Refrigerators and Freezers:
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To clean the drawers, pull them out of the fridge one at a time, place them in the sink, and fill them with warm water and a healthy squirt of dishwashing detergent. Let the water sit in them for
10 minutes. Then pour the water out, rinse with fresh water, and wipe dry with a towel.
Keeping your fridge germ free is a priority. Meat and poultry juices dripping on refrigerator surfaces are not only unsightly; they are potentially harmful vehicles for the spread of salmonella and E.coli. Even though a refrigerator's temperature is low, it doesn't stop the growth of all bacteria. Some bacteria can grow even in refrigerated temperatures. And, while some are harmless, some can make you really sick. For instance, when you're thawing meat or poultry in the fridge, if those juices dripd down or contaminate a shelf, it could lead to serious health problems. So as you remove each shelf, spray the inside of the refrigerator with a disinfecting all-purpose cleaner. Remember, just because it looks clean doesn't mean that it is clean.
Cleaning the freezer isn't quite the ordeal that cleaning the fridge is. Most freezers aren't so big that they take more than 20 minutes to clean, and it takes frozen food hours to thaw, so you probably won't need to enlist a friend's freezer or even your
Simple SOLUTIONS
A Sweet-Smelling Fridge >
To deodorize your refrigerator or freezer, open a box of baking soda, leave it inside, and change it every few months. This tried-and true method will absorb most of the odors you don't want emanating from your fridge, but it may not go far enough to suit you. For a clean, fresh smell, find a spray disinfectant with a scent that you find appealing. when you have your food items removed for cleaning, spray and wipe all the shelves, drawers, and interior walls with it. This will ensure a uniformly fresh smell.
A Crack Cleaning Technique
Those crafty little egg cups in the door of your refrigerator are a bane and a blessing. They're pretty good at keeping eggs from bumping into each other. But somehow, the occasional egg cracks, despite the efficient design, and then you've got trouble.
Eggs are a popular breeding place for salmonella, so that egg ooze drying right under your nose could be quite a hazard, warns Lysol microbiologist Joe Rubino. Take these steps to remedy the situation
trusty cooler. Just put the food in the sink. If you pile frozen items on top of each other, they'll keep each other cold.
Soak a sponge in warm water and squeeze out enough water that you won't create trickles that will add to your work. Wipe each rack in the freezer, top and bottom. If you have a thick, frozen spill, scrape it first with a stiff plastic spatula that has a thin edge (no metal), and then spot clean it with a soapy sponge.
Regularly sanitizing the door handles is perhaps the most important aspect of fridge cleaning. When you're preparing food it's best to wash your hands each and every time you handle raw meat. That's easy to forget in the midst of creating an elegant entree, however, and when you transfer that contamination to the door handles, another family member who uses the refrigerator could pick up the germs. The solution: keep a box or tube of all-purpose wipes (Colorx makes good ones) near the
refrigerator and make it a habit to wipe off the handle frequently.
Vacuuming the coils under a frost-free fridge (or on the back of a cycle defrost unit) should be a part of your regular kitchen cleanup about once a month--especially if you have a shedding pet. Unplug the refrigerator and push the crevice tool as far under the unit as you can. Be careful not to bend the tubing or the fins.
Resins
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To clean the drawers, pull them out of the fridge one at a time, place them in the sink, and fill them with warm water and a healthy squirt of dishwashing detergent. Let the water sit in them for
10 minutes. Then pour the water out, rinse with fresh water, and wipe dry with a towel.
Keeping your fridge germ free is a priority. Meat and poultry juices dripping on refrigerator surfaces are not only unsightly; they are potentially harmful vehicles for the spread of salmonella and E.coli. Even though a refrigerator's temperature is low, it doesn't stop the growth of all bacteria. Some bacteria can grow even in refrigerated temperatures. And, while some are harmless, some can make you really sick. For instance, when you're thawing meat or poultry in the fridge, if those juices dripd down or contaminate a shelf, it could lead to serious health problems. So as you remove each shelf, spray the inside of the refrigerator with a disinfecting all-purpose cleaner. Remember, just because it looks clean doesn't mean that it is clean.
Cleaning the freezer isn't quite the ordeal that cleaning the fridge is. Most freezers aren't so big that they take more than 20 minutes to clean, and it takes frozen food hours to thaw, so you probably won't need to enlist a friend's freezer or even your
Simple SOLUTIONS
A Sweet-Smelling Fridge >
To deodorize your refrigerator or freezer, open a box of baking soda, leave it inside, and change it every few months. This tried-and true method will absorb most of the odors you don't want emanating from your fridge, but it may not go far enough to suit you. For a clean, fresh smell, find a spray disinfectant with a scent that you find appealing. when you have your food items removed for cleaning, spray and wipe all the shelves, drawers, and interior walls with it. This will ensure a uniformly fresh smell.
