Cleaning

I don't need to get very far to satisfy my Middle English (OR my cleaning) cravings, however. All I need is the crisp, clean taste of I Love Everything! *megawatt smile*

Cleaning!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2055/2150861910_4a495b8056.jpg

All now trashed. Thank goodness.

i cleaned my room in RI. i found a bunch of CDs (20+) that i am too embarrassed to bring in to any store for credit.

i have a lot of those. today i cleaned my kitchen (i'd let it go for about two months.)

i even considered a cover story, but those all sounded super desperate "it's not me but my sister who was really into the barenaked ladies ca. 1994, and ..."

barenaked ladies ca. 1994 vs. cake ca. 1997

hoboy

god i have like 100 cds i'm too embarrassed to trade!

my room needs serious cleaning right now and yet i'm procrastinating. ugh. how to get motivated!?

Put on your Spin Doctor's cd.

What are the best fluids/powders with which to clean

1) tiled (linoleum?) kitchen floor

2) interior of bathtub

Particularly if you haven't *thoroughly* scrubbed em in, oh, a year to 18 months?

for 1) full strength Grease Lightning
for 2) Bar Keeper's Friend, if it's a porcelain over metal tub

Keep the windows open and exhaust fans running for both.

Thank you!

no window in bathroom :(

(I don't know if metal is under porcelain of tub -- it's not an old tub w/ legs or anything)

You can usually tell by tapping on it with a coin - plastic will sound dull, but porcelain (or enamel) over metal will sound more like glass. If you've got a portable fan, set that up in the bathroom - that way the fumes won't get trapped. You can probably use the Bar Keeper's Friend on plastic if you don't scrub hard - the chemicals in it are pretty powerful on their own for dissolving scale and scum and stuff.

oh, there's an exhaust fan in the can.

That's good - I've been surprised how many places we've lived that didn't have some kind of ventilation in there; seems like a no-brainer that it's required. Is this your move out?

yes. Hopefully I will get my deposit back if they can eat off the floor.

Is Grease Lightning like super-ammonia?

I think so - I've used it to successfully dissolve baked-on grease from the inside of an oven door. It's some kind of nasty caustic. I used to be able to find the spray bottles of it at the supermarket, but now I buy the gallon industrial strength jugs from the Cash & Carry restaurant supply place. It's good for cleaning pretty much anything in the kitchen - I soak those metal filters from the range hood in it occasionally and wipe down the fridge exterior with it. Not so good on the butcher block countertops though.

1. Greased Lightning is pretty great for general cleaning around the stove.

2. Oven cleaner is magic on a really dirty tub. I cleaned apartments post-move-out one summer, and there were some nasty tubs and showers. A dousing with Easy Off, and you're set.

3. My friend Jenny bought me some of this for the floor and walls.
http://vivirlatino.com/i/2006/10/fabuloso.jpg

hehe, that looks like kool-aid! Does it matter what color you use?

That's a great tip for oven cleaner - I've always had the PH34R of it, for some reason. I need something to clean the scale/scum from the swing-out glass shower door, so something that can drip onto tile and is fairly innocuous to mop up (instead of rinsing it straight down the drain like I can do for the rest of the shower).

I used yellow ("Limon"). The purple is lavendar, green is pine, and blue is...?

raspberry!!!

what variety of GL is best for floor/ stove?

http://www.greased-lightning.com/products/Default.aspx

Oh wow, I've only used the one in the white bottle, multipurpose.

I use the white bottle too. Don't know anything about he rest.

I don't use it on the floors because it leaves a lot of residue and it's really harsh, so I think it would bother my feet.

I usually mop w/ hot water a few buckets-worth after I use it, due to having cats that would march through it then lick their paws. Unless I was moving out, then I just do a quick mop afterwards.

Now though, I have old hardwood floors in the kitchen, so it's just Murphy's oil soap mostly.

guys, when my treadmill was in storage position (base lifted vertically) when we moved house, a bunch of oily greasy something has leaked out on to the walking belt which makes every 4th step really slippery.

would greased lightning work on this or do you think it will burn a hole in the belt (which I guess is some kind of nylon/plastic)

If you use it, don't leave it on very long, and rinse well. I would think that it would be effective and would not damage the belt.

It might not do much if the oil is a synthetic, but it's worth a try.

thxz!

i'm so not excited about dusting the office

I am trying to con the man into cleaning the whole house as a birthday gift, but I don't think it's gonna happen...

hahaha that is exactly what i would do

what floor cleaner should i use FIRST before Greased Lightning (and is GL genearlly available in NYC retail stores I wonder)?

I would use GL first, as a spot cleaner. GL surely is available at a retailer near you.

(xpost) I don't know, I just squirt it straight on the lino, wait for 5-10 minutes, then mop it up and rinse. If there's particularly bad spots, I resquirt them, wait, maybe get down and scrub some, then mop and rinse. Not sure where you'll find it, I used to be able to buy it from Safeway and the drugstore, but recently have only found it (in an even stronger strength) at the restaurant supply place. You could always just have at it with Mr. Clean or Pine-sol though.

btw, I tried the Bar Keeper's Friend on the glass shower door and it took the scum/scale right off - smells bad in a weird chemical way for awhile though.

thx all. I just have to be sure not to do this on a hot day...

