A Clean house

[BENIDORM]

I've tried just about every household cleaning liquid, gel and powder known to man to try to maintain cleanliness around the house and patio and gone back to the product we've always used in the past...
BLEACH.
I know it's supposedly not eco friendly but I still think it's better than most other products available, so now I have just 2 bottles in my store ,regular bleach and gel bleach and not only is it cheaper but everywhere in my house is now cleaner , fresher and on the patio no sign of any of the multitude of different tribes of ants roaming around, they really don't like even the smell of bleach.
Thinking back to my childhood my Mother always used just regular bleach for cleaning most things and my Uncle was the head porter of a small local hospital and the wards were always spotless, no infections - virus spreading etc., the faint smell of bleach was quite comforting....
Bleach was also responsible for one of my first business ventures , as a 11 / 12 year old I collected empty wine bottles from the beach ( dumped by ocean liners before they docked in Liverpool ), I washed them ,removed any labels then sold them to the local bleach bottling plant, no fancy plastic bottles then,I got extra for clear bottles,( I may have mentioned this before ).
So will I be labelled a criminal, or an irresponsible old codger by some hysterical do-gooder probably, but ask me if I care, I'm more interested in maintaining a clean and germ free house to live in.

What do you use to to keep everthing clean and germfree. ?

[El Cid]

What do you use to to keep everthing clean and germfree. ?

My Lithuanian cleaning lady.

Sid

[BENIDORM]

Sid,
Good answer....
Does your lovely Lithuanian lady lavish bleach around your house..?

[El Cid]

Bleach is banned in this house. If it gets in the septic tank there would be problems. She uses bleach free products. Plenty of bleach in the pool though.

Sid

[BENIDORM]

Yes Sid,
Yes I can understand not using bleach if you rely on a septic tank, I don't have that problem, however I do make sure that it's well diluted.
To compensate for my usage of bleach I've stopped using fly sprays etc., in fact we haven't needed them since I started my ' long live bleach ' regime.
Even in my museum I've had less problems with moths attacking my clothing exhibits, can be a big problem as we have many items of clothing on open display.
I have several thousand books stored in boxes in my archive room, not a sign of the silver fish munching their way through the books, beautiful little creature but so destructive and as for cockroaches...what are they ?
So I will keep mopping with my bleach and hope that we don't have any side effects..
Saludos,
Gordon.

[Wicksey]

We have a pozo negro so it doesn't work the same way as a septic tank, and we do use bleach. Nothing cleans the loo like bleach and we put a small amount of dilute bleach down the dishwasher drain as we only run it every 3 days. Not thought of washing floors with it as we do get ants in our conservatory where the cats sleep at night, so maybe I'll try that. Sometimes put a drop in the tea mugs every now and then as nothing seems to get the tea and coffee stains off.

I think I have always used a bit of bleach and we've not been on mains drainage since 1989! We've never had the plastic chamber type of septic tanks though, just a variety of versions of a pozo negro I think. Even in England, ours was just a large chamber dug into the ground leading to a second one with spaced bricks so it just soaked away. So I've never held back on it and we've never had problems.

[Pamela1]

We have a septic tank, i was putting bleach down the toilet for quite a few years until i found out i wasn't supposed to. Nothing bad happened, maybe because we have never been here long enough, i guess we have been lucky.I still use bleach in my mop bucket for the floors only i empty it out on the gravel driveway.My favourite cleaner is ciff, it used to be called Jiff, i wouldn't be withought it.

[costakid]

A friend of mine had a dog kennels and they use to clean down the outside pens with Jeyes fluid. I cap full in a bucket kept everything smelling lovely.

[BENIDORM]

Wicksey,
The bleach really has made a big difference to our ant problem.
I put some neat bleach near their entrance to my patio and after two applications they packed their bags and left, I don't really like killing anything so I gave them plenty of warning to vacate.

Pamela,
We also use Cif for sink cleaning etc., excellent stuff and I do keep a bottle of cleaning vinegar for other jobs, good for cleaning marks off windows etc.
Having been involved with the antiques trade since before Lovejoy I also have a cupboard full of stuff for restoring so know how to tackle most cleaning /restoring jobs.
For instance this morning I have successfully removed a sticky label from a beautiful ancient wooden box, I purchased it at a carboot and the seller had stuck a massive label across the top ,I almost didn't purchase it for that reason.
However I dabbed hot water on the label with a cotton bud and the paper came off, then I had to to tackle the sticky gunge, but gentle rubbing with another cotton bud soaked in lighter fuel and perfect result.Phew..

