In this post, we share 19 cleaning tips that we received from Facebook, and we provide 19 answers in return! We wish you good luck with these small "disasters" and hope that these tips will help solve the problems. 

 

We asked on Facebook which cleaning tips you wanted, and we received 19 suggestions!

– so here are 19 answers as well!

 

As usual, all the tips are natural, meaning that none of them contain harsh and unnecessary chemicals. Some tips are really tough and intended as an answer for anyone who is somewhat desperate about, for example, a difficult stain. It is somewhat of a last resort before you resort to wallpapering or repainting. We wish you good luck with these small “disasters” and hope that these tips will help you solve the problems.
If you have delicate, expensive, and particularly special items (genuine rugs or furniture made from special materials), you should always contact the manufacturer or seller for advice.

 

Questions and answers about cleaning

1. How do you cleanin the oven?

– Dirt in the oven is usually grease and a little burnt-on residue. We recommend a solid soap and an eco-fibre sponge. Use a little lukewarm water and a dab of soap on the sponge, then rub it over the entire oven.
Leave it to work for at least 1 hour, then scrub once more with the eco-fibre sponge and wipe clean with a cloth and lukewarm water. If the oven is really dirty or old and therefore difficult to get completely clean, we recommend that after rubbing the solid soap into the oven, you place an oven dish with a little water inside, set the oven to 175*C, and let the water boil so that steam forms.
Turn it off when you see that the oven has filled with water vapour, but be careful—steam is hot! Wait until it has cooled, then wipe it out. Everything comes off now!

 

2. How do you polish copper?

 

You can easily make the best and simplest copper polish yourself. See the clip below.
You can find the products here: Västerbottenssåpa

 

 

This is how easy it is to polish copper!

 

3. How do you clean a granite countertop?

Granite is a fantastic material—not only beautiful but also practical. Since granite is a natural material,  soft soap is preferable. All natural materials benefit from soft soap. Use a damp cloth and liquid or solid soap on the countertop. If you have tougher stains or something stuck to the surface, we suggest trying a sponge, and then, if the stain is very difficult, an  eco-fiber sponge , but keep in mind that it can scratch, especially if the countertop has any kind of special finish, so proceed carefully.
Never use vinegar or acetic acid on honed stone or marble.

 

4. How do you clean a hob?

Hobs are made from different materials, so you should always follow the manufacturer's recommendations. BUT most newer hobs are made from better materials and are not as sensitive as they were when they first appeared. Start with soft soap and a damp cloth; dirt on the stove is almost always greasy, and the principle is that grease dissolves grease. If this does not work, you have tougher dirt and stains, so move on to a soft sponge and soft soap. The next step is the  eco-fiber cloth together with the soft soap.
However, this is where you should start being careful—the fiber cloth is really tough and can scratch. An eco-fiber cloth costs 10 SEK and lasts a long time, but one tip is to cut it in half so it lasts twice as long  .
If you have dirt that has burned onto the hob, mix one tablespoon of baking soda with 1 dl of vinegar and let it bubble on the hob before wiping it off. This removes most baked-on stains. When you use soft soap on shiny surfaces such as a hob, it is easy to leave streaks, so wipe clean with a damp cloth and then wipe again with a splash of vinegar on a paper towel to make it shine.

 

5. How do you clean brushed steel, such as appliances?

The trick with brushed steel is “polishing”—it is a bit like polishing a mirror. All water and grease must be removed. If you only have a few streaks, put a splash of vinegar on a dry cotton cloth (not the dishcloth) or a paper towel and polish. Think mirror polishing! If, on the other hand, there is a lot of grease, fingerprints, and splashes, they must first be removed, so the principle here is that grease dissolves grease. Soft soap on a cloth or soft sponge—make sure to remove all grease and dirt. Wipe clean with the dishcloth and then polish with vinegar on a dry cloth.
Shiny!

 

6. How to remove cat and dog hair from textiles?

Here you need something “sticky” that the hair can cling to—a dishwashing glove or a rubber squeegee (a plastic scraper does not work) works well on, for example, furniture. Work systematically and wipe over the entire piece of furniture to collect all the hair. Some materials are especially tricky, and the hair tends to “crawl” into the material. In that case, you need strong packing tape: apply it, pull it off, and repeat as needed. An ordinary lint roller is too weak to pull hair out of, for example, fleece. Be sure to shake and brush items before washing them in the machine.

 

6. How do you clean a cooker hood?

The cooker hood always gets greasy. Remove the filters (they are almost always made of metal and easy to remove nowadays). This naturally varies from model to model, so follow the manufacturer’s instructions if they are of a special type. Filters from standard cooker hoods are easiest to clean in the dishwasher. If you do not have a dishwasher, make a bath of soft soap and hot water in the sink and let them soak for a while before cleaning them with a dish brush. Clean the rest of the hood with a damp cloth and greasy soft soap. You know … grease dissolves grease!

 

7. Cat and dog urine on rugs?

If it is an expensive genuine rug, take it to a specialist. If it is a regular rug that you simply want to save, do the following—as long as it is not the right time to deep-clean the rug, of course. 
Do this: Place a newspaper or plastic underneath the rug (unless it is wall-to-wall carpeting). Thoroughly wet the stain with cold water and soft soap, use a brush that will not damage the rug, and work up a lather. Wipe up as much of the foam and water as you can with a cloth. Repeat until you feel that you have removed most of the urine. Then take 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water, wet the stain with this mixture, and wipe up the excess again.
The vinegar smell will eliminate the remaining urine odor, and the cat will not go to the same spot again; cats dislike vinegar. The vinegar smell will disappear over time.

 

8. How do you clean bathroom tiles and tile grout?

See the clip below!

