Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaning and resolved

Cleaning marker pen off LCD screen

WhackyparseThis — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:33:28 -0800

Has anyone had success in removing permanent marker from an LCD monitor? My 2 year old got hold of a purple Vivid marker, and drew on the computer screen. I usually wipe the screen with a dry microfiber cloth, but it's not working on the dried marker.

How do I care for sterling silver jewelry?

peanut_mcgillicuty — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:36:22 -0800

How do I take care of sterling silver jewelry? I feel dumb that I don't know how to do this, but I have no idea how to take care of jewelry. My family does not wear any for religious reasons, so I've never seen how it's supposed to be stored or cleaned.

I mostly own costume jewelry, but I have a number of pieces of sterling silver jewelry, most of which is from SilverJewelryClub.com. Some of the pieces are tarnished and dirty, but not all of them, and there's no rhyme or reason--it's not the pieces I wear the most that look tarnished, nor the pieces I wear the least. Some of the pieces are just as bright and shiny as the day I bought them.

All the pieces are less than five years old. I keep all my jewelry in a clean old makeup case which was never used for storing makeup, so doesn't have any residue in it. I never wear the jewelry swimming or in the shower and don't sleep in it. I hang the necklaces so they don't get tangled, and toss rings and earrings into the box of the case, which is lined with cloth. It is open to the air, so could be getting dusty, I suppose. The room is not especially humid nor especially dry.

I used an aluminum foil/baking soda/hot water mixture to clean and brighten some of the pieces a few weeks ago, which made a difference but some of them still look just, well, old and dirty. I've done some reading online about how to care for jewelry, but I'm looking for realistic advice--I'm not going to wipe down my jewelry with a special cloth every time I take it off, or store it in a special jewelry chest with velvet linings or anything like that. That's not really how people live, right?

So. Am I being unrealistic and sterling silver jewelry really does need that level of care? Or are the pieces with the problems more likely just junk? Or am I doing something else wrong?

better mopping

bookdragoness — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:38:30 -0800

Mopping - is there a better way? Am I just doing it wrong? I hate mopping. It's such a hassle in my current apartment because the sink isn't big enough to put the bucket in to fill and I have no squeegee lid for it.

I sweep/vacuum the linoleum floors regularly, but the actual mop-on-floor part gets neglected (3x in 2 years?). I'm trying to be a better grown-up and mop it more often, plus get rid of sticky/slippery parts.

I have a string mop. I've tried the sponge mops that have squeezing parts built in and dislike those even more. I've tried using the kitchen sink as a 'mop bucket'; I've washed off spots by hand with a rag; I just don't have a real setup for mopping and this half-assed one isn't working.

I believe that if I get something that makes it less of a detestable chore that I'll do it more often. It worked that way with my vacuum
(went from el cheapo to a Dyson and now magically vacuum >10x more often).

Should I just break down and get a bucket with a squeegee lid attachment? Are Swiffers really that awesome? Is there just a better way to do it that doesn't require so much effort?

Bonus: shedding cats
Double bonus: litter boxes in two of the three linoleum rooms - as much as I try, not all the litter gets picked up by sweeping and vacuuming

How should I clean an interior brick wall?

bfranklin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:27:53 -0800

How should I clean an interior brick wall? I have exposed an interior brick wall that had been living behind wood paneling for many years and it looks filthy. I've already cleaned my exterior brick with muriatic acid with great success, but I am hesitant to even attempt to use it inside. Pressure washers aren't happening -- this isn't in my basement.

Googling comes up with suggestions of dish soap and elbow grease, but I doubt this is going to work based on my experience cleaning the outside of the house. Does anyone have firsthand experience in cleaning interior brick? What products/strategies should I use?

Help! My shower is growing things!

bluloo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:23:55 -0800

How do I a) get rid of this mold in my shower and b) prevent it from coming back? I'm a college student, and this is the first apartment I've lived in on my own, and thus have no idea what the best course of action is. I should preface this question by saying that we are pretty bad about keeping up with the cleaning throughout the apartment, but especially the bathroom... although until now mold hasn't been an issue in our bathroom.

