Cleaning for DUMMIES!

amother

Sun, Jan 17 2010, 1:44 pm

Spinoff of 'cooking for dummies'. I've read on here a couple of you recommend the book 'home comforts' and I will check to see if the library has it. But I want to know if it teaches the basics of cleaning. For those who didn't have to clean the house before they got married, how do you know where to start? I love keeping my house clean but I have some basic questions. For example when cleaning the bathroom, what do I wipe down first the shower, toilet or floor and isn't it gross to use the shmatta I just wiped the toilet with to wipe down the countertops....? Also when doing laundry, my mother used to put all the things that needed to be washed with hot water together, including white shirts, underwear, socks, bathing towels and white tablecloths. But it's seems disgusting, now when I put on my white tablecloths it has clumps of hair from my bath towels, not cool....
So where does one learn the basics of cleaning and laundry if their mother is not a good example?

amother

Sun, Jan 17 2010, 1:58 pm

first u clean the bath tub with comet or soft scrub then u do the counter sink mirror then the floor and toilet last. as far as laundry table cloth gets washed alone . then u do whites underwear,undershirts, pjs if its light color,hot water. then colored on cold water towels on hot water /u dont have to fee bad I had the same thing when I got married u live and u learn!

amother

Sun, Jan 17 2010, 11:09 pm

for cleaning bathroom: this is one area of the house where I insisit on using paper towels or disposable cleaning wipes if you're in a real hurry. you're absolutely right, the shmatta that's used to clean the toilet should not be used anywhere else!! you'll also need a glass cleaner for the mirror. don't forget the door handles. I find it easiest to actually start by vacuuming the bathroom floor and all the corners. this picks up the worst of the mess and then clean the rest with spray and paper towels. browse thru walmart and target and figure out some method to get the bowl clean. choose whichever one works best for you.

louche

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 9:19 am

If "Home Comforts" is by somebody named Mendelson, RUN AWAY! She's utterly tyrannical. Anyone who tells you there is exactly one "right" way to fold underwear, or that it's acceptable for floor rags to be slightly discolored after a while but that all other rags used for household cleaning must be pristinely white---well, such a person should be shipped off to Afghanistan where she can bring some order to the chaos there and leave the rest of us to have a life. She will look down on you if you don't hang your laundry on the line in the "right" way, which is the way her grandmother did it on her pig farm in Appalachia.

I suggest instead Don Aslett's "Do I dust or vacuum first?" and "How do I clean the moosehead?" Besides giving very good advice, they're hysterically funny and a great read. Quite a difference from Mendelson's deadly serious Puritanical preaching (she really believes that poor housekeeping is a moral failing), and a whole lot faster to get through than her 800-some-odd page tome. From there you can graduate to his other books like "Clutter's last stand" and "For Packrats Only".

amother

Tue, Jan 19 2010, 9:33 am

another amother here with another bathroom question.
re: cleaning the toilet.
So I pour some toilet cleaner in then wait a few minutes, then scrub it with the brush. what do I do after this? Do you put the brush right back in the holder. isn't that disgusting? the brush can be pretty dirty after. I do that, just put the brush right back into the holder that I keep right near the toilet. But by now the inside of the holder is gross and dirty, not just from dirt but also because the brush is wet when I put it back so I think it got moldy..Uch I dont really know cause I dont look so much but I do know its dirty...
and the brush is uchy too..

what do I do???
how come other people brushes are always clean????HELP

amother

Wed, Jan 20 2010, 1:40 am

OP here:

Thanks for the book rec. louche I will see if the library has them. That first one sounds like exactly what I need.

The only thing I DON'T have a problem with is the toilet bowl. LOL.. I dont remember exactly the company (will try to get it for you tomorrow) but it has a stick and flushable attachments to it. So I just attach a refill and scrub the bowl (it works GREAT) and then press the little button and it falls right into the toilet and gets flushed away. No dirty stinky brushes...