Category: Daily Living
Hey all, a handful of questions here, and hopefully a bushal full of tips! *grin*
What are some of your least favorite cleaning jobs? The ones you dread doing and maybe put off?
How about the jobs you successfully get your family members to do instead. Hee-Hee, this is when it is handy to have a spouse or children, or maybe a friend that'll swap favors.
Lastly, as we gather jobs on this thread, maybe we can post tips to help each other. Offer up ideas on getting through those cleaning tasks we just hate to do!
Maybe, just maybe, there is a tip to make a task a bit easier.
My absolute least favorite household cleaning task is cleaning the shower/tub! I hate it! I don't know what product to use and sometimes it just never feels clean, though sighted people tell me it is. I would love some suggestions on that one!
*smile*
You can use a wash cloth to clean it and use windex as the cleaner. Windex will make it look extra shiny and clean. If you get rust stains do to old pipes, you can get rid of the stains by filling the tub up a small bit and porring coka cola in the water and let sit for a few minutes adn them drain and clean. Soap is soap when it comes to the toilet. You can get one of those bottles that you get dish soap in and mix up shampoos hand soaps and dish soaps and water in it. Or if you use one of those large toilet scrubbers you can get a container and fill it with the soapy water adn just leave the scruvver in it when not in use. But over all windex works well for everything. Even the kitchen sink and the stove.
Scrubbing Bubbles makes an auto shower cleaner which hangs over shower head and uses refill bottles - just push a button and make sure shower curtain is closed. lol I still scrub the tub but the automatic cleaner helps for in between times. The hardest thing is getting all the hairs - yikes! I have found using a dry towel is best as anything damp just pushes them around.
For toilet in addition to the usual scrubbing I like to use those tablets that are dropped in the tank and make the water blue.
A great tip for pots and pans with stuck on food - when soaking add a dryer sheet. This works very well.
Hands down, my least favorite cleaning job of all is washing the floor. I absolutely hate it, mainly because we have a lot of floor in our house, and since I'm not very efficient with a mop, I just wash it on my hands and knees. It's time consuming, painful after awhile, and not even very good, especially if you have pets like I do.
P.S. Thanks for the advice about the pots and pans. I've never thought of that.
I never knew that, about the pots and pans. Will definitely give it a try.
My least favorite is cleaning the toilets.
I'm also not that great with a mop, so I wash the kitchen and bathroom floors on my hands and knees. It's a pain, but at least I know it's clean.
Wow, that is a cool tip about the pots and pans. Is it ok for the non-stick veriety?
I don't mind cleaning the toilet. I actually prefer using a regular toilet brush and scrub around. One I feel like it is farely clean, then I don't mind putting my hand in to clean deeper. Deeper around the bowl that is. *grin*
I occasionally buy those clorox wipes and use those for around the toilet base.
Lately, I've been setting aside old wash rags and have started using those for most my cleaning needs, instead of paper towels. I'm keeping them separate from our wash cloths for the body and tossing them in the wash when needed.
Did y'all know for cleaning out those coffee grime in stainless steel, it works to use laundry soap? We use the powder, that and some boiling water, let it sit for a little while, and wow! Brand new coffee maker or thermos!
I did not know that windex could take care of so much. That's cool.
Ooowh so i thought of a question for you all on this topic. Most of our home is hardwood floors and tile. Vacuuming these surfaces does not seem to pick up the debris. A lot of people say Swiffer. While the Swiffer seems to pick up some things, to me it seems like it mostly just pushes dirt around. Sweeping with a broom takes forever, for obvious reasons in that I have to go over every inch to make sure I am not missing particles that may not even be there. So it is a chore I get frustrated with and like to leave to my sighted spouse - although I feel like it is a chore I should be doing. Any suggestions?
