Spring Cleaning Problems and Solutions

Baby Ripples still had a slight fever today so I decided to take a personal day to stay home with her.  While she was resting on the couch with a cup of juice watching Barney on tv, I decided I should make the most of the day and get some spring cleaning done.  Every Sunday, I do a thorough house cleaning.  It takes me about an hour and a half but I never get down to the nitty gritty.  And there's been some definite nitty gritty stuff that's been bothering me lately.

Problem #1:  For a really long time now, I've been looking for a solution to get rid of the dust that builds up on the tiny top ledge of baseboards.  I've tried a dry wash cloth, a damp wash cloth, a toothpick, vacuum and using a magic erase sponge.  Nothing would get the dust off.  The magic erase would just seem to shred and I'd get little white pieces all over the floor. 

Solution:  Finally, I figured it out.  I mixed some water with a splash of apple cider vinegar and a couple drops of dish soap.  Then I used one of the children's toothbrushes that we got for free when we were on a cruise and I went around the room scrubbing with the toothbrush and then wiping it off with a dry wash cloth and it worked wonderfully!

Problem #2:  Mold along the caulking by the sink in the bathroom.  I've been noticing this for a while but I tend to have a "ignore it and hopefully it will go away" type of attitude when it comes to cleaning when I have no idea what to do. 


Before

Solution: I mixed some baking soda and apple cider vinegar together to make a paste and used a little spoon to scoop it out and put it along the caulking. I let it sit for about half and hour and then used the same toothbrush from above to scrub at it a litte. Used a paper towel to wipe it off. It worked great. I still see a little darkness but its a great improvement. I'll have to maybe try using some bleach but I have a feeling I ignored it for too long and it is down in the caulking which means we'll have to have the caulking taken out and replaced.

After
(picture taken with my phone so it didn't come out so great)

Problem #3: Built up gunk on the wall in the bathroom.  This gunk is a result the use of cursly scrunching spray gel everyday on three curly haired ladies.
Solution: Magic Erase worked great here.

Problem#4:  The mess under the kitchen sink:

Solution: Cleaned out and organized.

 

 

I'll be doing some more cleaning this afternoon so hopefully I'll have more Spring Cleaning Solutions for you.  Just stopped for a quick soup break and a post.