You might remember your visits to your grandma’s house when you were a child. Maybe you can even remember some of the things she always used to keep her house clean.
Welcome to my blog. I am Dee, and I Iive in a little storybook cottage with my hubby, dogs and rabbits. My soul yearns for the days of old. So I am on a journey to embrace my countryside old fashioned upbringing and practice frugal homemaking. You can tour my cottage here. Or read about my country bumpkin upbringing here. Also, I am doing a series on Little House On The Prairie Homemaking tips. Feel free to come on this journey with me.
Now, let me continue by reminding you of those old fashioned cleaning tips and maybe fill you in on a few grandma might have forgotten to tell you about.
Borax
Cleaning your mirrors can be a difficult task to get them clean and looking shiny. What you can do to clean and shine your mirrors at the same time is to add a little borax powder to the water that you are washing your windows with.
All you have to do is wash and dry with a clean cloth. You don’t have to go through the trouble of shining the window, because the borax powder will bring out the shine.
Cleaning Picture Frames
Clean your smeared picture frames by using a cleaning cloth soaked with hot water and then dipped in rubbing alcohol to wash the glass in your picture frames. Finish up by drying with a clean cloth.
Washing Brooms
Using your broom very often will let the brittles look like they have passed through a storm. Give your broom a new look by occasionally washing it in warm water.
You may add a few drops of ammonia to the water. Soak the bristles for about an hour, then rinse in cold water. Hang your broom in a cool place to dry.
Hang Brooms & Brushes
Have you ever wondered why your broom or brush bristles tend to look old very quickly? When you put your broom or brush to stand on the bristles, the pressure of standing makes the bristles weaken very quickly.
To avoid this from happening, screw cup hooks on the handles and hang them so the bristles don’t touch the ground.
Cleaning Furniture
Clean your varnished furniture the old fashioned way by dipping a clean cloth in tea that you have already brewed and cooled, and using it to wipe your varnished surfaces. After wiping, just leave surfaces to dry, and you are done.
Scrub Brushes
After using your scrubbing brushes to get chores done, place them with the bristles down in the sun. This will prevent any water from settling between the bristles.
Cleaning Crevices
Many places and furniture in a house have carved crevices that are very hard to clean. You may use a skewer or cotton wrapped orangewood stick to clean those difficult crevices.
Making Mirrors Brighter
Here is an easy way to clean and shine your mirrors in one cleaning. With a damp microfiber cloth soaked with alcohol, rub your mirrors until they are sparkly clean.
Salt For Cleaning Up Spills
Spills will always happen when cooking. Sprinkle some salt on the stove to absorb spilled liquid, and probably stop a fire from starting.
Cleaning Cloudy Kettles
To easily get a cloudy glass kettle looking sparkly again, just boil some tea in it. The tea will remove the cloudiness and make the kettle shiny again.
Cleaning A Thermos
Put a heaped teaspoon of baking soda in the thermos bottle and pour warm water into it. Put the cap on and leave for about an hour. The adhering stuff in it will loosen and leave the inside clean.
Cleaning Pots
Your aluminum pots may look very pretty when new, but by using them over and over, they get discolored. To keep an aluminum pot looking shiny and pretty, dip a piece of cloth in some lemon juice, and rub the pot. Rinse well and dry.
Cleaning Metal Utensils
If your metal utensils are getting rusty, loosen up the rust by soaking them in some apple cider vinegar for about half an hour. Take them out and leave to dry. Within a day or two, you should be able to wipe off all the loosened particles from them.
Cleaning Freezer
Sometimes your freezer might have a funky odor. This might be due to some spills from items in the freezer. To remove the odor, you may place a cup or a glass of vinegar, in the freezer to remove that bad odor.
Cleaner Windows
If you are not satisfied with how your windows are looking and need to get them looking cleaner, here’s a vintage way of getting them to look cleaner. Dampen a clean rag with glycerin and use it to clean your windows. Your windows will look and stay much cleaner for a longer period of time.
