Even if cleaning isn’t your favourite pastime, the results always justify the effort made. That feeling that you’ve done your duty, when everything around you is shiny clean, can’t be beaten.

We have the best advice that can help make it all shine. Check these 12 fantastic tips for keeping your house perfectly clean:
How to restore a table

How to restore a table

Mix ½ cup of vinegar with ½ cup of olive oil, dip a cloth in the mix and wipe the wood down. Scratches disappear completely and the surface will look as new.

Whitening pillowcases

Whitening pillowcases

Mix 1 cup of washing powder, 1 cup of crumbled dishwasher powder, 1 cup of whitener, ½ cup of borax and add very hot water.

How to clean a cupboard

How to clean a cupboard

Mix 1 spoon of vegetable oil with 2 spoons of baking powder, and use it with a brush or cloth to clean the cupboard.

Cleaning the taps or shower head

Cleaning the taps or shower head

Get rid of the build-up of limescale from taps or shower heads using vinegar. Usually, 20 minutes is enough.

Cleaning the taps or shower head

If the limescale persists, wrap the showerhead in a plastic bag and leave for another hour. Then wash it thoroughly.

Irons

Irons

  1. Cover the ironing board with paper and sprinkle on a little salt.
  2. Turn on the iron and switch it to maximum heat. (Make sure the steam function is off, and that there is no water in the iron).
  3. Rub the heated iron over the salt. All the dirt of the surface will come of quickly and easily.

Cast-iron frying pans

Cast-iron frying pans

You will need an oven cleaner, rubber gloves, bin liners and plain vinegar. Detailed instructions can be found here.

Mould on bathtubs

Mould on bathtubs

Take some cotton wool and make small balls with it which are approximately one centimetre in diameter. Dip them in a whitener, place them on the mould and leave it all over night. In the morning, remove any remaining mould with a toothbrush.

Cleaning the stove grate

You can clean fat from the stove grate using ammonia. Put the grate in a plastic bag and add two to three tablespoons of ammonia cleaner. Leave for 12 hours, and then rinse.

Silverware

Silverware

It’s easy to clean silverware using boiling water, aluminium foil and salt. Line a bowl or sink with the foil and put everything else in. Leave for 30 minutes. The cutlery will then be sparkling clean!

Microfibre sofas

Microfibre sofas

You can remove stains from this kind of sofa with a clean white brush and a small amount of spirit. Add a little baking powder to get rid of the unpleasant odour.