You’ve all seen the magical “too good to be true” cleaning tips circulating Pinterest. Through necessity (aka, my insane spring cleaning rampage, don’t judge!), I’ve actually been testing them all. And, let me tell you, there are a couple great ones, and a couple not so good ones!
So, let me give you Part 1!
1. Magic Eraser in a toilet bowl to remove hard water stains– DUD. Complete failure. Don’t waste a perfectly good magic eraser on this! I had learned a trick from phs washrooms company who used to help with the cleaning of the company I used to work previously. The only thing that works for the mineral deposit rings on our toilets is a pumice stone (hard to find in the store, bought ours on Amazon) and bleach (I’m okay with harsh chemicals on TOILETS. I live with 4 boys, okay?).
2. Vinegar/Oil on wood to remove scratches— eh, it doesn’t quite do what it claims. I used this on our piano, and all the original scratches remain. The wood does look a lot nicer overall though, without any greasy residue.
3. Vinegar bag on shower head to remove hard water stains– worked great, but super hard and messy to get on! Make sure to put the rubber band around the shower head first, THEN add the bag. Or you will get soaked. Oh. And make sure to tell your husband before he goes to take a shower. Not that this ended poorly…
4. Make your own air freshener— works, but not as well as a reed diffuser. Still working on this one!
5. Lemon icecubes in the garbage disposal— AWESOME! Do this immediately! So easy and it works. I even use orange peels and it works well.
6. Newspaper to prevent weeds— TERRIBLE IDEA. I can’t vouch for the long term effectiveness, but I tried this on a new landscape bed I constructed, and it was sooo hard to cover with bark! It just kept sliding off, leaving the newspaper poking through. Not into the I-leave-trash-in-my-yard vibe? Then buy some REAL ground cover.
7. Baking soda/oil solution to clean off cabinets— WORKS GREAT but it’s very very messy. The baking soda tends to fling all around, so be prepared to spend a lot of time cleaning up afterwards.
8. DIY Air Freshener— Stop me before I get too excited about this one. It was SO easy, and SO effective. I just added 5 drops of peppermint and 5 of lavender to a glass spray bottle filled with water. The most amazing scented freshener! I went around spraying upholstery and pillows, and let me tell you– it eradicates the “boy” right out of a 4 boy house!
9. Stainless steel sink cleaner— Honestly, I didn’t know my sink could ever get this clean. I don’t know if that says more about my bad housekeeping skills or the fact that this WORKS? Try vinegar soaked rags instead of paper towels, as this one calls for a lot of them (or reuse the paper towels throughout the morning for the bathrooms, like I did!).
10. Cream of Tartar to remove grease stains on kettle– Big flop, guys. Keep searching! I tried forever to get some simple grease stains off of my tea kettle, and this was just a waste of time. Save the cream of tartar for Snickerdoodles!
11. Make your own eye makeup remover— this stuff is amazing. Works better than the Neutrogena stuff I used to buy, and never makes my eyes sting. Only costs pennies per bottle! I skip the baby shampoo step, and it works just as well. Can’t believe I ever spent more money at the store!
12. And….SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST!!! Make your own natural powder to freshen carpet before vacuuming– do this and your house will smell DIVINE. I used Peppermint and Lavender essential oils, and even though we have 4 boys living here (2 in diapers!) you would’ve thought we live in a spa. It smelled amazing. Like having 5 air fresheners in one room. I really cannot say enough about this. Go try it!
Were any of these things you’ve had on your list to try? Please, if you have a better way to get rid of grease stains on a tea kettle, leave me a link!
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Love getting the “low down” on Pinterest tips. I tried the Magic Eraser in the toilet as well and was totally disappointed. I don’t have the boy smell, so that isn’t a big issue for me. But I would try the eye make-up remover. Keep stuff like this coming:)
Thanks Seana! Yes, try the eye makeup remover! No crazy chemicals, just baby oil and water! My 99 cent bottle of baby oil has now lasted for 6 months, and I’m only halfway through it 🙂
the baking soda “air freshener” is basically meant to absorb odors, not necessarily put out a scent. Reed diffusers just mask odors, where as the baking soda will rid them. Putting the baking soda in a pretty jar with a little essential oil is a much prettier way to keep your bathroom smelling fresh than an orange box sitting behind the toilet.
Definitely taking note of that. Perhaps I should try a before and after in a closed off room? I’ve made two so far and I like how they look– def better than an orange box!
First off, thanks for linking up to my blog hop! I can’t wait to try some of these….and thanks for helping me save time! I love Pinterest round up posts. I’m going to pin this now. 🙂
Meredith! Loved linking up!
Do you think the carpet cleaner one would work well for freshening up a mattress?
Definitely! I’m going to try it myself!
Hooray for natural room spray!