What to Use

The answer is easy, all people have to do is get the proper cleaning supplies. For old hard or leather cover books this means that people should get a white plastic eraser, a soft cloth, glass cleaner, and a soft dust brush vacuum attachment. But if the person is cleaning soft cover books he or she will need to use Absorbene. People should make sure that they get the right products for the different kinds of books because it is important that the correct things are used when cleaning books.

Cleaning Process

Next comes the actual cleaning process. If a person is cleaning a book that has a hard cover the person will need to lay the book down and gently skim the soft dust brush vacuum attachment over the book and the edges of the pages. Then wipe the book using the glass cleaner and soft cloth.

Next, when people clean a soft cover book they should gently roll the Absorbene over the cover of the book, this will bring all the dust off of it. Then simply go over the book with the soft dust vacuum attachment and the book will be all clean.

When a person is cleaning a leather cover book they should use the glass cleaner and the soft cloth. Gently rub the soft cloth that has glass cleaner over the cover of the book making sure that it does not get on the pages. Plus, if there are pages that have pencil marks on them use the dry cleaning pad that will easily bring the pencil markings off. A person may also use the white plastic eraser to gently erase the pencil marking away.

Extra Care

After a person gets their book or books all cleaned up there are a few ways that the person can avoid most any damage to the books. If a person treats their books properly there will be no problem having thirty year old books that look as good as new. Firstly, if a person does not write in their books, cleans the books before putting them on a shelf, and keeps his or her books in a dry, clean place where there is not to much humidity, and cleans the books on a regular bases (every two to three months), there should not be much problem keeping the books in good condition.

Also if a person will also avoid bending pages, folding pages, laying open books down with the pages facing downward, ripping books, and will always be gently with his or her books it will not be hard for the person to keep their books for years to come.

Gather Materials Needed

To start, gather all the supplies needed for the job. You will need a good brass cleaner/polish. I would recommend Brasso, which is a top brand. You will also need a 100% cotton clothe, (flannel is a good material to use), any tools you may need to remove the brass hardware from whatever it is attached to, i.e. screwdriver or drill. Last thing you need is a well ventilated place to work. *MOST* brass polishes nowadays are non-toxic, but the smell can be very abrasive. Also you may want to pick up a container of lacquer such as Behlen Brass Lacquer. This is to protect the brass over time.

Getting Prepped

First go ahead and remove your brass hardware from whatever it is attached to, such as a door handle. If you need to detach the brass from something, try using a hand screwdriver if possible as to keep from damaging the screw heads. Once you have the brass detached, place it at your workstation preferably on a piece of wood or something you have no concern about possibly ruining. Once that’s complete, take a piece of clothe with some plain tap water, and clean all dirt and dust from the hardware, and let dry.

Using The Polish

Now that the brass is clean, open your polish and add a small amount to the 100% cotton clothe. Then take the clothe and in a circular motion, rub the polish into the brass (for about 5 to 10 minutes) until every bit of the brass is covered with an even coat. Let sit and dry for about 20 minutes. Then take a dry 100% cotton clothe and wipe the polish off. Repeat this step as needed until all tarnish is removed and the brass has a nice even shine. Then let dry for 24 hours.

Maintenance and Protection

If you want to prevent future tarnishing then you will need to coat the brass in lacquer. I would recommend Behlen Brass Lacquer as it is spray on and easy to use. Just spray the lacquer evenly over brass and let dry for about 12 hours. Finished.

Gathering Supplies and Accessing the Problem

In order to clean cast iron cookware, you will want to access the problem that it faces. If there is stuck on food pieces, you will want to use a food based abrasive (such as sea salt) or a non-wire dish brush. A mild dish soap can help remove excessive grease from the cookware, but in order to keep the pan seasoned it should not be used during every cleaning. Clean, cool water for rinsing and a soft cloth should also be gathered.

The Cleaning Process

Gently scrub away any stuck on food stains with the food based abrasive or a non-wire dish brush. Apply a bit of mild dish soap to the cookware and rinse with clean, cool water. It is important to keep some amount of oil or grease on the pan, as this lends to the non-stick surface essential in cooking with cast iron. Do not use dish soap each time you clean the cookware, but alternate between simply rinsing and using detergent on the pan.

The Drying Process

To dry cast iron cookware, select a soft cloth that you intend on using only for cleaning this type of pan. Seasoned cookware can leave a residue or black marks on the drying cloth, rendering it unsuitable for use in other cleaning scenarios. Make sure all moisture is off the cookware in order to keep it from rusting.

