In this post, we share 19 cleaning tips we received from Facebook, and we provide 19 answers in return! We wish you good luck with these little "catastrophes" 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 too!

 

As usual, all the tips are natural, meaning that none of them contain strong and unnecessary chemicals. Some tips are really tough and intended as an answer to anyone who is somewhat desperate about, for example, a difficult stain. They are something of a last resort before you resort to wallpapering or repainting. We wish you good luck with these little “catastrophes” and hope that these tips will help you solve the problems.
If you have delicate, expensive, and highly special items, such as 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 cleanthe oven?

– Dirt in the oven is usually grease and some 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 rubbing the oven with the solid soap, placing an oven dish with a little water inside, setting the oven to 175°C, and letting the water boil so that steam forms.
Turn it off when you see that the oven is filled with steam, but be careful—steam is hot! Wait until it has cooled, then wipe it out. Now everything comes off!

 

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: Soapa

 

 

Here's 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,  fatty soft soap is preferable. All natural materials benefit from fatty soft soap. Use a damp cloth and liquid or solid soft soap on the countertop. If you have tougher stains or something stuck on, we suggest trying a sponge, and if the stain is very difficult, then 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 distilled vinegar or vinegar 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 advice. However, 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 and soft soap.
However, this is where you need to be careful—the fiber cloth is really tough and can scratch. An eco-fiber cloth costs SEK 10 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 burnt-on stains. When using soft soap on shiny surfaces such as a hob, it is easy to leave streaks, so wipe clean with a damp cloth and then polish with a splash of distilled 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 to “polish” it—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 polish! However, if you have a lot of grease, fingerprints, and splashes, they must be removed first, 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 run it over the entire piece of furniture to collect all the hair. Some materials are especially tricky, and the hair wants to “creep” into the material. Here you need some heavy-duty 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 kitchen extractor fan?

The kitchen extractor fan 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 advice if they are of a special type. Standard extractor-fan filters are easiest to wash 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 extractor fan 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 an ordinary rug that you simply want to save, do the following, as long as it is not time to deep-clean the rug, of course. 
Here's how: Place a newspaper or plastic under the rug (if it is not wall-to-wall carpeting). Thoroughly moisten 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 you have removed most of the urine. Then take 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water, moisten the stain with this mixture, and wipe up the excess again.
The smell of vinegar will remove the last of the urine odor, and the cat will not return to the same spot because cats dislike vinegar. The smell of vinegar will disappear over time.

 

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

Watch the clip below!

 

 

All the 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 away 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 dislike, so scrub with a panel brush and plenty of hard soap and you will see that you can keep the mold away.
You are welcome to watch the clip in point 8.

 

10. How do you remove limescale around taps?

Limescale is easiest to remove with vinegar. Mix 1/3 vinegar with 2/3 water and spray it on. If you have stubborn deposits, for example where the tap is attached to the countertop, dampen a paper towel with the vinegar mixture and wrap it around the tap. 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 an ordinary 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 taking a splash of neutral, colorless cooking oil and treating the stain with it. Let it work 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 should be treated with soap that is left on the surface. The soap is alkaline, which algae that reproduce by spores dislike. So my tip is to clean with  hard soap and to dry it somewhat poorly  Then wipe only with a paper towel, not a damp cloth…. Leave a little soap behind so the algae cannot thrive. But as mentioned… algae are survivors, and this may need to be repeated several times before you get rid of the spores.

 

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

-I assume the rug does not fit in the washing machine?! Then do the following: 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: Place newspaper or plastic under the rug (if it is not wall-to-wall carpeting). Thoroughly dampen the stain with lukewarm water and 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 odor remains, you can treat it with a little vinegar or white vinegar on a paper towel. This removes the odor, but you also risk making the dog no longer like its spot. Animals usually do not like the smell of vinegar. The vinegar smell will disappear over time and take the bad smell 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 solve this is to use citric acid and let it work for a while. Scrub it clean with an eco-fiber cloth or a stiffer brush. You can buy citric acid at any regular grocery store; it is in the spice aisle under the letter “C”.

 

15. How do you remove grease stains from wallpaper?

Oh dear, this isn’t fun, but it’s not entirely impossible to fix. Of course, it all depends on how bad it is, but if we assume it’s wallpaper, which is the most difficult type to clean, do the following: Start by removing any residue from whatever caused the stain. Then take potato starch, sprinkle it on, and brush it off. Repeat, and repeat again. This will work, but it may not be enough. In that case, take a piece of dry, white bread (a loaf-style white bread), but make sure it is somewhat dry and not a fancy, fatty variety  Regular 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 pulled outward. If this still is not enough, you can try taking a sheet of greaseproof paper, holding it against the wallpaper while heating it with an iron on low heat. Do 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 plenty of baking soda and let it work for a while (no water or other moisture), then vacuum up the baking soda and, just like that, you have done a little homemade dry cleaning  Greasy stains should be treated with soap; greasy soap dissolves greasy stains. Use a sponge and lukewarm water and work up a lather. Wipe 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 for rent at, for example, a paint store or a building-supply store.

 

17. How do you remove blueberry stains?

Blueberries have an incredibly powerful pigment, so unfortunately, it is entirely 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 acetic acid and 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 simply wipe it away. Note that the vinegar must not dry; you need to remove the tape residue while the vinegar is still wet.

 

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

See the clip below:

 

 

All products are here: Soapa