I share a bathroom with one of my roommates, and I subleased my room to someone for the summer. When I got back last week, I found a lovely ring of mold around our shower. The shower is one of those cheap vinyl shower/tub combos, and the mold has sprouted in a line where the shower wall meets the tub, along the caulking. I know that my other roommate (who has her own bathroom in the master suite) has had a lot of problems with mold. The landlord has come by twice or so in the year that we've lived here and recaulked with supposedly anti-mold caulking. (And, if it matters, we are the first people to live in this newly constructed house). I just finished cleaning the shower with Tilex Mold Root remover, but all I succeeded in doing was stripping the caulk down a layer in a few spots. What should I do/what products should I use to eradicate the mold? What preventative steps should we take to keep it at bay?

Curse you Pepsi!

sporaticgenius — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:45:03 -0800

How do I clean this gunky stuff off my floor? Please save my sanity and help! I have been given the wonderfully pleasant task of cleaning out an old garage.

It has tile floor - the peel and stick kind. I moved a piece of furniture and found an awful gunk. Judging from the cans nearby, I'd say it's alot of pepsi that was spilled and left for a year.

I tried spraying on a cleaner and moping it up... The mop stuck to the floor.

So far the only thing that has worked is getting down and literally scraping it off. It doesn't come off easily scraping it, it's hard and when scraped off because very sticky and sticks to my tools.

Any suggestions that will save my back and my sanity? I know you can steam clean carpet, is there an equivalent for peel & stick tile floor? Please help...

Out, damned spot!

fantine — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:55:12 -0800

How can I clean my besmirched kindle? Stain on white Kindle case. Do not want!

Ok, I just got a kindle and it's awesome. However, i've gotten it a little dirty and I prefer it clean.

I was trying to clear up a little mark with the spit-and-fabric technique when unfortunately, some reddish/pink dye from my skirt (cheaply made, alas) got onto the white border. I tried scrubbing with windex, a damp paper towel, and a washcloth with soap Toni avail. There remains a faint (but real) light pink stain on the upper left corner.

How can I clean this properly? I'm guessing a thin coat of white out maybe be folly, but would that work? Any and all guidance apppreciated.

Help me clean an email list?

By The Grace of God — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:34:32 -0800

What is the best way to clean this mailing list of bad email addresses? Difficulty: No address cleaners, but I do have a snapshot - the results of sending a newsletter to the list, and the resultant bounce reports. I have this information in several forms.. in the webmail inside a standard cpanel; in the sent files and incoming files in Thunderbird; and I also have the bounce reports in my gmail. I also have an excel file of the whole list I used.

I emailed the list in chunks of 50, from Thunderbird.

I am looking for a process that would be easiest, a full walkthrough would be best - I have full office suite and a technical husband that can use scripts and stuff.

Many thanks!

Duct cleaning?? Wtf??

saradarlin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:23:08 -0800

Do you have your household HVAC ducts for a forced air furnace cleaned? As homeowner for the first time, I'm looking for advice. Should I pay $225 to have my ducts cleaned? I do think that we need to have the dryer vent cleaned because it (apparently) has a history of getting blocked. But what about the rest of the house? Do you guys have this done? How often? Did you notice any improvement?

I live in Ontario Canada so central air and heating systems use the ducts.

Like I Need Another Hole In My Head.

The Whelk — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:01:15 -0800

No Insurance-Filter: I suspect I need some minor dental work done, where can I get it done cheaply and quickly in NYC? Caveat: No Insurance, but some savings. I've heard horror stories about NYU Dental school, but I've gone to Dental Schools for cleanings and minor work all through childhood without a problem (No Cavities! ever!), is it really that bad?

Anyone know a decent dentist in the metro area or know where I can find one?

How do I clean under this grody gas stove top?

jennyb — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:05:04 -0800

How do I safely clean under the cook top of my gas range? We have this high quality Tappan stove in our apartment. The range top lifts up to reveal two little open flames and a lot of crumbs and assorted grossness. How do I clean that without setting myself on fire or putting out the pilot lights and asphyxiating myself?

(I don't have an owner's manual and I can't find one online, but manuals for similar stoves aren't very helpful.)

How do I get dirt stains out?

otherwordlyglow — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:22:55 -0800

How do I remove dirt stains on pants? My daughter came home from daycare with the knees of her pants totally saturated with a mixture of sand and dirt. She's a crawler and I expect this to happen a lot but have no experience with dirt stains. (I don't do a lot of stuff that leads to dirt stains on me). For the most part it doesn't matter too much: the pants were cheap and I'm sure she'll grow out of them in another month but what's the best way to treat these kinds of stains? I'm sure there will be plenty more.