Regular Maintenance and Seasoning

Every so often, you will want to season your cast iron cookware to keep it conditioned. While many retailers often try to sell you special chemicals to do this, you need not spend a ton of money in order to accomplish this task. Simply apply a bit of vegetable or olive oil to the surface of the cookware. Place in a 350 degree oven for an hour.

Additional Tips and Warnings

Whatever method you choose, the most important thing to remember about cleaning cast iron cookware is not to allow it to soak in water. Also, never attempt to boil water in a cast iron skillet. Unlike other types of cookware, cast iron is made of solid metal that can rust if left wet. This is the easiest way to ruin an investment into a set of pans and should absolutely be avoided.

Get Your Cleaning Supplies

Glasses can be cleaned very nicely with a few basic supplies. Mild soap, or dish washing detergent and warm water will do the trick. A clean cotton towel will be needed to dry them. Professional cleaning sprays can be purchased from your eye doctor or drug store. These are similar to window cleaning products. They normally come in small spray bottles, and they can be handy when traveling. You can also get professional drying cloths. These are a safe choice because they won’t have any abrasive fibers in them. They should be washed weekly in the washing machine. Do not use fabric softeners with the professional cloths. It can leave a film on the material that can damage your lenses. If you have an anti glare coating on your lenses, ask your doctor what products are best for cleaning. Many soaps can ruin the coating.

Clean The Glasses

Hold the frame in one hand. Use your thumb and forefinger to grasp the piece that crosses the bridge of the nose. Get the glasses wet under running water. Use your other hand to rub the lenses in a circular fashion with the soap. Rubbing the soap in your hands first to get it to bubble up will help. Otherwise, it can be hard to rinse the soap off. Using a wet cloth over your hand to wash with will keep the oils from your skin from getting on the lenses. Do not press hard. When finished, rinse with clear water. Avoid hot water. The heat can harm the plastic that many glasses are made of.

The Drying Process

Use a lens cloth or cotton towel to dry them. Use the same method of holding them as you did while washing. Never use paper towels or tissues. These products are made from wood, and they will definitely scratch your lenses. Air drying is not a good idea. You can end up with water spots.

Regular Maintenance

Washing your glasses at least once a day will keep them in top condition. This should help to avoid a build up of dirt and smudges.

Additional Tips and Warnings

Scratch resistant lenses will hold up better than regular lenses. Always keep your glasses in their case when you are not wearing them. Do not wipe your glasses on dry clothing. Dirt can get ground into the lenses.

Clean The Filter

Being the filter is the main component in your furnace providing clean heat and not just circulating dust and dirt throughout your home the filter should be one of your top concerns on keeping clean. The reason a dirty filter will induce the electricity to go up in price while using the furnace is due to the fact that the overall engine which powers and runs the furnace will need to work harder to get though all of the built up dirt. You can clean a filter by removing from inside a furnace traditionally you will find that your furnace has some form of an access panel which allows entry into the furnace to the filter. When removing the filter and cleaning you can use a traditional non-toxic cleaner and rinse well making sure to remove any caught lint and loose dirt before applying any liquid to to the filter. If you do apply liquid first you will not be able to remove lint as easily due to the lint sticking and clumping on and inside the filter.

How To Replace Disposable Filters

Some furnaces actually come with disposable filters which are only intended to be used for a specific amount of time and then exchanged for a new filter. This could in fact be more beneficial to cleaning being disposable filtered furnaces tend to have a much more easily accessed filter which can just slide out from a sliding panel. Usually you cannot just clean the filter instead you should return to the store which you purchased your furnace, this store should carry replacement filters which are usually to be replaced anywhere between 4 and 6 months time, sometimes one year depending on the brand of furnace and filter. When placing the new clean filter into your cleaned furnace simply slide the filter in the same way you had removed the old filter.

Cleaning the Blower or Fan

Next you will want to clean the units which pull in air through the back or bottom of the face, and push air out of the front heating unit. The blower is a fan meaning if the blower is dusty it is going to blow dust out of your furnace along with air. Before cleaning this fan remember to unplug or remove any source of power which could give your furnace the ability to turn on. If your furnace is somehow battery powered make sure there are no batteries in the battery compartment also. When accessing the blower you will need to remove the front panel of your furnace, this means you will most likely need to loosen some screws so have screw drivers handy for this job. Once you have opened your furnace you will need to unscrew and remove the actual fan, remembering to unplug the fan from the motor beforehand. You can clean the blower with simple soap, water, and a tooth brush.

Cleaning the Rest of the Inside Furnace

Before placing your blower back inside your furnace you should take advantage of the free space you have just opened. If you have a low power hand vacuum this is a good tool to remove loose dirt. For the rest of the furnace use a well rung out damp cloth or towel to scrub out any remaining dirt or grime.

