Need some “good housekeeping” info

[Joel_BC]

I want to thank all of you for the flood of useful tested-in-the-real-world information. You've made this a worthwhile thread!

 

[Hinotori]

If I'm cooking something that looks like it might spill over, I put a cookie sheet on the rack below it in the oven. That has saved me from more spills than anything. I foil the bowls under the units up top now. I used to replace them if they got too bad.

I'd use EasyOff. The original formula version. The other "friendly" types seem to take forever and don't do as good of a job.

Side note, the toilet cleaner I use is lye based. It's safe for the septic and is the only thing that removes the rust stains.

 

[Country homesteader]

I don't go cheap on any of the products I use in EITHER the kitchen or bathroom.
Kitchen- EasyOff for the spills in the oven, fantastic for the stove, Dawn dish liquid for dishes.
Bathroom- Kaboom foam tastic for the sliding glass doors, walls and shower head; Clorox foaming bleach for the counter ( and sink), Lime A Way for the toilet.
I use Fabuloso for BOTH kitchen and bathroom floors and Windex for the mirror in the bathroom.

 

[sumi]

I use Mr Muscle kitchen cleaner for the stove. Don't know if you get that brand across the pond. It worked well even on the greasy mess on the tiles around the stove that are so dang hard to get off. I spray a generous dose on the affected areas, leave it for a few minutes and then wipe it up. Anything remaining goes with a little scrubbing.

 

[tortoise]

@Country homesteader , I have heard that using RainX (for car windshields) on a glass shower door is miraculous for preventing water spotting. Windex works great on bathroom counters too, btw, if you're ever looking to cut your cleaner inventory. Oh! My bathroom is tiny, cheap vinyl stick tile floor. I wipe the floor with windex too. Like I said, I'm a lazy housekeeper. Can't be bothered to keep track of many cleaning products! Or to get more than one out!

 

[milkmansdaughter]

I do the same as @Britesea , sometimes I use vinegar. While I'm cleaning the bottom, I drop the top trays and anything extra greasy into a bin with ammonia and set it outside. Most of the time it comes off easily.
I always keep ammonia, and vinegar, bleach, baking soda, and salt, and borax, and Dawn dish soap at the house. All are incredible cleaners in different ways and are incredibly cheap compared to the name brand stuff. I rarely buy other cleaners. Yep, if you're using ammonia or bleach turn on the vent, or have an open window, but you need that with a lot of other cleaners anyway.

Thinking on those lines, this might be a great thread for the uses of these common, very affordable items.

Ammonia: great for Windows, grease, and cleaning carpets and upholstery (like arm chair arms)
Baking soda: use in wash, for gentle scrubber, deodorizer, and oh so many other things...
Salt and ice cubes in a coffee pot will remove burnt on coffee (learned this in the Navy...) Dump a few ice chips and salt in the glass pot and swirl... Works great!

Vinegar cleans wash machines, coffee pots, dishwashers (and so much more)
Also a drip of dish soap in vinegar on the counter kills fruit flies.

More ideas, anyone? What are your "dirty little secrets"?

 

[Hinotori]

I have menthol crystals I dissolve in oil and squirt into spots rodents like. They hate the smell of the stuff.

It's toxic if you eat it. Because super minute amounts are used in cough stuff, people think they can suck om the crystals and poison themselves. I marked poison all over the bag and warned hubby off of it.

 

[Joel_BC]

Confession: I would buy new bowls for under the burners.
I know everyone says not to use foil in the bottom of the oven, but I do. I'd put it right over what is there. Because I'm a lazy housekeeper.

Okay.

I wonder if possibly many people reading this are fine with using a product like EasyOff?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I'm even lazier...I just hit the self-clean oven button... But, when I had that kind of stove, I used foil liners.

 

[lcertuche]

I try to get the mess as soon as it happens but if you don't then we scrub with a magic eraser (generic). I too like to line with foil. I hate to see a dirty stove, right now my teenager made the deal with his dad that he will clean the kitchen every night if we let him stay after school and lift or play basketball. I just noticed Saturday the condition of the back burners and around them. He's been leaving my large pot sit there and I hadn't noticed that he was only cleaning the front of the stove. So now it's taking a lot of elbow grease to get it clean.