Cleaning tips and recommendations for cleaning products

I recently started getting my cleaners to change the bed for me there are 2 of them so it takes them no time at all to strip the dirty bed linen and put clean on. So I get clean sheets every fortnight now rather than every couple of months. I used to do the bedding as 3 different tasks pillowcases duvet cover and bottom sheet.
I have 4 pillows on the bed and I would swap them round so I was still putting my head/face on a relatively fresh pillowcase.
 
NelliePledge said:
So I get clean sheets every fortnight now rather than every couple of months. I used to do the bedding as 3 different tasks pillowcases duvet cover and bottom sheet.
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My solution at my old house was to ask my home help to change the beds in both bedrooms, and I'd sleep in one for a week and then move to the other.

The spare room in the new house is tiny and where I keep my indoor wheelchair (and piles of other stuff that hasn't yet got a proper place), so I haven't yet decided whether or not I'm going to put a bed in there. But I'm not struggling to work with ME these days, so changing the bed isn't quite such an issue as it used to be – I can dedicate a day to it now!
 
My top duvet covet changing method - if you can't get someone else to do which is far better -

When handling the duvet I tend to roll it up as it makes for easier handling.

Make sure duvet cover is inside out.

Place it pattern or top side down on the bed and spread it out fully. Opening end at foot of bed.

Unroll duvet on top of the cover & match the sides up as best you can - no need to be really fussy.

Then, from the head of the bed down, roll up the duvet cover and the duvet together, towards the foot of the bed. Doesn't need to be very tightly rolled, just firmly.

When you get to the bottom, at the bottom corners of the duvet, one side at a time, pull the bottom corner of the duvet and the roll through.

As you look at the other side of the roll (the bed head side) you will see you can unfold/unroll the covered duvet back towards the head of the bed.

Continue on and your duvet will be unrolled in the cover, with the cover right side up and the right way out. Fasten the ends of the cover.

The big advantage is you're not lifting the weight of the duvet, or shaking it with the arms outstretched.
 
Invisible Woman said:
My top duvet covet changing method - if you can't get someone else to do which is far better -

When handling the duvet I tend to roll it up as it makes for easier handling.

Make sure duvet cover is inside out.

Place it pattern or top side down on the bed and spread it out fully. Opening end at foot of bed.

Unroll duvet on top of the cover & match the sides up as best you can - no need to be really fussy.

Then, from the head of the bed down, roll up the duvet cover and the duvet together, towards the foot of the bed. Doesn't need to be very tightly rolled, just firmly.

When you get to the bottom, at the bottom corners of the duvet, one side at a time, pull the bottom corner of the duvet and the roll through.

As you look at the other side of the roll (the bed head side) you will see you can unfold/unroll the covered duvet back towards the head of the bed.

Continue on and your duvet will be unrolled in the cover, with the cover right side up and the right way out. Fasten the ends of the cover.

The big advantage is you're not lifting the weight of the duvet, or shaking it with the arms outstretched.
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wow haha. I actually shared this tip on the ‘other forum’ years ago (maybe 9 years ago) with a link to a YouTube video. But I forgot how to do it years ago. It’s just reminded me haha
 
I know it's come up before. I remember describing it before too. Maybe elsewhere as you say @Hell..hath..no..fury...

It does make a difference. I can change a double duvet using this method & my winter duvet is one of those that clips together sets - a 3.5 tog with a 10 tog. So bulky.

I still have to do it in separate goes. Strip it (sometimes in one go, sometimes 2 or 3), then clean sheet on base, then pillow cases, then duvet cover.

It's also easier if the duvet opens all the way across the bottom, it can still be done if it doesn't though.
 
One thing I hated for years is that I would wash clothes, they would come out smelling fresh, then when I wore them my body heat would warm up the clothes, and a stale sweat smell would come off. There have been times throughout my life when I have thrown away clothes that were in good condition because I could never get rid of smells. No amount of washing or soaking would help. I always used fairly standard washing liquids and powders found in a typical supermarket - Bold, Ariel, Persil, Surf, supermarket own brand. I tried Bio and Non-bio. None of them made any difference.

