Sodium bicarbonate a.k.a. bicarbonate of soda is the Jedi of the chemical world. You can use this mild alkali non-toxic substance for dozens of jobs around your home....Including cleaning, polishing, stain removal and a whole host of other jobs. 

Other than using bicarbonate of soda in cooking, another great use for it is for deodourising fridges. Simply open a box and put it in the back of your fridge and it will absorb odours. Just remember to change it periodically.

Here's a few other uses:

• Sprinkle some on a damp sponge and use a mild scouring agent
• Smother a grease fire with it
• To remove an unpleasant odour from your carpet sprinkle with bicarbonate of soda, then let is sit for 3 or 4 hours and vacuum it up
• Mix a couple or 3 tablespoons in a litre of warm water and use it to clean worktops and hard surfaces also tiles and stainless steel.
  
• .....And you can brush your teeth with it!  

Now here's a top tip for you....You know you can spend ages trying to scrape sticker residue off windows, even by using a razor blade doesn't always remove the sticky gum. Also any leftover adhesive collects dirt and sticks to it so it doesn't get any better. What to do in this case is firstly remove as much of the sticker and residue as you can and then spray a little penetrating lubricant like WD-40 onto the adhesive that remains. Then leave for a wee while and wipe off with a paper towel or rag and the remaining residue will come off completely.

Follow these steps to clean up after your pet if they soil your carpet:

1. First carefully remove the solids first using an inside out plastic bag over your hand. Turn it right side out to fully enclose the contents.
2.  Blot any urine with paper towels.
3. Wet the affected area with an enzymatic odour removing/controlling cleaner available from pet shops.
4. Rinse the residue with water to avoid leaving any smell that may attract your pet to the same place
5. Make up a "Pet Accident Pack" just in case for any future mishaps...Keep paper towels, a sponge, plastic bags and your enzymatic cleaner etc. in a bag or box and keep under your sink....Ready for next time.

If your kitchen table surface is painted simply put a bit of white non-gel toothpaste onto and old toothbrush or dry cloth and rub.

For stained or untreated wood; would you believe...Rub real mayonnaise onto the crayon mark with an old cloth...Let that sit for a minute or two and then just wipe it away with a damp cloth.

If one of your children ever scribble on their bedroom wall with a felt tip pen....First of all try the easiest way first which will be less harmful to your wall and then use more hardened methods if that doesn't work:

• If the mark is still wet and or the wall is smooth and non-porous simply wipe with a dry paper towel with a little surgical spirit. Repeat this process again with a little more spirit if the mark is lifting.
• Try paint remover basically as a last resort, being careful with it since it's flammable. Also note it may damage some wall finishes so test first on an unnoticeable area of the same surface.

Okay when cleaning your windows, clean the inside panes from side to side with your preferred glass cleaner...And then clean the outside of the window up and down. When you do this you can step back and readily see which side the streak is on; so you'll not waste any time re-cleaning the side that's not streaky. 


Other Top Tips For Your Windows:

• ​Use a squeegee for your window with a smooth soft rubber edge or even a crumpled up newspaper
• Dry a 3cm strip at the tops of your windows and always start your squeegee there. Beginning on dry glass is one great tip to avoiding streaks.
• Never wash your windows in direct sunlight, as windows that dry quickly are more susceptible to streaking. Late afternoons, evenings or cloudy days are ideal for washing windows.
• If your windowsills get dirty quickly try wiping on a coat of clear floor wax to protect them, this helps repel dirt off your sills when raining.

If your glass doors or patio doors are covered in finger prints or smears and smudges from your cat or dogs paws or similar....Simply erase them in a jiffy with a brainwave idea devised by a primary school teacher. When she's in a hurry, she simply rubs a clean blackboard duster over her patio doors which erases all the stains, and smudges quickly and easily without using any glass cleaning products.

Simply make up a spray bottle up with household bleach and water. 1:4 parts bleach to water. Obviously keep the spray bottle handy in a cupboard or cabinet in your bathroom. Once you shower spray the tiles with the bleach solution....Leave for a good while then rinse quickly. This will keep mildew from building up on your tiles and leaves them with a sparkle. 

Cleaning soap scum residues can be a hard, laborious task....BUT by using lemon oil furniture polish you can prevent the build up by creating a barrier. So the next time you clean your shower and shower door, you can wipe it with furniture oil with a soft duster. Let the oil be for a couple of minutes, and polish off any excesses with a dry cloth.

The furniture polish has now coated the area and will act as a buffer against any soap scum residues....Helping you in the long run as now it will be easier to clean.