I like the sight call flylady.com They have a thing called a rubber sweeper. Its like a push broom but rubber, so it gets the hair from pets and dirt so much better than a broom. The broom can make it glide around on the floor and get cot up in an air corent. they use to sell feather dusters that are ostridge feathers. This works really well for dusting and useing like a broom if you get one with long enough handle. I have heard of useing dentcher tablits to clean off food that is stuck on dishes. It also helps declog toilets. Because they fiz and have somethingto them to brake down stuff. Nair is grate for unclogging drains and you can also use news papers and vinagure to clean just about any serfiss. fifty fifty water and vinagure in a spray bottle and it is a healthy eko friendly cleaner. isn't as harsh as bleach or windex or other things. Also you can get a shower head that removes from the wall and spray the tub after cleaning it and that will help. Start at the back and go to the frunt.
Wow! So many things I never knew about. Baking soda does wonders for stains and/or odors on dishes. I wash my travel coffee cup out with baking soda once every two weeks or so, and all the coffee stains and coffee smell is totally gone. Amazing! It works for just about everything in the kitchen, including hands, like if you have a difficult time getting garlic or onion odors out of my hands, which often happens, baking soda complete gets rid of that too.
oh if you don't have baking soda for some reason, and you want to get rid of the onion or garlic smell, just wash your hands in cold water.
Really? That hasn't worked for me. Well, actually, it does, but as soon as I use my acne product, it comes back again. It's really weird.
Since cleaning is about touch and feel, it’s fairly easy, however my least favorite is cleaning out the bathrooms, especially the toilet, Ick! I am a clean freak, so I just don’t want to touch that bowlful of germs or holding something sticking inside it. Also for girls washing the blood off when your lovely monthlies comes around.
I think I just lost my appetite, I am eating dinner at the moment. (runs to the bathroom and throws up)
Ocean dream
Mopping the floors shouldn’t be hard guaranteeing you are adapting. If you are not paying much attention and just mopping like a regular person, of corse it will be hard. Sweep the floors like everyone else, but double check with your foot.
It’s called using soaps. I was doing something and my hand smelled bad like it. Anyways, I used litteral amounts of soap, I think twice and everything was gone. Use one that has a strong smell, that you like.
Nicky, oh my gall! Thank you thank you thank you! I am loving that fly lady site! I hope it helps me!
For the blood cleaning hydrigen peroxide is your friend. It has worked pretty darn well for me. Cold water and hydrigen peroxide. Let it soak in the sink for a little bit. You can feel the peroxide foam up on the stained area. I've even done this, even if I don't plan on washing the article streight away.
I forgot about the rubber brush idea. I have both a rubber glove with a brushy side and an actual rubber brush. Both of them were originally bought for the dog. *smile*
IceQueen, I wonder if the rubber brush would help with the wood floors?
I've bought one of those steem mops, but I am not use to it yet.
i love my h2o steam mop. it works awesomely on my hard wood floors!
this is an excellent topic. i've learnedso much already.
in a previous message, someone mentioned cleaning the tub with coke. it works great in the toilet bowl as well. dump a 12 oz can in and let it sit for an hour or so. flush and run your washrag or toilet brush around.
to get strong odors off hands, after using soap, if the smell still lingers cut a lemlmon in half and rub the cut sides over your hands. works like a charm.
i hate scrubbing the floor and mopping. also doing the dishes. my husband does these jobs better and so does my daughter so voila. trhey get them.
rubber scrubbers are good for use on things you don't want to get scratched up. Grate for cleaning wooden floors, fire places, and porsalen. They are rubber so they can get wet and dry well, the ones that are small are dish washer safe. Also works grate with getting fer off of carpets fernature and other things. Because its rubber, the fer sticks to it. I think it works a lot better than those tape things. It gets the fer off your clothes as well.
I want one of those steam mops. lol
There is a topic in this section devoted to steam mops. sound interesting.
for the person asking about sweeping hard wood floors, i bought this electric sweeper thing. sorry i don't know the name of it, but it is around 20 dollars at walmart. it's with the regular brooms. it picks up the dog food my daughter likes to throw across the kitchen floor. it does a decent job with the dog hair, although a swiffer afterward would finish up the dog hair. it can be used on carpets or hard wood or tile. i like it a lot better than using a normal broom. it has a battery pack. you just stick it in the charger and plug that in the wall to charge. then pop the battery pack into the broom turn it on and have fun.
i want one of those steam mops since the majority of my house is hard wood.
as for what i hate doing. it'd be the toilet and trash.
