7 Cleaning Hints for Your House

Borax, or sodium borate, is a naturally occurring substance found in many household cleaners. If you have a smelly trash can, deodorize it with equal parts borax and water. For our small trash can, we used 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup borax. Let it soak and then rinse it out. Sprinkle some borax on the floor once it is dry to keep bugs out and absorb future odor-causing moisture.

Your vacuum's agitator brush and suction will stir up dust that will eventually settle on the surfaces you just cleaned. Filter out some of this dust before it settles by setting your thermostat to "blower on." This will turn on the blower in your furnace and filter the air even when the system is not heating or cooling. After cleaning, leave the blower on for about 15 minutes. Do not forget to turn it back to "auto," though. Most blowers are not designed to run all the time.

Every time you sweep, dust clumps and hair collect on the bristle ends of the broom. To solve this problem, tape a wide-toothed comb to the tip of a dustpan. Simply run the bristles through the comb to remove excess dirt hanging off the broom.

Do not throw away used dryer sheets. There's another use for them. Wrap a few dryer sheets on the apartment head of a sweeper. Dryer sheets pick up dust and hair just as well as refills from name-brand sweepers. Say goodbye to dust bunnies!

If you value simplicity and convenience when it comes to washing dishes, check out this homemade dish scrubber made from a Mason jar. It even has a handle that dispenses soap. First, punch a few nail holes in the lid of the jar. Draw the lid on a sponge and cut it out. Hot glue the sponge to the inside edge of the screw-on part of the lid. Fill the jar with soap, screw on the sponge, and you are done!

If you own a hummingbird feeder or a tall flower vase, you know how difficult it is to clean the inside of them. A toothbrush is perfect for cleaning those hard-to-reach places. So if your old toothbrush has done its duty in your mouth, give it a new job!

Soap has the unpleasant property of forming a hard-to-remove film on the tiles in tubs and showers. You will not get rid of it by rubbing. Instead, wait until the surface dries, then scrape off the scum with a 4-inch plastic spatula. For grout lines and textured surfaces, use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.