Tools:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In the old days, tool makers dated their tools--carving the year into the wooden block of a plane, for example--in the expectation that the tools would last for generations. Back then, a tool would last a long time if its owner took care of it. The same is true today. In this disposable world we live in, a well-built tool is one of the few goods meant to last. Luckily, most don't need much in the way of cleaning.
The most basic goal with hand tools, especially those made of wood and metal, is to keep them dry. If a tool gets wet, wipe it dry. If it gets sweaty or dusty, clean it with a damp cloth and then wipe it dry with another cloth. Water can rust a saw blade and warp a wooden level.
keep retractable measuring tapes free of dirt, sand, dry wall dust, and other debris. The foreign objects can scratch the Mylar coating. Once it is scratched, the metal tape will rust. Frequently wipe the tape clean with a dry cloth. Don't use a wet cloth--and don't let your tape get wet. Moisture will find its way into the spring mechanism and will rust it. To remove tar and glue from the tape, use alcohol or mineral spirits. Avoid solvents, which can melt the protective coating.
See also Power Tools and Yard tools
WATCH OUT
Avoid oiling most tools (garden tools are the exception), since the oil could get on the handle, causing the tool to slip. Tools that slip are dangerous.
Toys
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chances are your children don't know the meaning of cleaning. Sure, they may pitch in by putting clothes in their hampers and straightening their rooms. But until they reach adulthood---really, until they have children of their own--they will never fully understand what goes into keeping home and the things in it clean. For that reason, they'll continue to wipe dirty hands on their clothes, spill juice with abandon, and run their toys through the mud. Fortunately, most toys these days are made of easy-to-clean plastics. The main issue in cleaning toys is to never use anything toxic. Even if your son or daughter no longer chews on toys, hands will wind up in mouths, since few children fully understand germs either.
Wash toys regularly to keep them clean and bacteria-free, Wash rubber and plastic toys with warm water combined with a squirt of dish-washing liquid. Wipe clean with a soft cloth or sponge. Be careful of painted-on features, such as a faces, numbers, or other designs. These could rub off. Dry with a cloth or air-dry. For bigger plastic toys, such as plastic wagons and plastic playhouses, use a hose, a bucket of soapy water, and a soft-bristled scrub brush.
Wipe down metal toys, such as tractors and cars, using a damp cloth. Water leads to rust, so avoid soap (since suds require rinsing) and don't submerge such toys. If a metal toy or a toy with metal parts gets wet, dry it quickly with a hair dryer to avoid rust. If a metal toy or a toy with metal parts gets wet, dry it quickly with a hair dryer to avoid rust. If there are batteries, beeping sounds, or blinking lights, don't wet the toy. Water will ruin the circuitry.
Clean wooden toys with a mild solution of a neutral cleaner, such as Murphy Oil Soap, and water. (Follow the manufacturer's directions for amounts.) use a cloth or soft-bristled brush. Don't soak or submerge the wooden toy. Instead, dip the cloth or brush in the soapy water and wipe the toy clean. Rinse with a clean cloth and plain water. Dry with a clean, dry towel. If the toy is scratched, splintered, or chipped, or if the water has raised the grain (making the wood feel rough), lightly sand it with fine sandpaper once the toy has dried.
If a wooden toy has a natural, oil-based finish, reapply oil to keep the wood conditioned. Since toys often wind up in children's mouths (wooden baby chew toys are expressly meant for this purpose), use a food-grade vegetable or mineral oil. Allow oil to penetrate for about an hour and then wipe off the excess. It is especially important not to clean wooden toys with harsh chemicals, because wood absorbs and harbors such chemicals.
Clean Barbies and similar dolls by wiping with a cloth and water mixed with a little dish-washing liquid. Wash hair with baby shampoo. (A drop of hair conditioner will soften the hair.) Don't use any heat source, such as a hair dryer, to dry the hair, as that will turn it frizzy. Instead, comb the hair out gently, starting from the bottom and working up to remove tangles. Let the doll air-dry. For more doll-cleaning advice, see Dolls
see also Stuffed Animal Toys
Trash compactors
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like vacuum cleaners and dishwashers, the trash compactor is your cleaning ally. It squeezes garbage into manageable blocks so you don't have to empty the trash so often. But you've got ot take care of your compactor if you want to keep it on your cleaning team--and if you want to prevent doors.
Regularly wipe the outside of your compactor with a sponge or cloth and warm water with a squirt of dish-washing liquid. Rinse with a damp cloth. Dry with a cloth. Wipe up spills right away.
When needed, clean inside the drawer. First, follow the manufacturer's instructions for disabling your compactor. (Whirlpool compactor, for instance, have a key switch for turning them off.) Then remove the bag. Tilt down the drawer front, if possible. (Read your owner's manual for how to access the drawer.) Wearing sturdy work gloves to protect your hands against any broken glass, wipe down the inside of the drawer with a sponge dipped in the sudsy water. use a nonabrasive plastic or nylon
scrubber to remove stuck-on soil. Rinse by wiping with a damp sponge. Either air-dirty or dry with a cloth.
