Cut down mess when decorating

Before you start emulsioning your walls, place the paint tray in a plastic carrier bag then pour the paint on top.

When you’ve finished, just throw the bag into the bin and you’re left with a perfectly clean tray!

When your electric hob is past its best…

Sometimes no matter how hard you try to keep your hob clean, if the rings or hotplates are past a certain age, they can look a bit rubbish.

A good solution is to ‘dress’ them with stainless steel hotplate covers from Argos.

And when the hotplates are not in use, they’re also protected from further splashes and stains!

Kitty’s had an accident in the living room?

Cat wee contains uric acid and it’s the complex salt crystals in the
acid that cause the awful smell.

The crystals are insoluble in bleach and disinfectant and won’t get rid of this smell.

Clean with a biological detergent solution, which contains enzymes that will help break up the proteins in the urine.

Otherwise any pet shop will have branded enzyme-digester products that will work. Note that unless you remove the stain completely, as soon as it gets wet again, the residue will produce more of the ammonia-like odour.

How to look after an old piano

Position it away from any radiators.

Keep the lid closed to stop dust getting in the works. If the keys are ivory, they naturally yellow over time; newer keys will be plastic.

Either way, wipe clean with a just-damp chamois leather.

Remove any dust from inside the casing with a vacuum, or blow out with a hairdryer set at cool.

Finally, the best way to keep a piano in nice condition is to play it!

The joy of make-up remover wipes

I love Boots cucumber wipes, and have been using them ever since my early ‘How Clean’ days in the early 2000s, when I had to slather on the make-up.

They’re brilliant value and I make sure I always have a pack on me, especially when travelling. It’s not unusual for me to wipe down the whole table on the train before I get the laptop out or prepare to eat!

And of course they come in very handy if you drop your mascara on the carpet…

How big is your handbag?

In my old age, I’ve discovered the secret to a tidy handbag…make sure it’s a smallish one.

The bigger the bag, the more you stuff into it (‘Just in case…’) and the harder it is to find anything.

When I use a smaller bag, somehow or other I always manage (and can find things much more easily).

Always close the loo lid after using…

That nasty statistic about faecal matter and toothbrushes is correct!

If your loo and bath/sink are in the same area, make sure you put the lid down at strategic times (you know what I mean).

I remember from my days on How Clean is your House? the microbiologist telling me how risky it is keeping toothbrushes out on surfaces near a lavatory pan…yes, you’ve guessed: faecal matter can being aerated and travel a good five feet away, landing on any surface around that distance.

And then we wonder why we have an upset tummy. Horrid thought!

How to clean your bathroom floor

Even if your bathroom flooring is made of lino, vinyl or laminate (ie not carpeted), always use a vacuum cleaner.

If it’s left for a few days you know how much dust gathers (where does it all come from?) so stop faffing around with brushes and mops – get the vac on it every time to get the dust up quickly and properly.