It’s Berry’s great British clean-up... with a tin mug in loo
Ex-Bake Off judge shares household wisdom, including unusual remedy
AFTER decades teaching the nation how to cook, Mary Berry has a new mission: telling us how to clean.
The former Great British Bake Off judge has reinvented herself as a domestic goddess with a new book of household hints. And while it features plenty of kitchen know-how, one of her more unusual tips concerns the bathroom.
Berry shares her “no-fuss way to clean the loo”, a fourstep method that is certainly more time-consuming than a quick squirt of bleach. It in- volves scooping water from the bowl with a mug, then carefully putting it back in once the scrubbing is done.
When Mary’s Household Tips and Tricks was announced earlier this year, the loo-cleaning tip was teased as one of its key revelations.
Berry first recommends donning a pair of rubber gloves before getting down to work. “Flush the cistern, and then remove a mugful of water from the bowl – I use a tin mug. You should be able to see the rim of the limescale line clearly now,” she says.
“While the water level is low, pour, brush or spray the loo cleaner around the limescale in the bowl... Leave for 30 minutes (or according to the instructions on the product label), then rub with a fine scourer or brush.
“If you have hard water and a lot of limescale, you may need to add extra prod- uct. Pour the water in the mug back into the bowl and flush the cistern again.”
Other tips include adding a cut lemon to the washing machine and running it on a short empty cycle to keep it smelling fresh; ironing jeans inside out to preserve the colour; and having two dishwashers if you have children who create lots of washing up. “I couldn’t be without a dishwasher,” Berry writes in the book. “If I were someone with very young children and had a big enough kitchen (and budget) I would like two dishwashers! But that isn’t practical for everyone.”
Her other dishwasher tips include sticking a small label on the front for family members or guests “with brief instructions about how you want it used”. When it comes to washing up by hand, Berry warns that bowls containing cake batter should always be cleaned with cold water, as hot water will fix the egg and uncooked flour.
There is a section on entertaining, in which Berry recommends that for big parties one should cover the hall carpet in the polythene film used by builders; and pages explaining how to change a duvet cover, fold hospital corners on a bed sheet, plump sofa cushions and mop floors.
Berry launched the book at the Henley Literary Festival, explaining that it was influenced by growing up during the Second World War. “I’m quite ancient and it’s things that I’ve gathered during my life. I was a wartime child and my mother was very frugal. And I learned so much from Mum – I didn’t really realise it at the time, but I’ve been using it ever since.”
Although she likes to live in a clean and clutter-free home, when returning from a trip away she heads into the garden. “My husband always says I come home from holiday and the first thing I do is not unpack – although I do like to see the dog – it’s to go and pick flowers.”