I Hope I'm Not Going To Regret This!

ceridwen

Thanks for that - next question - where does one get ammonia please? Is that from Boots as well?

moanymoany

Kim and Aggie - by the way hello Saint Ceridwen, you are a good friend to pay back favours, not everyone does - always clear everything out first and then follow the excellent advice given here!

I would start from the top down. When the cupboards are clean it is somewhere to put things back and out of the way. Use a pair of reliable steps. There is a space for the bucket and it is easier when you can reach easily. Scrubbing brushes are useful for the initial go, and I find a few minutes soak helps.

Since I discovered Flylady I've tried to keep surfaces clear in the kitchen and bathroom, it makes cleaning a doddle. My magic mix is Tesco value liquid cleaner and bleach in water. I would use Oven Pride rather than the strong chemicals, it isn't cheap, but it works really well. Neat bleach painted on with a paintbrush cleans grout and white sealant well. Bleach also removes stains from work surfaces.

Good luck, it's quite a challenge.

Aggie used a damp cloth secured on a broom to remove severe cobwebs.

ceridwen

Thanks for that Moanie - more food for thought. I was wondering about those cobwebs - mentally consigning my feather duster to oblivion. Right - hopefully (!) he has a broom (thinks - take round string and rubber bands to experiment with the securing a damp cloth to it bit).

"Saint ceridwen" - I DONT think so. Dont think everyone who knows me would agree with that one - in fact I'm quite certain of it:rotfl: :rotfl:(I'm thinking here of people who people who aint that fair themselves - I DO have a temper!). I just tend to be pretty aware that things have to go fairly both ways...the balance on this particular "account" would probably be about set straight if I did his entire house....hes waggled his eyebrows hopefully and dropped in comments about a couple of other areas of his house he has in mind.:eek:

The very thought of me trekking round in any vicinity remotely near a halo.......hang on, I might stop laughing about that by this time next week. If I had a halo anywhere near me I'd probably use it as a hoopla! LOL. - if it wasnt strangling me.

(very quick edit: its not a "real" feather duster folks - the "feathers" concerned have never been anywhere near anything living!)

mrbadexample

ceridwen wrote: »

...and Mr Bad Example: well it was worth a try wasnt it:rotfl:

Yep!

ceridwen wrote: »

Now why do I get the feeling Mr Bad Example is going to be finding this amusing?! (Of course - if you're near enough I could pop round for the "going rate" of course. My charges are pretty high - I dont think you can afford me! - lol)

:think: We should talk numbers.

Actually, I don't think my kitchen's as bad as your friend's. Yes, there is room for (a lot of) improvement, but you can put a sarnie down on the worktop without fear of lurgy, and there's always a clean mug in the cupboard. Some bits are important. Some aren't.

I'd still like you to pop round though - I'll bake! :A

pickle

I discovered when steaming wallpaper off a kitchen wall that the steamer works very well for all the grease that gets stuck to surfaces, it will wipe it off in one stroke.

celyn90

Caustic soda is strong stuff, but it does shift the muck. It' doesn't smell, but you must cover your hands and be careful not to get it on your skin. I work in lab that handles pretty nasty things on a daily basis and base burns are the worse to have to treat becauase they are slow and insideous rather than acid burns that are quick and painful. It won't really make much of paste, unless you mix it with something inert and sticky (and not acidic!) , but a strong solution in water will do the trick, stick it in a plant mister to get the top and sides and the grease will run off. Do rinse the oven with plain water
when your done to get rid of the white residue it can leave.

I'd much rather use caustic soda than ammonia as ammonia is volatile and can make your nose bleed if you get it wrong (we have it in gas cylinders at work and I have to use it a lot - it just goes for your mucous membranes if you screw up, so I try to avoid it where possible). It will also burn your skin if you spill the solution on yourself. If your properly covered up (marigolds, long sleeves and eye googles) and avoid skin splashes, caustic soda is so much easier to handle and you won't have a problem with it. If you do get it on your skin (or anything else evil) - twenty minutes under the tap lukewarm water making sure the run off doesn't go on your skin.

If you wear rubber gloves when you do the oven, tie something round your the top of the gloves so they are flush with your arm - that way you won't get stuff down the top of you gloves.

Socks are wonderful! I use the socks on the taps thing at home a lot - leave it overnight and they come out sparkling *likes the lazy approach* If you have partuclarly evil parts to clean (like the backs of taps) threading a sock round them then pulling it backwards and forwards quickly works well to. You can also fill then with stuff to make a soft pad - or put them over scouring pad to give a softer but still scratchy surface.

Salt and liquid soap mixtures (or swarfega ) are a great gentle abrasive for cleaning hob tops and anything that's got oily or greasy that needs a bit of elbow grease.

Pumice stone will shift limescale on ceramic - it's harder than the limescale but softer than the glaze so shouldn't scratch.

If you can get hold of barrier cream for your hands that might be an idea.

ceridwen

Thanks all for helpful comments again - and I've just spotted the link from Charis on my Simplicity Thread of homemade eco cleaners - aaah! wonder if they will be strong enough for job. Have got my white vinegar and bicarb - thinks: maybe a good chance for a bit of a comparison here.

and that salt and liquid soap mixture above sounds worth trying out.

grannybroon

Hi

You have a big heart and you must keep us updated on progress.

My kitchen ceiling hadn't been cleaned/painted for about 6 years until a couple of weeks ago. Got the decorator in as now preparing for a new kitchen and got him to paint (he said he used Eggshell?) I was truly embarrassed about the grease up there! It will be equally embarrassing when my 35 year old kitchen goes out to the tip in a few weeks time! A friend of a friend is wanting my cooker so that will need to be cleaned or I will be classed as a clarty b@@@h!

Re caustic soda. The [strike]regular[/strike] occasional cleaning of the oven involves the soaking of the shelves in the bath with Bio. (It is also good for cleaning the bath BTW! About once a month I fill bath with hot water and bio powder and leave for a few hours and it seems to soak off any residue scum). A bit of elbow grease for the rest of oven and set oven to high for the two self clean panels.

When are you starting the project?

GB x

ceridwen

Hi grannybroon

No - I dont have a "big heart" - honest! Really! Gawd - I wish I was half as nice as some of you seem to think I am!:D

"when are you going to start this project?" - well I've got this weekend in mind....makes me wonder if its anticipated I'll finish it anytime this year:D Am sorta thinking one day worth - but then there was the "waggling eyebrows" hopefully from friend that I might do some more....I'll see how I feel on that one!

Thinks ...good point made earlier from another poster re securing the rubber gloves.....very good point, as I dont usually have to bother about water/etc running down them. Living on ones own = no need to wear much/if owt for housework. (Now now Mr Bad Example - BEHAVE YOURSELF!)...thinks - note to self: better get a pair of those rubber gloves that fold back on themselves to avoid that....as cant wander round friends house in nowt doing the housework (not that he'd mind for one second!) - but will conveniently not mention to him my normal way of doing it methinks. Anyway...his house is a lot colder than mine..:D ....thinks: wonder if one can do housework with a jacket on as well as full complement of clothing?

morwenna

I would echo the comments regarding Bio powder and would add Brillo pads to the mix. Well done you, Ceridwen for tackling this for your friend! For cobwebs (anywhere) I just get the Dyson out - do have/can you beg a loan of one? Or any vacuuum with a hose that extends?* I am thinking it will help if you can hoover out drawers/cupboards before cleaning them with anything damp?

*(And yes, there is a potential for double entendre there :rotfl: )