Yeah. Trash isn't very much fun either. I always find it difficult to tie knots in the top of the bag to take it out when it's really full.
That's not such a bad suggestion, now is it? Hmmmmmmm...!
I hate taking out the trash too. To post 21, you can buy trash bags with the ties that you pull out from the sides of the bag and are real easy to tie up.
Hmmm! Something totally grossness, discustingness and yuck, everybody seems to've missed out on, is cleaning up, um, to put it bluntly, dog waste, mess, shit, whatever you call it. No'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o'o! If and when I start life as a guide dog owner, I know I'm going to have to manage this, somehow, though I've always wanted to throw up within 20 feet of the stuff, so I have this rather disturbing image in my head most days now, of me picking up after the dog with both hands, while at the same time, throwing up in to an aeroplane sick bag. Ew'w'w'w'w'w! I might need an extra hand or even pair of hands for this very reason, should the scientists out there be 100 percent successful with their experiments to grow human limbs, lollol. Either that, or I'll be mopping up my own waste as well as the dog's when the time comes. So, how does anyone, with a guide dog, manage not to throw up when having to pick up?
I need strategies here, lol.
Jen.
I absolutely despise sweeping, I was never really that good at it, I mean my mom taught me and others tought me as well, and the problem for me isn't necessarily sweeping things into a nice little pile, but it's sweeping the just nicely created pile of stuff you managed to neatly get off the floor into the dustpan, I usually end up getting it all over the floor again, a friend of mine told me when they sweep, they actually sweep their floor sweepings onto their carpet and then vacuum it up with the vacuum. Speaking of vacuums, do you prefer bag vacuums or bagless ones.
Oh and also, another cleaning task I hate, though I don't have to do it much but since I have a few carpet stains I guess it's time for it is shampooing the carpet, I don't know of any easy way for a blind person to do that, but if there is I'd definitely like some tips.
Thanks
Jess
You don't have to pick up dog crap with both hands. Keep in mind every guide dog organization does things differently. I was taught to hold the leash in one hand, and use the other hand to find out what the dog is doing by how much of an arch there is in his or her back. A much bigger arch means he or she is doing number two. You'll have to put your left foot not directly underneath their butt, but close enough so you're in the general area where they've relieved themself. Take the bag you're using and turn it inside out and fit it over your hand like a glove, hold your breath, reach down, pick up the excrement, turn the bag so it's outside in, and tie it shut. by this time, the leash has usually slipped out of my hand and looped around my wrist, but that's okay, as long as the dog doesn't run off. the dog will not stay in one spot after he or she has done their business. It'll take some getting used to, but eventually, as with anything, you'll get used to this task the more you do it. hope this helps.
I really like this topic! its really helpful. O and I heard of a guy who got a dog and for like the first week of actually picking up after the dog during class he threw up every time. The instructors had to hoze down the relieving circle every time lol! However somehow he must have maannaged it becaus the instructor who told me had him for his second dog and he didn't puke haha.
Luckily for me I can mannage it without gaging... as long as there isn't a ton of it haha!
Agree with post 13. I hate cleaning toilets, and I'm not a big fan of dusting.
Dusting? EE'ee'ee'ee'eeww'w'w'w! Also, for the dog, if you're really used to using your hands, you could get disposable rubber gloves. They're really thin, so you can still feel, more or less, what you're touching, and you don't have to get it all over your hands. Just throw the gloves away when you're done. If you're out and about, throw them into the bag, and then into the garbage when you get home.
As for the poster who mentioned the garbage bags with the drawstrings, I recently discovered those, and they're a life saver!
Cleaning the shower is a pain because you've got to get in all the corners and the cleaner makes me choke.