Draining Boards
Whenever you are washing dirty dishes, your sink drainboard tends to get dirty. After you are finished washing the dishes, scrub the draining boards at the side of the sink with hot, soapy water. If it is badly soiled, you may add a little baking soda to the scrubbing water.
Removing Odors From Kitchen Sink
The unpleasant odors of rotted food will linger in your kitchen sink. Put a piece of lemon peel into the washing water when doing the dishes. This will freshen up the water going down the drain and help to control bad odors. This might also leave a glossy look on your chinaware.
Old Powder Puffs
After reading this, you will never throw out your old powder puffs again. They are very handy for cleaning and polishing your silverware. A powder puff will not scratch or damage your precious silverware.
Dirty Windows
It might be hard to keep up with the cleaning of the windows. To get them cleaned very quickly, wipe your windows with a damp cloth, then wipe with a cloth soaked with methylated spirit. There’s no need to polish the windows, after using this old fashioned hack.
Paint Brushes
Are your old and neglected paintbrushes lying around, waiting to be thrown out? You can get them back to looking good as new again by soaking in hot vinegar for about 5 minutes. The hot vinegar will loosen up all the old paint on the bristles. They will be clean and as pliable as new brushes.
Enameled Wood
You may be using plain, soapy water to clean your enameled wood. Get better results by pouring 2 tablespoons of ammonia and mild liquid soap into 2 quarts of warm water. Use this mixture to wipe the enameled board thoroughly with the solution, then rinse well and dry.
Delicate And Soiled Woolen Clothes
You have to be very careful not to shrink your delicate and soiled woolen clothes when washing. Add to the loaded washer, 1/2 cup mild powder soap, and 1 1/4 cup borax powder. These ingredients will keep the colors of your woolen clothes looking bright, and also take the soil out of them.
Oilcloth Fabric
Removing grease and grime from your pieces made from oilcloth can be a difficult task. Here is a solution. With a milk-soaked cleaning cloth, easily wipe your oilcloth clean of all grease and grime.
Varnish Surfaces
Varnished surfaces can be easy to clean with this vintage tip. Make some weak tea, and let it cool. Soak a clean cloth with the tea, and wipe the varnish surface until it’s clean. Leave to dry on its own.
Shabby Umbrellas
If your old umbrellas are looking shabby, you can give them some new life by brushing with a solution of ammonia and warm water.
Old Broom
If you are about to throw out an old broom, try this tip first. Cut off those old bristles, and tie an old piece of felt hat or a piece of old carpet around the cut bristles. You can now use this broom for polishing your floors instead of throwing it out.
Cracked Dishes Or Plates
Whenever you have a cracked dish or plate, put it in a pot of water and boil for 45-55 mins. The cracks will disappear and the plate or dish will become stronger.
Removing Wallpaper
Wallpaper can be very difficult to remove off your walls. But instead of ripping and tearing the wallpaper, mix together a heaped tablespoon of salt, and one gallon of hot water. Apply the mixture to the wallpaper. Keep the water hot while applying, and the wallpaper will come off easily.
Old Toothbrush
Old toothbrushes can be of value, especially when it comes to around your windows. Dampen an old toothbrush and use to clean all those crevices, and corners on your window sills. A cleaning cloth will do a good job, but not as good as the toothbrush.
Vintage Cleaning Tips
Old fashioned cleaning and household tips that are actually useful.
Instructions
- Clean dirty mirrors with borax.
- Clean smeared picture frames with hot water and rubbing alcohol.
- Prevent broom bristles from getting old quickly by hanging them for storage.
- Clean furniture with black tea.
- Use salt to absorb spilled liquid.
- Boil tea in cloudy glass kettles to get them looking sparkly.
- Soak thermos with baking soda and hot water to easily get it clean.
- Wash aluminum pots with lime juice to get them shiny.
- Clean rusty metal utensils with apple cider vinegar.
- Use glycerine to clean windows.
If you notice, the products that are used for these tips are regular things that might already in your home. So you should not have much a challenge to try applying these old fashioned tips in your home.