I've found a product that I've been using for a couple of years now that does actually get rid of nasty smells including sweat, so I thought I'd pass it on. It helps to extend the life of my clothes and reduces waste.

HALO PROACTIVE SPORTS WASH LIQUID

Code: 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HALO-PROACTIVE-SPORTS-LIQUID-LITRE/dp/B003WGL0C6/ref=sr_1_1

It is sometimes sold on Amazon as single bottles and sometimes in a triple pack. I have found that when both options are offered that buying three singles can sometimes work out cheaper than buying a triple pack, so always check.

It can be used for any kinds of washing, and can also be helpful for doing pet related washing.

Another source for this product which I've also used is :

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/halo-proactive-sports-wash-laundry-detergent-1-litre

and I've just found that Sainsbury's sell it online (I haven't looked for it in a physical shop because of lockdown), and they are currently the cheapest I can find.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui...wder/halo-sports-laundry-liquid-1l-25-washes-

Some sports websites sell it too.

Prices vary quite a lot, so always shop around.
 
During the pandemic, as any UK resident will know, the cost of gas and electricity shot up by a tremendous amount, and it is going up yet again this month. As a result, when prices first rose, OH and I bought more clothes for use indoors and reduced the number of hours the heating was on by an immense amount. This has cut energy costs but as a result our house has become mouldy in a few places which is obviously unhealthy, horrible to look at, and takes a lot of effort to keep at bay. My bathroom is particularly bad, and we had a lot of black grout which took more elbow grease to get rid of than I had available to me.

OH and I went out yesterday to B&Q to spend yet more money on new (to us) cleaning products, for cleaning grout, mould, and limescale. OH started scrubbing the grout today and tried each of the products we bought in turn. The only one that actually did what it said on the bottle was the mould spray. The grout cleaner was utterly useless - I would give it 0 out of 10 - and the limescale remover would get 4 out of 10. But the mould spray was great.

I can't honestly say whether the mould spray was killing the mould, or removing the mould, or bleaching the mould. But in the end the grout looked better than it had in a very, very long time.

So, if anyone wants some help to get rid of mould with much less than the usual effort, this is the stuff we bought :

HG Mould Spray :

https://www.diy.com/search?term=HG+mould+spray

https://www.diy.com/departments/hg-...mover-0-5l-trigger-spray-bottle/136829_BQ.prd

There are three products called HG Mould Spray on the B&Q website and they vary in price. I'm not clear on why this is except one of them is a foam product and the other two are liquid. I bought the cheapest one (2nd link).
 
Haveyoutriedyoga said:
Have either of you got the energy to give the worst areas a towel dry after showers to stave off the worst of it and reduce the need to use stronger chemicals?
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I would guess that OH could do this, but I doubt I have the energy very often. We don't actually have a working shower now, and have to use baths all the time. Getting in and out can be a bit difficult for me.
 
Arnie Pye said:
I would guess that OH could do this, but I doubt I have the energy very often. We don't actually have a working shower now, and have to use baths all the time. Getting in and out can be a bit difficult for me.
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Getting in and out of baths is a nightmare, why is it so much harder than getting up off the floor? I’d imagine something related to the hot water..
 
Arnie Pye said:
Because I'm permanently unwell (I'm not bedridden, but I am frequently housebound) I struggle with cleaning my house. I'm not, and never have been, a neat freak or cleaning obsessive - and it shows.

I wondered if people could pass on their tips on how to make the job of cleaning anything a bit easier, quicker and less exhausting.

One thing I've discovered that I find hugely helpful in cleaning the kitchen are de-greasers.