Occasionally remove the drawer and clean out the cabinet. Most compactors allow you to remove the drawer for cleaning and service. (Read your owner's manual to find out how.) Typically, the drawers are on slides or runners, like cabinet drawers. Again, wear sturdy gloves. Start by cleaning up any liquid spills with paper towels. Then vacuum crumbs, bits of glass, and other debris out of the cabinet. Wipe down the inside of the cabinet with soapy water, rinse, and dry.
Wipe off the ram cover. This is the part that presses the trash. Be careful of glass bits. Wipe off food with a cloth and warm, sudsy water. Scrub with a nylon brush, if necessary. Rinse and dry.
Typewriters
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raise your hand if you still have a typewriter. Yeah, we knew there would be a lot of you. It's nearly impossible to get rid of this precursor of computer word processing. And for good reason---a typewriter is dependable and still useful for personal letters, applications, labels, and other needs.
But does anyone remember how to clean one? We do.
Dust your typewriter regularly to keep the lint bunnies from burrowing into the keys. You can use a
vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment to suck the dust out, or the reverse--a can of compressed air, available at office supply stores--to blow it out. Or you can brush between the keys with a small, dry paintbrush.
Wipe the case and body of the typewriter with a clean, lint-free cloth tightly moistened with a commercial window cleaner---emphasis on lightly moistened. You don't want to risk letting liquid drip into the body of the typewriter, especially if it is an electric typewriter. Wipe the key tops, buttons,
and bars. Fight the urge to use paper towels, since they might tear and leave little pieces stuck in the mechanism.
OOPS!
A Case of Writer's Block >
A woman took her type writer in to be serviced and was indignant when she got it back. It looked clean and shiny, but it would not work properly. She was so angry and insulting to the dispatcher at the repair shop that he sent someone to her house immediately to pick up the machine. Back at
the shop, the service team discovered the problem: The owner had inadvertently dropped her glasses
case down inside the typewriter, and it was blocking the carriage. The lesson: Large debris can be just as harmful as dust to small appliances.
To clean beneath the keys, wrap the same cloth around the end of a letter opener and gently work it between the keys.
Wipe the black roller, known as the platen, with the same cloth. It is likely to have ink on it (especially if you have children who like to press the keys without paper in the machine.) The ink
may or may not come completely off. Don't worry. A little left over ink is better than trying to remove it with an ink stain remover that contains alcohol, which will dry the platen out and make it brittle. You want it to remain soft and slightly pliable. The ammonia in the glass cleaner will help condition the platen.
Have your typewriter professionally lubricated every so often. Don't try to do it yourself. You might do more harm than good.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In the old days, tool makers dated their tools--carving the year into the wooden block of a plane, for example--in the expectation that the tools would last for generations. Back then, a tool would last a long time if its owner took care of it. The same is true today. In this disposable world we live in, a well-built tool is one of the few goods meant to last. Luckily, most don't need much in the way of cleaning.
The most basic goal with hand tools, especially those made of wood and metal, is to keep them dry. If a tool gets wet, wipe it dry. If it gets sweaty or dusty, clean it with a damp cloth and then wipe it dry with another cloth. Water can rust a saw blade and warp a wooden level.
keep retractable measuring tapes free of dirt, sand, dry wall dust, and other debris. The foreign objects can scratch the Mylar coating. Once it is scratched, the metal tape will rust. Frequently wipe the tape clean with a dry cloth. Don't use a wet cloth--and don't let your tape get wet. Moisture will find its way into the spring mechanism and will rust it. To remove tar and glue from the tape, use alcohol or mineral spirits. Avoid solvents, which can melt the protective coating.
See also Power Tools and Yard tools
WATCH OUT
Avoid oiling most tools (garden tools are the exception), since the oil could get on the handle, causing the tool to slip. Tools that slip are dangerous.
Toys
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chances are your children don't know the meaning of cleaning. Sure, they may pitch in by putting clothes in their hampers and straightening their rooms. But until they reach adulthood---really, until they have children of their own--they will never fully understand what goes into keeping home and the things in it clean. For that reason, they'll continue to wipe dirty hands on their clothes, spill juice with abandon, and run their toys through the mud. Fortunately, most toys these days are made of easy-to-clean plastics. The main issue in cleaning toys is to never use anything toxic. Even if your son or daughter no longer chews on toys, hands will wind up in mouths, since few children fully understand germs either.
Wash toys regularly to keep them clean and bacteria-free, Wash rubber and plastic toys with warm water combined with a squirt of dish-washing liquid. Wipe clean with a soft cloth or sponge. Be careful of painted-on features, such as a faces, numbers, or other designs. These could rub off. Dry with a cloth or air-dry. For bigger plastic toys, such as plastic wagons and plastic playhouses, use a hose, a bucket of soapy water, and a soft-bristled scrub brush.
Wipe down metal toys, such as tractors and cars, using a damp cloth. Water leads to rust, so avoid soap (since suds require rinsing) and don't submerge such toys. If a metal toy or a toy with metal parts gets wet, dry it quickly with a hair dryer to avoid rust. If a metal toy or a toy with metal parts gets wet, dry it quickly with a hair dryer to avoid rust. If there are batteries, beeping sounds, or blinking lights, don't wet the toy. Water will ruin the circuitry.
