Bathroom Cleaning Tips

享受了几年有女佣的日子，现在得开始自己动手洗厕所。
想一想，从小到大，没人教过我怎么洗厕所，也不知自己做的步骤对不对，
上网看了好几回，最喜欢这个，就把它收藏了。

 预备工作：

1.  Remove all the items that is standing on the floor.
2.  Pour a bleach or another disinfectant into the toilet bowl and put the toilet brush inside. This will help to sanitize the brush.
3. Vacuum or sweep the floor.
4.  Clean the wall.
5. If you have mold on the the wall tile start with spraying a water bleach solution on it and let it rest for a couple of minutes and start scrubbing. Rinse it carefully to avoid any stripes and dry it with a chamois or old towel.

 Clean the shower（我觉得最费力的工作。可是，当我看到明亮的shower door时，好开心！）

1. Spray an appropriate cleaning product on the shower walls,and the shower head and let it rest for a couple of minutes.
2. Spray cleansers made especially for getting rid of soap scum, rinse well with the hottest water and or dry with a chamois, you can use the squeegee also to make them dryer.
3. You can shine the faucet with a paper towel or a towel. Never use abrasive cleaners or green abrasive scrub pads on porcelain fixtures, as they will quickly dull the finish.
4. Alkaline deposits in the water cause those not so pretty spots on your glass doors and shower walls. Apply a car wax to the walls and doors, but not the floor or it gets real slick. Both fiberglass and glass are porous. The car wax seals those pores, which makes cleaning easier and keeps water spots away. Reapply twice yearly.
5. Squeegee or wipe down your shower after each use to further prevent buildup. If you're tired of fighting the soap scum buildup, switch to liquid soap, natural soap or Dove. It's the talc in most bar soaps that causes the buildup. Changing soap can eliminate the buildup. You still need to clean the shower once a week, but the job is easier.（我换了，只是老公多年习惯改不了，就是要使用香皂。）
6. Clean the showers once a week with an orange citrus based cleaner. Spray on and give it ten minutes to dissolve the dirt. Why do all that scrubbing when your product does it for you?

Clean the sink and counter area.

1. Scrub all the soap scum and tooth paste off, rinsing your sponge thoroughly as you go along.
2. A toothbrush or cotton swabs can be handy for getting the junk out from between the tap and handles.
3. Be sure never to clean the sink and counter area with the same rag or paper towel you used to clean the toilet. This can spread leftover disease-causing germs to your sink and counter area. To prevent this you can use a specific rag which you use to clean only the toilet.
4. Once a month, pour one cup of baking soda, followed by one cup of white vinegar down the drain. Wait an hour and flush with warm water. The combination fizzles away most of the buildup. Works for shower, tub and kitchen sink drains as well.

Faucets
Water deposits build up around faucets and drain areas. Use a paper towel soaked in white vinegar and place around the faucet. Plug the drain and pour 1/2 cup white vinegar in the sink and wait. It takes time for the white vinegar to dissolve the alkaline deposits. Scrub using a stiff bristled nylon toothbrush.

Clean the mirror：

1. Clean with a cleaner, rinse it and wipe the excessive water off with a squeegee and a chamois.
2. To add a shine to your mirror add a bit vinegar to the water.

Clean the toilet.

1. Wipe the exterior off the toilet with a cloth soaked in disinfectant. Don't forget to use a cloth specially assigned for cleaning the toilet.
2. Scrub the bowl with a toilet brush and flush.

Mop or scrub the floor:

1. Starting with the farthest point from the door.
2. Hot soapy bleach water will work best.
3. Remember to rinse the floor with clean water to remove slippery soap residue. Be sure to get along the sides of your toilet bowl where it is anchored to the floor. This area is notoriously dirty. Don't forget to clean the base boards or base molds these places usually accumulates a lot of dust.

完工：
Place all the items back that you took out when the floor is dry.

这时，通常都已经汗流浃背，好想冲个热水澡，却舍不得把厕所弄脏呢！

Cleaning toilet

1. Remove everything from around the toilet.

2. Flush and add cleaning solution.
Try to apply the cleaner as close to the toilet rim as possible to prevent diluted cleanser.

3. Clean the exterior of the toilet.
While the cleansing solution soaks into the toilet grime in the bowl, clean the outside of the toilet. Start at the top to prevent dripping on already clean surfaces. Spray the tank, handle, and tank edges with cleaner and wipe down. Next do the outside lid of the toilet. Finally wipe down the entire bowl. Start with the sides and front before cleaning the bottom edges of the toilet where it meets the floor.

4. Clean the toilet seat.
The toilet seat should never be neglected. It is the part of the toilet that comes into actual contact with people, and it needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Raise the seat. Spray the seat, inside lid and the rim of the toilet with cleanser. Wipe down the lid, seat, and hinges at the back of the toilet seat. Some toilets have hinges that will pop open to allow better access for cleaning.

5. Clean the inside of the toilet bowl.
Begin cleaning the bowl from the top down. Always begin scrubbing under the rim first. Look under the rim to get all the stains and grime scrubbed away. Next scrub the bowl. Finally scrub the hole at the bottom of the toilet. Flush the toilet with the lid down.

6. Wipe up any drips or spills.
Wipe up any drips of cleanser or water that may have occurred. Put away tools and trash. Replace the items removed in step 1. Enjoy a clean toilet.

Tips:
Do not use sponges when you scrub a toilet. Sponges are a great way to breed bacteria, and there are already enough in bathroom. Paper towels are a great options because they are thrown away. If you use reusable cloths, wash them immediately in their own load on hot water with bleach.

