Lampshades fixed to their frames with glue should be dry cleaned. When lampshades aren't glued to their frames, wash them in the bathtub with warm water and a spray hose. Dry them quickly after washing so the frames won't rust. An electric fan or hair dryer can speed the drying process.
To keep a phone clean and germfree, rub it with an alcoholsoaked paper towel. To wash fragile objects without breaking them, put them on a tray in the sink and spray them first with window cleaner or foam bathroom cleaner, and then with water. Let them air dry on a towel. You can wash knickknacks more quickly than you can dust them. Swish them in water containing a touch of liquid detergent, rinse, and drain on a towel. If you want to make sure every crevice is dry, use a hair dryer. Remove traces of rust on iron by rubbing with an emery cloth, or with steel wool moistened with a few drops of turpentine or kerosene.
It is possible to clean a chandelier without taking it down; here's how. In a glass, mix a solution of 1 part denatured alcohol and 3 parts water. Cover the floor or table under the chandelier with newspaper or plastic and set up a ladder so that you can reach the fixture's pendants. Individually submerge the crystals in the glass for a few moments, swishing them back and forth a little, and then simply let them air dry.
To get rid of stale cigarette or cigar smoke, leave a dish of vinegar or ammonia in the room overnight. It also helps to dampen a towel with diluted vinegar and wave it through the room.
Clean and sweeten ashtrays by washing them in a solution of 1 tablespoon of baking soda to a quart of water.
If candle wax has dripped on a table or cloth, hold an ice cube against the wax until it's brittle, and then piy it off with a knife or your fingernail. If silver candlesticks accumulate wax drippings, place them in the freezer; when the wax freezes, you'll be able to peel it off.
To make a copper/brass/bronze cleaner, stir together 1 tablespoon of table salt and 1 tablespoon of flour. Continuing to stir, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Apply the resulting paste with a damp cloth or sponge, rub gently, then rinse and wipe dry. Sometimes a slightly tarnished aluminum surface can be cleaned by rubbing it with crumpled aluminum foil.
Why pay a chimney sweep to clean your chimney? Do it yourself this way. Open the damper and seal the hearth from the room with scrap lumber or a drop cloth secured with masking tape. If the flue is straight, fill a burlap bag with wadded paper and 2 bricks and then fasten it to a long rope. Go up to the roof and slide the bag up and down the chimney's interior 5 or 6 times to remove all soot.
If the flue is curved, use 2 feet of tire chain or other heavy chain at the end of the rope, rather than a burlap bag. Slap the chain against the flue's sides as you raise and lower the rope 5 or 6 times. For the most efficient use ofyour fireplace, do this once a year. To see if your chimney is free of soot after you've cleaned it, wait an hour or so for the dust to settle and then use a large hand mirror and a flashlight to examine the flue.
Fireplace smoke stains can be removed by washing them with V% cup of trisodium phosphate (TSP) mixed in 1 gallon of water. (Wear gloves to protect your hands.) You also can remove fireplace smoke stains by rubbing them with an art gum eraser, or by applying a paste of cream of tartar and water; when the paste dries brush it off, along with the stains.
To keep a phone clean and germfree, rub it with an alcoholsoaked paper towel. To wash fragile objects without breaking them, put them on a tray in the sink and spray them first with window cleaner or foam bathroom cleaner, and then with water. Let them air dry on a towel. You can wash knickknacks more quickly than you can dust them. Swish them in water containing a touch of liquid detergent, rinse, and drain on a towel. If you want to make sure every crevice is dry, use a hair dryer. Remove traces of rust on iron by rubbing with an emery cloth, or with steel wool moistened with a few drops of turpentine or kerosene.
To get rid of stale cigarette or cigar smoke, leave a dish of vinegar or ammonia in the room overnight. It also helps to dampen a towel with diluted vinegar and wave it through the room.
Clean and sweeten ashtrays by washing them in a solution of 1 tablespoon of baking soda to a quart of water.
If candle wax has dripped on a table or cloth, hold an ice cube against the wax until it's brittle, and then piy it off with a knife or your fingernail. If silver candlesticks accumulate wax drippings, place them in the freezer; when the wax freezes, you'll be able to peel it off.
To make a copper/brass/bronze cleaner, stir together 1 tablespoon of table salt and 1 tablespoon of flour. Continuing to stir, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar. Apply the resulting paste with a damp cloth or sponge, rub gently, then rinse and wipe dry. Sometimes a slightly tarnished aluminum surface can be cleaned by rubbing it with crumpled aluminum foil.
Why pay a chimney sweep to clean your chimney? Do it yourself this way. Open the damper and seal the hearth from the room with scrap lumber or a drop cloth secured with masking tape. If the flue is straight, fill a burlap bag with wadded paper and 2 bricks and then fasten it to a long rope. Go up to the roof and slide the bag up and down the chimney's interior 5 or 6 times to remove all soot.
If the flue is curved, use 2 feet of tire chain or other heavy chain at the end of the rope, rather than a burlap bag. Slap the chain against the flue's sides as you raise and lower the rope 5 or 6 times. For the most efficient use ofyour fireplace, do this once a year. To see if your chimney is free of soot after you've cleaned it, wait an hour or so for the dust to settle and then use a large hand mirror and a flashlight to examine the flue.
Fireplace smoke stains can be removed by washing them with V% cup of trisodium phosphate (TSP) mixed in 1 gallon of water. (Wear gloves to protect your hands.) You also can remove fireplace smoke stains by rubbing them with an art gum eraser, or by applying a paste of cream of tartar and water; when the paste dries brush it off, along with the stains.
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