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House and home

Old style alternatives

(41 Posts)
bikergran Wed 03-Jan-18 10:22:09

Last time I used white vinegar it left a urine aroma...maybe I was using it wrong so never used it again

NemosMum Wed 03-Jan-18 10:17:33

White vinegar for limescale in loos and on taps and as antibacterial; bicarb for deposits on almost anything (e.g. tea/coffee stains on cups); good old laundry washing powder for sanitising and taking stains off sinks, or even car oil stains on flagstones. Wouldn't be without them!

Jalima1108 Wed 03-Jan-18 09:44:57

ps Thieves is expensive so I wouldn't use it for cleaning

Jalima1108 Wed 03-Jan-18 09:44:12

'Thieves' is an essential oil - we use a tiny drop under our noses when going on a plane journey. I think the idea is to prevent you picking up any of the nasty germs which circulate around the plane's aircon system.

I just found this bit of history about it:
www.natural-aromatherapy-benefits.com/thievesoilrecipe.html

As it was given to us for just that purpose, I wasn't aware of its other uses. Thanks radicalnan*!

Teetime Wed 03-Jan-18 09:43:13

Does anyone remember Aggie and Kim the television super cleaners- they used lots of white vinegar and lemon juice.

radicalnan Wed 03-Jan-18 09:39:05

American friends swear by Theives Oil. I have no idea what this is but it sounds much more fun than bi carb and vinegar.

Cabbie21 Tue 02-Jan-18 22:42:14

I have a spray bottle which I fill with white vinegar, and a few drops of Stardrops, topped up with water. Cheap, effective on worktops, sinks, windows, lasts ages.
I do use Cif on sinks, Bath rite and Hobrite or similar, and lots of elbow grease.

MissAdventure Tue 02-Jan-18 21:36:45

Lemon and salt gets rid of rust marks on fabric.

Cherrytree59 Tue 02-Jan-18 21:20:36

Jalima before we had a dishwasher I used make a lemon and salt paste to clean tea/coffee stained cups or mugs.
I still sometimes use Lemon and salt on my MiL tea cups.
It work great.

I also use lemon in my microwave to remove cooking smells .

I use Bicarb and white vinegar to clean my
washing machine.

Bicarb is a useful fridge cleaner and deodoriser

CherryHatrick Tue 02-Jan-18 20:42:09

For bathroom cleaning I use a spray bottle containing a 50-50 mixture of strong white vinegar and distilled water with a good squeeze of Fairy. For windows another spray bottle with a 50-50 mixture of rubbing alcohol and distilled water.

Jalima1108 Tue 02-Jan-18 19:40:46

I did use white vinegar as a cleaner/descaler for the steamer yesterday.

Jalima1108 Tue 02-Jan-18 19:40:13

Half lemons and salt are good, but I can't remember what for.

I use Ecover, Surcare and even Tesco do an eco-friendly cleaner now.

M0nica Tue 02-Jan-18 19:38:23

I think new chemical cleaners came in because the 'natural' alternatives were such hard work.

Alternative approaches are to use eco cleaners, Ecover is the most brand most commonly available or just simplify the number of products you use. I use an all purpose cleaner, a cream abrasive cleaner and glass cleaner and find there are very few regular household cleaning tasks that these will not cope with.

mollie Tue 02-Jan-18 19:19:05

Excellent, thank you Grannyknot

Grannyknot Tue 02-Jan-18 19:12:49

Hi Mollie if you Google "life hacks cleaning" or similar you'll find the "old school" recipes. smile

Or look for this book: Simply Wonder woman by Joanna Gosling, it is full of tips for using every day stuff for cleaning.

mollie Tue 02-Jan-18 19:03:19

I’m very aware of the chemicals and the expense of our modern cleaning products on the supermarket shelves. I know that our mums and grandmas used soda and vinegar and all manner of other things to get the same jobs done but can’t remember what the recipes where - any ideas?