Lynsey Crombie has made a television career from her clever cleaning tips and
has amassed a faithful following of almost 300,000 fans on Instagram.
But it is her passion for penny-pinching, chemical-free hygiene hacks, inspired by her two nans Shirley and Val, that give her the most satisfaction when it comes to household chores.
‘Both my nans are clean freaks so it’s in the blood,’ says Lynsey, right, who is the resident expert on ITV’s This Morning show and has just launched her own electrical cleaning range with British brand Swan.
‘Back in the 1950s they didn’t have much money so they experimented with things they had in the kitchen cupboards which cost pennies, not pounds. And in my experience they work just as well as many of the expensive chemical cleaners on the supermarket shelves, if not better.
‘As we face economic uncertainty and a climate crisis, we need to look back in time to get some solutions for our future.’
Here, Lynsey shares her top tips to tackle the toughest jobs in your home. We calculate that each costs no more than 10p and many are much cheaper.
They are kinder to the planet than many store-bought products too, so they won’t cost the earth, either.
Get rings off a wooden table with olive oil and salt
Cover the ring in olive oil (not extra virgin), sprinkle with fine-grained table salt and gently massage with the tip of your finger for about 15 minutes, then rinse off with a damp microfibre cloth. I have used this on new wooden tables and on antique tables, too.
Remove kettle limescale with white vinegar
Why use toxic chemicals in a kettle you use to make drinks when far cheaper, natural products do a better job? Removing limescale build-up monthly from your kettle, especially in hard water areas, makes your tea taste better and prolongs the life of your kettle.
Half-fill the kettle with water, add 20ml of white vinegar and boil. Leave for 30 minutes then rinse. To descale the spout, spray kitchen roll with white vinegar, mould it around the spout and leave it half an hour.
Remove rust with ketchup
Ketchup is great for getting rid of rust – a cheap brand will do, nothing fancy. I first tried it on a 2p coin, which came up like new. The sauce’s acidic properties cut through stubborn rust on bar stools, heated towel rails and garden furniture.
Rub it into the rust patch with an old toothbrush, leave it to work for 15 minutes, then take it off with a damp microfibre cloth and buff up.
Clean the BBQ with an onion
Cleaning the grill often puts people off having a BBQ – but this tip, from my nan Val, makes the job easy. Cut an onion in half and while the BBQ is still warm after cooking, pop the onion on a cooking fork and rub over the grill plates.
The onion will slowly disintegrate but will remove all the grease and grime. Onions have antiseptic properties so they make an ideal BBQ cleaner. The onion smell doesn’t last long.
Remove baked-on food with teabags
One of my favourite tips from my nan Shirley is how to remove baked-on food from dishes. Fill the dish with hot water and add a used teabag – then leave to soak while you are eating your dinner.
By the end of the meal, the tannins in the tea will have fought through the grease and the food will come off the dish easily.
Descale the sink with lemons
Great for stainless steel sinks and chrome taps. Cut a lemon in half and dip the juicy side into half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda, just to cover it. Give the lemon a tiny squeeze so it starts to fizz.
Rub it on the limescale and around the tap, then leave for 30 minutes. Rinse with a microfibre cloth and buff dry. Chemical limescale removers are not only expensive and toxic, they’re also abrasive and can damage surfaces.
Unblock drains with bicarb
Pop a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda down the plughole, let it fizz and then flush with boiling water to blast dirt and remove any odours. If there’s a blockage the water will bubble up first and then unblock.
Can also be used to refresh drains and soak up any odours. The leading product on the market costs £3.50 and is so powerful you need all windows open and the door shut. A box of bicarb costs about £1 and will last ages.
Clean your toothbrush with denture tablets
Your mouth is full of bacteria – and your toothbrush probably has more bacteria than your loo seat!
Every other week, soak your toothbrush in hot water with a denture tablet for an hour and watch all the bits float out. You can get 30 tablets for about £1.
Find out more from Lynsey on her Instagram page, @lynsey_queenofclean.
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