Trade in these handy tricks for a sparkling clean home

In this week’s article I will continue this series with part four of “Tricks of the trade.”

1. Cleaning pillows — Most foam, feather and down pillows can be washed in your washer on a cool, gentle setting. Foam pillows should be air dried, while feather and down pillows can handle a tumbling drying. Toss in a couple of tennis balls to help fluff them up.

2. Portable humidifiers — To keep the drum clean and clear of lime scale, add 1/4 cup of vinegar to the water reservoir every couple of weeks.

3. Seashell and coral pieces — Wash them in hot water with a little water softener and dish soap. Please rinse well in cool water.

4. Electronic screens — TV and computer screens can be dusted with a fabric softener sheet or a soft cloth dipped into fabric softener. The antistatic qualities help prevent dust from being attracted to the screen’s surface.

5. Vases — To remove the stains caused by flowers, fill the vase with hot water and drop in one or two denture tablets and a teaspoon of white rice. Swish the rice around and watch it cut the green goo off the vase walls. On real bad cases, leave it overnight.

6. Fireplace cleaning — Before you start cleaning out the ashes, spread some used coffee grounds on the ashes first. This really helps in keeping the dust from spreading.

7. Louvered doors — Dusting louvered doors are a real pain. Try this! Get an old sock, apply a little furniture polish on it, and then place a ruler inside the sock. Stick the sock with the ruler in between the slats. Check it out, it works outstanding.

8. Switch plates — With small children, light switch plates are a continual problem because of all the fingerprints. Get a damp rag, dip it into some baking soda and clean the plate. It really works well.

In next week’s article I will continue this series with part five of “Tricks of the trade.”

When cleaning with any cleaning product, always wear eye protection and rubber gloves to protect your hands. If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed at NWES (255-2266), e-mail them to madan@nwees.com or send them to Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church Street, Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864, Attn: What would Ed do? For more information about Ed, check him out at NWEES.com

Written by Edmond E. Madan, certified forensic, fire, flood, mold inspection and remediation contractor. Ed is the president of Northwest Environmental Services, Inc.