are set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, you're fooling yourself if you expect hot water alone to kill germs.
Once the flu sweeps through your home or after preparing raw meats in the kitchen, add a commercial disinfectant like pine oil to your cleaning routine.
Use Coffee to Keep Dark Clothes Dark
There has been a cleaning going around that says adding two cups of coffee or tea to your rinse water to keep clothes dark. Yes, coffee and tea may be effective dyes, but the average rinse cycle in a standard washing machine uses up to 16 gallons of water.
So how much dying can happen with only two cups of coffee or tea? Almost none.