OK, Bar Keeper's Friend not really getting the tub sparkly -- looks like gray soap-scum residue won't come off except with my FINGERNAIL (on the shower wall near the soapdish, too). Tilex for Soap Scum, then more BKF?

Try using a copper (softer than steel wool so less likely to destroy the finish) Choreboy with the Tilex or full strength GL or BKF if the tub and surround are not plastic.

Or go Jesse's oven cleaner route, that stuff is powerful.

I'm really fond of those scrub brushes with the handles on them, you know the ones that look like miniature irons? They do a pretty good job of scrubbing without abrading, on the occasions I've used 'em. I don't know how bad your tub is, though.

>I'm really fond of those scrub brushes with the handles on them, you know the ones that look like miniature irons?

Second that, this gets used every time I scrub the tub.

Oven cleaner. It's like magic. Very toxic magic.

I don't know the scrub brushes that look like miniature irons. I'm buying more cleaning supplies this month than I have in the last 10 years.

The tub is not THAT bad, but the effing landlady is going to withhold my deposit if I give her the slightest reason.

got the Greased Lightning!

A tip for the fridge: if it has the slightest odor (or, you know, stinks), rub damp baking soda all over the interior walls and the plastic things like the bins with a sponge after you've cleaned everything else out. Leave it for as long as you want (overnight, whatever), wipe it out then put the shelves/bins/etc back and put fresh open boxes of more baking soda in both the fridge and the freezer.

Thanks, but I did the fridge shelves and all on Saturday, no smell is noticeable. I am gonna put a new b'soda box in tonight, and then it's the floors and tub to do (with the GS and BKF and ironstyle brush).

full strength Grease Lightning

So I shouldn't dilute it for the floors? Just squirt on the spong mop and/or sponges? (I read the label a few days ago.)

i like the iron scrub brushes as well but be careful you don't overscratch your tub!

so I'll start with BKF on sponge for tub, I guess?

I'd rub it on with a sponge and let it sit damp on the really bad spots for a bit, then scrub with either wet sponge or brush and see what you get. It didn't do much for the tile floor of my shower, I didn't have a scrub brush though. I got fed up and squirted full strength dishwasher detergent gel on it. The fumes about did me in, but it cut through the gray scum. Next time, I'm going for the oven cleaner though.

I think the last two times we had to retile something we used grey grout and it was so much nicer.

I don't hate cleaning intrinsically, I just don't take the time over other things. If I had more time I might be cleaner, but quite probably that still wouldn't be a valuable use of my time in the world, where there are endless things to experience and learn.

Mostly I enjoy the women of ilx pushing off the smothering expectation that women will clean, will know how to, will care about it--will, if not actually *do* it, at least feel guilty and apologetic for not doing it, etc. FFFFFF UUUUUUUUUU

xp yeah just a poor functionality design choice all around.

i'll take your white grout and raise you white carpet ... ugh, speaking of things I don't understand why they bother making. I am a renter, so the white carpet (well, it was white when I moved in 21 yrs ago) is not in my control. Last year, I got some rugs and just put them over the worst parts of the carpet ... I still have to do the hallway though.

on a more positive note, I used to run an arts space that was much larger than my apartment, and because it was a public space, cleaning was constant, so going from having to clean a large space to only having my small-ish apartment to clean is kind of pleasant.

I freshly painted my bedroom window woodwork a bright semi-gloss white as part of a renovation project, and then cracked open my window for ventilation. Within 1-2 days there was a scum of black dust on it and multiple seedpods from a nearby tree that blew in AROUND THE EDGES OF THE SCREEN. The natural world wants to return to chaos, there's no need to spend every day pitted against it, just relax and let disintegration happen.

yeah, i wonder if it's the same for those of you that worked in restaurants & commercial kitchens -- like, one of the big differences I feel between going from cleaning/maintenance for the art space vs. my apartment, is that commercial spaces are often designed for easier maintenance, whereas homes aren't. ... though the art space I most recently worked at would regularly accumulate reddish dust from the hvac system on the baseboards of the walls ... though that space wasn't that well designed, and that's a whole other topic lol

^^^I try to set up my newish apartment so that it's really easy to clean. Nothing stays out on counters or tables and stuff is kind of on a schedule of when it gets cleaned. It's super dry where we are and it's crazy dusty (we always have windows/doors open). But I can still dust, swiffer and vaccuum everything in under an hour.

is the swiffer superior to your classic mop? I have an instinctive preference for a regular mop because it is a single implement, rather than a thing that requires additional supplies.

swiffer is more for getting hair and dust off the ground, mopping is probably still needed after the swiffer

so like, something you would traditionally use a broom for?