A Crack Cleaning Technique
Those crafty little egg cups in the door of your refrigerator are a bane and a blessing. They're pretty good at keeping eggs from bumping into each other. But somehow, the occasional egg cracks, despite the efficient design, and then you've got trouble.
Eggs are a popular breeding place for salmonella, so that egg ooze drying right under your nose could be quite a hazard, warns Lysol microbiologist Joe Rubino. Take these steps to remedy the situation
- First, remove as much of the substance as you can with a paper towel.
- If it has begun to harden, try scraping it out with a spoon.
- If the broken egg has had a while to harden, there may be some stubborn residue left. An all-purpose disinfecting de-greaser is just about the only thing that will cut that mess, says Rubino. Spray the cleaner on and let it sit for several minutes while you clean the rest of the fridge. By then, you should be able to lift the rest of the egg goop out with a paper towel. Rinse thoroughly.
trusty cooler. Just put the food in the sink. If you pile frozen items on top of each other, they'll keep each other cold.
Soak a sponge in warm water and squeeze out enough water that you won't create trickles that will add to your work. Wipe each rack in the freezer, top and bottom. If you have a thick, frozen spill, scrape it first with a stiff plastic spatula that has a thin edge (no metal), and then spot clean it with a soapy sponge.
Regularly sanitizing the door handles is perhaps the most important aspect of fridge cleaning. When you're preparing food it's best to wash your hands each and every time you handle raw meat. That's easy to forget in the midst of creating an elegant entree, however, and when you transfer that contamination to the door handles, another family member who uses the refrigerator could pick up the germs. The solution: keep a box or tube of all-purpose wipes (Colorx makes good ones) near the
refrigerator and make it a habit to wipe off the handle frequently.
Vacuuming the coils under a frost-free fridge (or on the back of a cycle defrost unit) should be a part of your regular kitchen cleanup about once a month--especially if you have a shedding pet. Unplug the refrigerator and push the crevice tool as far under the unit as you can. Be careful not to bend the tubing or the fins.
Resins
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Resin is the sticky stuff, commonly known as pine sap, that can make a gooey mess on clothing, carpeting, and skin. A hot water wash won't do the trick--resin needs a more aggressive approach. When removing tree tar from clothing and carpeting, these methods should resin-ate with you.
If you're confronted with gobs of goo, firs scrape off what you can with a dull knife or tongue depressor. Then apply turpentine, rubbing alcohol, cleaning solvent, or a prewash stain remover, such as shout, testing a hidden part of the garment or carpet beforehand to make sure it's colorfast.
To treat a garment, place it facedown on a clean, absorbent rag. Sponge or spray solvent (see above) full strength on the front and back of the sticky stuff to saturate it. Allow it to dry. (If you use rubbing alcohol, dilute it, using 1 part alcohol to 2 parts water, just to be safe.) The resin should dissolve and seep into the rag underneath. If it doesn't repeat.
expert advice
Removing Those Christmas "Decorations">
At Tricolor Tree Transplanting and Nursery in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where their cash crop is Chirstmas trees, Ruth Constable is an expert at removing gluey tree resins from work clothes. She dabs on Lestoil, a heavy-duty cleaner, and lets it dry. Then she soaks the garment in Lestoil and warm water. "Get the worst out before you throw it in the washer," she advises
For small resin spots, saturate a cotton pad or swab in full strength alcohol and dab on the spot, blotting all the while. Then launder the garment separately, using liquid laundry detergent and the hottest water the fabric can take. If the stain persists, mix equal parts liquid laundry detergent and ammonia and soak. Then launder again as above.
For carpets, always apply the solvent of your choice to a clean rag and then apply the rag to the sappy mess and blot.
To remove resin from skin, dab full-strength rubbing alcohol on the stain with a cotton pad or swab. Wash with soap and the hottest water you can stand.
Roofing
Resin is the sticky stuff, commonly known as pine sap, that can make a gooey mess on clothing, carpeting, and skin. A hot water wash won't do the trick--resin needs a more aggressive approach. When removing tree tar from clothing and carpeting, these methods should resin-ate with you.
If you're confronted with gobs of goo, firs scrape off what you can with a dull knife or tongue depressor. Then apply turpentine, rubbing alcohol, cleaning solvent, or a prewash stain remover, such as shout, testing a hidden part of the garment or carpet beforehand to make sure it's colorfast.
