Cleaning tips and tricks using household products

Stubborn stains, scorched pans and scaly shower heads (well, limescale, that is) - there's a trick to getting rid of them all without investing in fancy <and expensive!> cleaning chemicals. From Coca Cola to Steradent, there are plenty of things lying around the house to solve your cleaning conundrums. Whether it's for your spring clean, a deep clean, or a light tidy up, these are some of our favourite ingenious ideas.

Why not get more cleaning tips here?

1. For a squeaky clean loo

"Pour in a can of Coca Cola and leave it for a few minutes. Result? Sparkly clean."

2. Toothpaste to the rescue...

"I use toothpaste to clean silver jewellery, it makes my silver pendants and earrings sparkle."

"Toothpaste will bring chrome taps (and anything chrome, really) up very shiny. Just plaster the taps with it, leave to dry and wash off. Works a treat."

3. For the spiller in your life

"Diluted white distilled vinegar removes coffee and tea stains from carpets."

4. To save on pricey stain removers 

"For oil splashes on clothes, dab with lighter fuel then wash as normal."          

5. Tea stains on your china?  

"Use Steradent for teapots and stained mugs, bicarb for stoves, vinegar for glass and fire ashes to clean inside glass doors of wood burners."

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6. To clean fiddly blinds

"I soak my venetian blinds in the bath in biological washing powder."

7. For an uninterrupted shower

"For the shower head, I have a narrow measuring jug that I can just put the shower head in upside down, then cover with white vinegar and leave for a couple of hours - works great."

8. Burnt saucepans?

"Layer the pan with bicarb, a thin layer of white vinegar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so, then scrub. If badly burned, pop on stove until boiling, cool, then scrub."

9. Double-duty veg 

"Water that potatoes have been boiled in can be used to clean silverware - just leave the items in the potato water for an hour then take them out, wash and dry them. No more tarnish."

10. For a limescale-less brew

"For cleaning kettles I use Steradent tablets. It brings them up like new. "

For all of gransnetters' cleaning tips and tricks, read the full thread here.

Other things you might like:

Genius kitchen devices to make life easier

High-tech gadgets for the home

Images: Shutterstock