10 Spring Cleaning Tips Your Mom Never Told You

Give Stained Clothes a Second Chance

Before shelling out big bucks on a new wardrobe for spring, do a quick survey of the beautiful clothes you already have. Have a shirt you love but can’t wear because of an ink stain? Before cleaning it, soak it in solution with two-parts milk and one part white vinegar overnight. Stain, be gone.

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Clean Your Toilet-With Kool-Aid

It may be better known as one of America’s favorite juice mixers, but Kool-Aid can be used in another very important way: as toilet bowl cleaner. “Kool-Aid is natural and non-toxic. It’s full of citric-acid that will clean the toilet,” cleaning guru Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan says. The cherry flavor is his favorite.

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Before you go to bed, flush your toilet and pour in a packet of Kool-Aid. Let it sit overnight and flush in morning. Don’t worry about stains; because it’s being used on a porcelain surface, the color won’t bleed. A can of Coca Cola or Pepsi can also do the job, according to Todd Saunders, president of the Cleaning Specialists of America. Who knew!?

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Have an Arsenal in Each Room

Don’t waste time trying to find your cleaning supplies. "If you have multiple bathrooms, I recommend putting products in buckets in each bathroom," cleaning specialist Laura Wittmann says. "It saves you the time running around from the kitchen."

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Swap Paper Towels for Newspapers

Paper towels are not always the most effective for wiping surfaces, especially glass. "There's oil on glass, and that's where the streaking comes from, Gillingham-Ryan explains. While paper towels simply smear the oil, newspapers can penetrate it, making the glass shinier. For cleaning windows, Gillingham-Ryan suggests...

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"Use dry bundles of newspaper and solution with alcohol to cut the grease. It scrapes the window, removing the grease, and then it wipes the window once it's reached the surface." For a stronger window cleaning solution, try mixing 1/2 cup of ammonia, 1/2 cup of alcohol and a couple teaspoons lf Down in a gallon of lukewarm water.

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These Colors Won't Run
The most dreaded part of doing laundry is gathering and sorting. Wittmann says it doesn’t have to be that way: "I don't sort my laundry. I wash each child's laundry separately with vinegar to keep the colors from running. I don’t even need to use fabric softener." Acid in distilled white vinegar is strong enough break down detergent’s alkalies, making it more effective in cleaning your clothes...

—Yet still mild enough to preserve and soften fabrics. The acid also makes your clothes smell fresher because it cuts through perspiration and residual deodorant. Don't worry about the vinegar’s odor—it goes away as the clothes dry. When it's time to wash, add a half a cup to a cup of white vinegar with laundry detergent when filling up the washing machine.
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Make sure you have individual baskets for each person in the house. When it's time to wash, add a half a cup to a cup (depending on the size of the load) of white vinegar with laundry detergent when filling up the washing machine. Be sure to separate red items and new denim for the first wash.

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Run on Empty

If you find spots on your glassware, it's time to run an empty cycle. Gillingham-Ryan suggests clearing the dishwasher and running a cycle with a package of citric acid crystals you can find at the drugstore or supermarket in the canning or spice aisle.

Then, run another cycle with regular detergent. Make sure to rinse and soak stained dishes in Clorox and water before putting them in the dishwasher. This will stop stains from spreading to other plates and flatware.

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Improve Your Flow

After you've cleaned the air vents in your house, wax them with car wax. "This way the dust won’t build up as quickly, and the air will pass through better," Gillingham-Ryan says.

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Keep it Dry

Wipe walls with "[Use] a dry microfiber towel on a wall and stay dry on the wall in general. Then on smaller, more detailed surfaces like knobs and molding, use surface cleaner with the microfiber towels.” Gillingham-Ryan suggests using Magic Erasers from Mr. Clean on tough stains.

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Ditch the Funk

There's nothing like warm spring air coming through open windows to get rid of winter stuffiness. However, it might take more than fresh air to ditch the smell. "At the end of the day, nature is your best answer," says Gillingham-Ryan, who suggests an "all-natural beeswax candle with a mild scent to clean the air." Avoid using chemically-laden cleaning products when cleaning floors.
 

Use lavender rather than citrus. "Lavender is much nicer than citrus; it’s more of a food smell than a cleaner one. Since winter funk tends to settle in fabrics, try sprinkling your carpet with baking soda before vacuuming. For an elegant final touch, place a vase filled with fresh flowers and light some beeswax candles on your countertop.

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Fight Stains With Toothpaste

Did your little one get crayon stains on the wall again? Saunders suggests dabbing some toothpaste onto a damp napkin to wipe it out. "But don't lather it on," he warns, "or it'll get pasty."

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Saunders also says you can use the same technique to clean scuffs off your shoes, the bottom of an iron, or on chrome surfaces in the bathroom to make them shine.

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