Wednesday, October 5, 2011

How to Clean an Iron: 7 Tips

How to Clean an Iron: 7 Tips
Before you worry about how to clean an iron, you should know that taking a few steps to prevent buildup will save you a lot of time in the long run. You can do this by regularly wiping the sole plate and cleaning setam ducts to prevent blockages. If you haven't done this, here are a few tips to help you clean your iron.
Iron Cleaning Tips
  • Prevention is better than cure: read the manufacturer's instruction manual carefully. Following these directions will lead to less build-up and less need for cleaning.
  • It is dangerous to clean a hot iron, and you should first try cleaning it while it is cold and unplugged from the wall.
  • Vinegar and baking soda, used separately, are great cleaning agents for most irons.
Iron Cleaning Instructions
  • For oily iron residue:  use a wet rag with ammonia, rinse well.
  • For waxy iron residue: run the hot iron across newspaper.
  • For iron vent build-up:  use a soft tool such as a cotton swab to gently clean the vent area.
  • For a clean iron reservoir:  use a solution of one part water and one part vinegar. Pour it in, switch the iron on and let it steam for 3-4 minutes.  Drain the iron and repeat the steps with boiled and cooled tap water.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Creative Uses for Vinegar and Baking Soda


Vinegar
  • Eliminate soap residue by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the washer's final rinse. Vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics but strong enough to dissolve alkalis in soaps and detergents
      • DO NOT USE VINEGAR IF YOU ADD CHLORINE BLEACH TO YOUR RINSE WATER.  IT WILL PRODUCE HARMFUL VAPORS!
  • To remove decals and non slip bathtub strips saturate a cloth or sponge  with hot vinegar and squeeze over decals. 
  • Stick-on hooks come off from painted surfaces if  you squeeze a few drops of vinegar behind the hook
  • Remove price labels by coating the label with several coats of white vinegar. Let it soak in and after several minutes the label will rub off 
  • Lime deposits around faucets can be softened for easy removal by covering the deposits with vinegar-soaked paper towels. Leave the paper towels on for about one hour before cleaning. Leaves chrome clean and shiny.
  • Vinegar removes deposits which clog your metal shower heads and sink aerators. Combine 1/2 cup white vinegar and one quart water submerge the shower head or aerators and boil 15 minutes.
  • If you have a plastic shower head, combine 1 pint white vinegar and 1 pint hot water, completely submerge the shower head and soak for about one hour
  • Since vinegar also breaks down uric acid, add 1 cup vinegar to the rinse water for babies' clothes.
  • Wool and cotton blankets soft and fluffy add 2 cups white vinegar to a tub of rinse water
  • To make a homemade anti-fogging glass cleaner try 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water and mist,  This also reduces ice build-up on the outside of cars.
  • For rust stains and hard water deposits apply vinegar full-strength until spot disappears, then rinse. Repeat if necessary
  • Mix vinegar with salt to create a paste for a good surface cleaner.  It really cleans tarnished copper
  • Remove stubborn hard water sprinkler spots and streaks on glass with undiluted vinegar.
  • Aluminum care is another great area for vinegar. Brighten aluminum utensils by cooking acid foods such as tomatoes, apples, or rhubarb or by boiling 2 tablespoons vinegar per quart of water for  10 minutes in the pan. Prevent discoloration in the bottoms of double boilers or egg poachers  by adding 1 teaspoon vinegar to the water in the bottom pan. 
  • Heating a solution of 1 tablespoon vinegar per qt of water in each pan until discoloration disappears.
  • Clean aluminum coffeepots and remove lime deposits by boiling equal pans of water and white vinegar. ( Boiling time depends upon how heavy the deposits are.)
  • Clean tea pots by boiling equal parts of vinegar and water for several minutes and let stand an hour.  Then rinse with plain water before using tea kettle. 

Baking Soda

  • You can cut the amount of chlorine bleach used in your wash by half when you add 1/4 cup to front loading washers and 1/2 a cup to top loading machines
  • This will also make your clothes smell clean and fresh 
  • Dissolve 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1 quart warm water for a general cleaner
  • Use baking soda on a damp sponge to clean and deodorize all kitchen and bathroom surfaces
  • Baking Soda and Salt paste will cleans baking dishes - enamel, ceramic and glass,  coffee stains from cups or counter tops and be a great soap scum remover
  • For sluggish or clogged drains pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain. Add 1/2 cup white vinegar and cover the drain if possible.  Let set for a few minutes, Then pour a kettle of 6 or more cups of boiling water down the drain  to flush it. The combination of baking soda and vinegar breaks down fatty acids into soap and glycerin, allowing the clog to wash down the drain.
    DO NOT USE THIS METHOD AFTER ANY COMMERCIAL DRAIN OPENER HAS BEEN USED  OR IS STILL PRESENT IN THE STANDING WATER.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Removing cooking and vegetable oil stains By Sarah Aguirre

    Fried foods may pose a risk for our health, but cooking and vegetable oil and their greasy residue can pose a pretty big hazard to our clothing. They key to getting out oily and greasy stains is to wash clothing in the hottest water that is safe for the fabric.

