I can't believe that nobody put boiling water down as a cleaning tool. In my opinion, nothing cleans better than good old-fashioned steaming water. I heat up kettle after kettle on my stove and get to work. It opens up my drains (try it in your kitchen sink), gets out virtually any stain (especially if paired with Borax and/or Super Washing Soda) on my hideous white laminate countertops, and was the only thing that got a serious food coloring stain out of a pair of light-colored shorts! If my washing machine is dirty, I put a cup of boiling water in the bleach dispenser (we have a top-loader). I use it on nasty stains on our kitchen floor, it essentially dissolves mold and mildew in our shower, gets rid of all of the "scum" in our bathtub, and it has completely dissolved all of the grime from a hand-me-down "Cooshee" booster seat that someone gave me. Granted, it is sometimes a nusisance to walk around the house holding a kettle of water, but the results are well worth it.

A loofah & Ajax is the fastest way to clean a porcelain sink or tub - just sprinkle on the Ajax and scrub! Somehow the loofah works way better than any other tool.

The key to removing dirt is releasing it from the surface it's on. Water, vinegar, which is acetic acid, and good old elbow grease can dislodge it.
Most of the store bought cleaners are literally toxic as shown by the warning labels. There are also many chemicals in them that do not even get tested.
I use the Shaklee Get Clean line.

Wine Stains - Spray with Windex thoroughly, then pour a small glass of water on the carpet and soak up with a dry towel. Works on white cotton, jeans, etc... This will shock people after a party mishap. :-)
Pure pickle juice from a jar on stained pots and pans with a green nylon scrubby takes out most stubborn stains.
Got dried paint on cabinets or air vents? Clorox Wipes takes it off even if it's 3 years old. Mild Elbow Grease required, but won't damage your original surface in my experience.

As a professional cleaning woman I highly recommend this window cleaner:
one cup water, one cup alcohol and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Works great, won't kill the earth and is easy to mix up! I clean black heel marks off decks (boats) with toothpaste.

Oh, and additionally used up lemons and crushed ice clean out a stinky garbage disposal if you run it through together!

Baby wipes are great for cleaning white boards.

How does one use flour to clean stainless steel?

Anyone know how to clean hair dye off a (painted) kitchen counter? Magic eraser didn't work.

dish detergent is the only stain remover I use for my clothes

Bon Ami powder cleanser is old-fashioned, completely non-toxic, and gets the kitchen and bath sparkling clean. It leaves a bit of a powdery residue if you don't rinse well, but I'm willing to put in the extra rinse if it means not exposing myself to chemicals.

I am a huge fan of magic erasers. They have made an amazing difference in my pre-war bathroom with original tub and sink. Over the past 6 months of using them on our previously-neglected, dingy white porcelain, they've gradually rubbed out deep stains and brought back a subtle luster. I know you have to be careful using them on certain kinds of surfaces, but boy, have they been amazing in the bathroom.

+1 on BarKeeper's Friend and Hot Water/Steam.

I want to support the idea of boiling water for drains. In our old house we had a bathtub drain that was installed as some kind of T-junction (drained laterally a few feet before joining a downward pipe. No longer code...)

Anyhow, hair and general bathroom gunk (soap scum, mildew, whatever) regularly blocked the drain, so I bought a second-hand electric kettle and kept it in the bathroom (which was a floor away from the stove -- and I'm clumsy.) I'd boil a kettle, dump it in the drain, and it would flush away the gunk in no time. Worth considering if you have a s imilar problem.

Vinegar Windex is my favorite cleaner of all time, no ammonia and it gets the counters and the mirrors clean first swipe.

For pots and pans, I like to keep a shaker of salt at the ready...awesome abrasive to get them sparkling. Also like to use a salted lemon half on my cutting boards to get out that onion smell after chopping onions.

Vodka for ink? That's genius! I love it when things serve different purposes!

Great ideas! AAAA++++ on the magic eraser. Cleans shoes too ( specially the white rubber on Vans & converse).

Also love to use oxi clean for spot cleaning on carpets...I've even removed spilled ink.

Thanks! <3

Call your favorite plumber for advice before pouring boiling water down your drain. It can dislodge clots of grease build up and actually stop up the drain instead of making it run better.

Also, baking soda and white vinegar for drains. The correct order is essential!

Anybody have a rec for getting stains out of upholstered furniture (milk for one, but also the results of, sorry to get a bit graphic, potty training with my little boy who "didn't have to pee")

I have to agree that dish washing soap works wonders in the bath tub

Re: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser thingy

In my experience, this whole line of products is worthless. I worked on my shower grout for hours and it didn't do a damn thing, both the regular strength one and I was even dumb enough to upgrade to the super strength eraser thinking it would do something. Baking powder and an old toothbrush worked a million times better!