The complicating factor is that they've already been washed and dried and still have stains on the knees. Is there any hope of getting them totally clean? Generally, I know to pre-treat stains but I neglected to do that this time. So the question really is two-fold: What are best practices for dirt stains and then what do I do in this case where it's already been laundered but the stain remains? I'm in the U.S., so product recommendations will be most helpful if they're available here.

Bonus side question: Does anyone remember a solvent/stain removal product that used to be available maybe up to the 70s and 80s? It was alcohol based and came in a narrow, tall-ish glass jar with a felt tip that you dabbed on to stains? I can't find it anymore which leads me to believe it was toxic and so they've taken it off the market but it worked like a charm on a lot of things.

Clinging melted plastic must go!

EatTheWeak — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:38:43 -0800

How do you remove plastic that has melted onto a heating element? A couple weeks ago, a tupperware lid fell from the upper rack in my dishwasher and onto the heating element below. By the time I discovered this, the the lid was split in two, melted where it touched the heating element.

Now, there's a thin layer of plastic clinging to the heating element that smokes when I try to run the washer. I was hoping AskMe might have some advice to offer on how I might remove this plastic from the heating element. I had a notion to run the dishwasher to heat the plastic up and make it soft, but that fume-scented smoke sure makes me nervous. That, and I'm not sure if re-melting it just winds up bonding it tighter.

The reason I haven't dealt with this sooner is that I'm in a cast at the moment, making it quite difficult to get down on the ground and d what must be done. This cast shall be removed soon, and I'll be keen to have my dishwasher back soon after.

Any advice is most appreciated. I cannot afford any professional repair services.

You ain't gonna get sick son!

wocka wocka wocka — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:17:09 -0800

Do you rinse off your chicken before cooking? Mr. Wocka and I were at home yesterday preparing a salad with grilled chicken in it. We bought a package of chicken breasts from the refrigerated area of the meat department - they were not frozen, but definitely >41 degrees. At home, he took them out of the packaging and started rinsing each breast off under water. I was taken aback and had an odd expression on my face because I had never seen this done before, much less ever contemplated doing so.

Doing so makes no sense to me. After cutting the small amounts of fat off, and heating up the grill, all of this meat was thoroughly cooked. I have even taken ServSafe classes (though never worked in a commercial kitchen) and had not seen or heard of this before. I do not see the point, but understand that others do.

So I ask you: do you rinse your chicken off before thoroughly cooking? If so, why? Any potential for salmonella will be wiped out after being cooked through to 165 degrees.

How to deep clean vinyl floors

otherwordlyglow — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:03:52 -0800

What's the best way to deep clean vinyl floors? We have a vinyl floor in our kitchen - you know the kind that's supposed to look like individual tiles but is actually a rolled out sheet of faux tiles. It's a rental, not my choice of floors but it'll do. I'm kind of lax about regular cleaning though I've been trying to be better and at least use a Swiffer Wet Jet every other week on account of the baby crawling all over the floors. It's hard to ignore the state of the floors when the evidence is smeared all over the knees of your child.

Occasionally I do the old hands-and-knees service with a bucket and a scrub brush. However, it seems to me that there's a layer of grime that I'm not getting to. I've heard all kinds of things to try: ammonia, borax, vinegar, isopropyl alcohol but really have no idea what I need to do to strip the floors of grime. Hopefully this is the kind of thing I can do once or twice a year and then return to my swiffering for more regular maintenance. And then, once I really have them clean, do I seal them somehow? With what?

Ideas? The less toxic the better.

Help me unstain my pans!

saeculorum — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:27:01 -0800

How can I prevent or remove polymerized oil from aluminum sheet pans? In my various attempts at producing ever-more edible food, I continually run into problems with my aluminum sheet pans getting burnt-on oil stains. I used to use cheap dark "non-stick" pans which had the same problem, but were very cheap to replace after a year or two. This time I went all out and got a couple of solid aluminum quarter sheet pans. They're nice and hefty... but they've all hence become stained despite my best efforts otherwise.

