10 Quick and Easy Cleaning Hacks

by Leslie Reichert

Save time and money with these tips for keeping your microwave,

toilet bowl, garbage disposal and more in tiptop shape

1. Microwave manager. Leftover food inside your microwave can be a real pain. It becomes burnt on more and more as you continue to use it. To give it a quick clean, try microwaving a bowl of lemon juice until the juice starts to boil. It can take anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes depending on the power of your microwave. Once it steams up, wipe all the walls of the microwave with a microfiber cloth. The natural acid in the lemon juice will work to remove buildup.

2. Ring remover. We pour every nasty chemical we can find into our toilet to remove that ring in the bowl. Instead, try using a pumice stone on the stain. The ring is actually a buildup of minerals on the porcelain, and it can be removed by using such a stone. The pumice is harder than the minerals yet softer than the porcelain, so it removes the stain without scratching. Most large retail chains now sell pumice stones specially designed for cleaning toilets.

3. Fresh bowl. Now that you’ve removed the toilet bowl ring with a pumice stone, it’s time to freshen it up even more. Pass on expensive cleaners and simply pour a few capfuls of mouthwash into the bowl to remove buildup and smells.

4. Beat the stink. Garbage disposals have food buildup that tends to get left behind even when you run the disposal for an extra moment. Leftover food starts to rot almost immediately, which leads to a smelly kitchen sink.

Fight this buildup by cleaning off the blades of your disposal. Just throw a few ice cubes down inside, add a few tablespoons of salt and run the disposal for a few minutes.

5. Razor’s edge. A simple way to remove burnt-on food from glass-topped electric and induction stoves is to use a flat razor. If you place the razor at a 45-degree angle, it will get under the buildup without scratching the stove-top.

6. Squeegee time. Using a squeegee in your shower will remove most of the soap scum on the walls and glass doors. If you get into a routine of wiping the shower down with a squeegee, you may never have to clean soap scum in your shower again.

7. Bathroom buddy. Need an extra hand cleaning things in your bathroom? Enlist your dishwasher. You can pop things like the soap dish, toothbrush holder and drinking cups into the dishwasher so they will get cleaned and sanitized.

8. Fairer faucet. Minerals building on your shower faucet? They can easily be removed with distilled white vinegar. Look for bottles labeled “cleaning vinegar,” which is more acidic than cooking vinegar. Place the vinegar in a sandwich baggie and wrap it around the faucet head with a rubber band for the evening. The mineral buildup should be gone the next morning.

9. Throwing shade. One item that often gets overlooked when cleaning are lampshades. You can quickly clean them with a lint roller. By rubbing the lint roller over the flat areas of the shade, you will remove built-up dust. If there are crevices or seams that are missed by the roller, use a clean paintbrush to remove the extra dust.

10. Keyboard cleanser. Keyboards are a haven for germs and rarely get cleaned. You can quickly clean them with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Just dip the Q-tip in the rubbing alcohol and rub the keys and in between them. Make sure the Q-tip isn’t too wet to avoid excess rubbing alcohol dripping into the keyboard.

Cabinet-S-Top, 1977 Medina Road, Medina, OH  44256

330.239.3630 ~ www.cabinet-s-top.com