What's the best way to iron a shirt?

如果这是对的，表示我的步骤错了多年？
哈哈，可是，步骤虽然不同，效果也不错！！

1. First iron the collar then the yoke (the part at the back of the shoulders).
2. Take one sleeve and iron the cuff open as you would the collar, then iron the sleeve. The perfect shirt should have a crease along the outside of the sleeve. If you suffer from tramlines (where the sleeve already has a crease which is slightly offset from the new crease), spray with a little water before you iron.
3. Repeat for the other cuff and sleeve.
4. Iron the main body of the shirt by first ironing one half of the front, then the back, then the remaining half of the front.
5. Hang immediately on a wooden hanger with the top button done up to keep creases at bay.
6. For best results use starch and steam (specified iron temperature permitting). If you're not overly keen on starch, just use it on the collar and cuffs.

醋的妙用

醋在清洗衣物的妙用：

1. 去衣服上的酱汁、锈迹、油迹、胶水迹。
2. 在衬衣最后一次漂洗时在水中加点白醋，能使衣服不褪色，保持光泽。
3. 在漂洗的水中加点白醋，可保持白色衣物的本色，防止变黄。
4. 洗餐巾时，在水中加适量的醋，可使餐巾洗得洁白。
5. 除汗臭味，衣服上有了汗臭味，可先在衣服上喷少许食醋，过一会儿再洗。
6. 袜子洗净后在水里滴几滴醋，能去除臭味。
7. 使皮包、皮鞋光亮，将灰尘擦去后，用醋擦净。

醋的其他妙用：

1. 塑料容器很容易渗入味道，可以直接在上面涂上醋，几分钟后再洗掉。
2. 用蘸醋的布擦试厨房的水槽，污点都能擦掉而且干净舒爽。
3. 除水垢，可除热水壶、咖啡机里的水垢，用水稀释醋然后进行浸泡。
4. 解决喷头堵塞，将淋浴喷头放在盛满淡醋水的盆中泡一晚，冲洗后喷头出水就顺畅了。
5. 如果吃鱼时嗓子被鱼刺扎到，喝几口醋可使骨刺酥软，顺利咽下。
6. 能够让洗脸池和水龙头及不锈钢器具保持光亮。将一匙盐溶解于两匙白醋中直接擦试然后用清水冲净。
7. 用浸过白醋的软布擦试卫生间或者其他地方的瓷砖能够去除白色钙化水垢。
8. 1：3的白醋与清水混合可清洗冰箱的污渍、除异味。
9. 铝和铜等器皿用旧后，可以用醋擦一遍，待干后再用水洗，能恢复光泽。
10. 泡花的水中放入一匙白醋、一匙糖可使鲜花保鲜。
11. 用醋代水磨墨，写出的字又黑又亮而且不易褪色。

洁净电水壶

家中有一个Tefal的电水壶，用了多年，里面积累了一些锈迹。
曾经买了特用的清洁剂给女佣清洗，却不见效果。

那天在网站读到可以用柠檬或醋：
Cut a lemon or lime into 4 pieces.
Fill the kettle with water up to the maximum level,
squeeze and put the lemon slices inside,
and boil the water.
Let the water cool down for 1 hour and boil the water again.
The kettle will be as clean as new.

De-scaling a kettle
Pour white vinegar to cover the base and leave for 1 hour. Rinse with cold water. Fill the kettle with cold water, bring to boil, and throw away the water.

刚好家中有柠檬，就试用方法一。
果然有效，钢铁除锈迹清除，不费吹灰之力。
只是，塑料的接触面还是会有锈迹……

生活小窍门

这几个小窍门不错：

1. 巧除家电缝隙的灰尘:家用电器的缝隙里常常会积藏很多灰尘，且用布不宜擦净，可将废旧的毛笔用来清除缝隙里的灰尘，非常方便。
2. 揭胶纸、胶带的妙法:贴在墙上的胶纸或胶带，如果生硬去揭，会损坏物件，可用蒸汽熨斗熨一下，就能很容易揭去了。
3. 风油精的妙用：在电风扇的叶子上洒上几滴风油精，随着风叶的不停转动，可使满室清香，而且有驱赶蚊子的效用。
4. 室内厕所即使冲洗得再干净，也常会留下一股臭味，只要在厕所内放置一小杯香醋，臭味便会消失。有效期为六、七天，可每周换一次。

烹煮：

1. 做菜或做汤时，如果做咸了，可拿一个洗净的土豆切成两半放入汤里煮几分钟，这样，汤就能由咸变淡了。
2. 炒鸡蛋的窍门:将鸡蛋打入碗中，加入少许温水搅拌均匀，倒入油锅里炒，炒时往锅里滴少许酒，这样炒出的鸡蛋蓬松、鲜嫩、可口。
3. 烧荤菜时，在加了酒后，再加点醋，菜就会变得香喷喷的。烧豆芽之类的素菜时，适当加点醋，味道好营养也好，因为醋对维生素有保护作用。
4. 煮排骨时放点醋，可使排骨中的钙、磷、铁等矿物质溶解出来，利于吸收，营养价值更高。此外，醋还可以防止食物中的维生素被破坏。
5. 切松花蛋:用刀切松花蛋，蛋黄会粘在刀上，可用丝线将松花蛋割开，既均匀又不粘蛋黄。将刀在热水中烫一下再切，也能切的整齐漂亮。
6. 剥蒜皮:将蒜用温水泡3-5分钟捞出，用手一搓，蒜皮即可脱落。如需一次剥好多蒜，可将蒜摊在案板上，用刀轻轻拍打即可脱去蒜皮。