The seasons are slowly changing – albeit from rainy to sunny in Singapore – and in Chinese culture, this means the annual spring cleaning exercise is due. Out with the old, in with the new.
This also means backbreaking work getting the house spick and span – necessary but such a bother, mainly because some spots are too stubborn to go away.
This upcoming Chinese New Year, make your house sparkle like never before with quick, efficient, and simple hacks.
That coffee stain on your carpet doesn’t go away just because it’s not visible – like that D grade you got that one time because you missed a deadline, the stain remains as a mark of shame.
Thankfully, with the most unlikely of cleaning solutions, you won’t have to deal with the shame for long – vodka is actually an effective tool for cleaning up carpet stains.
You might be wondering: why use vodka of all things?
Well, carpet cleaning isn’t all that cheap, for one, with cleaning solutions costing between $80 to as much as $400. Plus, you’re probably better off using the spirit to clean carpets than your digestive tract.
Spray the stained area with vodka and blot with a dry cloth, followed by a wet one. Let dry. Rinse and repeat if the stain doesn’t go away.
Vodka also acts as a deodorizer so your carpet won’t smell mouldy afterwards.
Smol hooman problems take shape in several forms, but one of the most egregious comes in the form of ceiling or hard-to-reach areas. Hidden cobwebs and dust just love congregating in such corners.
To counteract this issue, a boost is required – but too many people resort to using unsteady props like stools, and being clean just isn’t worth potentially slipping or falling from a height.
A solution to such a problem can be a specially-shaped duster that’ll ensure you get at these corners safely, thereby finally reclaiming your home just in time for CNY.
Sometimes, vacuum cleaners can only suck so much.
Anyone with long hair can attest to the fact that their hair is much more noticeable when it falls, and it appears that the phenomenon of magically-reappearing hair and dust happens in every house, not just in Pulau Tekong.
This makes daily sweeping practically a must, but the problem can be exacerbated during the spring cleaning period: sometimes the hair you’ve vacuumed just won’t disappear, which is thoroughly annoying.
But use a magnetic static cloth along with a broom, and the hairs you pick up aren’t going to randomly appear somewhere else. This’ll make cleaning much more hassle-free – and you probably won’t lose more hair doing your cleaning either.
We all hate a clogged sink or drain. First of all – the smell. RIP.
Secondly, digging the gunk up with your own hand. ARRRGH.
In case you’re thinking: just pour baking soda and vinegar into the drain, right? Nope. There’s a much better solution.
All you need is some hot water and detergent.
Tons of experienced housewives will swear by baking soda and vinegar, but besides creating a lot of fuzzy white stuff, it doesn’t really do the job it promises.
However, simple dish soap and hot water will do just that. There’s a reason why this combo is recommended for washing dishes in the first place – albeit with slightly less hot water. The oils get washed off more easily this way.
You’re welcome.
Washing dishes is most certainly not the highlight of preparing food at home. Some family members might even pay you to wash dishes as long as they don’t have to do it themselves.
Even worse, water spots that are seemingly impossible to get rid of can build up, and that’s completely undesirable.
Spray some vinegar, and get to work with your scrubbing. The spots will disappear and your parents won’t tell you that you’ve missed a spot – because there’s none left.
Let’s face it, some of us will go through trials and tribulations in cooking.
This means that your food might end up looking like charred carcasses the first few times you cook.
This also means having to clean up said carcasses, but thankfully, there’s a simple solution.
Fill up the pot with water, add about 2-3 tablespoons of salt, and leave to soak overnight. Then, boil the solution. Your charred remains will be gone, just like that.
The sink can be deceptively difficult to clean – not only does food waste tend to get clogged, the exterior also isn’t as clean as it may seem, as bacteria can remain.
While you’ll still have to put in the work to clean, you can save a lot of effort by investing in an e-cloth – all it requires to work is water, and no chemicals are required.
Then with a metal polish cleaner, your sink will look newer than the one at the shops, and without the chemical solutions usually required. 2 birds killed with 1 stone. Plus, less wastage of soap in the long run.
Leifheit is a household appliance brand from Germany with over 50 years of quality.
They know how annoying it is to get housework done, so they’ve invented innovative ways to get rid of the most common annoyances.
Their cleaning products like mops and dusters are made to be reliable and fuss-free, allowing you to get your house looking tidy quickly no matter the occasion.
They’ll be having a Spring Cleaning Sale from 1 Jan to 25 Jan on their website, with 20% off on appliances ranging from cleaning accessories, laundry hangers, and kitchenware.
There’ll even be free shipping with a minimum spend of $150, so perhaps you’d like to pick up some refills while shopping for your wares.
Spring cleaning will be a breeze with these easy and even fun solutions, and by the time your invitations are sent, you can be sure that your house will be good as new.
Do you have other cleaning hacks you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!
This post is brought to you in collaboration with Leifheit.
Featured image adapted from MS News and Julian Sherman.
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