Clean wooden toys with a mild solution of a neutral cleaner, such as Murphy Oil Soap, and water. (Follow the manufacturer's directions for amounts.) use a cloth or soft-bristled brush. Don't soak or submerge the wooden toy. Instead, dip the cloth or brush in the soapy water and wipe the toy clean. Rinse with a clean cloth and plain water. Dry with a clean, dry towel. If the toy is scratched, splintered, or chipped, or if the water has raised the grain (making the wood feel rough), lightly sand it with fine sandpaper once the toy has dried.
If a wooden toy has a natural, oil-based finish, reapply oil to keep the wood conditioned. Since toys often wind up in children's mouths (wooden baby chew toys are expressly meant for this purpose), use a food-grade vegetable or mineral oil. Allow oil to penetrate for about an hour and then wipe off the excess. It is especially important not to clean wooden toys with harsh chemicals, because wood absorbs and harbors such chemicals.
Clean Barbies and similar dolls by wiping with a cloth and water mixed with a little dish-washing liquid. Wash hair with baby shampoo. (A drop of hair conditioner will soften the hair.) Don't use any heat source, such as a hair dryer, to dry the hair, as that will turn it frizzy. Instead, comb the hair out gently, starting from the bottom and working up to remove tangles. Let the doll air-dry. For more doll-cleaning advice, see Dolls
see also Stuffed Animal Toys
Trash compactors
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like vacuum cleaners and dishwashers, the trash compactor is your cleaning ally. It squeezes garbage into manageable blocks so you don't have to empty the trash so often. But you've got ot take care of your compactor if you want to keep it on your cleaning team--and if you want to prevent doors.
Regularly wipe the outside of your compactor with a sponge or cloth and warm water with a squirt of dish-washing liquid. Rinse with a damp cloth. Dry with a cloth. Wipe up spills right away.
When needed, clean inside the drawer. First, follow the manufacturer's instructions for disabling your compactor. (Whirlpool compactor, for instance, have a key switch for turning them off.) Then remove the bag. Tilt down the drawer front, if possible. (Read your owner's manual for how to access the drawer.) Wearing sturdy work gloves to protect your hands against any broken glass, wipe down the inside of the drawer with a sponge dipped in the sudsy water. use a nonabrasive plastic or nylon
scrubber to remove stuck-on soil. Rinse by wiping with a damp sponge. Either air-dirty or dry with a cloth.
Occasionally remove the drawer and clean out the cabinet. Most compactors allow you to remove the drawer for cleaning and service. (Read your owner's manual to find out how.) Typically, the drawers are on slides or runners, like cabinet drawers. Again, wear sturdy gloves. Start by cleaning up any liquid spills with paper towels. Then vacuum crumbs, bits of glass, and other debris out of the cabinet. Wipe down the inside of the cabinet with soapy water, rinse, and dry.
Wipe off the ram cover. This is the part that presses the trash. Be careful of glass bits. Wipe off food with a cloth and warm, sudsy water. Scrub with a nylon brush, if necessary. Rinse and dry.
Typewriters
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raise your hand if you still have a typewriter. Yeah, we knew there would be a lot of you. It's nearly impossible to get rid of this precursor of computer word processing. And for good reason---a typewriter is dependable and still useful for personal letters, applications, labels, and other needs.
But does anyone remember how to clean one? We do.
Dust your typewriter regularly to keep the lint bunnies from burrowing into the keys. You can use a
vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment to suck the dust out, or the reverse--a can of compressed air, available at office supply stores--to blow it out. Or you can brush between the keys with a small, dry paintbrush.
Wipe the case and body of the typewriter with a clean, lint-free cloth tightly moistened with a commercial window cleaner---emphasis on lightly moistened. You don't want to risk letting liquid drip into the body of the typewriter, especially if it is an electric typewriter. Wipe the key tops, buttons,
and bars. Fight the urge to use paper towels, since they might tear and leave little pieces stuck in the mechanism.
OOPS!
A Case of Writer's Block >
A woman took her type writer in to be serviced and was indignant when she got it back. It looked clean and shiny, but it would not work properly. She was so angry and insulting to the dispatcher at the repair shop that he sent someone to her house immediately to pick up the machine. Back at
the shop, the service team discovered the problem: The owner had inadvertently dropped her glasses
case down inside the typewriter, and it was blocking the carriage. The lesson: Large debris can be just as harmful as dust to small appliances.
To clean beneath the keys, wrap the same cloth around the end of a letter opener and gently work it between the keys.
Wipe the black roller, known as the platen, with the same cloth. It is likely to have ink on it (especially if you have children who like to press the keys without paper in the machine.) The ink
may or may not come completely off. Don't worry. A little left over ink is better than trying to remove it with an ink stain remover that contains alcohol, which will dry the platen out and make it brittle. You want it to remain soft and slightly pliable. The ammonia in the glass cleaner will help condition the platen.
Have your typewriter professionally lubricated every so often. Don't try to do it yourself. You might do more harm than good.
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