Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaner

Worried about drain cleaner

cellphone — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:25:02 -0800

Am I being too paranoid about drain cleaner? I poured a whole bottle of Works drain opener down my kitchen sink and it didn't work. I didn't want to let a bunch of HCl sit in a steel sink overnight so I poured 2 pounds of baking soda into the sink (slowly, wearing rubber gloves, mixing it up gently), and it looks like it's stopped reacting. Can I go to bed not worrying about damage to my sink or fumes from the drain cleaner? I had the window open for the last hour or so.

Would an household all-purpose cleaner ruin a suit?

gttommy — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:38:40 -0800

Would an household all-purpose cleaner ruin a suit? To my dismay someone tried to remove some stains from my suit using an all-purpose cleaner (for bathroom, sinks, kitchen, etc), and claimed that it worked on his own clothing without any damage.

My common sense tells me that the liquid would be too harsh on clothing and may be bad for it in the medium-long term.

What are your thoughts? Is it possible to repair any damage that was caused?

The suit is shiny blue made from wool and appears to look like it is in very good condition.

How to get a toilet bowl cleaner stain off a marble counter?

shelayna — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:08:51 -0800

I left a new bottle of toilet bowl cleaner on the bathroom counter while unpacking groceries. It leaked, and I didn't notice until the next day. Now there's a rough white stain on the counter (marble) that won't come off. Any ideas on how to remove it?

Is it safe to use Resolve Carpet Cleaner?

capitalist.pig — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:23:53 -0800

Is it safe to use Resolve carpet cleaner? BACKGROUND INFO: House-sitting at my mother's house. Spilled a dark drink on the floor, and am wondering whether or not to use this Resolve carpet cleaner that I found under her kitchen sink (red, spray bottle).

Is this stuff toxic? Does it cause any adverse side effects (e.g., genetic or reproductive side effects)? My mother has a small, 1 yr. old puppy. Is it safe to use in a household with a young pet?

Which cleaners do you use for stain removal? What do you consider safe to use?

Well, that wasn't very good...

who else — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:57:26 -0800

Those pretentious Dyson vacuum cleaner commercials have me thinking about the potential inferiority of my trusty steed... I just sprinkled some hot chocolate powder onto a standard rug and brushed it in and my vacuum failed miserably at picking it up with the floor agitator even when I set the agitator lower a notch and it was definitely grinding into the carpet. I then switched over to the hose and picked the stuff up easily, and the suction on the hose didn't even seem that formidable. Is a floor vacuum supposed to be able to pick up stuff like that relatively easily with the agitator?
Is it true what the Dyson commercial is telling me about normal vacuum cleaners losing suction over time? What causes this besides the bag becoming more full?
Does my vacuum cleaner blow, and if so, what should I be looking for in the sucky variety?

Vacuum cleaner for cat owner with wool carpets?

jeri — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:56:07 -0800

I've read the prior discussions, and I've seen Consumer Reports - but the wool carpet issue hasn't been addressed. I'm looking for a good vacuum cleaner for my wool carpets (and my sofa and such). I have cats. I don't have stairs. I'd like a vacuum cleaner that will last. And I'd like something not too heavy, something easy to move around. If it has a bag, it has to be easy to change it. I've always used an upright vacuum, but I'm open to other options if they would work better.

I've seen snippets on the web indicating the Dyson vacuums aren't good on wool carpets; I called Dyson and they said to turn the brush bar off and all would be fine. (They also said to check with the carpet manufacturer, but I believe the company that made mine has gone out of business.) I don't know if wool carpets are an issue with any other vacuums.

Any suggestions?

Turning The Toilet Water Green?

Gianna — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:48:41 -0800

Is it possible to make homemade drop-in toilet tablet automatic cleaners (the kind that go in the tank and usually turn the water blue)? Anyone know a recipe? I work for an all-natural cleaning service; all of our cleaners are homemade and "green", made with things like essential oils and vinegar. As part of our company's image and contract with our clients, we don't use any kind of commercial/chemical products.

However, we have some houses in our roster whose toilets could definitely benefit from being sanitized/deodorized more often than we're scheduled to clean. One client's greywater system leaves their toilet water smelling so bad it stinks up the entire bathroom/master bedroom; another is severely ill, vomits constantly, and is too exhausted to clean up. I'd love to be able to slip something in their toilet tank to keep the bowls nicer for them when we're not around.

Is it possible to roll your own Ty-D-Bol without pulling out a heavy-duty chemistry set? My Google-Fu is failing hard on this one.

Recommendations for a Seattle cleaning service

grouse — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:29:58 -0800

Looking for a service to clean my Seattle apartment. Any recommendations? General recommendations on how to pick a cleaner or service are welcome. I don't have a vacuum cleaner or a lot of cleaning equipment and chemicals yet, so a service that would bring all of these things would be best for now. But I'd also be happy with recommendations for services or cleaners where I supply the equipment and chemicals, for later on.

