Guides
Written to say what a method is safe on, what it can damage, and when a dry cleaner or the maker’s instructions will do better.
Express Stainless · All guidesPage 4 of 5
- Hydrogen Peroxide for Blood Stains: Fresh vs. DriedHydrogen peroxide for blood stains tackles fresh and dried marks; see which fabrics are safe and when enzyme cleaner or oxygen bleach works better.
- Bio vs non-bio detergent: which should you use?Bio’s enzymes shift food, blood, sweat and grass even in a cool wash, but damage wool and silk. Which to use for which load, and what labels say about skin.
- Is it worth buying a carpet cleaner, or hiring one?What hiring a carpet washer, buying one or paying a professional costs in pounds, which carpets to keep machines off, and how to avoid over-wetting.
- End of tenancy cleaning checklist: room by roomA room-by-room checklist for cleaning a rented home back to its check-in inventory, with what a landlord can and cannot charge for and the photographs to take.
- How to clean oven door glass, including between the panesClean oven door glass with a bicarbonate of soda paste and a plastic scraper, use oven cleaner safely, and reach the grease trapped between the panes.
- How to get biro and ink out of clothesBallpoint needs isopropyl alcohol, gel and felt-tip need cold water: how to tell the inks apart, and what to do when a pen has been through the wash.
- How to get blood out of clothes, sheets and carpetCold water first, because heat sets blood: how to get fresh and dried blood out of clothes, sheets, carpets, sofas and mattresses, and what never to do.
- How to get colour run out of clothesWhites came out pink or grey? Keep them damp and out of the dryer, rewash cool without the culprit, then try an oxygen soak before a colour run remover.
- How to get oil and grease out of clothesSoak up the oil with a powder, break it up with washing-up liquid and wash as warm as the label allows. Fresh spills, washed-in spots, sportswear and bike oil.
- How to get red wine out of carpet, sofas and clothesBlot, cold water, then washing-up liquid with a little white vinegar: how to get fresh and dried red wine out of carpet, sofas and clothes, in that order.
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