Re: Bad Housekeeper needs tips.
Lou
news:il3h2c$vsj$1...@speranza.aioe.org...
> I admit it I am a lousy housekeeper.
>
> As a result I have an extremely dirty linoleum floor.
>
> I decided to clean it. Any recommendations on the best frugal cleaning
> solution and type of inexpensive mop to use for this?
>
> Also need any tips for cleaning porcelain commode and countertops.
>
By far the easiest thing to do is to clean as you go - if you drop or spill
something, stop and wipe it up right then and there before doing anything
else. Since you apparently haven't done that, you're in for a chore - there
are no magic cleaning products or mops that will do the job for you.
The phrase "extremely dirty" conjures up all kinds of pictures, anywhere
from a few spills/sticky spots to
the-only-thing-that'll-work-is-tear-it-up-and-replace. My bet is that
you're going to have to get down on the floor and scrub it. Use a stiff-ish
brush or pieces of cloth (known as rags). Water. There are all kinds of
cleaning products out there. It's hard to beat ammonia, but use that only
if you have good ventilation. NEVER mix ammonia with a chlorine-containing
product, the combination can give off mustard gas with possibly fatal
results.
Other possibilities are things like Spic 'n Span, Lestoil, Mr. Clean - walk
down the aisle in the supermarket, the possibilities are all but endless. A
cheap bottle of something might look like a good deal, but if it doesn't do
the job it's money wasted. Mix according to the bottle/package directions,
scrub, and rinse well. Wear rubber gloves - some of these things can peel
the skin right off your hands as though the skin was a pair of gloves.
Once the floor is clean, get a broom, a dustpan, and a mop. Anything from a
Swiffer to an old fashioned sponge mop. A few minutes a week, unless you
have an enormous floor, is all it should take, if you sweep or wipe up
messes when they happen along the way.
For counter tops, I use Windex, but any spray cleaner that doesn't generate
a lot of suds should do. I spray the counter tops and wipe up with a rag (I
bought a package of a dozen cloth diapers a few years ago, haven't gone
through the package yet). Takes maybe two minutes a day. Works on cabinet
doors and stovetops too.
For the commode, again there are all kinds of products out there. Nothing
works better than something strong and sudsy, applied with a sponge and your
hands (again, while wearing rubber gloves). In most homes, the kitchen sink
is more germ-laden than the bathroom toilet (well, provided you flush after
each use), so the "ick" factor is mostly psychological. Once it's clean, a
weekly swish with a toilet brush and any of a number of products from the
supermarket will keep it that way.
Dorothy
> "bachelor" <bache...@badhousekeeper.org> wrote in message
I have to agree that you may have to get down on your hands and knees
to scrub. I had to do that with ceramic tile last year -- the grout
mostly. The best thing for that cleaning was spraying with Mean Green
(Dollar General has it) and scrub with brush....rinse with white
vinegar and water solution. Sometimes you can just clean with the
vinegar and water if it's not too dirty.
Bob F
> It's hard to beat
> ammonia, but use that only if you have good ventilation. NEVER mix
> ammonia with a chlorine-containing product, the combination can give
> off mustard gas with possibly fatal results.
The combination gives off chlorine gas, not mustard gas.
Lou
"Bob F" <bobn...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:im2nr3$19q$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
mustard gas, sites that say it produces chlorine gas, sites that say it does
not produce mustard or chlorine gas but does produce chloramine gas.
Whatever the result, they all say the combination can be deadly.
Rod Speed
> Bob F <bobn...@gmail.com> wrote
>> Lou wrote
>>> It's hard to beat ammonia, but use that only if you have good ventilation.
>>> NEVER mix ammonia with a chlorine-containing product, the combination
>>> can give off mustard gas with possibly fatal results.
>> The combination gives off chlorine gas, not mustard gas.
> Beats me.
Yes, it obviously did.
> I found a few sites on the web that say the combination produces mustard
> gas, sites that say it produces chlorine gas, sites that say it does not
> produce mustard or chlorine gas but does produce chloramine gas.
Just goes to show that you have to do more than just mindlessly
accept what someone says on the web.
It cant produce mustard gas, there is no sulfur thats needed for mustard gas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_gas
> Whatever the result, they all say the combination can be deadly.
Thats not necessarily correct either.
Malcom "Mal" Reynolds
"Rod Speed" <rod.sp...@gmail.com> wrote:
Rod Speed once again wrote just the peurile shit any 2 year old could leave for
dead
Gary Heston
Lou <lpo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
IIRC, ammonia + bleach (sodium hypochloride) == chloramine gas, which is
very poisonous (a high school classmate cleared a grocery store he
worked at when cleaning the stockroom and mixing the two).
Mustard gas, the bane of WW1, is straight chlorine gas. It was nicknamed
mustard gas due to its' yellow color, and is also very poisonous.
I'm not a chemist, though...
(Burning ping-pong balls also give off poisonous gasses.)
Gary
Rod Speed
>>>> It's hard to beat> ammonia, but use that only if you have good
>>>> ventilation. NEVER mix ammonia with a chlorine-containing product,
>>>> the combination can give off mustard gas with possibly fatal results.
>>> The combination gives off chlorine gas, not mustard gas.
>> Beats me. I found a few sites on the web that say the combination
>> produces mustard gas, sites that say it produces chlorine gas, sites
>> that say it does not produce mustard or chlorine gas but does
>> produce chloramine gas. Whatever the result, they all say the
>> combination can be deadly.
> IIRC, ammonia + bleach (sodium hypochloride) == chloramine gas,
Utterly mangled. Try
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A795611
> which is very poisonous (a high school classmate cleared a grocery
> store he worked at when cleaning the stockroom and mixing the two).
Not because of chloramine gas. Chloramine isnt even a gas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloramine
> Mustard gas, the bane of WW1, is straight chlorine gas.
Nope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_gas
> It was nicknamed mustard gas due to its' yellow color,
Chlorine is more green than yellow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine
> and is also very poisonous.
> I'm not a chemist, though...
Thats obvious.
> (Burning ping-pong balls also give off poisonous gasses.)
Depends on what sort of plastic its made of and its not very poisonous even with the worst.
The Real Bev
> Lou<lpo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>"Bob F"<bobn...@gmail.com> wrote :
>>> Lou wrote:
>>> > It's hard to beat
>>> > ammonia, but use that only if you have good ventilation. NEVER mix
>>> > ammonia with a chlorine-containing product, the combination can give
>>> > off mustard gas with possibly fatal results.
>
>>> The combination gives off chlorine gas, not mustard gas.
>
>>Beats me. I found a few sites on the web that say the combination produces
>>mustard gas, sites that say it produces chlorine gas, sites that say it does
>>not produce mustard or chlorine gas but does produce chloramine gas.
>>Whatever the result, they all say the combination can be deadly.
>
> IIRC, ammonia + bleach (sodium hypochloride) == chloramine gas, which is
> very poisonous (a high school classmate cleared a grocery store he
> worked at when cleaning the stockroom and mixing the two).
I overheard one cleaning lady tell her friend about her experience
mixing the two -- fortunately the Lady of the House was home and pulled
her to safety.
> Mustard gas, the bane of WW1, is straight chlorine gas. It was nicknamed
> mustard gas due to its' yellow color, and is also very poisonous.
>
> I'm not a chemist, though...
>
> (Burning ping-pong balls also give off poisonous gasses.)
So do some people...
Made corned beef and cabbage today. My mom's was better.
--
Cheers, Bev
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