The majority of the time, I use the pans with a non-stick barrier (specifically a Silpat-style mat). However, I find that items that I'd like to brown (mostly potatoes) don't do so very well with the mat and work much better with a thin coat of oil on the pan. I've personally experienced oil sprays polymerizing quickly, so I don't use those any more and instead rub on vegetable oil with a paper towel. After every use, I wash the pans by hand, but the stains keep on getting worse and worse. If the pans were stainless steel, like my skillets and pots, I'd just use oven cleaner. However, my bottle of oven cleaner specifically says not to use it on aluminum.

Short version of question Is there any form of cleaner that can remove polymerized oil that works with aluminum? Is there any way to prevent oil stains other than simply never using any oil?

Need to improve my house cleaning skills

valannc — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:00:11 -0800

I want to improve my house cleaning skills... improve my speed, efficiency, thoroughness, etc. And use the best cleaning products for the task. In the past, we used a cleaning service. Now I have more time than money. It's my job to keep our house clean. I dislike these chores. It occurs to me I would like house cleaning better if I were good at it.

All I know about cleaning is what I learned on TV. "Buy Windex!" "Buy Swiffer" etc. There are many cleaning expert books and web sites. But most of them are selling a cleaning product.

Dear AskMeFi Hive,
Can you recommend resources that for good sensible advice and techniques. What are the best non-harsh cleaning products? I have a closet full of expensive products and tools that don't seem to work right.

Martha Stewart's cleaning advice makes me uncomfortable. Her instructions are so extensive and exacting. She acts as if you have all day to make a bed. (I do like Martha's recipes.)

When the Mouse IS the Sticky Trap

Doctor Suarez — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:39:04 -0800

How to stop my mouse from feeling all greasy and sticky. (Despite the sound of the question, this is in fact SFW.) My writing partner and I work all day on my computer. He uses the mouse. His nervous habit is to touch his hair. At the end of the day, my mouse has a revolting greasy, sticky feel to it. And rather than be a dick and ask my partner to never touch his hair again, I'd like to know if there's a way that I can simply and quickly clean the mouse when he's done.

It's a Logitech MX-510, so it has smooth plastic and rubberized parts. Both sections get like this, but the rubberized sections more so.

Smells like team spirit -- or worse!

ubiquity — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:23:43 -0800

I live in a place that is rainy or snowy half the year, and during that half it is impossible to keep the floor of my car dry. It has begun to smell pretty bad. I recently had the interior detailed, which included washing the floor mats, and it smelt fine until the floor got wet again, which was almost immediately. Does anyone have a good technique for keeping wet carpet from smelling bad? Drying it is not an option. For bonus points, exactly what is it that causes the smell?

Will acetone nail polish remover damage gold?

librarianamy — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:44:37 -0800

Removing nail polish from a diamond & white gold engagement ring? Asking for a friend - she was painting her nails with a dark red Sephora brand nail polish, and got some on her engagement ring. The ring is 14K white gold, and the polish is dried and on the part where the little diamonds and metal meet. She's already tried store bought jewelry cleaner and it's just made the rest of the ring sparkly. Googling brings up information on removing nail polish in general, and using clear polish to prevent tarnish on cheap jewelry. Would using regular acetone polish remover damage the metal? If it would cause damage, are there other in-house options?

Thanks!

Help me buy a toothbrush!

btkuhn — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:03:13 -0800

Do I need to shell out for an expensive electric toothbrush? After my latest dental cleaning, I've decided to switch to an electric toothbrush. Previous askmefi questions recommended Sonicares, but they are quite pricey. I'm wondering if there is any real difference in "cleaning quality" between some of the pricey toothbrushes like Sonicare and the cheap brushes like this one (a random example):

Cheap brush

Obviously it seems like the more expensive ones would be better, but I know that with some of these products you are just paying a lot for marketing and extra features that don't really make a difference. So, if I'm only concerned about getting a good clean, should I spring for one of the expensive brushes, or are the cheap ones just as good?

Thanks.

Fuck Ratatouille. (I'm sorry. I still love you, Pixar. Don't cut me off.)

spec80 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:08:17 -0800

There are mice in my apartment. Hijinks ensue. Now what? I live with my boyfriend and 1 roommate in the 2nd floor of a 3 floor apartment building in Brooklyn. I have only had experience with outside mice coming in my parents home in the suburbs.

