WITH Don’t clean don’t need What you to clean
BEST TOOL FOR THE JOB Always pay heed to Aggie’s mantra. Follow these tips and hacks to spend less time scrubbing and scouring, more time bingeing box-sets on the sofa
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Use a brush and dustpan on stairs – the fridge and sweep and wash the it’s much quicker and less awkward floor beneath. than a vacuum cleaner. If the fridge is pulled out, clean 2 7
Fiddly glass ornaments can be the cooling elements at the back stuck in the dishwasher instead with the upholstery attachment of dusting. of your vacuum cleaner, then wipe with 3
Cleaning brass ornaments is a a soft cloth wrung out in warm soapy fiddly job. If Brasso gets stuck in water. This will help your fridge to run the pattern, try a little paraffin more efficiently (and cheaply).
8 on an old towel to remove it. Rub over The windows of wood-burning the surface and use an old toothbrush stoves get very grubby. To shine, for getting into the less accessible bits. dampen scrunched-up newspaper or kitchen roll, dip in the residual ash in the grate and rub on to glass. It will dissolve anything on the surface like magic. Wipe down with clean damp paper. 9 To remove a scratch on an acrylic bath, gently rub a little metal polish in a circular motion on to the mark with a soft duster. The mildly abrasive action gently removes a thin layer from the surface and helps blend it with the surrounding area. Test on a hidden area, such as behind the taps, and go very carefully. Afterwards, clean your bath as normal.
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Bicarbonate of soda is a great product. Buy it from refill shops or bargain stores rather than from the baking section of the supermarket. Sprinkle it over mattresses and sofas before hoovering to absorb smells and moisture. It’s great for cleaning grout – make into a thick paste with water and scrub into the yucky bits. Then spray with white vinegar until it bubbles. Rinse off for fresh grout. 4
To clean silver, line a plastic bowl with foil, shiny side up. Fill it with boiling water and a handful of washing soda crystals. Wearing rubber gloves, submerge all dull and grubby jewellery in the water. The tarnish will transfer to the foil. Rinse and buff to shine.
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For greasy-stained oven racks, take a sheet of fine(ish) sandpaper up and down the rods. This is much cleaner and easier than being up to your elbows in hot soapy water. 6
To clean under the fridge, wrap a damp cloth around the end of a broom handle and secure with an elastic band. Slip it under the fridge; take the handle from right to left, as if you are scooping together the dirt, then bring it out from under the fridge. This means you don’t have to pull out