Astounding cleaning products

The coke/loo advice would have come in handy when my student DS and 7 housemates, years ago, were worrying about getting their bond back from their landlord. He rang me to ask what they should use to clean the toilet. They hadn't done it once in 12 months.

Maggiemaybe YUK!

I suppose if you bought cheap own brand cola in 2 litre bottles it wouldn't cost too much!

I think your advice on pouring cola down the pan is a very good one, LuckyDucky. I can't imagine a better use for it. By the way, if you are not afk, or when you come back, I was wondering whether you were Canadian. Just a thought.

How about opaque sticky film Charleygirl? You'd still get the light but no one could see in. Easy to clean too.

Thanks loopylou where could I buy it?

I used that film when new turned part of the kitchen into a shower room , worked well still bright but private , even with the light on , got it in B+Q

grrrr .... when we ,, not new ....

Roller blinds are either up or down, though !
(sounds like the Grand Old Duke of York )
- or neither up nor down!
If privacy is a problem you don't necessarily want the blind right down all the time.
We have the vertical slat blinds which don't seem to get so messy and you can take individual ones down and wash them if some get more dirty than others. You can even replace individual slats.

DD had those fitted to both her living room windows and says it was a really good decision - you can slant them to stop the sun's glare (or anyone outside's vision!) and they're so much easier to clean than venetian blinds.

For a badly burnt saucepan eg you forgot about the fruit stewing there - submerge in a bucket of neat Domestos for a week - comes up good as new.

White wine vinegar and washing up liquid in warm water gets red wine out of carpets.... absolutely amazing!

Crikey fluttERBY, wouldn't it have been cheaper to just ditch the saucepan? A bucketful of Domestic seems rather OTT...

You reminded me kateyk
toothpaste works well on chrome.

I'm with you on that Ana !!

Clean glass vases/ decanters with a slosh of vinegar and a few grains of rice. Quick swirl and job done.
Baby wipes remove stains on carpets, soft furnishings and clothes
Going to try the cola treatment on the loos. DD's have bequeathed me a pack of the stuff and I hate it. Was going to chuck it down the drain - maybe it will clean that too?!

Yes, I've got some out of date coke that's going down the pan now too, Marmight. I buy it for visitors and none of them seem to care for it either.

Lakeland sell a clever cleaning device for cleaning blinds.It has parallel arms that clean several layers at the same time and the cover comes off the device to wash. It's hard to describe but works a great!

're reaching Venetian blinds I'm having difficulty cleaning recesses,in showers so I saw,a sponge on a long stick seemed to do the,trick .I'm definitely going to try the coke and vinegar ideas, any ideas for easy clean wood laminate flooring and a rug so it's 9 month old GS safe.

We have the blind cleaning"thingy" but as there are base units in front of the window I can't reach to use it. Hence we find taking it down easier.

italiangirl I also use a sponge on a stick- it is supposedly for cleaning one's back or feet but is ideal for the hard to reach places in a shower. When replacing the sponge I secure it using an elastic band- it does not matter if it disintegrates frequently as they are so easily replaceable.

Spray DRY toilet bowl with white vinegar then shake bicarbonate of soda on top of vinegar, wait 30mins or so then brush the flush. Voilà.

To clean my mams false teeth I put 1t bicarb in tooth mug + a good squirt of white vinegar + couple drops bleach. Fill mug with hot water, brush teeth with clean water, pop teeth in & leave over night. Of course next morning brush with plenty water to get rid of bleach. (Sterident is SOO expensive here is South Africa) This hasn't damaged mams teeth & they are still nice & white.

Burned saucepans, I'm an expert, (laugh) layer pan with bicarb, thin layer of white vinegar, let sit 30 mins or so, then scrub. If badly burned pop on stove until boiling, cool, then scrub.

yep- and the reason I now have a soup maker ;) - I get in the garden and forget all about the soup on the stove!

Not exactly cleaning but has anyone a tip for removing indents on carpet after furniture has flattened down the pile?

I won't have any venetian blinds, too fiddly, vertical blind where needed and a roller blind in the kitchen.