Simple vacuuming and cleaning

For easy day to day cleaning, the best way to clean your linoleum floor is to vacuum dirt and clean it with a mop dampened with warm water. Frequent vacuuming and damp mop cleanings will keep dirt and grime from penetrating the flooring. This will keep your linoleum floor looking great.

Light cleaning with vinegar and water

Detergent based cleaning products aren’t recommended for linoleum. These cleaners often don’t rinse clean and their residue becomes a magnet for dirt and grime. If you’ve got some stains and hard to remove grime, try a solution of one cup of vinegar in a gallon of warm water. Mop with the vinegar solution and then rinse with a mop dampened with warm water. As linoleum floors age, they will develop cracks that will hold dirt. The vinegar trick usually gets the dirt out of those crevices.

Stains, scuffs, and marks

With any floor its inevitable that you’ll get a hard to remove stain or scuff. There are some tricks to working with these problem spots. Scrubbing problem areas with a nylon brush dampened with water or the vinegar solution will remove some of these stains. A Magic Eraser or similar product also works well. If the stain is deep, try a little Comet or Bon Ami brand cleansers to lighten the stain. Heel marks and scuffs from shoes can be removed with a little WD-40. Extra care should be taken with using these cleaning tips as it may remove the top finish of the flooring.

Heavy cleaning and stripping

Old linoleum floors require a top finish of floor wax to keep them looking new. Over time, wax buildup and trapped dirt will make your floor look dull and dingy. Stripping and waxing the floor is the only way to bring your linoleum floor back to life. To strip your floor, put one cup of non sudsy ammonia into a gallon of warm water and scrub with a mop and scrub brush. After scrubbing, rinse twice with warm water to wash away any residue. Then apply one or two coats of floor wax according to the manufacturers instructions. Once dry, your floor will look as good as new.

If you have a new linoleum floor, check with the manufacturer for cleaning instructions. New linoleum floors may have a special top coat that eliminates the waxing and cleaning step. For longer life, use their recommended cleaning products to clean your linoleum flooring.

Hand Wash With A Clothes Line

One of the best ways to clean an area rug is to hand clean the rug which will prevent any damage especially towards antique materials. You can do this by hooking up a clothes line and pins outdoors on a decently warm and dry day. Hang up the area rug rinse with your garden hose and scrub with washing liquids and a hand rag. Then rinse back out with a hose and either squeeze out remaining liquids and leave to dry, or just leave out to dry.

Vacuum

Although you cannot use a shampooer on most area rugs you can vacuum if your vacuum has adjustable power settings. Make sure your vacuum is not set too high to prevent pulling up on bits of your area rug damaging the rug and possibly clogging the actual vacuum itself. Other ways is to sweep the carpet regularly with a broom making sure to lightly brush being careful not to push the dirt father into the carpet. Small hand vacuums also work great on delicate area rugs.

Hand Clean Stains

If a few to many stains in your area rug is your problem you should not need to hang your rug outdoors. Using bleach free stain removing cleaners you are able to remove any stains by hand. Simply spray on the cleaner or mix cleaner with a small bucket of water and cloth dab or scrub depending on the delicacy of the materials to uplift the stain and use a vacuum to lift out the dirty water once the chemicals are rinsed with warm water. Let the area rug sit until the wet areas are dry avoiding stepping on or using the carpet until the rug is completely dry.

Professional Assistance

Some specialized businesses such as dry cleaners may be trained to also work on area rugs, needing assistance with large rugs is a common problem therefore help is traditionally available at a reasonable price. These companies usually will also carry out damage repairs and restoration upon personal customer requests if the company offers the services.

If you cannot find a company to repair your rug there are simple sewing techniques which are available to be learned through online courses varying on the type of rug and the way in which the rug was put together. Such as the sewing technique used to build the rug.

Brushing and Vacuuming

If the velvet just needs regular keeping up on but does not have any actual stains or liquids involved in the needed cleaning you can simply brush the velvet and vacuum out access dirt to avoid any future stains or problems. With brushing a velvet material you always want to brush before and after vacuuming this is to make sure that the hair on the velvet of the material does not get all funny and off. When brushing velvet you want to be brushing in the direction of the nap to prevent accidentally separating any parts of the velvet. Than when you vacuum velvet you can use a normal hand vacuum with a specific nozzle piece which is designed for velvet. This nozzle can be purchased at just about any store which deals in vacuums and vacuum accessories.

Water And Dish Detergent

If your velvet material does get any specific types of stains on it a bit of warm water and a few drops of dish washing detergent should be able to get the stain out. The problem is you do not want to get your velvet wet, so what you should do is put the mixture into a shakeable container and shake the mixture really well until suds begin to form. Instead of using the liquid you should pick up some suds with a gentle cloth and as lightly as possible dab the stain with the cloth and suds. Try to be as careful as possible to avoid any wetness to your velvet.

