Cleaning tips made simple
When your house gleams, you do, too. Learn how to get that deep-down spring-cleaning clean,
without losing your mind.
By Natalie Ermann Russell
There's something about the spring that makes us yearn for all things clean and fresh and bright. The
temperature changes, and the days become longer, rejuvenating us -- and proving just what a difference
a season makes. With that in mind, we talked with the cleanest, most sparkling TV, radio and print
personalities to get the dirt on the latest products and tricks sure to make this year's spring cleaning a
breeze. Here are some of their surprising solutions to our dirty little problems.
Plastic shower curtain liner mildew
SOLUTION: "Toss it into the washing machine with laundry
soap and two or three bath towels (for friction), hang it up (no
dryer), and it will look new again," says Laura Dellutri, aka the
Healthy Housekeeper, who wrote "Speed Cleaning 101."
WAIT, THERE'S MORE! "What's the point in having a shower
curtain and a liner?" asks Danny Seo, host of "Simply Green"
on Lime (Sirius Radio channel 114, Wednesdays, 2 p.m. ET) and author
of "Conscious Style Home: Eco-Friendly Living for the 21st
Century." "Take a cue from hotels and use only a 100% nylon
curtain, which is watertight and needs no liner."
Built-up soap scum
SOLUTION: Seo swears by melamine sponges (Mr. Clean
Magic Eraser is the most common, but any generic brand will
do). "With just water, it can pick up all the soap scum, grime and dirt that normally you'd have to scrub
away," he says.
WAIT, THERE'S MORE! "The new Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner does the work for you,"
Dellutri says. "Just push the button after each shower, and the dispenser shoots the cleaner in a 360-
degree circle, preventing soap scum, mildew buildup and lime scale."
Dust
SOLUTION: "When you dust the old-fashioned way, it comes back," says Heloise, whose syndicated
"Hints from Heloise" column runs in more than 500 newspapers. "Vacuum the dust away first,