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    • 35 One-Pan Meals Just Right for Dinner Tonight

      One pan, pot, skillet, or Instant Pot is all you need to for these no-fuss family dinners, including salmon, pasta, pot roast, chili, and so much more. Read More Next
    • The Best 2021 Bedroom Paint Colors

      Explore the best 2021 bedroom paint colors, according to paint experts. Read More Next
    • The Ultimate Guide to Household Cleaning: What You Should Be Cleaning When

      Our printable checklists will tell you what you should be doing every day, week, month, season—or every once in a while—to keep your home in ship-shape year round. Read More Next
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    Quick, Easy, and Delicious Pasta Recipes Ideal for Weeknight Dinners

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  3. 10 Clever Cleaning Tricks

10 Clever Cleaning Tricks

February 13, 2011
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Cleaning Powder Trick

Next time you peel the seal from a canister of cleaning powder, take it off only halfway. Keeping some of the holes covered gives you better control of the flow, so it won't come pouring out.

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Tarnish Remover

Credit: José Picayo
Remover How-To

This simple chemical reaction causes tarnish to disappear naturally.

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Better Bottle Washing

The drudgery of cleaning small-necked decanters and antique apothecary bottles can be avoided. One easy solution: Fill the bottles with water, drop in a tablet or two of a denture cleaner such as Efferdent, let stand overnight, then scrub with a narrow nylon brush.

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Votive Cleaner

Candlelight may be romantic, but there's nothing lovely about prying or scraping melted votives out of their holders. Not only is it ineffective; you also risk scratching or breaking the delicate glass. Instead, try this trick: Place the glass candleholders in the freezer for a few hours. Once frozen, the wax will shrink just enough to pop right out.

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Furniture Moving Trick

To avoid scuffed floors when rearranging heavy pieces of furniture, fold two clean towels (dirty ones can scratch floors), place one under each end, and slide the piece across the floor.

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Preventing Mildew

When it comes to mildew, prevention gives you the upper hand. So be sure to keep surfaces clean, improve air circulation, and reduce dampness (for example, don't bunch wet towels). In poorly ventilated basements, install open shelving, use a dehumidifier and fan, and store items in airtight plastic containers with desiccants (such as silica gel). In musty closets, leave an incandescent lightbulb on to dry the air, or hang packets of desiccants.

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Cleaning Lampshades

Here's a bright idea: Keep your fabric lampshades dust-free with an adhesive lint roller. Hold the shade steady, and pass the roller over the exterior.

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1 of 7 Cleaning Powder Trick
2 of 7 Tarnish Remover
3 of 7 Better Bottle Washing
4 of 7 Votive Cleaner
5 of 7 Furniture Moving Trick
6 of 7 Preventing Mildew
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