Home Cleaning Tips: 15 Simple Tricks for a Cleaner Home

Zerorez® SoCal knows that just cleaning your carpets, couches and rugs is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to keeping a clean house. This list compiles some interesting home cleaning tips and tricks for solving cleaning and other household problems. We welcome your input and will post new ideas on an ongoing basis. Check back often to see what new tips and tricks we have run across, and be sure to share this page with your friends.

Did you know that ketchup cleans copper pots and pans?

Vegetable oil can be used to polish wood furniture.

Sprinkling black pepper on your indoor (and outdoor) plants will help keep your pets from devouring them.

Grout should be periodically cleaned by Zerorez professionals who can clean and extract dirt and residue from deep in the pores of grout and stone, but for small jobs such as the nooks and crannies in the shower or bath, a battery powered electric toothbrush takes the effort out of the scrubbing. And disposable models are now available for about $5.00.

Use old pantyhose to clean the dust off of your window screens, they won't damage the screens and they really do a great job.

Dripped candle wax can be tough to remove from a table cloth or the carpet. Put ice in a zip lock bag and place the bag on the wax for about 20 minutes. The wax will become brittle and should lift off easily, or use a plastic knife to scrape the wax free.

Squeaky or stiff door hinges? Coat the hinge pins with lip balm.

Is there a dark line in the carpet along the baseboards or down the stairs? You need to change your heating/air conditioning filter more often, or replace it with a life-time electrostatic filter that just hoses off. Your Zerorez technician can order an electrostatic filter made specifically for your HVAC system.

Use old socks as mitts to clean mini-blinds on both sides. Use a bucket of soapy water to wipe both sides clean, then repeat with a pair of dry socks. You will get wet and sloppy, but the job will go fast. Better still, assign this job to the kids.

Crayon marks on the walls can be removed with a damp rag dipped in baking soda, the marks will come off with minimal rubbing. Toothpaste works well also, but be sure to use only white paste!

Use dryer sheets to clean the TV screen, they will eliminate static that causes dust to adhere to the screen. And dryer sheets in dresser drawers will help clothes smell freshly washed for weeks to come.

Clean glass table tops with lemon juice, then dry and polish with crumpled up newspaper. Toothpaste can help remove small scratches from the glass, just rub gently with a soft cloth, then rinse and dry.

For a sparkling white porcelain sink, place paper towels across the bottom of the sink and saturate with household bleach. Let the towels stay in place for eight hours, then rinse. Do not use bleach on colored sinks.

The greatest damage done to wood floors is from grit. Use mats at doorways to help collect the grit, and dust mop floors in high traffic areas frequently. Your Zerorez technician can also clean and buff wood floors and extract grit from the wood pores. To add a shine to your wood floors, place a piece of wax paper under your dust mop and buff away.

When cleaning your carpets, use only those companies that do not use soap, detergent, or solvents, all of which will leave behind a residue that attracts dirt and dulls the color and look of your carpet. Zerorez is the only truly green carpet cleaner that never uses soap or detergent to clean your carpets, area rugs, or upholstery.