Radiators:
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A dusty radiator can be worse than ugly--it can be costly. Layers of dust can actually compromise the ability of your radiator to do its job. A weekly dusting with a feather duster or a dust cloth will keep accumulation down. Twice a year is often enough to do a major radiator cleaning, unless you live in an environment that is particularly dusty.
Don't try to clean a hot radiator. The best times to do it are in the spring or summer, when you're no longer using it, and in the fall, before you turn it on again. That way, there's no danger of burning yourself or igniting anything inflammable.
To clean a cast-iron steam radiator, first, remove as much of the surface dirt as possible using a hand vacuum or the brush attachment of your vacuum cleaner. The brush can actually go some way toward getting in between the tubes. But the thin nozzle attachment goes farther. You won't get everything out with a vacuum, and you'll find that there are more effective ways to clean inside the crevices.
To reach the dust trapped between tubes, use a couple of common kitchen items. Wrap a paper towel around the broad end of a kitchen spatula and secure it with a rubber band. Then slide the spatula up and down both sides of each tube of the radiator. For resistant substances (sticky spills, especially), spray some all-purpose cleaner, such as Formula 409, on the paper-swathed spatula and have another go at it. If the radiator is tall, you might need to use a rag on a yardstick instead.
Take care of rust spots as soon as you see them. You can get the larger chips off with a wire kitchen brush, followed by some medium- and then fine-grade sandpaper. Be sure to get rid of all the rust so the corrosion will stop after painting. Once you've smoothed the surface and there is no visible rust residue, spray the spot with a rust-resistant paint, such as Rust-Oleum, which comes in many colors.
Vacuum baseboard radiators to prevent dust from building up between the thin metal fins that distribute the heat. If you have an access panel, open it and vacuum inside the casing with the brush attachment. Be careful not to bend the delicate metal fins.
To clean a portable electric radiator, make sure you unplug it before you begin and then follow the directions given above for cleaning traditional steam radiators. (You won't need the de-rusting and painting steps.) when you put your electric radiator away for the summer, store it in a plastic trash bag to keep dust accumulation down.
Range Hoods
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Because they're set over the stove, range hoods collect a lot of fat residue. The spatters from whatever you're cooking go up with the steam, and tiny filaments of dust attach to the fat, further gunking up the hood, inside and out. Ick.
To clean the outside of the hood, mix 1 teaspoon of dishwashing detergent with 4 cups of warm water to cut the grease. Soak a sponge in the solution and, to keep it from dipping, squeeze it thoroughly before attacking the hood. If your hood isn't painted wipe the sponge with the grain of the stainless steel so you won't leave swirly marks.
If a stubborn food splatter is stuck to the hood, use a plastic dish scrubber or your fingernail to dislodge it. If that doesn't work, squirt the spot with an all-purpose cleaner such as Formula 409, let it sit for five minutes, and then scrub with a sponge. Don't use anything abrasive, because it will scratch the surface and take some paint off.
To clean the underside of the hood, lay a towel on top of the stove to catch falling dirt. (You checked that the burners are off and cool, right?) If you have a gas stove, lay a couple of pans across the stovetop first to create some separation between the towel and the pilot lights. In a spritzer bottle, mix a solution of 1 part dishwashing soap of 2 parts warm water. Spray underneath the hood and let the solution sit for 15 minutes. While the solution breaks down the accumulation of grease, you can remove the fan filter. Some newer range hood filters can go right into the dishwasher.
But if your model doesn't allow for dishwasher cleaning, soak the filter in a solution of 1/2 cup of warm white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of dishwashing soap, and warm water until you see the greasy debris loosening. Rinse the filter first with warm water to get rid of any remaining sticky stuff and then with cool water. Once the underside of the hood has been soaking for 15 minutes, wipe up the grease with paper towels. (You'll ruin cloths.) If grease remains, give it another spray and wipe.
expert advice
The Only Way to Fry >
It's your party, and you'll fry it you want to. And when you do, use only canola oil, recommends Sharyl Heavin, family consumer scientist for DCS, a maker and distributor of high-end appliances based in Hungtington Beach, Calfornia. Corn oil tends to leave a much filmier, stickier residue that's harder to clean.
Records
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Some of us still listen to music on plastic platters called records. Most of us neglect the albums, but a little regular cleaning will make them last longer and sound better.