Ox-gall soap for stains in textiles/upholstery. It's a miracle to ink, fat, grass, everything! I can't remember a stain ox-gall soap didn't work on.

to clean hair dye use nail polish remover ,it works fantastic.

@dirce79 - In my experience the erasers work best on squeaky surfaces, and not so well on matte surfaces (if that makes sense). I couldnt remove the red stain from my grout on my kitchen tile (a stain that came from a red basket that got wet)... but it works perfectly in sinks on my stovetop... etc.

Citric Acid has proven to be an amazing cleaner! It works wonders on stainless steel pots and other dishes to make them clean and shiny in no time. It takes the rust out of pots without any scrubbing just shake a little powder in the bottom and boil with water on the stove.

Great tips. I've been a loyal baking soda scrubber, but I might give Borax a whirl. Thanks for the advice!
~Tanya
dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com

Cheap vodka to disinfect and shine. I use it in my kitchen and bathroom.

Use rubbing alcohol in kitchen. It is amazing on stainless steel; it cleans up grease with one swipe. Kills any nasty salmonella etc. Awesome and cheap!

My best friend in the kitchen is a paint scraper, the kind with the razor in it. It gets anything that is burnt on or crusty on your countertops or stove. Works good on pot and pans too. Just make sure the surface you are cleaning is wet (water, window cleaner, sudsy water) and it won't scratch.

I noticed hair spray was not mentioned...it works great with ink stains too.

thanks lefiffy - will look for ox-gall soap.

hey citygirl - they make plastic paint scrapers. You could always try those before resorting to the razor blade. The plastic ones work great on the ceramic stove tops too.

aerosol hairspray for red wine stains.

vinegar to kill mold/mildew on pretty much everything, including towels. It also just freshens up the laundry.

murphy's or old english wood oil to remove tape residue any hard surface, also polishes chrome.

any idea how to get rid of a blood stain from a natural fiber (jute?) mat? (not crime-scene cleanup proportions, just a drop.)

Wow...saving this...great tips!!

food stained industiral-type brown carpet? what cleans it?

"Cheap vodka to disinfect and shine. I use it in my kitchen and bathroom."

Gin works too - pretty much any clear alcohol is a natural against mold and mildew.

blood - 2 suggestions: hydrogen peroxide if it's on a fabric that won't bleach; or, if it's possible, spit from the person who dripped the blood. soak the spot with one of those and then rinse or blot it with cool water. i've never seen these not work. for jute, i'd suggest the peroxide. good luck!

I surprised to see that old advice about newspapers to clean windows still hanging around. I've never seen that work well, with the modern inks that newspapers now use...

Lots of great suggestions. Any tips for hard water spot stains on glass shower doors. I have tried many over the counter products, with no luck. I might have to try the magic eraser, sounds like it works for almost everything else ;)

Baby wipes are also great for cleaning microfiber furniture, without leaving those 'water ring' stains.

@Jen, the magic eraser does indeed work for hard water stains on glass shower doors. We had good luck with the Clorox GreenWorks coconut spray for that also (not that I think it's really that Green. But it did work!).

Okay, so not only are moms snoopy, they're also personal slaves?

To keep your weapons secret, I recommend closing your curtains or blinds, and of course if the weapon of choice has a "safety", then by all means, keep the safety on!

I second MarshallO: I worked in a second hand bookstore and we used lighter fluid all the time to get the sticky residue off after removing the old price tags.

I also use baking soda for most things - from clearing drains (sprinkle some down then follow with vinegar - exciting!) to scrubbing stove tops. So much better than those chemical fumes!

Who knows how to clean mildew/mold off of a Phil & Ted's stroller that got left out in a gigantic rainstorm?

To get red wine out of fabric, try pre-treating with white wine. The stains wash right out.

I like the Pink solution... apparently non-toxic - a woman demonstrating it drank some - removes really grungy cupboard-top goo and anything else that toxic stuff won't remove. It's a bit hard to find but you can google it. It's good watered down too - for fabrics, leather seats, etc.

@StudioAndy I also use Nature's Miracle (enzyme cleaner) for urine stains. I have a small dog who sometimes gets bladder infections, so I know this pain.

"Any tips for hard water spot stains on glass shower doors. I have tried many over the counter products, with no luck. I might have to try the magic eraser, sounds like it works for almost everything else ;)"

My secret weapon for almost everything: Bar Keepers Friend, especially the liquid version.

(and my professional cleaning lady)

p.s. just want to cast a vote against the "magic eraser" -- that thing is really, really toxic; Bar Keep's Friend isn't, and cleans just as well if not better.

"Who knows how to clean mildew/mold off of a Phil & Ted's stroller that got left out in a gigantic rainstorm?"

-- I'd try SportWash and hot water first (depends on what the material is), and then powdered peroxide-based laundry bleach.

