Key Cleaning Ingredients

You don’t need commercial cleaning products to get out tough stains and rust. Learn to use baking soda, bread, and other natural substances for your clean-up jobs.

Baking Soda

Bicarbonate of soda is a mild alkaline powder that cleans china, stainless steel, fridges and freezers, ovens and plastic furniture. It can be sprinkled on a damp cloth or applied as a paste mixed with water for light scouring; or use as a solution in water when soaking china or washing surfaces.

Lemon Juice

Applied directly or added to water, the acidity of lemon juice clears tarnish on brass and copper, removes limescale, rust and stains on marble and plastic worktops, and is effective against unpleasant smells.

White Vinegar

Mixed in a solution with water or as a paste with borax and water, vinegar cleans windows, glass surfaces, ceramic tiles and wooden furniture. It can help to remove hard-water deposits from taps, toilet bowls and sinks, and works as a descaler for kettles.

Bread

Rub dirty marks on wallpaper gently with a piece of fresh white bread. This also works with Venetian blinds.

Paper

Clean grease spots on wallpaper by blotting with a clean paper towel, brown paper or blotting paper and then pressing a warm (not hot) iron over it. This also works for removing wax from fabric or carpet.

Salt

Use salt to absorb red wine spilled on carpet or fabric. Apply immediately after the accident, then brush or rinse away later.

Talcum Powder

Pour talc over a grease stain on cloth, leave overnight, brush the talc off and wash the cloth as normal.

Baby Oil

Make stainless steel appliances gleam by gently rubbing them with a cotton ball dipped in a little baby oil.

Toothpaste

Clean dirty grouting between wall tiles by rubbing with toothpaste.

Denture Cleaning Tablets

Use as a kettle descaler. Fill the kettle with cold water, add a couple of denture cleaning tablets, leave overnight, then rinse thoroughly.

Bonus: Recipes for Successful Cleaning

Raid your kitchen cupboards for two common ingredients and you can create a cleaner strong enough for almost any job around the house.

Dry Carpet Shampoo

Sprinkle baking soda generously over the carpet, leave for 15 minutes, then vacuum thoroughly.

Oven Cleaner

Mix baking soda with a little water to make a thick paste and spread over baked-on grease. Leave overnight, rub with a plastic scrubber and rinse.

Mildew Remover

Mimimize mould and remove mildew from a shower curtain by applying a paste of baking soda and lemon juice. Soak, then rinse in warm water.

Tap Descaler

Rub chrome taps with half a lemon to remove scale and scrub inside them with a toothbrush dipped in vinegar.