Velvet record brushes (the Stanton VC-1 cleaning system, for instance) are the favorite of many who do clean their records. They have a handle for gripping and a velvet-grained fabric on the bottom. They come with a liquid, which is mostly water with a dash of mild soap. Harsher chemicals will damager record vinyl.
Put a few drops of the liquid on the brush. Place the record on the turntable (if you're too young to know what a turntable is, you're reading the wrong entry) and turn it to. Hold the brush lightly on the surface of the record as it pins. This will get rid of any dust that might interrupt a pleasurable listening experience with skips.
If you don't have a velvet record brush, you can use very soft cloth with a fine weave to clean your records. A cloth diaper is ideal. Don't use anything that creates lint--that's what you're trying to get rid of. Make a mixture of 99 percent water and 1 percent baby shampoo. Barely dampen the cloth--make sure isn't wet--and hold it lightly on the record as it spins. Be careful not to touch the record with a fingernail.
If you have heavier, sticky grime on a record, go at it again with the baby shampoo mixture and a little more pressure on the diaper. If that doesn't get rid of the goo, take the record off the turntable, holding it only by the edges. Rest an edge against your body and hold the other edge in one hand. With your free hand, wipe the record with the damp diaper, moving back and forth in the direction of the grooves.
Refrigerators and Freezers
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keeping your refrigerator and freezer clean is not only important to the appearance (and smell) of your home, it's also crucial to the sanitation of your food and thus to the health of your family. There are three major aspects of keeping refrigerators and freezers clean: removing dirt, killing germs, and deodorizing the interior.
Clean the fridge is only a half-hour job, so there's no need to haul out the cooler to keep your refrigerated goods cold. Instead, empty one shelf at a time, so food on the other shelves can stay chilled. Remove the first shelf and spray it liberally with a disinfecting all-purpose cleaner, such as Lysol, to vanquish the inevitable sticky spills. ('Glass cleaner probably isn't going to do the job)
Or sanitize it with a squirt of good ol' white vinegar in a spray bottle. Wipe the shelf dry with a paper towel and reinsert it in the refrigerator. Repeat the procedure with each shelf.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A dusty radiator can be worse than ugly--it can be costly. Layers of dust can actually compromise the ability of your radiator to do its job. A weekly dusting with a feather duster or a dust cloth will keep accumulation down. Twice a year is often enough to do a major radiator cleaning, unless you live in an environment that is particularly dusty.
Don't try to clean a hot radiator. The best times to do it are in the spring or summer, when you're no longer using it, and in the fall, before you turn it on again. That way, there's no danger of burning yourself or igniting anything inflammable.
To clean a cast-iron steam radiator, first, remove as much of the surface dirt as possible using a hand vacuum or the brush attachment of your vacuum cleaner. The brush can actually go some way toward getting in between the tubes. But the thin nozzle attachment goes farther. You won't get everything out with a vacuum, and you'll find that there are more effective ways to clean inside the crevices.
To reach the dust trapped between tubes, use a couple of common kitchen items. Wrap a paper towel around the broad end of a kitchen spatula and secure it with a rubber band. Then slide the spatula up and down both sides of each tube of the radiator. For resistant substances (sticky spills, especially), spray some all-purpose cleaner, such as Formula 409, on the paper-swathed spatula and have another go at it. If the radiator is tall, you might need to use a rag on a yardstick instead.
Take care of rust spots as soon as you see them. You can get the larger chips off with a wire kitchen brush, followed by some medium- and then fine-grade sandpaper. Be sure to get rid of all the rust so the corrosion will stop after painting. Once you've smoothed the surface and there is no visible rust residue, spray the spot with a rust-resistant paint, such as Rust-Oleum, which comes in many colors.
Vacuum baseboard radiators to prevent dust from building up between the thin metal fins that distribute the heat. If you have an access panel, open it and vacuum inside the casing with the brush attachment. Be careful not to bend the delicate metal fins.
To clean a portable electric radiator, make sure you unplug it before you begin and then follow the directions given above for cleaning traditional steam radiators. (You won't need the de-rusting and painting steps.) when you put your electric radiator away for the summer, store it in a plastic trash bag to keep dust accumulation down.
