MOM SAID – TIPS PASSED DOWN BY MOM AND GRANDMA…DO THEY WORK?

MOM SAID – TIPS PASSED DOWN BY MOM AND GRANDMA…DO THEY WORK?

Vinegar will clean everything
I’m a huge fan of cleaning with vinegar and use it nearly every day. That being said, vinegar won’t actually do the best job on all surfaces.

Specifically, vinegar is great for tiles, walls and bathrooms but not as beneficial on stone, granite or wooden finishes because of the acid in it.
Leaving vinegar in a smoky room is known to get rid of the smell.

Bleach is the best cleaner
Contrary to popular belief, bleach is a disinfectant and not a cleaner. It does a great job of killing everything in its path, but a terrible job of cleaning stains while doing it.

Most people flat out refuse to believe this. Citing evidence of how clean their bathroom is after using bleach. In reality, it’s the bleach combined with soap scum that’s doing the cleaning. So minimize the amount of bleach you’re using. It isn’t helping your health or your cleanliness.

Newspaper cleans glass
Sure, if you wipe glass for long enough with newspaper it’ll get clean. Unfortunately, the ink on newspaper comes off on hands and window frames. You’re better off using an abrasive or absorbent cloth. Both will do a better job than newspaper, and in less time.

Remove furniture scratches with walnuts
Walnut oil can repair wood blemishes. You need to shell the nut and rub the nut meat over any marks on the wood. The oils penetrate the wooden surface and go to work fixing any stains, blotches or scratches.

Used teabags will deodorize smelly shoes.
What was mom thinking?? No, just plain no. It doesn’t work.

Potatoes will make rust disappear.
Mom’s tip: Cut a potato in half, rub it over rust and watch it disappear. When iron gets wet it oxidixes, producing rust. Potatoes actually contain an acid, which reacts with the iron in the rust. Rubbed on it will cause the rust to dissolve in water and and you can be wipe it off.

Good one mom! It works as well as most rust removers and it’s much safer.

Coffee can help keep your darks darker.
Well mom, this will work to dye paper an old antique looking tan, but there is just not enough coffee to dye clothes and what a waste of coffee I could be drinking! The coffee would be diluted too much to make it worthwhile.

Hair spray is good at removing ink from clothes
Well, this one has a basis in fact. The theory goes that hair spray is full of alcohol, and alcohol is very good at getting ink out of cloth.

Though the second part is absolutely true, the fact is that today’s hair care products have largely abandoned alcohol in favor of safer alternatives. You’d realistically have much better luck with just pouring vodka, or, rubbing alcohol, on ink stains.

For tough stains, AMODEX will take out the ink and usually the Sharpie too. Buy at office supply stores and Amazon.