In our great-grandmother\’s time, there were not as many different options for laundry and household cleaning as there are today. There were no liquid laundry gels or bathroom sprays that killed mold or 99.9% of viruses and bacteria. Yet they still kept their homes clean and beautiful. So how did they achieve this?
What about dirt?
Regular lemon juice works well for grass stains, and milk works well for oil stains (from butter and
other fats and oils). The best thing to do is to use at least semi-skimmed milk. The milk will dissolve the fat from the cloth and can be easily washed in a washing machine. If red wine is spilled on a white tablecloth, there are several options. The first is to pour white wine over it. This may sound strange, but it is surprisingly effective. The second option is regular table salt. However, speaking from personal experience, white wine, paradoxically, has also worked on thick Spanish wines
where conventional cleaning agents have not. No expensive stain remover is needed, and as an added bonus, it is environmentally friendly.
All-Purpose Cleaners
Two indispensable (and perhaps indispensable) household items are vinegar and baking soda. Vinegar serves as a lime stain cleaner throughout the house. If the area to be treated is upright,
it is best to fill a spray bottle with vinegar and spray the entire surface. Let it sit for a while, then rinse with water and polish with a cloth. This will make bathroom fixtures, faucets, tiles, and other surfaces beautiful and shiny. Glassware in the home can also be cleaned in this way.
Vinegar can also be used in place of fabric softener. A few drops of essential oil (preferably on a dryer sheet
) will make the laundry smell great.
Is the kettle calcified? Then pour about half a liter of vinegar
and bring it to a boil. The limescale will dissolve and the kettle will be good as new. For washing machines, the same effect can be achieved by adding vinegar to the detergent tank instead of one wash cycle.
Vinegar, when used with baking soda, is a very effective all-purpose cleaner. For example, a dirty oven door with grease stains that are difficult to remove. Simply sprinkle baking soda on it, pour vinegar on it, and leave it alone. Then use a sponge to gently clean even the most stubborn burns. The stove can be cleaned in the same way. Just be careful with ceramic surfaces, as they may be scratched by the baking soda.
Whether or not you are a fan of natural household cleaning techniques, the vinegar trick is worth a try. You might be surprised.