Here's an approximate timeline because I am in slow burning freak out mode and I don't think I can make a coherent paragraph.

A week ago: BF finds rice grains on the kitchen floor. Looks at rice bag, finds holes, throws out the rice.

Saturday night: Roommate is in 3rd bedroom/office, sees mouse along the wall and then flatten itself to get under the door.

Sunday: I buy traps.
Trap 1 - Inside cupboard where rice was. Lots of droppings in there.
Trap 2 - just outside the cupboard. There is floor space between that cupboard and the stove.
Trap 3 (bedroom side) & 4 (kitchen side) - opposite ends of the door where Roommate saw the mouse crawl.

Sunday night: Caught a mouse (Trap 4)! Yay. Relief... Oh shit. Caught a second mouse (Trap 4). Boo... Waaaaah We are doomed, caught a third mouse (Trap 3 - saw the possible source hole). Researched online. Sprinkled cayenne pepper around the hole, under the stove burners (mouse droppings there), behind the heater near Trap 4. Called the landlord. Since the cayenne, I didn't get any mice so I thought - yay cayenne pepper.

Late Sunday night: Roommate sees mouse on countertop near edge of wall.

Monday: Caught a mouse (Trap 3). Landlord is here now. He checking for other holes - he closed up on in Roommate's bedroom that is near the heating vent just in case. He and his brother moved the stove and there were no gaps in the hole for the gas and there were mouse droppings back there. He's going to come back tomorrow and bring poison (currently, our dog is in Pennsylvania) to poison up the hole and then seal it up. I also found 2 droppings on the middle of the counter so I guess they are getting bolder.

1. Anything else I should do? BF is going to get peppermint oil, more traps and steel wool but I won't get it until later tonight when he comes home (I am home sick today and I don't feel well enough to go out). The hole is currently caulked up but it still needs time to dry. Should I insist that our landlord get an exterminator or hire one on our own? Or try home methods first? My paranoia says exterminator, but my wallet says try the other stuff first.

2. How do I stop being overdramatic because I feel like I am the only one doing anything even though BF did contact the landlord and Roommate has helped me in disposing of the mice. Being sick also isn't helping my disposition. I am acting like a whiny, bitchy baby asshole yet I feel like they are being blase about the situation. I'm trying to put the situation in perspective thinking of historical times where mice were everywhere - the thought wasn't comforting.

3. Is it a dick move (to the cleaning service) to hire a cleaning service once we know the mouse problem is over to deal with the mouse poop cupboard?

4. I think I am going insane because I keep on hearing squeaking and freak out at any squeaklike sound a la The Telltale Squeak. Anything I can do about this? I am really trying to have a sense of humor about this, but it's been a struggle. (i.e. Jokes about Willard, then actually remembering the movie Willard)

How to remove dye stains from hardwood?

Felicity Rilke — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:38:45 -0800

Ho do I remove confetti and streamer stains from hardwood floors? We held an election party last night complete with streamers and that metallic confetti which shoots out of poppers. Some of the streamers and confetti sat in pools of alcohol all night and today I am faced with candy-coloured marks all over my light-coloured hardwood. What's the best way to get rid of them (or, at the very least, fade them so they're less noticeable). I don't want to ruin the floors with my experimentation.

Deep cleaning feathers

Xhris — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:14:14 -0800

Cleaning feather/down - I have several feather or down filled things (pillows, cushions, ski jacket, etc.) that over years have have various liquids spilled *into* them. Liquids like juice, pet urine, beer, gasoline, sweat, etc. (not all on the same item!). My point is these are not surface dirt things - this is stuff that seeps through the cover and into the feathers. I looking for a way to clean the feathers themselves. Is there a fluid that I can soak - say a cushion - in and it will clean the feathers inside? Or a vapor of some kind ? Or will just soapy water do the job if I can be sure to drying the insides properly? All and any advice please, especially on the pet urine soiled item - it'll have to go if I can't clean it 'deeply'. TIA

How to clean all the crannies of my rusty can opener?

lemuria — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 15:27:47 -0800

How can I clean a rusty can opener? I left my can opener in the sink and it got all gross and rusty. All the little bits that are hard to reach with normal cleaning implements are filled with nasty.

The best thing that Google gave me is that Pepsi probably doesn't work. Should I....boil it in something?