House Renovation Tips

Treatments for discolored glass
To clean severely discolored glass or crystal, soak the item in a solution of ammonia and water for several hours, then wash and rinse.
Another way to clean badly discolored glass is to soak it in vinegar with the contents of a tea bag, then wash and rinse.
Sometimes badly discolored glass can be restored by soaking it in acetone (in a well-ventilated area) for a few hours. Wash and rinse before using.
A glass cruet or decanter that has been used to store vinegar or wine for years will discolor from the chemicals in the liquid. If you can’t remove the discoloration, you can at least hide it and still use the container for decorative purposes. Place the container in a 140°F oven for a few minutes. (This heat is less than what you subject your dishes to when you wash them, so it’s safe, but don’t let the oven get any hotter than that, or the glass will break.) Remove the container with an oven mitt, put a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil in it and shake to coat. Place the container upside down and leave for 2 to 3 days until all the oil has drained out except for a thin film on the inside of the glass. Wipe off the neck with a paper towel. The glass will look like new.

Remove stains from inside the vases, pitchers and bottles
To remove stains inside vases, pitchers and bottles, apply acetone with a rag. (When using acetone, always be sure your work area is well ventilated.) If the neck of the object is too narrow to reach inside with a rag, pour in the acetone, add a little sand and swish the mixture around. Empty out the acetone and sand, then wash and rinse.

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Stains on suede
To get rid of stains on suede, rub them out with an art gum eraser.
Rubbing with a nail file will remove small spots from suede.

Treatments for removing stains from leather
To remove white water spots on leather, cover them with a thick coat of petroleum jelly. Leave the petroleum jelly in place for a day or so, then wipe it off with a soft cloth.
You can also use petroleum jelly to remove ballpoint ink from leather. Either rub it directly on the spot or put
a gob of it on and leave it for several days, then wipe it off.
Another way to get ballpoint ink out of leather is to saturate the spot with hair spray, allow it to dry and brush lightly with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water.
Oily stains on leather sometimes can be removed by applying a cleaning fluid such as Energine (available from hardware stores) with a soft cloth. To be sure it’s safe for the particular leather you’re dealing with, test the cleaning fluid on an inconspicuous area first.
To remove surface mildew from leather goods, wipe the leather with a solution of equal parts alcohol and water.
To clean scuff marks off shoes, wipe with toothpaste on a damp rag.
To polish patent leather, wipe the object with a cloth pad dampened with vinegar. Then wipe it dry with a clean, soft cloth.
To clean salt marks off boots and shoes, try a mixture of 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts water.
At times a cat will use a leather bag or shoes as a litter box. To clean up after such an incident, sponge the item inside and out with a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, then blot as dry as possible with thick cloth towels or paper towels. To attack the odor, place a couple of cups of coffee grounds in the bag or shoe and close it up in a paper bag along with crumpled newspaper. Change the newspaper as needed until the smell is gone.

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Rust-free fabric
Rust stains on fabric sometimes can be removed with lemon juice and salt. Put the mixture on the stain and let it sit for a few minutes. Next, stretch the area of the stain over the sink and pour boiling water through it until the stain is gone. (This is best done by two people - one to stretch the fabric and one to pour the boiling water. If you’re working alone, stretch the material over a craft hoop before pouring the water through it.) Then wash normally.

Coffee and tea stains
To remove coffee and tea stains from fabric, spread the fabric over the sink and pour boiling water slowly through the stain.

Remove fruit stains
Stains from fruits, berries and juices should be sponged immediately with cold water. Then, if it’s safe for the fabric, hold the garment over the sink and pour boiling water through the stain. Follow up by working laundry detergent into the stain, then rinsing.

Remove chocolate stains
To remove cocoa and chocolate stains, scrub the stained area immediately with ammonia.

