Astounding cleaning products

WD40 is ace at cleaning anything stainless steel. Hobs, taps, mirrors, pretty much everything in the kitchen and bathroom. I prefer to spray a little onto a cloth rather than directly onto the appliance because it's more manageable but, either way, it brings up a lovely streak free shine.

Shaving foam is great for cleaning patent leather and steradent is brilliant for cleaning thermos flasks.

To clean the cooker hood I take all removable parts and put them in the dishwasher. Great job.

Has anyone else ever used hairspray to remove children's -scribble- artwork from the walls. It worked on our painted anaglytpta. I can't remember where I read that one!

My DS bought me a power washer for Christmas! He demonstrated it on the patio and pretty much flooded the garden. In my opinion it just shifts moss from one place to another (and of course floods the garden!)

DH paid someone to come and do our driveway, get rid of weeds, moss and clean.
Afterwards I said to him that I thought they had just put bleach down.

Gardening friends recommend ordinary domestic bleach to remove moss on driveways. Apparently it kills the moss so you can sweep it away.

There ar some patio cleaners available from garden centres that you just brush on with a soft broom, Algon is one I have used. Nothing seems to happen, then gradually over a week or two the patio magically becomes clean, and stays that way for a long while, I do ours every other year.

Alea ... And on things that do move, I saw DH bending over in the garden once and was very tempted to jet spray him into the roses.

It's worth buying a power washer, even if you do only use it for the patio/drive once a year, certainly works on ours and we have moss on a section of it. It's also fun, we fight over who will use it.

I read some where about using Soda Bicarbonate in water and something else, then switch it in for a while, not sure how long either, to clean the inside of a microwave, unfortunately I have forgotten what it was Any ideas?

Borrow a power washer , you are bound to have a neighbour of friend with one, or you could hire one by the day. It is surprisingly addictive once you start and you can find yourself power washing everything that doesn't move!

Jackyb Dishwasher tablets are very good for removing the stains off burnt on foods on pans and such.
I do have a dishwasher but I sometimes bash some of the tablets up with a rolling pin and keep the powder in a small jar so I can soak stuff off burnt pans etc.
Don't use it on anything aluminium but it works well particular things like scrambled egg deposits. It pretty harsh on your hands though so use rubber gloves.

How do I clean the green mossy mould off the patio flagstones which are on the north side of the house and never get the sun? I know a power wash jet thingy would work but I don't think it's worth the investment if it is only used about once a year. Any tips? It looks really manky at the moment.
Perhaps I should replace the flagstones with slate which is smoother and more easily cleaned with a yard brush and soapy water?

As for cleaning windows, recently on TV I saw a comparison of various ways to do it.

Wet newspaper
Hot water and microfibre cloths
Vinegar-based spray and cloths

They were all OK, and quite cheap but if I remember correctly, the hot water and microfibre cloths came out best. Anyway, that's what I use, getting any stubborn bits off with the above mentioned "dirt erasers" first. Literally: Just add water!

When my kitchen was fitted about 16 years ago, a lady came along to show me how to use all the gadgets and clean it. I thought it would be a waste of time, but she introduced me to microfibre cleaning cloths and gave me the most important advice: Use water as hot as you can bear and wring them out as hard as you can.

PS - I'll try the salt suggestion for the burnt saucepan, but cooking salt is completely unknown here in Germany, so I'd have to use table salt.

I love Allule's idea for the shower - I thought I was ingenious the way I did it, but that sounds better. After showering, I spray it with spray-and-rinse-off shower cleaner, then remain in the shower to dry and moisturise, then with the shower head in my hand (so I don't get wet again!) I spray down the sides and use two cloths to quickly rub dry the taps and other bits prone to staining. We have very hard water.

For the extractor hood that no one seems to have found an answer to yet: What is it made of? Mind is a matte stainless steel and so I can't use any abrasive and wouldn't dare use any chemicals. The only alternative is those micro-rubbers. I don't know if you can get them in the UK. They're brilliant for everything. They're little rectangles of a white, foamy stuff, squeezy but not soft. You just damp them with hot water and rub away gently. It will take ages, but afterwards, just do it more regularly and it won't be so much bother. For the big lumps of grease (I know, I have them, too - heaven knows how they get there) use one of those razor-blade-like contraptions that you get for scraping spots off the ceramic hob which doesn't scratch.

My uncle used to swear by paraffin which he rubbed on his head to prevent baldness - he certainly had a good bushy head of hair.

I've got loads to say but I'll put it into bite-size pieces because my posts are always too long.

I am shocked at the idea of using a WHOLE BUCKET of NEAT DOMESTOS to clean a saucepan with burnt on fruit. That can't be serious. Apart from the expense (others are recommended "one drop of Domestos"), what are you going to do with the liquid afterwards? The obvious answer would be tipping it down the loo or down the drain outside, which would mean it got into the water system. We are ruining the planet's water enough as it is!

If none of the other suggestions work, mine would be to spray it with oven cleaner and leave it overnight. Rinse and repeat if necessary. Don't let anyone add any water, as this would dilute the oven cleaner and reduce the effect.

You're welcome Grannaby. Glad it was a timely tip for you.

Thank you Grammar, that was very timely. I was shocked yesterday to see rust on my chrome towel rail (only because I was sitting on the floor and looked up, looks perfect from standing!) and had no idea how to clean it. Have just tried your trick with the aluminium foil and it worked!

For rust on chrome try rubbing with aluminium foil and water.

Blanket spam. Reported, as are Simon's other similar posts on many other subjects.

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TriciaF I have small paned windows and use a nonscratch scourer dipped in a bowl of warm water with a few drops of washing up liquid. Then a squeegee, but I think it has to be a good squeegee.
I did try the newspaper instead of the squeegee for a while and that works too, but the squeegee is quicker I find. Then a quick 'go over' with kitchen towel to polish.

For windows we just use washing up liquid in water and then a squeegee. I have heard of people using newspaper but I haven't tried it.

For mould in bathrooms, along the sealant and in the shower, I have found Astonish which comes in a big spray bottle for £1 on the market. I was a bit scepticall but the assistant swore it worked. Just spray and walk away she said, so I did, and it worked a treat. Just leave it on overnight, fantastic!

Oldgoat - I have a marbletopped coffee table, a gift from a friend who was moving away. I just wipe it down with warm water. It doesn't need any special treatment.
The only risk - don't drop anything heavy on it - ours has a little chip off one side.

Has anyone mentioned windows yet?
No chance of a window cleaner here, so it's left to me, and I do like to be able to look out to the view.
I have steps, and use kitchen roll with special window cleaning spray, but would appreciate ideas for an easier method.