Spills

When you spill liquid on velvet material the procedure of cleaning your velvet may be a bit more complicated. You should find a dry and thick absorbent cloth or towel and dab the spill as lightly as possible. If you push down too hard you risk damaging the velvet so we really must emphasize that you need to dab as lightly as possible. By pressing down too hard you risk pushing in the spill even further and creating an even more serious problem with getting the spill out. Once you have gotten as much of the spill out as possible, if the spill is anything other than water you should use the water and detergent method to try to remove any remainder of dried spillage.

Recommended Cleaning Solutions

First, you will need to know what cleaner is recommended for the material. Typically you can use liquid dish soap or car wash. Now to help minimize the amount of times you actually need to wash your Venetian blinds you will want to dust them at least once a week. When you are ready to thoroughly clean them you can wash them inside in the bathtub or outside.

Before removing your Venetian blinds, you will want to fully open them and then take them off of their track. You will probably need a screwdriver to remove them. I recommend having someone help you as well so you don’t place stress on the blinds while removing them and it’s always helpful having a helper.

Cleaning Venetian Blinds in a Bath Tub

Fill up your bathtub up at least half way with warm water. You can either use the manufacturers recommended cleaner, liquid dish soap, car wash, or vinegar. Please do not use bleach. If you are using liquid soap or the car wash, add it in the water and mix it around, keep in mind that you do not want to many suds. If you are using the recommended cleaner, please follow the directions on the back. If you wish to use vinegar use about a gallon of vinegar.

Lay the Venetian blinds in the bath and let them soak for a few minutes. Then use a sponge or dish cloth to clean the blinds as thoroughly as possible. Once you have gotten all the grime off you are ready to rinse them. Now you can drain the bath and turn on the shower to fully rinse the blinds.

Cleaning Venetian Blinds Outside

If you choose to clean them outside, you will want to lay down a tarp on the ground and then lay the blinds over the tarp. Then you will fill up a bucket with water and add the cleaner of your choice. Make sure the slats are closed and pour the water over the top of the Venetian blinds. Use a mop to clean them and then flip them over and repeat the process for the back side of the blinds. Use your hose to rinse the blinds off.

You can either lay the blinds out over a towel to dry or dry them with a cloth. I recommend opening the slats up while air drying. If you choose to dry them with a cloth make sure to get all the slats. You might want to have a few cloths on hand in case they become damp before you are done drying the blinds. Once the blind are dry they are ready to be put back in place.

Using Socks to Clean Your Venetian Blinds

Don’t throw out your old socks, they will come in handy when it comes to cleaning your blinds. Using this method you can leave your blinds up. Dip one sock in your bucket of cleaning water, and leave one sock dry. You will use the damp sock to clean one slat at a time and use the dry sock to dry that slat.

See, you can continue to enjoy your Venetian blinds even if they become dusty. Just remember to dust them at least once a week, and wash them at least 2 – 3 times a year.

Liquid Soap

Soap works to get your hands clean, so why shouldn’t it work on shower glass? Simply take a washcloth and put a few pumps of liquid soap on there and put under hot water. Work up a foamy lather and scrub down both sides of the glass. Once you’ve got the doors lathered up, get a new wash cloth and wet it down and wipe away the suds. Let the doors air dry and then smile at how clean and germ free your shower doors are.

Bar Soap

Bar soap is very similar to liquid soap, however, there’s only need for one washcloth. Wet the washcloth down and wipe both sides of the doors. Now, take your bar of soap (not your fancy guest soap of course, that stuff is expensive!) and in a circular pattern, scrub each door. Once you’ve got a good layer of soap on each side, take the wet washcloth and wipe away all the soap. Just like before, let the doors air dry and don’t forget to make sure that no one uses that particular bar of soap.

Body Wash

If you have an extra loofah sitting around, pour a nickel-sized amount of body wash on it, otherwise use a washcloth again. Work the body wash into a good lather and scrub down the doors just as you would your own body. Loofahs are especially great for this method because of their roughness which will get all that extra soap scum off the door with minimal effort.

Air Freshener

It’s a bathroom essential and a great way to put shine back in your glass. Simply spray a healthy dose of air freshener on the glass and wipe it off the same you would with other store bought glass cleaners. Not only is this the simplest method, but it will also make your bathroom smell great. Which is always a plus when it comes to bathrooms.

So there you go, four quick methods to cleaning your glass shower doors. At least now you’ll have no excuse for trying to quarantine your bathroom. Your future guests will be thankful for that!