Clean Your Home with Ease…With These Old Wives Tales

During December we ran a competition on Birmingham Favourites, in an attempt to find the best old wives tale, which have been passed down through the generations and are still sworn by. We had a great response to the competition, and after careful consideration we’ve picked our five favourites…including the winning entry.

Streak Free Windows:

Achieving streak free windows, inside and out, can seem like a chore. Whilst more of us are turning to the Karcher window vac to help, an old wives tale has always been to use vinegar within the water.

However, Kathleen has gone one better with her tip:

“Add a splash of washing up liquid and a splash of white vinegar into a bowl of warm water. Use this to clean your windows, before polishing them with old newspaper”

Scratch Free Wooden Furniture:

Over time all surfaces can begin to look a bit worn and tatty, wooden furniture is no different – particularly wooden tables which can get bumped, knocked and scratched during the busy hustle and bustle of family life.

Revive your wooden furniture by following Paul’s advice, below:

“Mix a few drops of olive oil into a quarter of a cup of vinegar, and wipe this over your wooden furniture using a clean cloth.”

Having looked into this, it would appear the vinegar pulls dirt out of the wood, whilst the oil helps to add a shine – bringing your wooden furniture back to its former glory.

Freshen Up Your Carpets:

Our carpets are a hot bed for germs and dirt, from food crumbs and pet hair, through to mud and garden debris being left on the carpets too. Whilst vacuuming alone may remove most of the dirt, unpleasant odours can still linger.

Struggling to get rid of such smells? Keith has the answer…

“Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda over your carpets and rugs, leaving the bicarbonate of soda for 15 minutes before vacuuming. You’ll be left with clean and odour free carpets.”

Mask Your Cleaning:

Struggling for time to give your home a quick once over before guests arrive? Once you’ve managed to pick up any objects which may be littering your floor or tables, you can deceive any visitors into thinking you’ve given your home a good clean with this great tip…

“Spray a small amount of perfume or air freshener onto your light bulb. As the bulb heats up, the aroma of your perfume / air freshener will spread throughout the room.”

This is a great tip which was shared by Julie, and it’s one which can also be used to freshen up your rooms at any time – helping your home to smell sweet, pleasant and inviting all the time.

Ignore The Dust: WINNING ENTRY

Dusting is a chore very few of us enjoy doing, but it is one which seems to need doing on a regular basis. That is, if you don’t follow the winning old wives tale, sent in to us by Norman Cherry PhD DA MCSD FRSA CRODCP.

Norman tells us…

“After two months, dust no longer grows on your stuff, so just ignore it.

This was allegedly practised by the late Quentin Crisp, but my late friend the author Oppi Untracht DID practice this.  I visited his apartment in Porvoo, Finland, and was so impressed by how well it worked that I resolved to try it out myself – and it DOES indeed work.  Think of how much time we could all save if we gave it a try – even only for a couple of months………… and, if we normally employ cleaners, how much money we would save.”

Each of these old wives tales can make the cleaning of your home easier and quicker, whilst also limiting the need to use chemical based products. For further advice on cleaning your home without having to rely on an array of cleaning products, why not give our posts “3 Cleaning Tips we Learnt from Our Grandparents” and “How to Clean Your Home…Using Food” a read?

If you have any other “old wives tales” which make it easier to clean your home, share them via the comment section below.

Tags: Cleaning, Cleaning Tips, Competition, Household Chores, Karcher Window Vac, Old Wives Tale