Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that contains more than 10 percent chromium. Stainless steel resists stains but occasionally dulls or will show oily finger prints. This steel is noted for its hardness and is used for utensils, tableware, sinks, counter tops and small appliances. In the process of making it, a little of the chromium in the alloy is used to form the hard oxide coating on the surface. If this is taken off, through corrosion or wear, the steel rusts like regular steel.
· Olive Oil: Rub stainless steel sinks with olive oil to remove streaks.
· Vinegar: To clean and polish stainless steel, simply moisten a cloth with undiluted white or cider vinegar and wipe clean. Can also be used to remove heat stains on stainless steel cutlery.
· Club Soda: Remove streaks or heat stains from stainless steel by rubbing with club soda.
Flatware: Wash by hand or in the dishwasher. Rinse off acid or salty foods if the stainless flatware is not to be washed soon. Do not spill dry dishwasher detergent on flatware, which is wet, as dark spots may result. Do not load stainless steel flatware in same basket section of dishwasher with silverware, as silver may be damaged.
Utensils: Do not let pans boil dry, or overheat on burner, which causes discoloration. Stainless steel pans on burners do not distribute heat evenly, and foods tend to stick in "hot spots," so careful stirring of foods is important. Pans with a copper bottom, or a "sandwich" layer of aluminum or copper hidden in the bottom overcome this problem.
Wash by hand or in dishwasher. If washed by hand, rinse well, and polish dry at once with soft dishtowel to avoid spots and streaks. Dishwasher washing and drying do not leave these spots and streaks; occasionally a bluish cast develops which can be removed with silver polish. Some foods (acidic, salt, milk and milk products) should be washed, or rinsed thoroughly off the surface of stainless steel promptly or else they tend to corrode it. Do not use harsh abrasives or steel wool on stainless steel. Cooked-on food or grease can be removed from stainless steel utensils by using a fine abrasive cleaning powder or a paste of baking soda and water, or a paste of ammonia and rotten stone. Commercial stainless steel cleaner is available.
Sinks: Perforated rubber or plastic mats in the sink will cut down on scratching and marking by pans and tableware. Wash with a solution of hand dish washing liquid detergent and water; or a solution of baking soda and water. Rinse and polish dry with paper towel or soft cloth. Never use scouring powders or steel wool, as they will scratch stainless steel. You can brighten the sink by polishing with a cloth dipped in vinegar, or in ammonia, or dampen sink and a sponge; sprinkle a little baking soda on sponge and rub sink gently; rinse. Then polish dry with paper towel. Though silver isn’t prone to bad breath, for some reason it’s at its best when cleaned with toothpaste. The method you employ for cleaning silver will depend on the item that you are dealing with, but most silver can be cleaned with either regular toothpaste or a mixture of baking soda and water.
Cleaning Silver with Toothpaste
White toothpaste is best for cleaning silver cutlery or the detail on silver serving dishes. Here are some simple steps to get your silver gleaming:
Dampen silver that needs to be cleaned
Spread toothpaste on an old, soft toothbrush
Brush toothpaste onto silver
Rinse
Dry
Cleaning Jewelry
Silver jewelry can also be easily cleaned using items you have around the house. Tarnished silver rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets can sparkle like new with a simple combination of baking soda, tin foil and hot water.
Cleaning Silver with Baking Soda
If you'd like to save your toothpaste for your teeth, then try cleaning your silver with a bit of baking soda.
1. Line a large bowl or a small bucket with tinfoil with the shiny side facing outwards
2. Place silver items into the foil-lined container
3. Pour in hot water to cover the items that need to be cleaned
4. Add baking soda to the water until it begins to fizz
5. Allow the silver to soak for about half an hour
6. Remove the silver from the water
7. Rinse
8. Dry
Baking soda can also be used to clean large pieces of silver without using the dipping method that is explained above. For these larger pieces you will want to combine baking soda with water to form a paste. Dip a clean, damp sponge into the paste and rub it onto the silver. The longer you leave the paste on the silver, the more tarnish you will remove. Finish by rinsing the silver with hot water and drying.
You don’t have to dip into your retirement fund to purchase fancy products to clean your home. In fact, some of the very best cleaning products out there are probably already sitting in your kitchen!
Nature's Cleaner
Vinegar is a fantastic all-pupose cleaner. Buy a spray bottle from your local dollar store and fill it up halfway with water. Then top it up with vinegar to create a solution that will enable you to clean many, many things. Vinegar is a wonderful natural disinfectant and deodorizer. However, once you’ve made your wonder solution, test it first on an inconspicuous area—just in case.
Vinegar is safe to use on just about every surface and is cheap, too! Be careful, though: incorrectly diluted vinegar is acidic and can eat away at tile grout. Vinegar is also not safe to use on marble surfaces. Don't worry about your home smelling like vinegar. The smell is gone as soon as the vinegar dries. Some great uses for vinegar include:
Bathroom: Vinegar can clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops. Pure vinegar gets rid of rings in the toilet bowl. Flush the toilet to make the water level go down, then pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim. Scrub down the bowl. A vinegar/water solution is also a terrific substance with which to mop the floor. The substance will remove soap scum and hard water stains on your fixtures and tile.
Kitchen: Use vinegar to clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor.
Laundry Room: Vinegar works like a natural fabric softener, a wonderful alternative to the store-bought stuff if you have sensitive skin. Add a ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar also breaks down laundry detergent more effectively.
Lemony Fresh
Another wonderful natural cleaning product is lemon juice. It’s great at dissolving soap scum and hard water deposits, as well as cleaning and shining brass and copper surfaces. Create a homemade cleaning paste by mixing lemon juice with vinegar and/or baking soda. Use the paste to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains.
Lemon juice can also work like a furniture polish. Mix 1 cup olive oil with a ½ cup of lemon juice to polish your hardwood furniture.
A Safer Abrasive
Finally, consider baking soda as an alternative to commercial abrasive cleansers. Use it to scrub surfaces. Baking soda is also a fantastic deodorizer. Place a box of it in the refrigerator or freezer to help absorb unpleasant odors.
There you have it: three seemingly ordinary kitchen ingredients that can work wonders as natural cleaning products!
(src: My sole intention is to help other women like me in cleaning. This article was sitting on my laptop for quite sometime now so i decided to publish this. I have no idea from where i got it. )
One more tip exclusively mine. To wash thakurs (metal god idols made of Tamba) use lemon and salt and warm water. you will see miracle in front of your eyes..TRY..
