The house could use a major overhaul once in a while. Cleaning expert Marja Middeldorp therefore helps to solve everyday problems. This week Marja answers five pressing reader questions.
“The holidays are over. Many people were a bit sick at Christmas and apparently came up with the idea to ask me a question,” says Marja. She therefore answers five in one fell swoop.
1. Black stripes when cleaning windows
A reader cleans the windows of the entire house once a month. “I like to work with water, so it’s not a punishment. What annoys me are the black stripes on my white-painted glazing bars that line the windows. Those stripes are from the tractor. They do come off by brushing them hard with my nail, but that’s a lot of extra work. So the question is: why are there no tractors for sale with a transparent or white border? And is there a way to prevent those black lines everywhere?”
You can get rid of black stripes caused by your tractor while washing windows with benzene.
Marja: “For many years I have had a fully rubber squeegee that I use to clean the bathroom and the windows. They are slightly narrower, firmer and more manoeuvrable. One or two complete rubber wipers are for sale on the internet. This prevents those streaks.” Still working with your black rubber trigger? “You can get rid of black stripes with benzene. Apply it on a clean cloth to the black stripes.”
2. Urine stone in the toilet
Another reader has a urinary stone in his toilet. That is a kind of limescale, but then combined with the salts that are in urine. “How do I get this clean without using expensive products? They don’t help anyway.”
Marja: “Indeed, it cannot be removed with simple soapy water. You can use toilet plunger. Follow the instructions for use and let it soak in for a while. Then rinse it off with boiling water, then the urine limescale will be gone. You always have an empty spray bottle somewhere. Pour household vinegar in there and spray where the acid is a few times a week. Then it won’t stick as much.”
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The cleaning guru from The Hague has also said that you can throw cola leftovers in the toilet. This dissolves limescale and poop marks. “But that’s more of a student tip. Urine stone will not easily occur in a student house. Students keep urinating, it doesn’t stand a chance there.”
3. Vinegar in the shower cubicle
Reader number three has a bathroom question. “I spray the shower cubicle with cleaning vinegar. Then I go over it with a cloth to dry it. Is it then necessary to rinse off the vinegar with water before drying?”
Tip one from Marja: exchange cleaning vinegar for regular household vinegar. “All kinds of chemicals are added to cleaning vinegar, which are quite aggressive. Household vinegar is more than sufficient, especially if you clean regularly. It gives shine to your tiles again and affects your joints less. Moreover, it is cheaper and better for the environment.” Rinsing the vinegar with water is not necessary, but is of course allowed.
4. A grease stain on your jacket
Getting a black grease stain from the bicycle chain out of a yellow down jacket: how do you do that, one reader wonders.
This seems like a somewhat crazy tip, but rub the stains with a little low-fat margarine. Let it soak in for a while and then dab off with some soap powder.
“The problem with stains is that we often panic and sit down and rub and act. Don’t do that, because you often make it worse. First, take a good look at the washing label. If the garment cannot be put in the washing machine, take it to the dry cleaner.”
“Can it be washed? This seems like a somewhat crazy tip, but rub the stains with a little low-fat margarine. Let it soak in for a while and then dab it off with some soap powder. I wouldn’t eat it on my biscuit! (laughs) Also let that soap powder soak in for a while and rub it off after an hour. Then wash the coat as you normally would and the stain should be gone.”
5. Super glue on a granite countertop
Reader number five is careful with his kitchen. All the more sour that 10-second glue ended up on a granite piece of worktop. “By wanting to remove it quickly with a piece of paper towel, it has become an even bigger stain. How can you remove this. It has now become two dull spots. It mars the whole kitchen,” it sounds.
For the last cleaning tip, Marja comes up with four options. “Gasoline, ammonia, turpentine or acetone. You probably have one of those four items at home. Gasoline is my preference, because that’s what I have the most experience with. Try it in a hidden spot first to see how it affects the granite. Does it leave no traces? Then you can tackle the glue stains. You clean it with the cleaning spirit, but that does not make the dull stains disappear,” said the former face of the TV program “How Clean is your House”?
To get the granite shiny again, Marja advises to lightly coat the worktop with salad oil or olive oil. “Granite is porous, the oil is easily absorbed. Just rub it on and it shines like new again. You can also use white wax. It is nice and soft and also absorbs well.”
Spirit, salad oil, an iron and a cork: this is how you get rid of all stains and rings of candle wax
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