 

 

All products used in the clip are available at www.vasterbottenssapa.se

 

9. What should you do about mold in the bathroom?

If you find mold in the bathroom, check as soon as possible that you do not have water damage or leaking pipes in the walls, floor, or ceiling. The ventilation should then be checked. Once you are sure that neither water damage nor ventilation is the problem, do the following (mold can occur locally): Scrub off all the mold immediately. Black mold is even toxic and can make you ill, so it must be removed. Since mold spreads through spores and grows, it is important to be thorough, remove as much as possible, and not wait too long before repeating the treatment. Do not let the fungus take hold! Using soap also creates an alkaline environment, which fungi generally do not like, so scrub with a panel brush and plenty of hard soap, and you will see that you can keep the mold away.
See the clip in point 8.

 

10. How do you remove limescale around faucets?

Limescale is easiest to remove with vinegar. Mix 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water and spray it on. If you have difficult deposits, for example where the faucet is attached to the countertop, dampen a paper towel with the vinegar mixture and wrap it around the faucet. Leave it to work for about 1 hour. Note that vinegar should not be used on marble or polished stone, but it works excellently on a regular stainless-steel countertop or porcelain.

 

11. How do you remove printing ink from a tabletop?

Printing ink is “tricky”—it depends entirely on what type of surface it has stuck to. BUT I would like to suggest that you take a splash of neutral (uncolored) cooking oil and treat the stain with it. Let it sit for a while. The cooking oil dissolves the fat in the ink / black mark, which should then be removable with soap and a cloth.

 

12. How do you get rid of algae?

Algae are tough and difficult to get rid of, but it can be done. Clay tile roofs affected by moss and algae can be treated with soap, which should be left on the surface. Soap is alkaline, and algae that reproduce by spores do not like that. So my advice is to clean with  hard soap and not dry the surface too thoroughly  Just wipe it afterward with a paper towel, i.e. not with a damp cloth …. leave a little soap behind so the algae become less likely to thrive. But as I said … algae are survivors, and this may need to be repeated several times before you get rid of the spores.

 

13. Help, the dog has left a stain on the rug that feels greasy!

I assume the rug doesn’t fit in the washing machine?! Then do the following: If it is an expensive genuine rug, take it to a specialist. If it is an ordinary rug that you simply want to save, do the following: Place a newspaper or plastic sheet underneath the rug (if it is not wall-to-wall carpeting). Thoroughly moisten the stain with lukewarm water and soft soap. Use a brush that will not damage the rug and work up a lather. Wipe up as much of the foam and water as you can with a cloth. Repeat until you feel that you have removed the grease. Grease dissolves grease, so a fatty soap is preferable! If an unpleasant smell remains, you can treat it with a little vinegar or acetic acid on a paper towel. This removes the odor, but you also risk making the dog no longer like its spot. Animals generally dislike the smell of vinegar/acetic acid. The smell of acetic acid will disappear over time and take the bad odor with it.

 

14. How do you remove stains caused by iron-rich water?

I assume it is the bathroom porcelain that has been discolored by iron, and the easiest way to fix it is to use citric acid and let it sit for a while. Scrub it clean with an eco-fiber cloth or a stiffer brush. You can buy citric acid at an ordinary grocery store; it is in the spice aisle under the letter “C”.

 

15. How do you remove grease stains from wallpaper?

Oh, yes, this isn’t fun, but it’s not entirely impossible to fix either. It all depends, of course, on how bad it is, but assuming it’s wallpaper, which is the most difficult type to clean, do this: Start by removing any residue from whatever caused the stain. Then take potato starch, sprinkle it on, and brush it away. Repeat, and repeat again. This will work, but it may not be enough. Then take a piece of dry, white bread (white sandwich bread), but make sure it is slightly dry and not a particularly rich, fatty type  Ordinary cheap, dry white bread works well. Use the bread as a sponge to treat the grease stain with the potato starch. Work from the outside in so that the stain does not spread or get dragged out. If this still isn’t enough, you can try taking a piece of parchment paper, holding it against the wallpaper while heating it with an iron on low heat. Do absolutely not do this if the wallpaper is plastic, and do not use too much heat.

 

16. How do you clean a fabric sofa whose cover cannot be removed?

It depends entirely on what type of dirt is involved and what type of material it is. For antique, expensive, and special furniture, always contact an upholsterer or another specialist for cleaning. But if it is an ordinary textile or a piece of furniture that simply feels un fresh, sprinkle on a generous amount of baking soda and let it sit for a while (no water or other moisture), then vacuum up the baking soda and “voilà,” you have done a little homemade dry cleaning  For greasy stains, treat them with soap; fatty soap dissolves greasy stains. Use a sponge and lukewarm water to work up a lather. Wipe it up and repeat until the stain is gone. Be sure to remove as much moisture as possible from the furniture. If it is really bad, textile-cleaning machines are often available to rent at, for example, a paint shop or a building-supply store.

 

17. How do you remove blueberry stains?

Blueberries have an incredibly powerful pigment, so unfortunately it is quite possible to ruin things with blueberries, BUT it may also be possible to save them if you do it correctly. Blueberries are alkaline, so the stains can therefore be treated with acidic agents such as vinegar and white vinegar. Mix with water and work with a soft sponge.

 

18. How do you remove tape residue?

Tape can leave ugly marks! Luckily, tape comes off easily with a little vinegar. Moisten a paper towel and thoroughly wet the tape residue with vinegar, wait 5 minutes, and repeat. After another 5 minutes, the tape residue will have dissolved and you can easily wipe it away. Note that the vinegar must not dry; you must remove the tape residue while the vinegar is still wet.

 

19. Untreated wooden floors have gotten stains …. help!

See the clip below:

 

 

All products are here: Västerbottenssåpa