Shades:
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To keep window shades from looking shady, dust them each week with one of those ticklish feather dusters or the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. If you have vinyl shades, wash them twice a year with a sponge or soft cloth, using a solution of 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1 quart of warm winter.
Many fabric shades can be washed--carefully--and dried. Take a close look at the care instructions for your shade before attempting the following method:
If your shades can't be washed, scour them with cornmeal or flour, applied with a flannel rag. Or use an art gum or other soft eraser to remove spots and stains. You can also have them professionally dry-cleaned.
If you have parchment shades, keep them clean by applying a thin coat of paste wax (What you'd use on wood floors), buffing to a shine with a soft cloth.
expert advice
Catch Those Dust Bunnies >
A microfiber dust cloth works wonders on shades of all types, advises Deborah Weiner, an interior designer in Silver Spring, Maryland, and owner of Designing Solutions. Once a week, lightly run the dust cloth, which typically has more than 90,000 fibers per square inch, over the front and back of your shades to keep those dust bunnies from multiplying.
If a shade gets a small tear, it with clear nail polish. This also works with vinyl-backed shades.
Shells
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Even the most beautiful live seashells can stink to high heaven if you don't remove decaying matter stuck inside. Seashells come in myriad sizes and varieties, but they're mainly characterized as either dead or alive. Dead seashells have no animal tissue inside. Shells with animal tissue inside are called live even if the critter inside isn't.
To clean dead seashells, soak them in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water. How long you do this depends on what shells you're cleaning, as well as how many you do at once. Soak first for 30 minutes, longer if you want shells bleached white or if they feel really grimy. Before you remove them from the solution, make sure that the periostracum--the leatherlike, flaky covering on the shells--is gone. Rinse thoroughly with fresh, warm water.
If barnacles and other clingy stuff persist, use a dental pick or ice pick to remove them.
If the lip of a seashell gets chipped, use a rotary grinder or file to smooth out rough edges
If you like your shells to shine, coat them with a light layer of mineral oil or baby oil.
To clean live seashells, you have this choice of methods for getting rid of the flesh:
Bury the shells 18 inches deep in your yard for a month or two. Insects, bacteria, worms, larvae, and other tiny organisms will eat everything that you want to get out of the shell.
Give them the deep freeze treatment. place the shells in a waterproof bag, add enough water to the bag to cover the shells, and stick them in the freezer for a few days. Then let them thaw to room temperature. You should be able to grab the tissue inside and pull it out.
Boil water in a large pot and submerge the shells for five minutes. Using tongs and being careful not to burn yourself, remove one shell at a time and, grasping it with gloves or a towel, pull out the tissue inside.
A smelly but no less effective way to clean shells: "Cook" them in the microwave. (Time will vary depending on the oven's power and the strength of the shell.) Start with 30 seconds and increase the time in 10-second increments. Use tongs and special care as you remove the shells and grab whatever animal tissue remains.
Should tiny pieces of living tissue remain, put the shell outdoors and allow flies, bugs, and ants to feast on what's left. Once all the flesh is gone, treat the sohells as described above for dead shells. Give them a bath and rinse completely.
Shoes
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A wise man once observed that you can tell a lot about a person by seeing whether his or her are polished. Only trouble is, much of the footwear men, women, and children wear today is not leather. Still, taking care of your shoes means you'll extend their useful life, even if that spit-shine first impression isn't as relevant as it once was.
To protect new leather shoes, spray or rub them with a water and stain repellent such as Scotchgard before wearing them. Be sure to use a repellant made especially for leather. Then polish them before stepping out. Leather shoes are usually malnourished and dry when they come out of the box, and the extra layer of polish will protect them.
To give leather shoes and boots a shine--without the spit--follow these steps:
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To keep window shades from looking shady, dust them each week with one of those ticklish feather dusters or the soft brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. If you have vinyl shades, wash them twice a year with a sponge or soft cloth, using a solution of 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1 quart of warm winter.
Many fabric shades can be washed--carefully--and dried. Take a close look at the care instructions for your shade before attempting the following method:
- Take down the shade and immerse it for no more than a minute in a bathtub full of warm water to which you've added 1/4 cup of mild dishwashing liquid.
- Use a soft brush to scrub both sides.
- Rinse withfresh water and hang to air-dry.
If your shades can't be washed, scour them with cornmeal or flour, applied with a flannel rag. Or use an art gum or other soft eraser to remove spots and stains. You can also have them professionally dry-cleaned.
If you have parchment shades, keep them clean by applying a thin coat of paste wax (What you'd use on wood floors), buffing to a shine with a soft cloth.
expert advice
Catch Those Dust Bunnies >
A microfiber dust cloth works wonders on shades of all types, advises Deborah Weiner, an interior designer in Silver Spring, Maryland, and owner of Designing Solutions. Once a week, lightly run the dust cloth, which typically has more than 90,000 fibers per square inch, over the front and back of your shades to keep those dust bunnies from multiplying.
If a shade gets a small tear, it with clear nail polish. This also works with vinyl-backed shades.
Shells
Even the most beautiful live seashells can stink to high heaven if you don't remove decaying matter stuck inside. Seashells come in myriad sizes and varieties, but they're mainly characterized as either dead or alive. Dead seashells have no animal tissue inside. Shells with animal tissue inside are called live even if the critter inside isn't.