The only Seattle recommendation I saw in searching previous AskMes was for Dana's. Of course, I can't use them since I don't have my own equipment yet. I searched on Yelp, but didn't find many services with multiple reviews, and I'm not sure I trust a single anonymous Yelper. I've heard all about the evils of Merrie Maids, so if I go with a service it will probably be a more local one.

If you don't have specific Seattle references, feel free to chime in with general advice. I've read through some of the older general questions on this. If I go with an individual, what is a good way to check references? There is an incredible variance in prices for individuals seen on Craigslist, ranging from $13 to $30/hour, and services go up to $40. I suppose for a service I can check with the BBB.

Is penny-wise pound-foolish with replacement filters?

daisyace — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:15:58 -0800

With some products, the off-brand is as good as any other brand, sometimes even coming off the same production lines in the same factories. With other products, there is a quality difference between brands. How about for replacement HEPA filters for a Kenmore air cleaner? (And, as a bonus, should I believe the warning against washing and reusing the charcoal pre-filters?) My Kenmore air filter has charcoal prefilters to replace every three months, and a HEPA filter to replace yearly. The Kenmore replacement HEPA filter is $110, while this aftermarket one, for example, is $68 including shipping. Both claim to capture 99.97% of particles down to .3 microns. I picked my air filter carefully based on reading about tested differences in performance, so I don't want to cheap out now if there's a quality difference, but I don't want to pay extra if there's not.

For the bonus question, the charcoal pre-filters come with the warning, "DO NOT try to wash and reuse either the HEPA filter or the pre-filter," but when I take out the pre-filters, they sure look like a good hosing off and a thorough drying in the sun might make them perfectly serviceable again. Would performance be degraded?

Something is rotten in my state (not Denmark).

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:43:43 -0800

Last Wednesday I was assaulted by a foul smell in my front (guest) bathroom. I have been trying to pinpoint the cause for several days. I'm about to go out of town and need advice on what to do, especially since I'm extremely broke and have tried all the usual methods of attack. Details inside... Thursday I noticed there was a bit of a poo smell going on in the front bathroom. Often, it takes two flushes, and I assumed the toilet was clogged. I plunged, cleaned, plunged, etc. and then lit a candle. I never use those drop-in toilet cleaners.

Friday the smell was WORSE. It smelled like sewage. I did my due diligence; I read up as to what the various causes may be and bought every cleaner imaginable. I opened up the drains and did the vinegar/baking soda clean on all of them.

Saturday, the smell was better... I followed it along the ground until I realized it was emanating from the bathtub drain.

Once again, removed all fittings possible, dumped some special drain cleaner (a green product specifically for drains, no lye, no bleach) down the hole, several pots of boiling water, etc.

Went around and checked every other spot in the house; there is no smell except in the front bathroom. Ran water in every sink, tub, shower, etc. to ensure there were no dry traps.

The smell has now dwindled from a sewer-gas smell to simply a musty, sort of unpleasant dust-like odor. Stale, but not poo-ish or sewer-gassy. (To contrast, when I came home on Friday, when I opened the front door I SMELLED SEWER. FROM SEVERAL FEET AWAY, WITH THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM CLOSED.)

My house was built in 2003. The drain is at floor level and the tub/shower are completely surrounded by stone and concrete. I have crawled, literally, with my nose shoved along the edge of the toilet, sink, wall, everywhere in that bathroom and it is coming up out of the drain. As of right now it smells musty and vinegar-y just a bit from all the treatments I've done. The smell is now confined to just the bathroom and is severely diminished.

I have no idea where the pipe is that goes to the roof. There is nothing under my house, it's on a concrete slab foundation. There are no signs of dampness or leaks anywhere in the walls, around the tub, around the toilet, around the sink, etc.

The shower liner is immaculate. I opened the closet door that shares the wall with the tub/shower. The inside of the closet is dry, smells pleasant, no dampness. I took a knife and pried up a bit of the carpet that runs along the wall that is shared with the drain... no dampness, nothing. Even shoved my fingers up under the wall right now where I'd pried the carpet; I feel/smell nothing. Flashlight showed everything is white and normal-looking just opposite the smell.

What I'm asking is... did an animal possibly get trapped somewhere and die? If so, can I just leave and come back assured that the smell will probably be gone? I'm in Texas and the temps are expected between 40-77F over the next week.

I really don't think it's mold. I am extremely sensitive to such things and take daily medication for allergies, and have yet to sneeze or itch at all, even with my nose shoved into the drain.

