Old style alternatives

I strike a match or two in the kitchen to get rid of fish smells.
Lemon in the microwave to get rid of smells and rubbed on hands to clear onion smells

mollie if you just do a search on 'buy bicarb' you will see that you can buy huge packs of it. 25kgs was the largest I saw without going more than a click, Makes you wonder what you would need that much for!

I cleaned a silver bowl with a tiny amount of toothpaste. It was amazing, worked almost instantly and strangely kept looking good for months. Haven’t bothered with Silvo ever since.

Well, thank you all. The recommended book is on order from the library and I’m using white vinegar as we speak to give the washing machine a good clean.

I’m still wonderingif it’s possible to buy big lots of bicarb rather than those dinky tubs in the baking aisle? Anyone??

I’ve heard of the soot and salt for toothpaste but I think I’ll give that a pass

I’m going to use up all the bottles of spray and cream I have already and then will certainly give some of the other suggestions here a go. Thank you again

DD uses a spray bottle, puts in half a bleach tablet, she says one packet last her about a year, a squirt of washing up liquid and lukewarm water to make her own spray cleaner.

Daisyboots - I was once recommended to try using the ashes to clean the glass from the front of the wood fire, but then I read that the ash will make minute scratches in the glass which eventually develop into cracks.

As for oil stains on prominent places on clothes - I may have said this before, but one magazine recommended embroidering a little flower or other motif over the stain, as removing it would prove impossible.

Hi mollie I use Waitrose Method range of cleaners. They are made with plant based ingredients, no chemicals and work really well, especially on the kitchen sink.

sarahellen another good and inexpensive way to clean the inside glass doors of a woodburner is a drop of ordinary vinegar on some crumpled up newspaper. Just rub over and it removes all tar deposits, leaving a streak free glass. Then throw the dirty paper on the burner as kindling for the next burning.

I think baking soda does the same kind of jobs. Are they the same thing? domestic science wasn't my best subject. I did woodwork as soon as I could change.

Anyone know where you can buy large quantities of bicarbonate of soda? Many suggestions for its use but can only find little tubs.

Half lemons and salt are good for cleaning brass and copper!

You would have to get sabre toothed tigers to wrestle the Mr Muscle out of my grip.

Bicarbonate of soda used on a damp cloth will get rid of tea stains from mugs with little effort.

Whenever we had a cough as children, our Mum used to finely chop a raw onion, place it in a teacup and add a little sugar. This was left overnight whereby a small amount of syrup formed at the bottom, and this was our cough mixture.

Soil from the garden rubbed on tea stained cups gets them clean.
My grandma used soot and salt to clean her teeth, YUCK!

Thanks Phoenix I'll try that.

Fennel blotting paper both sides and a warm iron?

Any ideas for removing olive oil splashes from a pure wool skirt?
I was going to take it to the cleaners but the 2 nearest ones have closed down - expensive too.

used coffee grounds for scouring wooden chopping boards, washing oil stains off your hands, salt for anything that needs scouring but that you don't want to taste of scouring powder.

soft brown soap for washing floors. Washing up liquid removes practically all stains from cloth if left until dry, then just wash garment or whatever as you usually do.

Daisyboots
You have made my day.
Having tried so many, could be corrosive, products, I have from taking your advice a soot free wood burner glass door to observe my burning logs.
Thank you

Bicarbonate of soda (it's cheap - in Aldi's baking section) mixed with a little water to make a paste, cleans stainless steel without scratching, provided you use a non-scratchy cloth. I find that it's good on stainless steel sinks. Needs to be rinsed-off well, but it's non-toxic.

Try Pinterest on the web. Every day I get an email, with lots of interesting things, lots of recipes for things to use for all kinds of household chores.

A good tip if you have a wood burner with a glass door. Dip a wet rag or kitchen paper in some ash and wipe over the inside of the door with it to remive the black sooty marks. It works very well and costs nothing unlike the costly cleaners especially made for this job which are also corrosive .

Thank you all, I’m going try everything suggested

I mix white vinegar, a little washing up liquid and water and put in an old spray bottle. It's fabulous to clean windows.

Try this website mollie. There are loads of natural alternatives on there. www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/easiest-best-smelling-homemade-fabric-softener-out-there Just click on the drop down at the top of the page and you should find what you are looking for.