Give your carpets a new lease of life with a deep-clean from a Rug Doctor machine. A 24-hour hire costs around £30 and you’ll have professional-looking results.

There are hundreds of pick-up points around the country – eg from branches of Asda, Morrisons and Tesco. The system’s easy to use and you’ll be delighted with the results. 

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Take a shelled Brazil nut (without the chocolate coating!) and rub along the grain of the wood. Or use Brasso with a soft duster, again going with the grain. Or if there’s a smoker in the house, a little ash on a dampened soft cloth should sort it.

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If you suffer from allergies, things can get pretty miserable if you’re not on top of the dust around the house.

Carpet care specialists Rug Doctor did a survey that discovered that while three-quarters of us think our home is clean, around half of us have never deep- cleaned our carpets. And did you know that an average family of four sheds over 3lb of skin a year!

So just walking around a carpeted house will cause dust and dust mite droppings to become airborne, which could trigger an asthma attack.

Vacuuming will go only so far…so hire a deep cleaning machine and get those carpets done soon!

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Research has shown that nine times more germs live on a car steering wheel than a public toilet seat, yet who remembers to clean it?

Added to the fact that most of us are guilty of snacking while driving, it’s no wonder that food poisoning is so rife.

Give the wheel a wipe-over with warm soapy water every now and then, and keep a pack of wipes in the car.

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I always have a Magic Eraser Block on hand – I don’t know why everyone doesn’t. It’s a super-strength sponge made from melamine foam and when you dampen it, it’ll remove practically any stain from any hard surface…so no need for despair when visiting toddlers decorate the wall with their new crayons. The only problem is that sometimes it can be a little too effective on say a painted wall or polished surface, but as long as you go gently, you’ll be fine. And you can cut into any shape or size to tackle awkward nooks and crannies.

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To a saucepan of water add a few bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon stick and orange peel and simmer for 30 minutes. It’ll give the kitchen a lovely fresh atmosphere. You could also get a little bottle of your favourite essential oil – I love both lavender and rosemary – from any health shop and most chemists and, using cotton wool,  rub a little on the light bulb and radiator tops so that when the light and heating are on the oils respond to the heat and the room will smell gorgeous.

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Bird droppings can be dangerous, particularly if you inhale airborne particles. If cleaning up bird poo, hose down first, and to be extra safe wear a dust mask from a hardware shop.

If you have a household tip that you would like to share with Aggie’s followers – send it to us for publication – go to https://aggiestips.com/do-you-have-a-tip-to-share-with-aggie/ now. nd if it’s health and fitness you’re interested in, head over to http://www.getready4anyage.com and register for daily health tips from Green Goddess Legend – Diana Moran.

If you’ve got the tent out for the first time since last year, and it’s flecked with mould and smells musty, don’t just throw it away. And don’t stick it in the washing machine either because if it has taped seams they’ll get damaged.

What you need to do is erect the tent in the garden and vacuum off the mould spores. Now sponge over a diluted solution of Milton (about 1 tbsp per litre of warm water). Then follow up with a tent cleaner such as Nikwax Tech Wash.

You’ll also need a waterproofer (Nikwax Tent & Gear Solarproof); instructions are on the packs. Happy camping!

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Check for food waste trapped in the filter (which ends up back on the dishes). Remove and clean with a soft brush under the tap. Then do this weekly.