For some people, December is the best time of the year. Before Christmas, when everything is beautifully lit up, decorated and the smell of biscuits is everywhere. For many, however, the December diary is already full of preparations for Christmas, so there is usually not much time left for the household. With these cleaning tips and tricks, your household will be festive in no time at all and you’ll still have enough time to make Christmas perfect.
Clean the microwave quickly and easily
Leftover food and strong odours in the microwave mask the festive flavours of cinnamon and biscuits. To avoid lengthy scrubbing, place a bowl of water and lemon juice in the microwave for about 5 minutes on the highest setting. The resulting steam softens the food residue and the lemon juice gives it a pleasant odour. Then all you have to do is wipe out the microwave with a damp kitchen towel. Voilà – your microwave is sparkling clean and fragrant again.
Effortlessly remove crusts in pots
Do you want everything to be perfect for the big Christmas dinner, but are you spoiling the flavour with crust in the pot? Before you throw the pot away for good, try this cleaning tip first. You can easily solve this problem with ketchup. Apply a thick layer of ketchup to the incrustations for 30 minutes. The acetic acid in the ketchup reacts with the copper oxide that has formed and dissolves it. Now just wipe it out once and the pot will look like new.
This tip is not one of the five cleaning myths that you should no longer believe.
A clean blender at the touch of a button
Cleaning blenders is a very tedious and time-consuming task, but the problem can be solved at the touch of a button. To do this, fill the blender with hot water and a little washing-up liquid. Leave it to work for 5 minutes and then run the blender with the lid on at the highest setting for around 15-20 seconds. Just empty it out and the blender is ready for the next use. Also make sure that you unscrew the blender completely from time to time. The rubber seal is a popular place for germs and even mould to form. It is best to unscrew the blender after rinsing and allow the individual parts to dry thoroughly. This will prevent residues from building up there over time and mould from forming. This way, the blender will last a long time and you will also save money.
Ironing clothes without an iron
Your home already smells of biscuits and the Christmas tree, you take your dress out of the wardrobe and realise that it is wrinkled. Don’t worry, you can take a shower and your dress will be wrinkle-free all by itself. How do you do that? Hang it on a hanger in the bathroom while you shower. Keep the window closed while showering so that the humidity stays in the bathroom. The moisture will remove almost all creases. The important thing is simply that the shirt hangs clean and gets nice and damp. Afterwards, you can tug and pull it a little while it is damp (not too tight, otherwise the material will be strained). While the shirt or dress dries, you can relax and get ready to show off your wrinkle-free dress.
If you prefer a perfectly ironed shirt and simply never get round to it yourself, why not use our ironing service at suuber.ch. Your personalised Suuberhero will also take on such tasks so that you can concentrate on the really important things in life. For example, decorating the Christmas tree with your family.🎄🎄
Cleaning stubborn limescale on the shower head
After your shower, you notice that the shower head has water and limescale stains, but you don’t have time for a long scrub? Take a freezer bag and fill it with water and vinegar. Secure the freezer bag around the shower head with a rubber band. You can use the next 30 minutes to continue with the preparations. Then simply remove the bag and rinse the shower head once. The shower head is spotless again!
Do you already know our article about The five best natural cleaning agents ? Find out what else you can use vinegar for.
Find lost jewellery again
Are you getting dressed up for Christmas Eve when an earring falls off and disappears under the sofa? Don’t panic now! With this old household trick, you can find your beautiful earring again without having to crawl on all fours. Simply reach for the hoover and stretch a fine stocking over the tube of the hoover. The stocking prevents the jewellery from getting into the hoover when it is sucked in and thus remains lost forever.
Watch out for runs in the stocking, as the jewellery could get through and end up in the hoover!
Simple upholstery cleaning
Are you about to receive guests for the festivities, but your upholstered furniture is still fluffy? Simply pull a nylon stocking over your hand and rub it over the upholstery. The friction creates a static charge which attracts and holds the fluff, dust and clothing fibres.
By the way, cotton stockings are great for dusting blinds and other smooth surfaces when things have to be done quickly! So Aunt Erika’s stockings from last Christmas still have a good use after all 😅🙈😬. Psssst!
Quick defrosting of frozen food
The guests have arrived and you are making the final preparations for Christmas dinner when you realise that you have forgotten to defrost the frozen vegetables in all the hustle and bustle. With this household trick, this is no longer a problem: take two metal pots and turn one of them upside down. Place the frozen, wrapped vegetables on the bottom of the upturned pot. Fill the second pot with water and place it on top of the vegetables, with the bottom of the pot facing downwards. The metal conducts the cold away. After 10-15 minutes it will be defrosted!
Remove strong odours from the hands
The meal is ready, the guests are happy and now you want to enjoy Christmas Eve a little more, but your hands smell of garlic and onions. Before you scrub your skin raw with a harsh soap and brush, try this first: a whole milk bath for your hands. Place your hands in a bowl of whole milk for a few minutes. The fat molecules in the milk react with the sulphides in the garlic and onions and loosen them from your hands. Then rinse your hands and you’re ready for the evening!
Remove scratches from parquet
Christmas Eve is over and now it’s time to tidy up and clean, but one of your guests has unfortunately scratched the parquet. This can happen, but it’s no reason to despair.
For dark parquet: Apply a mixture of coffee grounds and a little warm water to the scratch with a cotton bud until it is no longer visible.
For light-coloured parquet: Rub a walnut over the scratch until it is no longer visible.
Are you looking forward to Christmas or is it more of a stressful time for you? Perhaps one or two household tips will help you to get through the festive season a little more relaxed. Especially at this time of year, we don’t need any more stress and strain.🤗
We wish you a contemplative and Merry Christmas !
