Magic Erasers work miracles on variety of stains
Commercial cleaning products can make a grocery bill skyrocket. Although I like to save money by making my own cleaning items, one way I “splurge” is with handy and inexpensive Magic Erasers.
First made by Mr. Clean, Magic Erasers are now sold in generic versions. They are useful beyond what they are advertised for, and if you have read my columns before, you know how much I love multiuse products in a pennypinching budget.
If you have ever used cleaning erasers, you probably know how quickly they get dingy and fall apart. I always cut off a small but appropriate-size portion of the eraser for each job.
They are easily cut with a kitchen knife or scissors. By rationing erasers, my supply lasts much longer and assures I have a clean and fresh eraser for each job. The erasers do not contain harsh chemicals and are advertised for cleaning walls, baseboards, floors, switch plates and blinds.
Ever since I saw how quickly they removed scuff marks from light-colored vinyl flooring in an old rental, I’ve made room in my closet and budget for the handy cleaners, but other people have enlightened me to new uses. I use them to keep sneakers white and my kitchen cabinets looking new. They are great for crayon marks or dry-erase markers when little artists decide to express their creativity “off-canvas.”
They are good for cleaning plastic coolers and removing baked-on brown spots from cookware. I’ve had great success using them on my white car for fingernail scratches and light key scuffs around door handles (always test first in a nonconspicuous location).
DIY Life (diylife.com) has a list of uses for Magic Erasers, including removing the water mark on pool liners and stains from the inside of a dishwasher. They also advise cleaning plastic outdoor furniture, car interiors, glass stove tops and grout. DIY Life also recommends them for leather upholstery, purses or shoes to lift up marks.
Pyrex Love (pyrexlove. com) has an extensive post about using Magic Erasers on Pyrex containers, showing how great they work on old and difficult grease stains. Pyrex Love also shares warnings for what not to use them on, including patterned Pyrex, matte surfaces and anything with a gold leaf, as the designs could be stripped off.
The Mr. Clean website (mrclean.com) lists customers’ successful atypical uses.
Although the company offers a disclaimer for the section, it has great success stories for people who saved items otherwise thought ruined. Some of my favorite ideas include getting spray paint off a vehicle, dry-erase marker off a truck’s felt-roof liner, permanent marker off a dry-erase board, coffee or Kool-Aid stains off a countertop, and stove drip pans. Customers have also listed successes in remedying selftanner mishaps and removing hair dye from a vanity.
These are “at your own risk” endeavors, but when faced with having to replace items, Magic Erasers can be great money-savers. A participant in the winemaker-for-a- day program at Raymond Vineyards in St. Helena, Calif., works on a trial blend. Visitors who sign up for the program don silver and red lab coats, with matching hats (naturally), and mix their own wine blends in a room decorated with a disco ball and black light.
SHARPSBURG, Md — Ranger Dan Vermilya ended his guided tour of Antietam battlefield with a bit of personal history.
Sept. 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in U.S. history, he told visitors. Confederate and Union armies suffered more than 23,000 casualties. That number of killed, wounded and missing is higher than total U. S. losses in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War combined.