General Household Tips General Household Tips

Ceiling fans collect dust quickly. Stop blades from throwing particles around the room by cleaning them weekly with an old pillowcase. Slide the open end of a clean pillowcase over the paddle, press down and then slide back, keeping all the dust inside the pillowcase when removing.

Want to renew the steel soleplate on your iron? "Put a white piece of paper on the ironing board and sprinkle salt over it liberally. Heat your iron to the cotton setting and iron over the salt – there’s no need to use the steam. The salt helps to remove any (grime) stains on the iron plate, with no scrubbing needed!"

Banish carpet dents left by heavy furniture with ordinary ice cubes. Lay the cubes on the dents and leave them to melt. Blot any excess water and repeat if necessary. Then, when the fibres are all back in shape you simply wait till it's dry and then vacuum normally.

Odd socks are a laundry day dilemma. So, here's a new purpose for the lonely 'soles'. Pop them on like mittens to transform them into a practical dust buster. They apparently also make especially good Venetian blind cleaners; tilt slats to a fully closed position and simply wipe across them, or open fully and run the 'glove socks' gently in between the slats.

To remove mould from tiles, use a brush or scourer and scrub with bicarb, mentholated spirits, cloudy ammonia and Epsom salts. Bicarb soda is a cheap deodorant for carpets and upholstery and works especially well on pet smells. For even distribution, use a flour sifter to sprinkle the bicarb over the area. Vacuum off 15 minutes later.

While a dustpan and brush will sweep up larger shards of glass, to get rid of all the tiny unseen bits, there are a few effective things you can use. Try using children's play dough, a piece of bread or even a damp cloth. Simply dab it on top of the small splinters, throwing the cloth or used material away on top of the broken glass, and your floor will be clean and safe to walk on.

Burglar-proof your doors with wooden wedges. Slip them under doors, making it impossible to open except from the inside.