'Vinegar Is Good for No-Wax and Hardwood Floors'
The truth: Vinegar is an acid on the pH scale and can actually deteriorate the floor's shine. Use a safe, neutral floor cleaner, and save the vinegar for your next salad recipe.
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'Newspaper Is Great for Cleaning Windows and Mirrors'
The truth: Newspaper leaves ink residue on the surface and can actually cause smears. Your best bet is a microfiber cleaning cloth. They can actually clean with just water—no chemicals, no streaks, no smears!
'Ammonia Is a Good Cleaner for No-Wax Floors'
The truth: Ammonia is used as a floor stripper and can deteriorate your no-wax and hardwood floors' shine. Stick with a neutral floor cleaner.
'Furniture Polish Is Good for All Wood'
The truth: Overspraying polish on wood furniture leads to a gummy buildup. Try using a half dry and half damp microfiber cloth weekly, and limit your polish use to once a month. Be sure to spray it only on your cloth, not the furniture, itself. And, never spray furniture polish on your polyurethane-finished hardwood floor.
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"Vinegar Cleans Pet Accidents on Carpets'
The truth: Pet odor carries a strong urine smell. mix that with vinegar, and you get nothing but a vinegar and pet urine carpet spot! Vinegar is not a disinfectant on its own, and it only acts as a disinfectant when mixed with peroxide and used as a spray. When dealing with bodily fluids, proper disinfection is important. You can find a disinfectant cleaner with a uric acid eradicator (enzyme cleaner) at most janitorial suppliers or pet stores. The enzyme cleaner not only disinfects, but also digests the bacteria and stops the odor. Inject carpet spots with enough cleaner to go into the pad without saturating it. Press down on the spot with an absorbent towel to pick up the liquid. Rinse with cold water. Press down again with your towel, and then dry clean the spot to inhibit any moisture from growing mold bacteria.
'Ammonia Is Good for Cleaning the Inside of Ovens'
The truth: The fumes this will create really just cause a terrible headache! Spend $5 instead, and buy a professional strength oven cleaner that releases no harsh fumes, from a janitorial supplier. Spray on the surface for 10 minutes, and wipe clean.
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'Lemon Juice Is a Great Cleaner'
The truth: Lemon juice works very slowly—and who has time to wait all day on a product? Try the new citric orange cleaners. They can get tar, gum and Crayola off of floors and walls in seconds.
'Floor Cleaners Can Clean and Wax With No Buildup'
The truth: If you mop a dirty floor with a dirty sponge and spray a wax on it to clean, you have, in fact, waxed your dirt right into the floor. Just look at the label on those no-wax floor cleaners: "Caution: After repeated use you may experience buildup. Use 1/4 cup ammonia with all-purpose cleaner to strip your floor." Stick with a microfiber floor mop. With a washable microfiber mop head and a safe floor cleaner, you can cut your mopping time in half.
