Spring Cleaning Hacks
Use these simple cleaning hacks to get your whole house spring-clean fresh.
All-Natural Air Freshener
Make an all-natural air freshener with basic household items tailored to your own scent preferences. You’ll need a clean empty spray bottle, distilled water, clear alcohol such as vodka or rubbing alcohol, and essential oil. Make a solution with equal parts water and alcohol. Add 10-20 drops of essential oil until you reach desired fragrance. The alcohol will keep the essential oil from evaporating. Experiment with different essential oil combinations to achieve the desired scent. Coborn’s carries a wide variety of essential oils from Veriditas Botanicals and Aura Cacia.
Stainless Steel and Lemons
Water spots on the stainless steel tap and kitchen sink can be cleaned away with lemon juice. Cut a lemon in half and rub the cut edge over spots. This will also leave the sink smelling citrus fresh.
Disinfect Sponges in the Microwave
To disinfect a sponge, simply place it in a microwave for two minutes. Be sure the sponge is metal free.
Baking Soda and Vinegar Drain Declogger
Drains can run slow when backed up with an accumulation of soap scum, hair and shaving cream. The bubbly chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar will push much of it loose while also deodorizing the drain. To unclog a slow drain, first pour a pot of boiling water down the drain, then drop in about a half cup of baking soda, follow that with a mixture of one cup vinegar and one cup of very hot water. Cover the drain to ensure the reaction stays inside the pipe for best results. Let it sit for about five to 10 minutes. Uncover the drain and flush it once more with a pot of boiling water. This method also works well to clean and deodorize a garbage disposal.
Clean a Dirty Dishwasher
Over time, a dishwasher can get a buildup of soap and food odors can get trapped inside. To clean and deodorize it, all you need is baking soda and vinegar. To deodorize, run the dishwasher on its hottest setting with only a dishwasher-safe cup filled with vinegar on the top shelf. For cleaning, sprinkle about a cup of baking soda on the bottom of the dishwasher and run it again on the hottest setting.
Dryer Sheets for Dusting
Dryer sheets work just as well as electrostatic cloths at picking up and trapping dust. They smell nice and can easily get into hard-to-reach places.