I have found these two products very helpful :



I've also used a Cillit Bang degreasing product as well which worked well. Unfortunately they keep changing the name of the product. This one looks like it might be useful :

Code: 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cillit-Bang-Degreaser-750ml/dp/B0177IR7Y4/ref=sr_1_4

Amazon product ASIN B0177IR7Y4
What I would really like to know are products that take the elbow grease out of removing limescale on tiles and bathroom fittings. For the tiles in particular, limescale removers are often too expensive to cover large areas, and usually they are too thin to stay where they are sprayed and just run down the walls achieving nothing.

Good tips for any kind of cleaning could be useful for all of us who are well enough to clean occasionally.
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Lime Lite

https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/limelite-trigger-500ml

I think from My cleaner years ago (I assume - or maybe I bought it and forgot ? It’s one of those bottle I don’t know where it came from )

I haven’t had a bottle for a long time but don’t think I’ve found anything to compare since

this is for taps with great chunks of limes cake type thing - I’ve never thought of using that for tiles and rarely even in past years did them myself (‘we’ use one of the sprays that foam , but person doing it has to wear a mask even as it’s quite a strong scent in a small space)
 
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Wits_End said:
Re duvet covers, have you discovered the trick:

1. Have cover inside-out.
2. Stick both arms into cover and grab each of the far corners with one hand.
3. While still holding those corners, grab hold of the corresponding corners of your duvet as well.
4. Then "shake" the cover off your arms and down over the duvet, while still holding on to the corners.
5. It should then be fairly easy to get the cover to fall down over the whole of the duvet so that you can do it up.

(Does that make sense? I may need to edit it).

Duvets may be tough, but they're probably still better than all the bedmaking required with sheets and blankets, I guess.
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@“Hell

I gave up that way when I got bigger duvets and my arms got weaker. So anyone trying first time might want to be aware a heavy super king duvet might need to be tried only with great caution even if milder.

When I was more well and did my own I realised with the bigger quilt just feeding it in to the laid out cover was less exertion.

the hard but is getting it so there isn’t ’loose Cover’ in the middle at the top - I’ve never tried anything but wonder if there is anything clever like a special peg from places like Robert Dyas :laugh: ?

on the sleeping bag level there now seem to be duvets (like American ones) that have a permanent cover/are washed ‘whole’ - but I’ve no idea what hell washing and drying those would be

I don’t do my own bed now but have a bed where the mattress sits on top of rather than inches ‘in’ the base which is a big difference for the person putting on the sheet and topper etc not lifting the mattress to get the corners round … but I know wonder whether anyone invented a clever ‘poker’ fir that yet ?
 
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bobbler said:
@“Hell

I gave up that way when I got bigger duvets and my arms got weaker. So anyone trying first time might want to be aware a heavy super king duvet might need to be tried only with great caution even if milder.

When I was more well and did my own I realised with the bigger quilt just feeding it in to the laid out cover was less exertion.

the hard but is getting it so there isn’t ’loose Cover’ in the middle at the top - I’ve never tried anything but wonder if there is anything clever like a special peg from places like Robert Dyas :laugh: ?

on the sleeping bag level there now seem to be duvets (like American ones) that have a permanent cover/are washed ‘whole’ - but I’ve no idea what hell washing and drying those would be

I don’t do my own bed now but have a bed where the mattress sits on top of rather than inches ‘in’ the base which is a big difference for the person putting on the sheet and topper etc not lifting the mattress to get the corners round … but I know wonder whether anyone invented a clever ‘poker’ fir that yet ?
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When I don’t have my cleaner I just use flat sheets under and over a duvet instead of changing the duvet cover
 
I bought one of these for £28 in the sale. Cheapo versions are available on Amazon, eBay etc.

It is brilliant for cleaning the bath, and also the wooden floor if I have spilled something. You do have to have some arm strength to control it, but no bending or scrubbing pressure needed!

In fact I went crazy and cleaned the wall tiles with it the other day. The pole has 3 parts, you can make it a bit shorter or the full 4ft.

https://www.jmldirect.com/hurricane...gpAdexYNFHwipOTRy6kh5wNpzxQytJJMVZdECOG66jsts
 

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This might be something everyone already knows, but I didn't. Happened across a youtube video on cleaning pots and other stuck on things. The base tips was, the main reason products don't work is people don't leave them on long enough.

