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Cleaning & Laundry : Home & Garden

Do It Yourself: Home Decor

Decorating a home can be expensive, especially if you have high-end taste. However, if you are willing to spend a little time creating decor on your own, you'll save a few bucks and get a one-of-a-kind custom look. Small do-it-yourself projects such as making pillows to add a pop of color to the ove

Easiest Way to Remove Paint From External Bricks

Removing paint from external bricks can be a difficult chore because there aren't as many options available to you as with wood. You can't effectively use a regular paint scraper on brick, and trying to sand it with a power sander wouldn't be a good idea either. The easiest solution is to rent a pre

How to Remove Melted Wax From Glass

Candles arranged on a glass table add to the atmosphere of a room, as the they reflect their soft light off the glass. When candle wax spills or splatters, leaving a melted wax stain on your glass table, it must be removed carefully in order to avoid scratching the glass. Both pigment stains from ca

Installing Wooden Mini Blinds for RVs

Just like a house, RVs or recreation vehicles such as motor homes also have windows. Although these windows tend to be of a lesser height than a standard window in a home, most have window blinds installed. If yours do not, you can install a mini-blind to help provide shade and privacy in your RV. T

How to Remove Duct Tape from a Stained Wooden Floor

Homeowners often joke that duct tape can solve any home problem. Indeed, its strength and flexibility make it a versatile tool that can do anything from hold a bumper on your car to make up the material of a dress. Duct tape's strength, however, can be a disadvantage when it ends up in an unintended

How to Clean Scagliola Italian Marble

Scagliola marble is an artificial marble made of plaster. Named for a kind of stone made up of chips of marble, Scagliola marble resembles marble in almost every way except for the weight and cost of real marble. Scagliola marble has the same veins of color that appear in real marble and can carry d

Can I Use Murphy Soap to Clean My Wood Bamboo Floors?

Bamboo floors are a popular alternative to traditional hardwood floors. Bamboo floors generally resist moisture better than hardwood, but still can be damaged by dirt and grime. Cleaners such as Murphy Oil Soap, which may make surfaces sticky, are not recommended for bamboo.

How to Kill Holly Bushes

Holly bushes grow to be quite large. A bush less than two feet from a house can threaten the foundation, given enough time. Furthermore, holly bushes grow back even after all their branches are cut off. Some of the options for getting rid of the holly bush are to remove it and its roots with a backh

Does Chlorine Bleach Kill Black Mold?

A common and possible damaging fungus, mold lives and breeds in damp, dark and humid conditions. Chlorine bleach is a common cleaning chemical used to remove fungus such as mold. However, in recent years the effectiveness of chlorine bleach as a mold killer has been called into question.

How to Clean Used Furniture

Whether you've inherited used furniture from a relative or purchased it at an estate sale, you'll want to clean it thoroughly. You'll be surprised at the difference a good cleaning can make. Treat furniture gently and clean with the least invasive method possible first. Always consult a professional

How to Clean Humidor Mold

Humidors allow cigars to be stored for an extended period of time without becoming ruined by temperature and humidity extremes. Unfortunately, irregular maintenance of humidors can lead to one of the conditions that a humidor is supposed to prevent: mold. Cleaning the mold away is easy, but keeping

How to Fix a Scorched Pan

Cooking allows you to get creative while enjoying delicious home-cooked meals. One thing no one enjoys is a scorched pan, especially when attempting to remove hardened food and material from pans during the middle of cooking and preparing meals. Fixing a scorched pan is simple and only requires a fe

How to Wash Vinyl Window Blinds

Vinyl window blinds can be an attractive way to cover your windows and control the light that flows into the room. Vinyl blinds tend to attract dust and dirt. As a result, they can appear to be dingy and old if you do not clean them on a regular basis. The best time of the year to clean your vinyl w

How to Get Rid of a Burnt Rubber Smell in the House

The smell of burnt rubber is not only unpleasant, but it also tends to linger. If the smell of burnt rubber is trapped within the walls of your home it can be a persistent headache for those who live there. With a focused effort on finding the source and handling it, you can be on your way to a bett

How to Remove Mortar Stains on Wood

Most mortar mixes contain some lime, which can leave stains on wood and other materials. Because wood is so receptive to staining, it is often difficult to remove a stain completely. If a stain can't be cleaned out of wood, it is often best to sand the piece down and paint or stain it to keep it loo

How to Mix Clorox & Water to Kill Mold & Mildew

Mold and mildew can grow on a variety of surfaces if conditions of dampness and poor ventilation are present. It's easy to tackle and defeat mold and mildew with simple household products such as Clorox or other bleach brands. The correct proportions to use vary depending upon the type of surface yo

How do I Prevent Rust in an Oil Tank?

Oil tanks are a staple in many buildings and homes in the Northeast. These tanks store heating oil, which is used to supply heat in homes, apartment buildings and offices. Maintaining the oil tank is of paramount importance. If rust forms and spreads, it can cause rust-holes. These holes can result

Why Can't You Use Liquid Plumber in the Toilet?

When confronted with a clogged toilet, a natural first thought to clear the clog may be to simply grab a container of the well-known clog-removing product, Liquid-Plumr. There are dangers, however, in using this liquid drain cleaner in your toilet.

What Are Grass Cloth Wall Coverings?

Grasscloth wall coverings are made out of plant fibers that are dried and woven into a fabric-like pattern. They are growing in popularity. In addition to wall coverings, people use grass cloths on floors and as window treatments.

How to Steam Wrinkled Silk Taffeta Curtains

Many window fashions start with window coverings made from silk fabric. Silk's superior weight and drape makes it an ideal drapery fabric, adding elegant color and texture to any window. Taffeta is a smooth fabric of ideal weight for window coverings also, often with a shiny sheen on one side. If ta