At this point were I not about to leave for 3-4 days and severely broke, I'd probably just call a plumber. My trip is non-refundable and was paid for in advance, so I can't change plans and use the money for a plumber. Also, I'm concerned that I'll call somebody and they will either tell me 1. I have something terrible going on and they have to tear the wall apart and the bill will be several thousand dollars, which I cannot pay or be here to supervise, or 2. it's nothing, a mouse died somewhere, I'll have to wait it out (plus pay $150 for a house call at a weird hour that resulted in nothing).

What say you, MeFi homeowners? What would you do?

Will my hand really turn skeletal?

sunshinesky — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:19:44 -0800

HouseholdChemicalsFilter: Due to a latex allergy, general hatred of inner-glove dampness, I prefer to clean the house without using gloves. Am I putting myself in any grave danger? Ok, so I haven't died yet from bacteria, or had the skin melt of my hands from corrosive cleaners, but I'd really like to know what I'm doing to my hands.

I use chemicals like Comet, lysol disinfectant, pinesol and more rarely a general purpose degreaser (nothing heavy duty).

Specifically I'd like to know if I'm splashing bacteria water all over my hands in a bucket of hot water/disinfectant or if I'm absorbing/melting my skin with the cleaners. I always wash my hands with antibacterial hand soap between chemical and anything else. Is that necessary?

(and yes, I know I can get non-latex gloves)

How do I remove this parking-deck-drip stain from my car's paint and windshield?

Askr — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:57:24 -0800

How can I get this parking-deck-drip-residue off of my car's paint and windshield? Do you park in a parking deck regularly? Has it dripped on your car from its cement ceiling when it has rained? Has it left this faint whitish residue on your car? Have you found anything that will get it off of either glass or paint?

A guy at the carwash told me this stuff is not unusual for people in parking decks. He didn't know how to get it off though and didn't mention what it was, e.g. something leeching out of the cement, paint from the parking space stripes, etc. It's like it's some kind of mineral stain, faint and just a hair this side of transparent, just ever so slightly white, if anything.

I've tried all the normal kind of cleaners on it such as windex, car wash soap, even (if I remember) CLR (Calcium/Lime/Rust), at least on the windshield. I was afraid to try that on the paint.

WTF is this stuff and how can I get it off?

dirty deeds done dirt cheap?

melissa may — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:18:04 -0800

Where can I find a Saeco Piccolo steam cleaner in the US? Apparently, when it comes to steam cleaners, only the Europeans know how to really scald a thing clean. Various consumer reviews claim that US brand equivalents (such as the SteamFast) don't permit enough steam pressure to build to easily clean tough surfaces. I would primarily use this cleaner for indoors (windows, floors, bathroom surfaces) but it would be nice to be able to use it for tougher jobs like cleaning a barbecue grill. Is this product available through any reputable US vendors? If not, do you have a high-pressure steam cleaner equivalent to recommend? Major points for any product under $100. Thanks!

Looking for cleaner in Wimbledon

kiwi.es — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:43:01 -0800

Searching for good household cleaner for Wimbledon (SW19), London Hi all -- does anyone have good references for household cleaners -- washing, floors, ironing, bathroom, kitchen, that kind of thing? Or any guide price? Sites that I could look? Perhaps a sort of www.ratedpeople.com for cleaners?

How to remove a blue stain from my friends carpet.

unsurmountable — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:32:51 -0800

How to remove a deep blue Lysol toilet cleaner stain in the carpet A friend of mine spilled some Blue Lysol Toliet Cleaner causing a 2" circle stain. Does anyone have tips or any cleaning sites i could search for removing this.

Where is there a full service laundromat in Quincy, MA?

pikaboy202 — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:51:28 -0800

Does anyone know of a good full service laundromat in Quincy or Milton in Massachusetts? I live on the border of Quincy/Milton in Massachusetts and I'm trying to find a full service laundromat. I'm looking for a laundromat that would do my laundry and fold it for me when I drop it off.

Currently I go to the one Wash n' Dry Center on Hobart Street in Quincy but they're expensive and I think they don't separate colors and whites because I've had several shirts come back stained.

Any suggestions?

Recommendations for a cleaner in West London?

goo — Sat, 12 May 2007 03:54:39 -0800

So. We've upgraded to a two-bedroom flat and can now justify a cleaner. Any recommendations for a good weekly domestic cleaner in London? We're in W3.

Good experiences with leather/ suede cleaners in San Francisco?

hwickline — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:47:36 -0800

Good experiences with leather/ suede cleaners in San Francisco? My wife has a great orange suede coat she hasn't worn in a couple years because it got a fairly big grease/ oil stain on it. Anyone have any good experience with a dry cleaner who does suede/ leather in San Francisco? Any other ideas on how about making the jacket wearable again?

Help me keep it clean!