Remove blood and sweat stains
To remove bloodstains from a washable fabric, soak the piece in a strong solution of laundry detergent and cold water. To determine whether the garment can be washed or whether it must be dry cleaned, check the care label.
To remove a fresh bloodstain from a washable fabric, try a solution of 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 cup of water.
To remove a bloodstain from any white fabric that you’d be afraid to wash in your washing machine, soak the stain in hydrogen peroxide.
An easy way to remove bloodstains from white cotton fabrics is to soak the stained area in cold water with a generous splash of ammonia. This works best if it’s done while the stain is still fresh.
Sponge deodorant and perspiration stains with detergent, then launder the stained garments at the water temperature and with the bleach recommended for the fabric. Sometimes fabric color can be restored by sponging a fresh stain with ammonia, then rinsing.
To restore the fabric color after removing an older perspiration stain, try sponging with vinegar, then rinsing.

Remove grease stains
To remove grease from washable fabrics, scrub with distilled water and soap. Distilled water is “soft,” so it helps cut the grease.

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If your wood stove is close to a wall, here’s an easy way to protect the wall from catching on fire. Attach a sheet of 1/4″-thick masonry board to the wall behind the stove. A 4′ x 4′ sheet will be adequate for any of the common wood stoves. Leave a 2″ air space between the wall and the sheet of fireproofing to provide ventilation and keep the wall cool. Cut 2″ long sections of copper pipe (approximately one for every square foot of board) and position them as shown in the illustration. These will act as spacers. Pre-drill holes in the board, then place 4W dry-wall screws in those holes and through the pipe, then tighten the screws into the wall.
The intense heat from a chimney fire is likely to crack the bricks in the chimney, making it easy for the fire to ignite any woodwork that’s in contact with it. For this reason, keep all structural members at least 2″ from a chimney.

If your chimney catches fire
The old-timers used to say that if your chimney caught fire, you should allow the fire to burn itself out. Don’t listen to them. If you have a chimney fire, call the fire department immediately.
After the fire department has extinguished a chimney fire, wait until things cool down, then clean your chimney thoroughly before using it again. The fire may not have consumed all combustible material in the chimney.

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It’s easy to clean your own chimney - if you don’t mind getting dirty. You can find an appropriate-size chimney brush at a hardware or wood stove store. Lay a drop cloth in your fireplace or at the base of your chimney to catch the falling creosote. Push the brush up the chimney, scrubbing back and forth as you go. One method to try is 2′ up, 1′ back. The brush comes with flexible nylon rods; add these to the handle to extend your reach as you push the brush farther up the chimney. Immediately after you finish, clean up all the creosote you’ve knocked loose before you track it through the house.
You can also clean a chimney by climbing up on the roof and pushing the brush down the chimney, if that’s more convenient and your chimney has no cap.
Another way to clean your chimney is to use a small fir tree. Go up on the roof and drop a rope down the chimney. Then go inside the house and tie the rope to the stump of the fir tree. Go back onto the roof and pull the tree up the chimney. Then drop the rope back down into the chimney, go inside the house and haul the tree back down. Or work with a partner and save yourself several trips to the roof and back.

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Even if you use your chimney only for a central heating system, be sure to clean it. Soot can build up in the chimney, and birds may nest in it during the summer.
Clean your chimney prior to each heating season and when inspection reveals a buildup of Va” or more of creosote. A chimney positioned on the exterior of a house will generally require cleaning more frequently than one on the inside. If you use your chimney daily, check it every 2 months until you become familiar with how often it should be cleaned.
When inspecting a chimney, check for leaks as well as creosote buildup. You’ll know your chimney is in trouble if you see smoke leaking out between the bricks. Another bad sign is when you look up your chimney and see light from sources other than the top. To check your chimney for leaks, block off the cap, light a small fire and watch where the smoke comes out. Those are the spots that need repair. Once you’ve diagnosed the problem, call a mason to do the work.
An easy way to examine a flue is to hold a small mirror underneath it at a 45° angle. If you have a clean-out door in your chimney, you’ll find that door at the base of the chimney, in the cellar. Open it to gain access to the flue. If you have a stove and no clean-out door, you’ll need to take down the stovepipe to get at the flue.
It’s best to examine your flue on a sunny day, when the maximum amount of light is in your chimney

