Maryland Customer Care

 5399 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784-8405

 410-549-0727

Sarasota Customer Care

 1990 Main Street Suite 750 Sarasota, FL 342365

 941-263-4603

logo
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote

     

Sarasota Customer Care

 1990 Main Street Suite 750 Sarasota, FL 342365

 941-263-4603

Maryland Customer Care

 5399 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784-8405

 410-549-0727

logo
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote

Sarasota Customer Care

 1990 Main Street Suite 750 Sarasota, FL 342365

 941-263-4603

Maryland Customer Care

 5399 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784-8405

 410-549-0727

logo
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote

     

Maryland Customer Care

 5399 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784-8405

 410-549-0727

Sarasota Customer Care

 1990 Main Street Suite 750 Sarasota, FL 342365

 941-263-4603

logo
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote

     

Sarasota Customer Care

 1990 Main Street Suite 750 Sarasota, FL 342365

 941-263-4603

Maryland Customer Care

 5399 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784-8405

 410-549-0727

logo
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote

Sarasota Customer Care

 1990 Main Street Suite 750 Sarasota, FL 342365

 941-263-4603

Maryland Customer Care

 5399 Enterprise Street Eldersburg, MD 21784-8405

 410-549-0727

logo
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote
  • Home
  • Services We Offer
    • Recurring Service Plan
    • One Time Service Plan
    • FAQs
  • Locations
    • Florida
    • Maryland
  • About us
    • Our Story
    • Meet the Team
    • Meet Our President and Founder
  • Reviews
    • Reviews About Our Team
    • Reviews About Our Service
    • Review Us
  • Blogs
  • Contact Us
    • Location Info
    • Request A Quote
July 3, 2019 by admin Blogs by Karen

Taking a hint from Heloise

Good Housekeeping may sound like an odd choice of reading material for a 12-year-old. But, as an avid reader growing up, often upon finishing the latest Laura Ingalls Wilder or Judy Blume book and feeling desperate for something to read, I would turn to my mother’s copy of the popular women’s magazine.

One of the regular features in the magazine was a column called “Hints from Heloise,” in which a lovely white-maned woman named Heloise would respond to readers’ urgent questions, like “My cat peed on my antique oriental carpet, what do I do?” or “What is the best way to clean the inside of my refrigerator?”

apple cider vinegar cleaning diy

One thing stuck with me from those columns. Heloise’s helpful hints for almost every situation tended to involved one common ingredient: vinegar. Occasionally, she’d throw in another kitchen staple, like baking soda or lemon juice. But vinegar—that was clearly the magic elixir. Sometimes I wonder how she would answer if a reader ever sent in this question: “Dear Heloise, I’ve used your hints to clean up every stain in my house; now how do I remove the lingering aroma of vinegar?”

I’m no Heloise. My answer to almost any household problem would be to buy a cleaning product marketed for that specific problem. “Why make something when you can buy it?” has kind of been my philosophy regarding everything from birthday cakes to cleaning supplies. In short, I am the kind of consumer advertisers dream about.

But with age comes wisdom, and I have come to accept that Heloise was on to something. Vinegar is cheap and, in many instances, actually seems to do a better job than any store-bought cleaners. For example, I have a fancy insulated stainless steel water bottle that is not supposed to be washed in the dishwasher because that will eventually break down the insulation. Hand washing the bottle with soap is not a good alternative, because it starts to make the water taste soapy. Enter Heloise. I’ve learned to throw a spoonful of vinegar into the bottle, add some water, slosh it around, rinse it out, and, voila—a clean bottle that continues to keep cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot and tasting good.

In a previous post, I’ve talked about how I generally use a French Press to make coffee at home. However, we do have a normal drip coffee maker for when we need to make larger quantities of coffee. Occasionally, it starts acting wonky, like something is clogged. The solution, naturally, is vinegar. Run a mixture of equal parts vinegar and water through one brew cycle, then run it through another cycle using just water in order to rinse it out. Voila! Problem solved. (But take it from me—you don’t want forget to go through that rinse cycle before you brew your next pot of coffee!)

I’ve also started running vinegar through my washing machine when it starts smelling a little funky or when the suds don’t seem to all be rinsing out.

I assume you realize that in all of these cases, I’m talking about regular distilled white vinegar. But it turns out cider vinegar also can be useful in tackling one extremely annoying household problem—fruit flies. If you ever find yourself battling fruit flies after bringing home one bad banana, here’s how you can make a trap to rid your home of those little suckers for good. Pour a little cider vinegar into the bottom of a jar. Roll up a piece of paper into a cone shape, and stick the narrow end of the cone into the jar. Fruit flies will be attracted to the cider vinegar like a magnet, where their own gluttony will lead them to the bottom of the cone, where, unable to escape, they face a certain liquidy death.

So there you have it; I’m afraid that’s the extent of my handy DIY household hints. But if you want more, don’t worry—Heloise is still at it today!

cleaning tips DIY home cleaning

Related Posts

October 17, 2019 Cleaning Tips

5 Must-Clean Spots for Fall

Though everyone knows about “spring cleaning”, making sure your home is thoroughly cleaned in the fall is pretty important too. Once the weather cools off, we'll all be heading inside to get cozy....

Read More
September 10, 2019 Cleaning Tips

Why You Need to Maintain a Clean Kitchen

Following a routine weekly or biweekly maintenance clean schedule for your home, it is helpful not only for your sanity, but also for creating a clean healthy space for you and your family to eat, sleep,...

Read More
August 21, 2019 Cleaning Tips

3 Tips for Staying on Top of Your Laundry

We've all done it before, at least once or twice, and for some of us, it's almost a lifestyle. We're busy doing things around the house and haphazardly toss a dirty t-shirt or wet towel into the laundry...

Read More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Prev
Next

Locations we serve

  • Ellicott City
  • Eldersburg
  • Finksburg
  • Glenwood
  • Hampstead
  • Marriottsville
  • Manchester
  • Mount Airy
  • Reisterstown
  • Sykesville
  • Owings Mills
  • Pikesville
  • Westminster
  • Woodbine
  • West Friendship

 

Immaculate Clean

We make busy lives easier and deliver a service that is consistent and predictable. We’re your neighbor and we’ll treat you as such. You’ll see the same familiar faces and we promise a service that is reliable.

Quick Links:

  • Review Us
  • Reviews
  • Blogs
  • FAQs
  • We Are Hiring

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

© 2020, Immaculate Clean. All rights reserved.

Professionally Trained

Each member of our professional team is trained to clean and sanitize. They follow a custom checklist to ensure quality and consistency. She will arrive in uniform, with a photo badge, and with the necessary professional-grade equipment and supplies.

×

5-Star Service

Simply put, we care and go the extra mile! We are proud to be mentioned each year in Carroll County’s Best since 2010.  And, we have a 4.8-star rating from over 340 reviews.

×

Satisfaction Guaranteed

We’ve earned a 98% customer satisfaction rating from thousands of client reviews. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you see something we’ve overlooked, simply let us know within 24 hours and we’ll gladly return!

×

Same Cleaner Each Time

We strive to assign the same professional cleaner to our recurring clients for every scheduled visit. They become familiar with your specific needs, your family, and your furry friends. 

×

Locally Owned

Our President and Founder, Dawn Fiscella, knows firsthand how hectic life gets.  Managing a family and career while also trying to maintain a clean healthy home is a struggle. We are your neighbors and live, work, and volunteer in our local community.

×

Bonded & Insured

All of our employees are thoroughly vetted and must pass a criminal background screening. We are fully insured and bonded and carry worker’s compensation insurance. 

×