Tips for Cleaning Pots and Pans
Cleaning pots and pans is difficult. They get grease, dirt and muck attached to them. It can be a nightmare to clean. However, it doesn’t have to be. In this article, we’ll give you some tips for cleaning pots and pans. We hope they help you out.
If your pot or pan is burnt, there’s a great trick using baking soda and vinegar. You’ll need:
- 1 cup vinegar
- 2 tbsp. baking soda
- 1 cup water
- Scouring pad
You will fill the bottom of the pan with a layer of water. To that, you add the vinegar. Bring the pan to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the baking soda. You should see plenty of fizzing action. Empty the pan and scour as normal. You can add a bit of dry baking soda should it be necessary. If stubborn marks remain, put a paste of baking soda and water on them. Leave the paste on for about an hour and then clean as normal. Your pan will look brand new.
There are other methods out there to clean pots and pans. We’ll delve into some of them here:
- Alka-Seltzer – This is for ovenproof glass cookware. Fill the container with water, add up to six pellets and let it soak for an hour. The stains should easily scrub away.
- Aluminum foil – No scrub pad? That’s okay, just wad up some aluminum foil and use it to scrub your pots.
- Add baking soda to your dish-washing liquid. About 2 tablespoons should do the trick. It cuts through grease easily.
- Club soda – pour it into the pot while it’s still warm. The bubbly soda will keep the mess from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Cream of tartar – this will make your discolored aluminum pans sparkle again. Put 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar dissolved in 1 quart of water. Bring the mixture to a boil in the pot and let it boil for ten minutes.
- Denture tabs – do you have enamel cookware? Then, denture tabs can help clean them. Fill the pot or pan with warm water and a tablet or two. Wait until the fizzing has stopped and your cookware should be clean.
- Fabric softener – soak burned on foods with liquid fabric softener. Fill the pan with water, add a squirt of fabric softener and soak for an hour. Residue should wipe away quickly.
- Ketchup – when your copper pots and pans are starting to look old, coat the copper surface with it. Let it sit for about thirty minutes. Acids in the ketchup will react with the tarnish to remove it. Rinse the pan and dry immediately.
- Lemons – rub the cut side of a half of a lemon all over them and buff with a soft cloth.
There are even more remedies for cleaning pots and pans than these. We’ve only told you about the ones we think are the most effective. We encourage you to give us some of your best ideas and send them to us. We’d love to hear from you.
How do I Clean a Toilet?
In this article, we’ll teach you how to clean the toilet. No one likes to clean toilets, but it’s necessary. A clean toilet doesn’t smell bad and it prevents bacteria from spreading. To correctly clean the toilet you’ll need both a toilet cleaner and a disinfectant. In fact, we recommend the following materials:
- Gloves,
- Toilet brush,
- Toilet bowl cleaner,
- And disinfectant spray.
First, you should take everything on the toilet off. If you have pictures or books or tissue boxes on the top, take them off so you can clean the toilet. You can clean these items later before you put them back on. Keep them somewhere safe where they won’t get sprayed with the toilet cleaner and disinfectant or water while you’re cleaning the toilet.
Take the clean gloves and put them on. We suggest that you use a dedicated pair of gloves for the job. You don’t want the bacteria from the toilet being spread to other household cleaning tasks. If you must, buy your toilet-cleaning gloves in a different color than your other rubber gloves so they don’t get confused.
Next, you should wipe down the toilet with a damp sponge. Give it a once-over with hot water. You should wet with water and wipe around the tank, lid, seat, base and exterior of the bowl. This might be enough to remove the dirt without specialty cleaning products. If not, you can clean with a disinfectant or toilet bowl cleaner later on.
Now you can apply with a toilet cleaner to the inside of the bowl. Toilet cleaners help eliminate stains, rings and mineral deposits in your toilet. Squirt the cleaner on the inside rim of the toilet bowl, allowing it to drip down the sides of the bowl and in the water. Read the instructions on the cleaner because some cleaners require time to sit for maximum cleaning effect. If so, take a short break and then continue.
It’s time to scrub the bowl with a toilet brush. You should use a brush with firm bristles. Scrub the bowl thoroughly and pay attention to any mineral stains that have accumulated at water level or the back of the bowl. The more thoroughly and firmly you scrub the bowl, the cleaner it will get. To get the most out of your toilet bowl cleaner, dip the brush in the toilet water and grab some suds to clean the bowl. It will give you extra cleaning power.
Once the bowl is scrubbed and clean, you should flush. This rinses the bowl. You should continue to scrub as water drains from the toilet because the motion of the water alone might not be enough to rinse the dirt away. If you have persistent stains, repeat the process of applying toilet cleaner through rinsing the bowl. Do it as many times as you need to to clean the toilet bowl.
Now that the bowl is clean, you can clean the rest of the apparatus with disinfectant. Clean the bottom, the top and all around the toilet. Don’t forget the handle because it has bacteria on it too. Once it’s sparkling, wipe up the residue with a dry cloth and then you’re done.
All you need to do is clean the items that were on the toilet before you started cleaning and then put them back where they belong.
If you need help cleaning your toilet or don’t feel like doing it yourself, Garcia Green Cleaners can help. Give us a call in Austin at 512-705-2812. We’re happy to take care of this for you!