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Old chimneys were built without flue liners. The mason simply applied a layer of plaster to the inside of the chimney as he built it. If you have an old chimney that’s in need of repair, consider adding a flue liner instead of rebuilding the chimney. The former approach is much less expensive than the latter. Also, if your chimney has no liner, adding one will strengthen the chimney and provide some insulation.
Don’t expect a flue liner to prevent creosote buildup. The creosote will simply form on the walls of the liner.
Depending on how frequently you use your chimney and how hot a fire you burn, you may want to use a stainless steel liner in your old unlined chimney. To install the liner, hook the sections together and lower them down the chimney. Stainless steel liners will burn out in time, so they’re most effective if you don’t have a lot of very hot fires.
If you want to reline a chimney that isn’t straight, poured concrete is about the only material you can use. Old houses frequently have corbeled chimneys, where the mason moved part of the chimney a few inches to dodge a rafter. Before pouring a concrete flue liner, the contractor will stuff a giant balloon down the chimney as a form for the concrete. This balloon and the concrete can bend with the chimney. Metal flue liners will accommodate some bends, but poured liners are more versatile.
If your chimney is used for a stove and you’re considering relining it with poured concrete, be sure to double-check the size of the flue before proceeding. A poured concrete liner should be at least 1″ thick all around, and the remaining flue area should be no smaller than about 40 square inches. (For a round flue, that translates to about 7″ in diameter.) Make sure your flue is large enough to meet these requirements. If it’s not and the liner consumes too much space in the chimney, the draft will be cut back, causing smoke to escape into the room.
If you have a poured-concrete flue liner installed in a chimney that leads to a fireplace, make sure that the concrete is stopped at the bottom of the flue and does not fill up the chimney’s smoke shelf. (You can make an exception if you have a wood stove hooked up into your fireplace and don’t plan to use the fireplace without the wood stove again.)

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A local store was having its fur vault fumigated, as it did every year after all the furs had been moved into storage for the summer. Something went wrong during the process, and the vault was overloaded with fumes. No one knew what to do to clear out the room. There were no windows, and the vault’s only opening was the door. If the employees set a fan in the doorway, it would blow the fumes out into the rest of the store.

The store called the contractor I was working for at the time to see what we could do. We had a couple of army surplus oil-fired heaters that had originally been used to warm airplane motors in cold weather. These were complete with cloth ducts 1′ in diameter - once used to distribute the heat anywhere it was needed on the airplane. We set one of the heaters in the vault, connected enough cloth duct to reach up the stairs and outdoors, and ran just the fan on the heater to expel the polluted air from the room. As the fumes were sucked out, they were automatically replaced with fresh air.

Never underestimate the power of fresh air to eliminate even the strongest odors. You just have to figure out a way to get the air to the odor.

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Get rid of the smells and odors in the fridge
Refrigerator or freezer smells can be eliminated by wiping the entire interior of the appliance with pure vanilla extract on a cloth, rubbing it on hard. Wipe again with a clean cloth.
To kill the awful smell in a refrigerator that was left closed when the power was turned off (as in a summer cabin), leave a dish of charcoal in the fridge for a few days. For a particularly bad case, renew the briquettes periodically until the smell disappears.
To eliminate freezer odors, place a cup of coffee grounds inside, close the door and leave overnight. In the morning, remove the coffee. If the odor is not completely gone, repeat the process with fresh coffee grounds.
Another way to rid a refrigerator or freezer of bad odors is to clean the inside with a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, then wipe dry.

Get rid of the burned-food smell
To rid the air of the smell of burned food in the oven, sprinkle cinnamon in a shallow pan and place the pan inside the oven while it’s still warm but not hot.

