cleaning tip

I'm on vacation this week.  Not really vacation, because my main focus is getting stuff done around the house, but I'm not going to the office and doing the work I'm paid to do.

Have you ever noticed how many of the obscure and less immediate jobs that you get done while procrastinating others that are more mundane?  I've actually gotten quite a bit done, but haven't been as successful on the whole cleaning of the house.  I hate housework, and I'm counting the days until I'm rich enough to hire myself a maid.

Until then, I'm stuck with it; and today I set out to get some of it done.  A few years ago, I started making efforts to use less chemicals in the house, and have been fairly successful.  Baking soda and vinegar go a long way towards getting the house clean.  Also,  I got a steamer last spring that heats up water to 130C and does a great job of steaming the dirt and crud away.

Where I haven't succeeded very well is the glass cleaner.  Orange oil (which I love but is holy crap expensive) and vinegar work in theory, but they always seem to leave behind a layer of smudge and yuck.  The truth is that more often and not, I've been falling back on chemical cleaners to get the glass clean and streak free.  I thought that the vinegar and orange oils were leaving the dirt behind, but I recently read that the film is actually left by the chemicals.  According to the article, a mixture of 95% water and 5% hydrogen peroxide will remove the film.  It says to use that mixture once, and then to use vinegar after that to get the windows really clean.

I tried it today, and it worked like a hot damn.  It worked so well that I actually didn't have to follow up with vinegar. I didn't measure when I made it.  I poured a big bowl of water, and then added a dollop of hydrogen peroxide.  I soaked a rag in it, then used it to wipe the windows and mirrors.  Then I used another rag to wipe it off.  There was no shining and polishing.  There was no scrubbing or going back to remove streaks.  I simply wiped it onto the glass and then wiped the glass dry.  Finger prints, smudges and dog snot were totally gone.  It's the easiest, cheapest way to clean that I've found yet.