All In A Days Work

Keeping the bathroom clean is not an easy job. No matter how hard you try and maintain the cleanliness of your bathroom it always gets dirty and always needs a bit of extra elbow grease. But, some of the conventional methods just don’t cut the mustard when it comes to cleaning products. It is almost like sweeping dirt under the carpet; it is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Well, if you are anything like me, that isn’t acceptable. For one thing, it means more you have to spend more time cleaning and I do have a life! So, I have decided to try out the unconventional methods of cleaning because they cannot be any worse, right? Here are some of the weirdest and most wonderful cleaning tips I have come across.

Clean with Coca-Cola

It’s probably not want you want to hear, especially when your children love to knock it back by the bottle. But, regardless of what it does to peoples’ teeth, it can make cleaning your bathroom a lot easier. Coke is full of sodium and bicarbonates that react to lift dirt and grime from most surfaces. So, if you have stubborn stains on your toilet bowl or in the bathtub, you can always put some Coke on it and try that. Honestly, it works as well as any cleaning product that I have used.

Clean with Kool-Aid

Cleaning with Kool-Aid is the same as cleaning with Coca Cola, but it is worth knowing in case your first port of call doesn’t have the effect you are looking for. Some people prefer Coke and others prefer Kool-Aid, so it is up to you to choose and figure out which one works best. With Kool-Aid you just add a generous mixture to the area you want to clean and leave it for a while as it works its magic. After five or ten minutes flush the toilet and your dirty toilet down the drain!

Olive & Salt

If you have the wood if your bathroom, as a lot of people like to do, it can easily become marked. The problem with wood is that once it is marked it is very conspicuous and hard to ignore. It is also hard to get rid of unless you get creative and unleash the olive and salt mixture on your bathroom. All you have to do is put the mixture together and add it to the stains and leave it. But, once you have wiped the concoction off the wood don’t be disheartened if the stain is still there. Leave it a bit longer and once you go back, the stains should have magically disappeared. Just keep in mind that it is a slow burner and takes more time than most cleaning methods.

Clean the Silver with Toothpaste

Silver is a very expensive metal, so you would usually be right in leaving it to the conventional methods of cleaning. Let’s face it; if you ruin the family silver you will be devastated! But, toothpaste is legitimate and has been used on silver for longer than most people can care to imagine. It is organic, to a degree, and because of that it isn’t too harsh on the metal so it won’t ruin any of your precious silverware. Plus, it is a lot cheaper than buying the special cleaning products that most retailers sell and it will also leave your ornaments smelling good! If you do have any silverware in the bathroom, make sure you have enough toothpaste to go around.

Pick the right Style

What makes cleaning a bathroom harder is the style. Some styles are more conducive to maintaining than others, such as a suite or a wet room. If you want to cut down on the cleaning you want one of these alternatives. They are better with regards to cleaning because they are decorated with tiles and have wide open spaces. Tiles just need wiping down with a cloth or spraying with a bit of water and most of the bacteria and dirt are washed away. Conventional bathrooms tend to let the grease and grime build up, and that is when cleaning can become a problem. It sounds a bit drastic, but if you want to cut down time spent cleaning you want to take a look at different alternatives. If you need inspiration, check out Bella Bathroom suites and all the other options that such companies have available.

Scrub with Baby Oil

Chemical sprays might do the job, but they won’t do it quicker or more efficiently than baby oil. If areas in your bathroom are especially greasy, baby oil works better than any industrial spray anyway. The compound of baby oil cuts away at the grime and lifts it within a matter of minutes, leaving your bathroom sparkling clean. Plus, it smells good, and that is more than I can say for the likes of bleach and chemical sprays!

Use Coffee Filters

Paper towels are the usual suspects for cleaning because they are lint-free, so they don’t make any unnecessary marks. But, sometimes paper towels are not always to hand, and you need a good alternative, which is where coffee filters come into play. If you are a coffee fiend you are bound to have endless coffee filters lying around the house, so just pick one up and start buffing away. They work best on the mirrors because they leave them shining and gleaming.

