Housekeeping

Plastic jars serve dozens of purposes, including leftover or cold drink storage, wine fermentation, or simple plant containers. Whatever the function, these jars should be sterilized thoroughly...

Dust accumulates on everything. Although most people clean the house once a week, plastic flower arrangements can go overlooked to the point where they gather large amounts of dust. Many flower...

No. 5 plastics, such as Brita filters, have been tricky to recycle. Most curbside recycling programs do not accept these plastics, nor do many drop-off sites. Brita filter recycling programs have...

It's not easy to eliminate the smell of nicotine. Cigar smoke consists of at least 4,000 different chemical components, and every one of those will interact in a different way with every surface...

Fleas and mites can live anywhere in your house, including your mattress. Mites feed on dead skin flakes and dander. Fleas prefer to feed on dogs and cats but will feed on humans if need be. It is...

Soap scum wreaks havoc in your shower. The slimy white film is hard to get off most surfaces, especially your plastic shower base. The talc present in soap is the culprit behind soap scum buildup....

Plastic sliding boards are a wonderful addition to your play equipment. With their variety of colors and shapes, they are engaging for all age groups. They may also be used inside, attached to a...

The plastic frame around an LCD TV attracts dust easily, but doesn't require extensive cleaning very often (in the average home). Smudged fingerprints, however, may build up on the plastic over...

In our "throwaway" Western societies, we each produce tremendous amounts of trash that eventually gets dumped into a landfill and buried. A lot of us feel guilty about such waste and want to do...

It will often come as a shock, but the smell is unmistakable, when you accidentally burn plastic to one of your cooking pans. Burning plastic happens most often when you are adding a bag of...

In time, a cloudy film can accumulate on the inside and outside of plastic drinking glasses. This can make the plastic glasses appear to be dirty. Placing the plastic glasses in a dishwasher or...

Cleaning plastic surfaces in your home can prevent the spread of diseases and also keep the inside of your home looking bright. Treating your plastic surfaces with the proper cleaning items and...

Plastic bowls, such as Tupperware, retain the odor of the foods that were stored in them because plastic is a porous material. Although plastic bowls are useful for storing food and leftovers in...

In 2008, the United States collected over 1.45 billion pounds of plastic bottles. Without recycling, plastic winds up in landfills, but mixing plastics can create problems during the recycling...

Going green has become more than a fad; it is quickly becoming a way of life for many. However, those nasty little plastic trash bags just seem to be a modern necessity that for some reason has...

We've all done it at one time or another--left some junk (including plastic bag-type junk) lying on the ironing board, then plugged in the iron and ended up with some melted plastic adhered to the...

Your house stinks because your dog has urinated in one spot. You've tried to get the smell out and you're convinced that the urine has seeped into the subflooring. But before you start, be...

A smoky smell in magazines doesn't go away easily, even with a thorough airing. Because you cannot clean magazines with any liquids, many options are eliminated. Fortunately, you can use certain...

Considering that concrete is usually outside of the home, it tends to come into contact with plenty of things that can easily stain it. Leaking oil from cars and rust stains from dirt minerals...

Every ton of plastic bottles recycled saves 3.8 barrels of oil. With plastic being the preferred material of choice for bottles, knowing what the symbols on the bottles represent helps in the...

Marble is a building material that provides a look of elegance to a home or business when used in countertops, floors, and bathrooms. It was probably one of the more expensive options when the...

Crazy Glue is a very effective adhesive intended for projects that require extra strong holds. Its chemical properties allow it to create a bond that can last for several years. This makes it a...

There have been many studies done over the years debating the safety of plastic cutting boards. Studies done at the University of California Davis and the Hospitality Institute of Technology and...

With grocery shopping almost everyday,we collect lots of plastic bags.We shove them either under the sink or in a cabinet where they take a lot of space.It's difficult pulling out bags when you...

When the hinges break on an otherwise usable cooler, no need to discard it, replace the hinges yourself. When factory replacement hinges are unavailable, make your own using the following steps.