Costakid,
Jeyes fluid, wow a blast from the past, very effective but again good results ,I don't think that it's available from regular shops now, if my memory is correct it's available at chemist shops ?

Saludos,
Gordon the Cleaner...

[Wicksey]

Our local English supermarket stocks Zoflora. I've never used it but I think that's a very old fashioned disinfectant.

Sticky labels .... why do shops use those ones that cannot be removed! I bought a new cat water bowl and it had a large sticky label inside the bottom and we couldn't get the stick off. Used WD40 in the end and lots of rinsing and the cats do drink out of it but I almost threw it out. Same with their food bowls, they still have sticky marks on the side. May try some lighter fluid but I don't want anything that will make them stop using the bowls.

I do tend to use Mercadona's version of Cillit Bang which is good for cleaning the chrome taps and stainless steel sink (stainless steel .... now there's an oxymoron). Also their Quita Grasas spray for greasy stuff and neither leave any residue and clean off well. Almost takes my nail polish off though so I use them sparingly (and now use rubber gloves!).

[chrissiehope]

Removing sticky labels - some essential oil such as Lavender, Rosemary or Eucalyptus on some cotton wool does the trick (with a bit of rubbing !) - and it leaves a nice smell too

[costakid]

Wicksey,


Costakid,
Jeyes fluid, wow a blast from the past, very effective but again good results ,I don't think that it's available from regular shops now, if my memory is correct it's available at chemist shops ?

Saludos,
Gordon the Cleaner...

Jeyes fluid was invented by a chemist in a little village in Northamptonshire called Jeyes. They are still going to this day and even have a museum.

[Enrique]

Hi,
To clean sticky when removing labels..........
Mercadona (there are other super markets)......... cosmetic department 96% Alcohol

https://tienda.mercadona.es/product/772 ... us-botella

[costakid]

As it looks like Wilkos are closing in the UK with a loss of 12000 jobs I thought they would have some bargains. I called in yesterday and actually nothing was really cheap but in the gardening section they had 3 different size bottles of Jeyes fluid. I haven’t seen that on sale for donkeys years.

[Wicksey]

Hi,
To clean sticky when removing labels..........
Mercadona (there are other super markets)......... cosmetic department 96% Alcohol

https://tienda.mercadona.es/product/772 ... us-botella

I've got that and it usually works but not on the cat bowl labels

[BENIDORM]

Yes ,lots of different methods of removing sticky labels, but it depends on the item, if it's wood, plastic ,steel etc., I've tried most methods ,even coca cola, which is quite good for cleaning stains etc., but I dread to think what it does to human organs.
However the lighter fuel seems to be the best and easily cleaned after, so no smell..taste.

Thank you all for your input,always interesting to hear about new or different ideas for cleaning problems around the house and museum..in my case..

Costakid, I remembered that you need a poison licence to sell Jeyes fluid...
Shame about Wilkos, I hate to see old established outfits going to the wall, less competition for the really big supermarkets so expect higher prices..
Saludos,
Gordon,
The well experienced mop handler, after working as a deckhand on a submarine....joke..

[El Cid]

For really stubborn labels, I use Dissolvente.

Sid

[Pamela1]

Wicksey,


Costakid,
Jeyes fluid, wow a blast from the past, very effective but again good results ,I don't think that it's available from regular shops now, if my memory is correct it's available at chemist shops ?

Saludos,
Gordon the Cleaner...

Jeyes fluid was invented by a chemist in a little village in Northamptonshire called Jeyes. They are still going to this day and even have a museum.

My dad always used Jeyes to clean his greenhouse in early spring before he planted his tomatoes.

[BENIDORM]

Yes, it's good to see some of the old products from the past still surviving, proves they were effective and probably good value, like Brasso,Domestos, Ajax, Brillo pads, Vim and Fairy liquid.etc.

Anyone remember the adverts...''Now hands that do dishes can feel as soft as your face ''..Fairy Liquid ad, from the 1950-60's I think

Love all of the old names ,but so many missing now like Omo,Tide,Daz,Oxydol ( old style , some still available but different product ), all in enviromentally friendly cardboard boxes........ can you think of any more ?

I did have a huge collection of old time cleaning products, collected from my house clearance days, but let them go to various museums around the country..wish I'd kept them for my museum. .

Saludos,
Gordon the cleaner....

[Pamela1]

I recognise all those cleaning product names.I used to think Fairy liquid was the best but not anymore.My mother used Tide but then Ariel came along and she wouldn't use any other brand after that.Ariel is my go to brand but i will also buy Persil if it's on offer.I'm not sure about the washing powder in Spain...I have seen various brands and wondered if they are the usual brands but with a different name...Anyone know if skip is a name of a well known brand?