(had a similar thing happen to my Bugaboo when someone folded back the suncover when it was damp...)

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser does not contain formaldehyde; it contains a chemical compound called formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer, otherwise known as melamine foam. It is a solid polymer that, unless you are eating it, should be non-toxic (and likely eating it would kill you through intestinal blockage). The sponge works through abrasive action like a rubber eraser, not through use of a detergent or chemical solvent like most cleaners.

See the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_foam

And the Snopes article:
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp

Regardless, at risk of sounding like an advertisement, I find them useless as a cleaning tool for most applications except for removing the gross grey buildup I used to get on my white MacBook.

I was stupid enough to put travertine floors in my kitchen which leads out to the back yard and I have 4 dogs and 3 cats. I have tried and tried to clean the floors with hot water, pine sol bleach, vinegar. It gives it an average clean but I'm looking to really clean it - any suggestions? Also, what's the best thing to clean hardwood floors?

I have to say Magic Eraser is worth its salt - when we moved into our house there was 20 years of crud in the tub and the grout and the Eraser is the ONLY thing that could take it off and enable me to talk my husband out of ripping the whole bathroom out!

I find baby wipes will clean up stains on clothing or upholstery (or almost anything) if caught quickly.
For pet urine and other rug stains, we use Nature's Miracle.
For spilled red wine, etc. my mom taught me to just wet the carpet very thoroughly and blot up. If you catch it quickly, that's all you need. Let it dry, though, and you're doomed.
OxiClean (pre-soaking is key) gets out almost any laundry stain. Or a presoak in Biz--it's harder to find these days, but it works.

"Lock everything that's really personal into the trunk of your car and then give your mom the keys to your apartment for the day. - mjs7640"
I'm the mom. Who gets to clean MY apartment???

@sidvicious - try windex and a hand scrubbing brush. My sister has travertine floors in her kitchen & bathroom and swears by it.

Having worked in a jewellers where sparkling, smear free glass is essential, I recommend neat rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and paper towels for windows, mirrors and any glass table tops or shower doors.

For everything else in my apartment, I just use red hot water and washing up liquid with microfiber cloths. Oh, my wooden chopping board gets rubbed down with half a fresh lemon whilst the other half sits in my fridge to deoderise it.

Floor cleaning - I swear by a high-quality sponge mop with scrubbing pads; the one I have was labeled "heavy duty scrubbing" or something to that effect. I mop with super-hot water and Murphy's Oil Soap on hardwood (wringing the sponge mop out extra-well so that the floors dry quickly) and I've found that the Mr. Clean mop solution works really, really well on ground-in dirt on tile and linoleum. I'd ideally like to switch to something with fewer chemicals, but it works so well that I'm hesitant to switch.

I make sure to rinse out the mop head very well and squeeze as much moisture out as possible after mopping, and change mop heads when it starts looking gross/getting worn. Nothing makes me sadder than a grungy, worn-down sponge mop.

For spots/ground-in dirt that regular mopping doesn't fix, I've had really good luck with the powdered Ajax and a scrubby sponge.

I switched from store cleaners to vinegar a couple years ago and I swear vinegar ALWAYS improves any cleaning situation. Baking soda is good too.

I've saved a bundle and house is always clean and fresh smelling.

Wood ash to clean silver - it works.

Wood ash? Would you mind elaborating?

IMHO, when it comes to removing tarnish from silver plated pieces (even heavy tarnish) I stick to a simple recipe:

Begin by lining a plastic or ceramic container with aluminum foil.

Next, *carefully* pour a several cups of piping hot water into the container (I try to avoid filling it to the brim).

Add in a couple of heaped spoonfuls of baking soda (*it will likely fizz, slightly).

Carefully place a tarnished item or two into the basin, and, you should see the tarnish disappear within a matter of minutes! :)

*This is a good time to put on gloves* Then, remove the item(s) from the h2o + b-soda bath, and using a clean and dry washcloth, polish as much as is needed, to achieve the level of luster you like :)

*FYI: if it's an heirloom piece or a valuable antique, I strongly suggest further research: you may need to be far more gentle during the cleaning process, than I have outlined here.

My one and only beef with the magic eraser is that you have to throw them out. Really. Throwing stuff into the planet will be the end of us. If you can't use it at least a hundred times, I usually pass on it.
Oh and in carpet steamers the first go round with oxy (type) clean and the second go around with a cup of white vinegar in the water keeps me from having to buy any kind of soap or defoamer or spot cleaner that the machine recommends.

I just tried the magic eraser on my tub and shower doors and IT IS AMAZING! And cleaned everything in about a quarter of the time it would have taken with the usual methods. Sparkling bathroom just in time for our New Years guests! I love you, AT...

Someone asked about water stains on glass shower doors, get some pledge (or even Dollr store brand) spray on and wipe off. Viola! It's gone!