Limestone is a beautiful stone often used in counter top and flooring applications. While we often think of stone as being hard, it is also a porous material. This means that spills have the...

The ubiquitous plastic shopping bag, handed out for even the smallest item at retail locations around the world, is rapidly becoming a serious detriment to the health of our global environment....

If you are having trouble removing dog urine stains and odors from your furniture, you are not alone. Here is the best method available that will remove your dog urine stains and odors.

Mold and mildew are a problem almost every homeowner (or renter) must deal with at some point. They can grow almost anywhere if given just a little bit of water. In small amounts, they are a mild...

Trying to remove the last remnants of tape or adhesive from plastic can be frustrating. It seems there is always a sticky patch that is inevitably left behind. There is a simple way to clean...

Stainless steel pots are durable cooking utensils that will last a long time when maintained properly. You can store food in stainless steel pots for short periods. According to Clemson University...

Plastic ivy plants can be used both inside and outside and are ideal for people who do not possess a green thumb. They are virtually maintenance free except that they can collect dust and dirt and...

You'll find clear plastic covering your car's headlights, on display cases, and often as part of furniture. People use clear plastic containers to show off their wares or prized possessions as...

Candle wax spills and drips can be a challenge to remove from hardwood floors or wood furniture. You would immediately think to reach for some heat to warm the wax and remove, never remove wax...

Fans are a wonder of modern technology. In ancient times, people had no way to keep the air circulating so they could keep cool. Fans come in many sizes, from small fans that attach to the edge of...

Urine is a tough substance to remove from furnishings and floorings. Whether it's animal or human urine, work quickly to keep the urine from drying and making a permanent stain. Removing urine...

Plastic containers and dishes are among the most useful and durable containers available today. The problem with them comes when food and other materials stain the plastic and they become...

Cleaning instructions vary for bed comforters. Some are washable, while those with ornamentation require dry cleaning. Chewing gum contains several ingredients that can be hard to remove from a...

Cleaning plastic textured tables doesn't have to be complicated or difficult. Two items you probably already have on hand--vinegar and baking soda--can work wonders on that stained plastic table.

The use of plastic lattice to decorate around gardens, garden tubs, hot tubs, porches, gazebos and many other areas inside and outside the home has become increasingly popular. The benefits of not...

Modern-day terrazzo floors use a compound called epoxy-terrazzo. Lighter, stronger and less likely to crack than old-fashioned cement terrazzo, this style of flooring makes a beautiful addition to...

Sinks are a staple in every kitchen and are usually loaded with dirty dishes, pots, pans and eating utensils on a daily basis. It is no wonder that sinks often suffer from stains, which can be...

Decals may have looked cool or trendy when they were applied, but over time they may begin to peel and look old. You may just have changed your mind and decided you didn't want the decals there....

When you get sticky gum ground into your khaki pants, you might think that they aren't salvageable. Gum is especially noticeable on lighter colored fabric like khaki, and the dense fabric can...

Plastic dishes and containers are very handy items to keep around your home. You can store leftovers from dinner in them or pack food to take with you to work or on trips. No matter what you put...

You have cleaned your kitchen's countertops, floor, cabinets and even the walls, but the one thing you can't really get clean are your plastic appliances. You have used spray cleaners, dishwashing...

You have a lot of plastic tubs, buckets and other pieces of plastic. They are all in pretty good shape, but a few of them have rust stains and spots. You have attempted to remove the rust with...

Plastic floor protectors are used to protect a variety of flooring including hardware, laminate, carpet and tile. Over time, dirt and grime can build up on your floor protectors. Sweeping and...

In the bedroom is usually a mixture of both wood furniture--such as dressers, tables and bookshelves--and fabric items, the largest of the fabric items being the bed. Removing gum from any of...

Deep fryer oil is considered hazardous waste in many locales. Some cities offer pickup for hazardous waste and provide specific instructions on how the oil must be packaged for disposal. Some...