To clean dead seashells, soak them in a 50-50 solution of bleach and water. How long you do this depends on what shells you're cleaning, as well as how many you do at once. Soak first for 30 minutes, longer if you want shells bleached white or if they feel really grimy. Before you remove them from the solution, make sure that the periostracum--the leatherlike, flaky covering on the shells--is gone. Rinse thoroughly with fresh, warm water.
If barnacles and other clingy stuff persist, use a dental pick or ice pick to remove them.
If the lip of a seashell gets chipped, use a rotary grinder or file to smooth out rough edges
If you like your shells to shine, coat them with a light layer of mineral oil or baby oil.
To clean live seashells, you have this choice of methods for getting rid of the flesh:
Bury the shells 18 inches deep in your yard for a month or two. Insects, bacteria, worms, larvae, and other tiny organisms will eat everything that you want to get out of the shell.
Give them the deep freeze treatment. place the shells in a waterproof bag, add enough water to the bag to cover the shells, and stick them in the freezer for a few days. Then let them thaw to room temperature. You should be able to grab the tissue inside and pull it out.
Boil water in a large pot and submerge the shells for five minutes. Using tongs and being careful not to burn yourself, remove one shell at a time and, grasping it with gloves or a towel, pull out the tissue inside.
A smelly but no less effective way to clean shells: "Cook" them in the microwave. (Time will vary depending on the oven's power and the strength of the shell.) Start with 30 seconds and increase the time in 10-second increments. Use tongs and special care as you remove the shells and grab whatever animal tissue remains.
Should tiny pieces of living tissue remain, put the shell outdoors and allow flies, bugs, and ants to feast on what's left. Once all the flesh is gone, treat the sohells as described above for dead shells. Give them a bath and rinse completely.
Shoes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A wise man once observed that you can tell a lot about a person by seeing whether his or her are polished. Only trouble is, much of the footwear men, women, and children wear today is not leather. Still, taking care of your shoes means you'll extend their useful life, even if that spit-shine first impression isn't as relevant as it once was.
To protect new leather shoes, spray or rub them with a water and stain repellent such as Scotchgard before wearing them. Be sure to use a repellant made especially for leather. Then polish them before stepping out. Leather shoes are usually malnourished and dry when they come out of the box, and the extra layer of polish will protect them.
To give leather shoes and boots a shine--without the spit--follow these steps:
- Remove laces.
- Brush off loose dirt with a stiff brush or cloth
- If the shoes are especially dirty, clean with them saddle soap, following package directions.
- Rub a clean cotton cloth in polish and then onto the shoes. Let the polish dry 10 minutes.
- Buff with a clean cloth or old panty hose.
To clean patent leather shoes, first remove any scuff marks with a garden-variety eraser. Then shine them with baby oil, furniture polish, petroleum jelly, or cream leather cleaner/conditoner, available at shoe repair shops. Buff with a paper towel or clean cloth. Be gentle--patent leather surfaces easily. In a pinch, rub leather or patent shoes with hand cream and then buff.
On imitation patent leather, use mild dishwashing detergent or a car interior vinyl and plastic cleaner, such as Meguiar's, available at auto supply stores.
To remove salt stains from leather shoes, rub with equal parts of water and vinegar, applied with a cotton pad.
To clean white shoes, give them a swipe with a cloth dabbed in ammonia. (This works well on canvas, too.) Remove scruff marks with dab of white toothpaste. Then buff.
To protect suede shoes, apply a stain repellent designed for suede or nubuck. Use a rubber-tripped or plastic brush to brush the nap and remove dirt. if you get a stain, remove it pronto with a solvent made for either material. An oil-absorbent block, made especially for suede shoes and available at shoe stores, will also wick away the stain when held against it. Or you can blot an oily stain with baby powder or chalk dust (which you can pulverize in a resealable plastic bag using a small hammer or rolling pin). Allow the powder to sit overnight. Then brush it off.
To erase scuff marks on smooth leather shoes, rub the marks with the cut edge of a raw potato and then buff.
See also Sneakers.
On imitation patent leather, use mild dishwashing detergent or a car interior vinyl and plastic cleaner, such as Meguiar's, available at auto supply stores.
To remove salt stains from leather shoes, rub with equal parts of water and vinegar, applied with a cotton pad.
To clean white shoes, give them a swipe with a cloth dabbed in ammonia. (This works well on canvas, too.) Remove scruff marks with dab of white toothpaste. Then buff.
To protect suede shoes, apply a stain repellent designed for suede or nubuck. Use a rubber-tripped or plastic brush to brush the nap and remove dirt. if you get a stain, remove it pronto with a solvent made for either material. An oil-absorbent block, made especially for suede shoes and available at shoe stores, will also wick away the stain when held against it. Or you can blot an oily stain with baby powder or chalk dust (which you can pulverize in a resealable plastic bag using a small hammer or rolling pin). Allow the powder to sit overnight. Then brush it off.
To erase scuff marks on smooth leather shoes, rub the marks with the cut edge of a raw potato and then buff.
See also Sneakers.
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