I do the dry swiffer in between full wood floor cleaning (also I used to have a large dog so it was a must). If it's real hardwood floor (old apartments/houses) I used to do the murphy's oil in a bucket and handclean the floor (I know, but I prefer it to mopping). I have a weird "flotate" laminate/wood floor now that needs this crazy two step process. But once it's done we only have to do it fully like once a quarter. I also handclean the kitchen floors.

correction "flotante"

i now do such a bad job at following through and finishing cleaning tasks that i am afraid to even start because i will be disappointed in myself in the end

There are dusty cobwebs hanging from the ceilings of at least three rooms of this house and I look at them every day and do nothing.

i woke up this morning and was in awe of the fact that i had done all the dishes the night before

laundry pile is huge tho and my home office is super messy. i am good at taking out garbage because it means i get to go outside

I got a giant long-handled tape roller and my main cleaning activity is furiously rolling the floors while I'm on stupid hours-long meetings. Yay for the mute button and wireless headphones.

meanwhile my bathroom has been glaring at me for weeks

We bought a pretty cheap roomba-esque floor robot, since we're all stuck inside anyway, and between one adult and two kids with long hair and a cat we have lots of cleaning to do, and that's just hair. Factor in the usual dirt, crumbs and dust and it seemed worthwhile, if only for the novelty. And indeed, not only is it fun to watch, but when I clean it out after its cycle it is clearly picking up a lot. However, one major quibble is that it has trouble with cords and sloped things, a la the base of our kitchen table or oscillating floor fan. As far as I can tell, the robot does its job by more or less roaming about at random, bumping into things here and there, zigzagging around, and so on. The theory is that eventually, left to its own devices, it does a pretty thorough job, which I think it does, surprisingly. And yet, no matter where I put it, where I start it, it seems to compulsively make its way right back to the literally one or two things that get it stuck, in this case the fan and kitchen table. Again and again, I'll pick it up like a turtle stuck on its back and move it some place better, and minutes later it's back where it started, stuck on the table or fan. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was messing with me.

This is like the 7th time this morning:
https://imgur.com/a/vFoziVZ

Dammit.
https://i.imgur.com/FpoCLL3.jpg

It's beaching itself imo.

Our theory is that it is attracted to other round things and is trying to multiply. We saw it mounted on a bin lid the exact same size and color just the other day and figured, well, that makes perfect sense.

Haha! I consider getting one of these every so often. We have a robot mower though so I worry they might elope.

My roomba also always goes directly and consistently for the one thing it’ll get stuck on: one of those ikea poang chairs that stands on two slats. Drives me nuts. I have to put the chair on my couch just to have a moments’ peace when I run it. It does pick up an incredible amount of fluff and dander with each cycle though! (Three adults, two dogs, two carpets)

i do not remember posting this

i now do such a bad job at following through and finishing cleaning tasks that i am afraid to even start because i will be disappointed in myself in the end

― contorted filbert (harbl), Saturday, June 6, 2020 2:24 PM (two months ago)

my job fedexed me two monitors so i don't have to use a small laptop screen all day. just in time to start a new project that involves 10,000 pages of reading! but i believed i did not have space in my tiny house (and i have acquired the bad habit of working on my bed) so i almost asked not to get them. i have a second bedroom i don't use so it was a dusty storage room even though i intended to someday make it an actual second bedroom. i have lived in this house for 7 years now lol. i get so overwhelmed by projects like this that i never even try to do them. my bf told me to set the monitors up in the second room and i almost cried. today i collected two bags of garbage, consolidated the stuff i wanted to keep into two storage totes, moved some other stuff downstairs so i can get rid of it, vacuumed the whole room, cleared off the desk and put the monitors on it. AND i ordered a chair. i actually had to write out a plan for this like i was at work. i made it due in 60 days (i have to paint and get some furniture and a plant, etc.). i'm going to put it on a calendar like a grown-up. why don't i always do that? STUPID BRAIN!

Awesome!! I actually did a similar thing when I "de-cluttered" my apartment a couple years ago, including drawing diagrams of where things currently were and where they will be moved to, and the stages of the process -- thing A moves from room 1 to room 2, then thing B can move from LR to room 1 ... I don't think your brain is stupid, just weird but interesting!

Home spaces are weird these days. I work in the room that ... I drink and listen to music and write postcards to friends ... and the room feels slightly wrecked. I struggle to keep on top of tidying and I could sometimes weep at the clutter and the wooden floor is getting destroyed by my work chair ... but that sounds like an achievement, habrl.

home is definitely more claustrophobic than usual. and now i know i can't blame my mess on "i'm never home" like i used to. but yeah i'm going to get a rug to put under the chair. the floors aren't the best to begin with but i don't want to make a mess of them. now i'm thinking of buying a rowing machine instead of a second bed. the room is too small for both, i think.

yeah i have succumbed to “longer time at home seeing cluttered space & doing something instead of ignoring”

cleaned up our back room a couple of months ago & it went from a hoarder’s cry for help/spider paradise to open space with a cleared table that I now have ~houseplants~ on

but it took a while, by choice! i kept seeing it as a whole thing to deal with all at once & that made me no want to do it. so i’d pick a thing, figure out its designation (keep, trash, donate, nfi) & just do a little bit each day, for a little while..no time limit... if i felt like doing more I did more but if it started to piss me off i’d stop & do something else. it is nice to go back there now & not feel like a failure