6:1 — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 09:32:54 -0800

Anyone have first hand experience with ultrasonic cleaners that they purchased for jewelry and eyeglass cleaning? We will use it for other things, but this would be it's primary use, (watchbands, rope chains, silver, etc.). I've checked reviews, and it seems many machines don't do a thorough job.

I want a heavy-duty one that works. Any recommendations? What makes an ultrasonic cleaner good? Frequency? Energy waves? Size? Stainless steel basket? The word "Professional" in the description?

lousy DVD recordings

judybxxx — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 13:11:37 -0800

Problems with recording DVD's. Do I need a cleaner? or a different machine? I get lousy recordings, some of the time. One and a half years ago I bought a reconditioned Toshiba DVD and VCR Recorder/Player. D-VR3SU/ I basically like it, it was relatively easy to learn how to use it, though that took a while. My old VCR had died, and it made sense to me to go digital, but I have a lot of tapes I wanted to copy. And I was busy. For a while, it seemed to work fine, but many of the copies i didn't watch, so it was hard to tell. I bought discs from Costco, TDK, and using DVD Media Inspector, as suggested by digitalFAQ.com, I found they are TTG02, supposed to be in the highest quality category.
But more and more often, when I watch something I"ve recorded, it is full of bad spots, no sound, picture breaks up, etc. But not the whole disc. And sometimes it's fine.
Finally , recently I got systematic about watching the discs I record, to get a real sense of what's happening. and I've switched back to tape for temporary stuff, since, inexplicably, the tape recorder stopped seeing all tapes as write protected.
The last two discs,
1-2.5 hours at LP, looks fine for 1st 2 hours, then last half hour breaks up 20 times, then 2 hours at EP, 1st 20 minutes ok, then every few minutes it breaks up, hard to watch tho not impossible.

2. Probably recorded at LP, i'm not sure and can't tell on the player.
1st 2 hours are fine, then the next two, blips started about 23 minutes into it, unwatchable.
So now I don't know what to do. I did some looking on the web and found some DVD player cleaners and also this
searchwin
which suggests they do little or no good.
And it seems like the beginning of the disk is better than the later part,
I can still return this player and start all over (I bought "extended protection" which turns out to be a refund) , but I hate to do it. I spent a lot of time shopping and then learning this one. Ideas,insights? Judy

Know any good cleaners in south London?

adrianhon — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:53:09 -0800

Know any good cleaners in south London? Ah, the life of two busy young professionals - I live in a two bedroom flat in Clapham, and while we're both fairly tidy people, we don't have much time to clean the place. Can anyone recommend a good, reliable and hopefully cheap cleaning agency (or cleaner) who might be able to come every week or fortnight?

Also, any ideas how long should we have them over for? It's a reasonably compact flat, and we don't make much mess.

Do the wave?

fixedgear — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 09:38:26 -0800

Best inexpensive, small, ultrasonic cleaner? I want to clean pretty small stuff lke bicycle chains, casettes, and derailers, nothing huge.

Big dust bunnies in Toronto

typewriter — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:15:44 -0800

Can anyone recommend a a good non-agency house cleaner in Toronto? (Also bonus points: out of curiousity, does anyone know the maid service that Globe and Mail reporter Jan Wong worked for in her series, "Maid for a Month"? Okay, I'm mostly over my lefty guilt over needing/wanting someone to clean my house. But it's time. And guess what? I don't have time. Deadlines left and right, dusty house and Japanese students on their way to stay with me. Don't want to cause an international incident with my dirty house. I've read the other threads about maids etc. but would like a good recommendation preferably with references in Toronto. I'm not rich, but know I probably need to pay for a decent job. Thanks.

Is this a contact lens conspiracy?

The_Partridge_Family — Fri, 12 May 2006 12:15:12 -0800

I use Miraflow as my daily contact lens cleaner. I use either AOSept or AMO UltraCare as a disinfectant. All three products have completely disappeared from the shelves, in stores and online. What is going on, is anyone else experiencing this, and can anyone suggest an alternative for cleaners or disinfectants - even my eye doctor's doesn't know what's going on.

Vinegar - tasty condiment or household disinfectant?

catfood — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:34:55 -0800

Is vinegar really effective as a household cleaner? A number of people have suggested to me to use vinegar instead of bleach in my household cleaning, stating that it's just as effective as killing germs & bacteria and leaving things nice and clean, without being as toxic as bleach.

I do use vinegar to de-stink things (the dishwasher, coffeepot, etc), but I'm not sold on the fact that it's a disinfectant. Maybe my Google-Fu is off, but I can't find any information about it except from "Frugal Living" sites, and their primary goal seems to be more to save a buck than to clean your raw-chicken-slimed kitchen counters or toilet bowls.

Anyone have any evidence? Or suggestions for other less-toxic household cleaners?