There’s been a lot of talk in the past year about numbers of bedbugs increasing dramatically.

They’re the size of a match head, can be transported in luggage and live in such places as mattresses, joinery cracks and under wallpaper, coming out at night to feed on human blood…and bites can be nasty.

They’re nigh-on impossible to get rid of by yourself, so I’d advise contacting pest control experts.

Although silverfish are harmless, they give me the creeps.

They’re long, flat insects that lurk in damp corners during the day and at night dart about, laying their eggs in cracks.

To get rid of them, you need to use an insecticide and treat the damp. Check for leaks, fix dodgy plumbing and keep the place clean and clear of stacks of boxes and old papers.

Your bathroom and kitchen should also be well ventilated.

I can’t stand mice, and when I discovered they’re incontinent, weeing wherever they roam, that didn’t help. 

Any rodent expert will give you the same advice: leave not a crumb of food out, and that includes keeping floors well swept.

If they have no food, they’ll go elsewhere.

Also they can enter through the tiniest openings, and run up walls, so bung up all gaps with wire wool sprinkled with peppermint oil.

Apparently urine was commonly used in the past for cleaning metals such as brass (it’s said that soldiers used this method).

Good to know that even if you’re right out of vinegar or Brasso, you won’t be stuck!

The more recent models have removable plates you can put in the dishwasher, but if not, this is what you do.

While still warm, unplug the machine and spray cooking surfaces with plain water then wipe with scrunched-up kitchen roll.

Just keep spraying and wiping till all the grot is gone.

If you’ve left the grill to get cold, just reheat it before cleaning.

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!

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!

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.

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!

Turn the jeans inside out before washing, run on a 30 degree cycle and use minimal amounts of detergent.