Use an Electric Toothbrush

It is not a myth that a toothbrush does work better than most cleaning utensils. It is the way that the bristles get to most areas that other cleaning products can’t as they are thin and remarkably flexible. Trust me when I say that many a cleaning nut has got down on bended knee and scrubbed away at the bathroom tiles in the hope that the excess grout will finally up sticks and leave! It will, but there is an easier way, and it comes in the form of an electric toothbrush. An electric toothbrush has the same qualities of a normal toothbrush apart from the fact that it is powered by electric. That one little difference will save you numerous amounts of time and effort when it comes to the nooks and crannies of your bathroom.

Thoroughly Wash the Shower Curtain

The least part of any bathroom is the shower curtain. Just take a look at the bottom of your shower curtain and see what you think. Doesn’t look good, does it? That’s because you don’t give it a second thought, and when you do you are content to leave it as it is. It is not a good idea because masses of bacteria will set up camp on your shower curtain, and it can spread. That means if your shower curtain has mould, the rest of your bathroom could have mould as well. Chuck it in the washing machine and give it a thorough wash every week or so. It is a lot cheaper than buying a new shower curtain!

Buy Car Wax

Once you have cleaned your bathroom, you want it to stay clean for a long time. You can, of course, take time out of your busy schedule every day and do the cleaning to maintain it as best you can. Or, you can buy some car wax and spread it around your bathroom. The wax has two effects. Firstly, it leaves your bathroom with a sparkle that is hard to find anywhere else because that is wax’s primary function. But, it also stops the build-up of grime because dirt cannot stick to the surfaces like it normally can.

Clear Drains with Baking Soda & Vinegar

Every Nan throughout the world has been using baking soda and vinegar for years, so it is not a new age cleaning tip. But, it is a cleaning tip that doesn’t get the credit that it deserves. It is especially good at clearing drains, and your bathroom will always have problems with the drains. Any little blockage can be a problem, so it is always nice to have a backup plan, and the chemical reaction that follows will blast away any grime in the drains. Do you know what happens when you mix Coke and Mentos? It is the same thing so cover the drain and stand well back!

Clean your Toilet with Denture Tablets

You might not need denture tablets for the usual reason, but it is always good to have some lying around the house to keep your toilet clean. The toilet has to be the dirtiest place in the bathroom, obviously, which is why you need to get creative to keep it clean. Again it is all about the reaction when the tablet hits the bowl as they have an effervescent power that is hard to replicate. Leave it for ten minutes and give it a decent scrub and your toilet will never have looked better!

It is all about getting creative if you want to keep your bathroom clean all of the time, and these twelve tips are creative!

This is NOT a post that I would ever want to write, or talk about when it comes to the excitement (or lack there of) of going back to school. However these are some things that have proven to be major issues in the school systems today, and I wanted to give some tips on preventing bringing home icky things from school. The lice and bedbug epidemic seems to be getting worse instead of better (especially since these things are no longer  considered a ‘health hazard’ and children are still encouraged to attend school if they are dealing with a ‘bug’ issue), and I have dealt with my fair share of lice with 2 girls in our school district. So I wanted to give some tips on preventing lice and bedbugs from making an appearance in your home this school year.

Preventing Head Lice. 
I don’t care how clean your child’s hair is – how often they wash it, they can get lice! My children shower every single night, no matter what and shampoo and condition their hair. They have still managed to get lice from classmates, and this year I have determined that it will not happen. I have searched high and low for the best tips, and what has worked for our family thus far and here’s what I’ve come up with:

• Don’t Share. We spend the majority of our children’s young lives teaching them to share their toys and their snacks, but as they get older and head off to school we need to teach them what not to share. Combs and brushes seem to be the one thing that everyone agrees on that shouldn’t be shared, but hats ,coats, hair clips, bike helmets, towels, even headsets and earbuds! All it takes is one small egg, that you can hardly see even when you’re looking for it – to have dropped on one of these items to cause an infestation in your home. Tell them it’s OK not to share – and explain why.
• No Close Quarters. Children sometimes don’t know personal space – they grab, hug, lean on, and sit closely with their friends and classmates. Explain how important it is to learn personal space (not only for the sake of staying lice free). You’d be amazed how easily a quick hug can turn into a giant headache.
• Keep Your Hair on Guard. It may sound funny, but being on ‘hair alert’ is definitely one of the best ways to prevent a lice infestation. Keep all hair pulled up in a braid, ponytail, or bun daily. Also use hairspray! Believe it or not, the hair spray makes it hard for the lice  bug to ‘get in’ to your head, and usually will find another host instead of fighting! Also, use tea tree oil, or tea tree oil shampoo or shampoos with an apple scent – all of these are not attractive to the lice bugs.
• Weekly Check-In. Usually the itching and digging doesn’t start until it’s too late – there’s an infestation. So making sure to check their heads each week – keep an eye out for live bugs, and nits (the eggs). Always use a flashlight, the nits will ‘shine’ in the light. Check behind ears, back of head, and if they wear a ponytail, right at the spot where the ponytail is held.
  • If you do notice a bug or nit – take immediate action to prevent further infestation!  I personally do not like the chemicals they use in standard lice shampoos; I always use tea tree oil, and pick thru the hair to remove all bugs/nits. Then cover their entire head with Vaseline, and leave in overnight (I cover with a hair cap, (which you can pick up at your local Dollar Store) and put an old towel on their pillow)! This will suffocate the bugs and nits. Wash all blankets, pillows, sheets, stuffed animals and clothing that came in contact with the child within the past 2 weeks. Once you believe that the bugs are gone – do it all again! I usually will use the Vaseline treatment once a week for 4 weeks. Yes, it will leave their hair looking a bit greasy (it’s hard to wash out)  but nothing a headband and bun won’t take care of! 

Bedbugs.

When I was a kid we’d yell an innocent ” Good night, don’t let the bed bugs bite” to my parents in the other room. To be honest I didn’t even know bed bugs were a real thing when I was a kid! But over the past few years bedbugs have made their existence known..in a brutal way. Once they’ve taken over your home, it’s an uphill battle to try to get them out, not to mention expensive. They have companies who exterminate bedbugs, but will tell you it’s not a guarantee to remove them, since they can hide almost anywhere. The best way to deal with this epidemic is to prevent them even getting inside!

Last year there were kids at my children’s school who had obviously bed bug infestations at home – and on themselves. Teachers would notice the bites first (usually 3 small bites in the same area) and then notice the bugs crawling on backpacks, shoulders, etc. Since  bedbugs aren’t  considered a health hazard,  but just a nuisance (which is ridiculous)  they can’t send the children home. So taking the steps as soon as your child steps foot in the door in the way to start.

Changing Station. This may seem extreme, but to prevent any of these critters getting inside of our home, we leave shoes, and backpacks out in the garage. The kids then immediately change into another set of clothes, and those clothes go directly to the basement to be washed. I then inspect the backpacks and shoes for any signs of the bugs before allowing them inside. Also be sure to daily check your child for bite – bedbug bites are different than other bug bites, you will see a cluster of bites (usually 3)  on the arms, neck, face or shoulders. Also, you will not feel a bed bug biting because they inject their saliva first which contains an anesthetic – which is a numbing chemical and an anti-clotting agent so your blood flows freely.

Weekly Bed Check. Bed bugs are attracted to human blood, not to dirt or grime. Since we are ‘sitting ducks’ while sleeping, this is usually when bed bugs will make their attack (thus the term ‘bed bug’). Each week use a flashlight to check for any bugs that could be on the mattress, box springs, or bed frame. Small reddish spots on the mattress could be a sign that a bed bug has made it in your home, so be on the look out. Always be pro-active. If you find a spot, continue to do the bed check daily instead of weekly. If you do find a bug, call an exterminator immediately. 

Travel with Caution. I am not saying don’t travel –  but don’t think that bedbugs take a vacation when you do. Check hotel beds and mattresses just like you would at home – the same with your luggage if you are taking a plane.

Obviously you can’t  completely prevent any of these things happening to you – but being pro-active will definitely lower your chances of having to deal with it! Not only will these simple steps save you the headache, but time and money as well.