I tried this tip on something, embassingly I have never managed to clean and neither did the people who lived here before us. Above our hob is the extractor fan and it has a glass rim thing, probably for aesthetics. Anyhow, there was a coating of oil on it when we moved in and I only ever managed to get a sponge stuck to it or smooshed it to an identical state.

I tried the principle of leave a product on longer.... So, I massaged a thick coat of fairy liquid on and left it an hour (some dripped off all over my stove top). BUT!! It came off with far less effort than all previous attempts where it didn't come off.
 
MrMagoo said:
I bought one of these for £28 in the sale. Cheapo versions are available on Amazon, eBay etc.

It is brilliant for cleaning the bath, and also the wooden floor if I have spilled something. You do have to have some arm strength to control it, but no bending or scrubbing pressure needed!

In fact I went crazy and cleaned the wall tiles with it the other day. The pole has 3 parts, you can make it a bit shorter or the full 4ft.

https://www.jmldirect.com/hurricane...gpAdexYNFHwipOTRy6kh5wNpzxQytJJMVZdECOG66jsts
Click to expand...
I could use one of these, I struggle with scrubbing motions. This combined with The Pink Stuff might be awesome!
 
PrairieLights said:
This might be something everyone already knows, but I didn't. Happened across a youtube video on cleaning pots and other stuck on things. The base tips was, the main reason products don't work is people don't leave them on long enough.

I tried this tip on something, embassingly I have never managed to clean and neither did the people who lived here before us. Above our hob is the extractor fan and it has a glass rim thing, probably for aesthetics. Anyhow, there was a coating of oil on it when we moved in and I only ever managed to get a sponge stuck to it or smooshed it to an identical state.

I tried the principle of leave a product on longer.... So, I massaged a thick coat of fairy liquid on and left it an hour (some dripped off all over my stove top). BUT!! It came off with far less effort than all previous attempts where it didn't come off.
Click to expand...
I agree with this approach. On moving here, I was met with thick grease. I applied the cleaning product and I bought cheap shower exfoliation gloves which I put on over rubber gloves, and just squished my hands in the filth, with a bowl of warm water for rinsing! Gloves only survived one job. Soap had eaten away at the grime during the time it had sat.

Some reviewers of the scrubber felt it wasn’t as fierce as the name suggests. It’s plenty forceful enough for me, any stronger and it would be wearing a hole in the bath!
 
PrairieLights said:
Anyhow, there was a coating of oil on it when we moved in and I only ever managed to get a sponge stuck to it or smooshed it to an identical state.
Click to expand...

I discovered the cure for kitchen grease some time ago : "Degreaser". I can't remember where I bought it now. It might have been Tesco or B&Q. There are several companies that produce degreaser for domestic use. Cillit Bang is what I've got in my cupboard.

Here's a list of "best of" degreasers with advice on how and where they can be used :

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g60231872/best-degreasers/

It used to take me several hours over several days to clean my oven and hob, but now, at least on the hob, I can do it in under an hour. I haven't cleaned the oven for so long I don't know how long it takes.

Edit : My "best of" link is from the USA. I've only just realised.
 
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MrMagoo said:
I bought one of these for £28 in the sale. Cheapo versions are available on Amazon, eBay etc.

It is brilliant for cleaning the bath, and also the wooden floor if I have spilled something. You do have to have some arm strength to control it, but no bending or scrubbing pressure needed!

In fact I went crazy and cleaned the wall tiles with it the other day. The pole has 3 parts, you can make it a bit shorter or the full 4ft.

https://www.jmldirect.com/hurricane...gpAdexYNFHwipOTRy6kh5wNpzxQytJJMVZdECOG66jsts
Click to expand...


I decided today to order one of these. I keep getting my family to agree to scrub the tub and such but jo actual work happens. At least this should make me feel like I can do something myself rather than doing a quarter of the tub now and then and never the whole thing.
 
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