 Difficulty: Easy

 Time Required: 15 Minutes


Here's How:

1.Remove as much excess oil as possible with a dull knife or spoon.

2.Apply 3-5 minutes to allow it to go completely through the fabric.

3.Use liquid detergent to rub through the stained fabric.

4.Allow the garment to sit for a few minutes.

5.Wash in the hottest water safe for the fabric. Check tags to determine what water temperature to use for washing.



What You Need:

•Dull knife or spoon

•Liquid laundry detergent
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Helpful Hints

Here are some more ideas you could use to help out around the house. We hope you enjoy...

 *Newspaper Weeds Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspaper, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastics they will not get through we newspaper!

 *Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.


 *No Mosquitoes
Place dyer sheets in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away, and you'll smell extra good!! :)

 *Squirrel Away
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plants and the squirrels won't come near it.

 *Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

 *Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Please pin in seam of slacks...ta da!!...static gone!

 *Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup,fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

 *Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car when the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth.

 *Re-opening envelopes
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

 *Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home", can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harm!

 *Info About Clothes Dryers
The heating until went out on a clients dryer! The handy man they hired told them that he wanted to show them something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean.(She always cleaned the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.) He told them he wanted to show them something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of mesh material...I am sure you know what your lint filter looks like. Well...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over the mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't see the film, but it's there. It's what what is in the dryer sheet to make your clothes soft and static free...that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box...Well this stuff builds up on your clothes and your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units potentially burn your house down with it! The handy man said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very longtime (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every 6 months. The handy man said that makes the llife of the dryer at least twice as long!

Always remember if you don't feel like cleaning Maid to Order will come and leave your house gleaning!!

call 727-385-MAID(6243)
or email joanne@maidtoordrfl.com
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Helpful Ideas for in the Kitchen

Here are some clever ideas worth knowing to help you out when cooking!

*Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

*Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

*Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

*Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

*To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls
of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

*For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in
double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty
frosting!

*Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and
at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.

*Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place
them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake
and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!!
Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!!!!

*Reheat pizza by placing leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove,
set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy! No soggy
micro-seen on the cooking channel.

*Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add
remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of
baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up!!

*When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer
for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes
with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Be sure to check out our blog next week, we will have more helpful hints to help you around your house.

If you don't feel like cleaning, just give Maid to Order a call! We'll leave your house spotless!!
(727)384-MAID(6243)
joanne@maidtoorderfl.com

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Monday, January 24, 2011

7 Things You Should Know Before Hiring A Cleaning Company

No matter if you need your home or office cleaned, you should know a few things before hiring a cleaning company. So we made up a quick list to help you pick the right company for you.


1) Make sure they are licensed and bonded

2) Check with Better Business for complaints

3) Check Refrences

4) Check what services are included and whats going to cost you extra!

5) Thoroughly vetted

6) How long will it take (roughly)

7) Are they friendly!

          
We all know cleaning can be a chore, so before this can happen
      
 give Maid To Order a call we will do the cleaning for you!

727-384-MAID(6243)

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Monday, January 17, 2011

Love Thy Neighbor Inc.

                                                 We need YOUR help!!
Maid to Order
is proud to announce the start of their organization Love thy Neighbor Inc.

Please visit our website lovethyneighborinc.com we offer support services to local medical patients who can not afford routine maintenance of their household. Support services such as air conditioning, pest control,carpet cleaning are provided thru a network system of community companies to help ease the monetary and physical burden of maintaining a household during their illness. They then contact us and we can set up any of these needed services for them. It is that simple!

Febuary 18,2011 Dancers 4 Cancer and Love thy Neighbor will be at the Coliseum we will be having a slient auction. So please join us in the fight angainst cancer!!

To help you save money and time with any of your purchases!!
Just go online to: www.myshoppinggenie.com/cancer and install the FREE Application!

www.mpbtoday.com/lovethyneighbor Pay $10 a year  and buy $200 worth of groceries online and when you find two other people to do the same, you will recieve your $200 back and $100 Wall-Mart gift card!!

Just remember you can always count on Maid to Order to keep your house sparkinlg clean!
727-384-MAID(6243)
joanne@maidtoorderfl.com



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