For many years some of us have blindly followed old wives tales and other cleaning remedies that were handed to us by our grandmothers! While most are harmless and may even be effective, a few could turn out to be harmful as well as a waste of time and money.
For many years some of us have blindlyfollowed old wives tales and other cleaning remedies that werehanded to us by our grandmothers! While most are harmless and may even beeffective, a few could turn out to be harmful as well as a waste of time andmoney.
Listed below are a few cleaning remedies thatyou should definitely not try at home.
Vinegar blackens hardwood floors
Vinegar Can Be Destructive
Nana’s adage "There’s nothing a little vinegarwon’t remove", may have worked in the days of concrete, mosaic and ceramicflooring. Today, using vinegar to clean hardwood floors will turn your expensivehardwood black. Using it on marble surfaces is worse as it will cause marble tocorrode, while vinegar on waxed surfaces will dull the sheen.
Yes, vinegar kills bugs but if you use undiluted vinegar on a bug infested plant, get ready to say goodbye to your plant aswell!
Extra detergent in the washing machine
Extra Detergent? Not A Good Thing
If you feel that oily dishes won’t sparkle unless you add an extra dollop of dish-wash detergent and apply the same principle while washing soiled, grimy clothes? Alakazam! Extremely cleanclothes? Yes! But your machine goes for a toss as detergent build-up can leadto mold, odors and clogged filters.
Bleach Is Not Perfect
Like vinegar, bleach has been heralded as a supremely effective cleaning product. While it may be good for certain surfaces, bleachis highly corrosive. Bleach when mixed with products like ammonia or vinegarcan release a gas that is very harmful to the lungs.
Newspaper is cheap but can be ineffective
Paper Towels Trump The Newspaper
We'veall grown up being told that newspapers are very effective when cleaning dirty glass or mirrors. While the surface may appear clean, take a closerlook and you’ll find traces of newsprint ink on the surface!
Hairspray no longer an option for ink stains
Hairspray Is Not A Stain Remover
Areyou still using hairspray to remove that messy ink stain on your favoriteshirt or a nail polish mark off your white blouse? It may have done the trickmany years ago because the level of alcohol in hairspray was muchhigher. Research has shown that alcohol makes the hair dry, so companies thatmanufacture hairspray have subsequently reduced the alcohol content, making today’s hairspray ineffective in fighting those pesky stains!
Save your carpet, vacuum regularly
Vacuum Carpets Often
Howdo you keep your Persian silk rug or expensive Kashmiri carpet dust free? Vacuumingonce a month like the wise sages of bygone years suggested? Bad idea! If you allow yourcarpet to collect dust, it will harm the carpets fibers and also be anopen invitation to dust mites. Topreserve your carpet it’s best to vacuum it a couple of times per week.
Popularcleaning myths are easy to find and try out but following them could provecostly. We recommend that you research cleaning methods thoroughly before trying them out at home for the first time.