Range Hoods
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because they're set over the stove, range hoods collect a lot of fat residue. The spatters from whatever you're cooking go up with the steam, and tiny filaments of dust attach to the fat, further gunking up the hood, inside and out. Ick.
To clean the outside of the hood, mix 1 teaspoon of dishwashing detergent with 4 cups of warm water to cut the grease. Soak a sponge in the solution and, to keep it from dipping, squeeze it thoroughly before attacking the hood. If your hood isn't painted wipe the sponge with the grain of the stainless steel so you won't leave swirly marks.
If a stubborn food splatter is stuck to the hood, use a plastic dish scrubber or your fingernail to dislodge it. If that doesn't work, squirt the spot with an all-purpose cleaner such as Formula 409, let it sit for five minutes, and then scrub with a sponge. Don't use anything abrasive, because it will scratch the surface and take some paint off.
To clean the underside of the hood, lay a towel on top of the stove to catch falling dirt. (You checked that the burners are off and cool, right?) If you have a gas stove, lay a couple of pans across the stovetop first to create some separation between the towel and the pilot lights. In a spritzer bottle, mix a solution of 1 part dishwashing soap of 2 parts warm water. Spray underneath the hood and let the solution sit for 15 minutes. While the solution breaks down the accumulation of grease, you can remove the fan filter. Some newer range hood filters can go right into the dishwasher.
But if your model doesn't allow for dishwasher cleaning, soak the filter in a solution of 1/2 cup of warm white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of dishwashing soap, and warm water until you see the greasy debris loosening. Rinse the filter first with warm water to get rid of any remaining sticky stuff and then with cool water. Once the underside of the hood has been soaking for 15 minutes, wipe up the grease with paper towels. (You'll ruin cloths.) If grease remains, give it another spray and wipe.
expert advice
The Only Way to Fry >
It's your party, and you'll fry it you want to. And when you do, use only canola oil, recommends Sharyl Heavin, family consumer scientist for DCS, a maker and distributor of high-end appliances based in Hungtington Beach, Calfornia. Corn oil tends to leave a much filmier, stickier residue that's harder to clean.
Records
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some of us still listen to music on plastic platters called records. Most of us neglect the albums, but a little regular cleaning will make them last longer and sound better.
Velvet record brushes (the Stanton VC-1 cleaning system, for instance) are the favorite of many who do clean their records. They have a handle for gripping and a velvet-grained fabric on the bottom. They come with a liquid, which is mostly water with a dash of mild soap. Harsher chemicals will damager record vinyl.
Put a few drops of the liquid on the brush. Place the record on the turntable (if you're too young to know what a turntable is, you're reading the wrong entry) and turn it to. Hold the brush lightly on the surface of the record as it pins. This will get rid of any dust that might interrupt a pleasurable listening experience with skips.
If you don't have a velvet record brush, you can use very soft cloth with a fine weave to clean your records. A cloth diaper is ideal. Don't use anything that creates lint--that's what you're trying to get rid of. Make a mixture of 99 percent water and 1 percent baby shampoo. Barely dampen the cloth--make sure isn't wet--and hold it lightly on the record as it spins. Be careful not to touch the record with a fingernail.
If you have heavier, sticky grime on a record, go at it again with the baby shampoo mixture and a little more pressure on the diaper. If that doesn't get rid of the goo, take the record off the turntable, holding it only by the edges. Rest an edge against your body and hold the other edge in one hand. With your free hand, wipe the record with the damp diaper, moving back and forth in the direction of the grooves.
Refrigerators and Freezers
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
keeping your refrigerator and freezer clean is not only important to the appearance (and smell) of your home, it's also crucial to the sanitation of your food and thus to the health of your family. There are three major aspects of keeping refrigerators and freezers clean: removing dirt, killing germs, and deodorizing the interior.
Clean the fridge is only a half-hour job, so there's no need to haul out the cooler to keep your refrigerated goods cold. Instead, empty one shelf at a time, so food on the other shelves can stay chilled. Remove the first shelf and spray it liberally with a disinfecting all-purpose cleaner, such as Lysol, to vanquish the inevitable sticky spills. ('Glass cleaner probably isn't going to do the job)
Or sanitize it with a squirt of good ol' white vinegar in a spray bottle. Wipe the shelf dry with a paper towel and reinsert it in the refrigerator. Repeat the procedure with each shelf.
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