Get rig of the bad smells and odors in your kitchen
Pouring vinegar down the drain is an effective means of eliminating odors.
Simmer a cup of white vinegar on top of the stove to rid the air of strong onion, garlic or other unpleasant cooking odors.
To remove a lingering odor in your microwave oven, wet a cloth with warm water, wring it out and dip it in baking soda. Lightly scrub down the inside of the oven.
Another way to eliminate unpleasant odors in a microwave oven is to place in the oven 1 cup of water mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Heat at full power for 1 minute, and the oven will smell much better.
To get rid of fish odor in a frying pan, fill the pan with water, add vinegar and bring to a boil. Then wash and rinse as usual.

Clean smelling hands
Fish or onion odor on hands can be removed by washing with baking soda or by rubbing with fresh lemon.
You can also kill onion odor on hands by rubbing your fingers with salt water.

Eliminate the smell from the old wooden bowls
To get odors out of wooden rolling pins, bowls or cutting boards, rub with a piece of lemon. This process will also remove the taint of onions. There’s no need to rinse; the wood will absorb the lemon juice.

Look for the wooden lining
Some bread boxes are lined with wood. To remove the odor of the wood, put a few drops of vanilla extract in a cup of water and apply to the interior of the box with a rag. Rub hard.

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Here’s a list of things people don’t normally pay attention to, but that you should for a more eco-friendly household.

(1) Dishwasher - Dishwashers can waste so much water if you run it when it is not full. A way to prevent this is to wash your dishes without use of the dishwasher. If you do need to use a dishwasher, make sure it is completely full before you turn it on. If you can buy a new dishwasher, invest in an Energy Star or other energy efficient dishwashers.

(2) Brushing Teeth / Washing Dishes WITH the Water Running - DO NOT keep water running while brushing your teeth/ doing the dishes. When you brush your teeth, wet the toothbrush first and turn the water off immediately. And use a natural toothpaste, like Tom’s of Maine. Only use the water to rinse. Same for dish washing. Scrub the dishes without the water on, and then turn the water on to rinse off the soap. I hope you are using a Biodegradable Soap, like Seventh Generation. These soaps are made %100 naturally, and help the petrolium levels in the air. This is what is used in my house, and it makes me feel good about doing the dishes.

(3) Shaving (Men) - Men, you do not need the water running when you shave. Fill the sink up a little less than halfway, and use that water to rinse your blade.

(4) Shaving (Women) - When you shave in the shower, do you really need the water running? Turn off the water while you shave your legs. I put conditioner in my hair, fill cup with water, sit in the bathtub and shave, with the water off, while my hair is being conditioned!

(5) If Its Yellow, Let it Mellow. If Its Brown, Flush it Down - Some people are bothered by this, but it is essential. Every time you flush the toilet, you waste 10 gallons of water. So why not just flush when necessary?

(6) Car Wash -This may be hard for us city folks, but if you have a lawn, Wash your car on it! Use Biodegradable soap, like Simple Green’s Car Wash , and a bucket of water. Only turn on the hose for the final rinse. Your car will be clean, your lawn will be fed, and by doing this you know you did a lot to help the environment.

(7) Leaky Toilets / Leaky Faucets -If you notice a leaky pipe, faucet, or toilet, get it fixed immediately. A leaky toilet, for example, can waste up to 200 gallons of water a DAY. So please, fix your water problems.

(8) Bathtime! Bathtime is no longer Funtime. It wastes an unnecessary amount of water. an average shower uses 1/5 the amount of water that is needed for a bath! Teach kids to take showers early on. It all really adds up. So please, take a shower not a bath.

(9) Using the Toilet as a Garbage Can - Do Not Do This! Throw out everything in a garbage can, even if it is tempting to just throw it in the toilet. Tissues, Hair, and Bugs are things that people generally throw away in the toilet, but they will be disposed if thrown away in the garbage can as well.

(10) Hot Water -Only use hot water when absolutely necessary. Hot water uses a lot more energy, and it isn’t always necessary. So think about what is needed before turning that hot water knob!

Original article: Top 10 Ways People Waste Water Without Realizing It

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