To treat a garment, place it facedown on a clean, absorbent rag. Sponge or spray solvent (see above) full strength on the front and back of the sticky stuff to saturate it. Allow it to dry. (If you use rubbing alcohol, dilute it, using 1 part alcohol to 2 parts water, just to be safe.) The resin should dissolve and seep into the rag underneath. If it doesn't repeat.
expert advice
Removing Those Christmas "Decorations">
At Tricolor Tree Transplanting and Nursery in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where their cash crop is Chirstmas trees, Ruth Constable is an expert at removing gluey tree resins from work clothes. She dabs on Lestoil, a heavy-duty cleaner, and lets it dry. Then she soaks the garment in Lestoil and warm water. "Get the worst out before you throw it in the washer," she advises
For small resin spots, saturate a cotton pad or swab in full strength alcohol and dab on the spot, blotting all the while. Then launder the garment separately, using liquid laundry detergent and the hottest water the fabric can take. If the stain persists, mix equal parts liquid laundry detergent and ammonia and soak. Then launder again as above.
For carpets, always apply the solvent of your choice to a clean rag and then apply the rag to the sappy mess and blot.
To remove resin from skin, dab full-strength rubbing alcohol on the stain with a cotton pad or swab. Wash with soap and the hottest water you can stand.
Roofing
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Moss, algae, and mildew, adore your roof. They feast on shingles and barrow below, causing shingles to blacken and lose layers.
Embark cautiously on do-it-yourself roof cleaning. When you combine a steep pitch with the use of ladders and cleaners that make the roof slippery. You have a recipe for potential disaster hanging over your head.
To clean asphalt roofs as well as cedar and other shake-shingled roofs, first go to your home improvement store and pickup a cleaner for treated-wood decks--one that contains oxygen bleach. (Don't use chlorine bleach.) On a cloudy day, when the roof is cool, mix the cleaner according to the package directions and squirt it on the roof with a garden sprayer. (High-pressure sprayers will damage the roof.) Let the cleaner sit for half an hour. Then give it a scrubbing with a broom and brush. Rinse thoroughly with a garden hose.
Tile roofs can attract moss and other growth, too but cleaning them yourself is not recommended because wet tiles are delicate and extremely slippery. Let a professional do the job.
To create an inhospitable environment for growth on your roof, apply zinc strips close to the top (or comb) of the roof. Rainwater reacts with the zinc and drips down the roof, discouraging growth. To get the strips, visit a roofing supply company.
Several kinds of metal roofing, including painted steel and copper, need little maintenance. Costly to install, such roofs nonetheless last many years.
expert advice
Paint on a Cool Tin Roof >
The biggest problem with maintaining a tin roof is keeping it painted, according to Galen, Smoker, who owns Diversified Exteriors, a roofing, siding, and gutter company in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. Paint often sheds from tin roofs in sheets. Then you've got big problems mostly with rust.
Choose a sunny but cool day to paint a tin roof. Wash it first, using a soapy solution in your garden sprayer. Rinse well. Allow it to dry. Then paint with a rust-proof, oil-based paint.
Moss, algae, and mildew, adore your roof. They feast on shingles and barrow below, causing shingles to blacken and lose layers.
Embark cautiously on do-it-yourself roof cleaning. When you combine a steep pitch with the use of ladders and cleaners that make the roof slippery. You have a recipe for potential disaster hanging over your head.
To clean asphalt roofs as well as cedar and other shake-shingled roofs, first go to your home improvement store and pickup a cleaner for treated-wood decks--one that contains oxygen bleach. (Don't use chlorine bleach.) On a cloudy day, when the roof is cool, mix the cleaner according to the package directions and squirt it on the roof with a garden sprayer. (High-pressure sprayers will damage the roof.) Let the cleaner sit for half an hour. Then give it a scrubbing with a broom and brush. Rinse thoroughly with a garden hose.
Tile roofs can attract moss and other growth, too but cleaning them yourself is not recommended because wet tiles are delicate and extremely slippery. Let a professional do the job.
To create an inhospitable environment for growth on your roof, apply zinc strips close to the top (or comb) of the roof. Rainwater reacts with the zinc and drips down the roof, discouraging growth. To get the strips, visit a roofing supply company.
Several kinds of metal roofing, including painted steel and copper, need little maintenance. Costly to install, such roofs nonetheless last many years.
expert advice
Paint on a Cool Tin Roof >
The biggest problem with maintaining a tin roof is keeping it painted, according to Galen, Smoker, who owns Diversified Exteriors, a roofing, siding, and gutter company in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. Paint often sheds from tin roofs in sheets. Then you've got big problems mostly with rust.
Choose a sunny but cool day to paint a tin roof. Wash it first, using a soapy solution in your garden sprayer. Rinse well. Allow it to dry. Then paint with a rust-proof, oil-based paint.
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