Entries Tagged as 'Kitchen'

How to Remove the Stink from Plastic Storage Containers

October 28th, 2009 5 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

My spouse, it’s not me, no never me, has a bad habit of leaving his dirty plastic containers in the back of his car. I have to tell you, they are FUNKY. How do I remove the bad odor?

Signed,

Smelly in Smyrna

Heather says:

I feel your pain.

First let’s talk prevention. What I have done is convinced my husband that the first rinse out is HIS problem. I was pretty sensitive to smells during all three of my pregnancies; after losing my lunch a couple of times I flat out refused to be the one to crack the seal. Once he was hit with the funk a few times he began rinsing out the containers at work. With few exceptions -road crews being one I can think of- most people have access to running water on the job. Ask your spouse to rinse out the container before packing it to take home.

Once a plastic container has a bad smell, the cure is simple and Tupperware fans swear by it. First, wash it thoroughly in the hottest soapy water you can stand this will help get rid of any oils that may be part of the problem. Dry the container well, then crumple some newspaper, place it inside and close the lid tightly. Let the sealed container sit for a day or two, then discard the newspaper and give it a sniff. If the odor is gone, wonderful just wash it before reusing it. Otherwise, wash it with a diluted bleach solution and repeat the newspaper trick.

If you have it on hand, activated charcoal may work better than plain old newspaper. I never have it on hand, so I don’t really see it as an option.

Good luck!

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Crying Over Spilled Milk

August 26th, 2009 No Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

How does one remove dried milk from wood? Every low surface in my kitchen (chair legs, table legs, cabinets) is full of dried milk spots from spills that always go farther and cover more area than you can initially see. No matter how I try to clean them, I get the same result: it looks clean while it’s still wet and I think I’ve won, but as soon as it dries, the spots are still all there!

Signed,

Sobbing Suze in Toddler Town

Heather says:
Chin up, chicky the solution isn’t that difficult. Grab a bucket, or two if you’re lazy like me and hate getting up and down from the floor. If you take the two bucket approach, you might as well grab two rags. Fill the first bucket with a healthy dollop of dish soap like something like old fashioned Dawn the plain, dark blue, nothing fancy added dish detergent. Add just an inch or two of water.  Now, swish and swish the water until you have a lot of frothy suds.

In your other bucket just use clear water.

Wet the first rag with just the soapy bubbles, don’t dip it down into the water.  The world won’t end if you do, but try to get it as soapy, with the foam as possible. Now scrub off the milk spots and use a little elbow grease while you are at it. Next take your second rag, dip it in the plain water, wring it out, and wipe off the soap. Be sure to rinse this rag frequently.

When the chair legs are dry, give them a polish. I’m not huge on recommending brands, but I am a fan of the Method Wood for Good. I mean seriously, I don’t even like perfumes and it smells fantastic. I’m sure those with nut allergies are about to send well punctuated and tactful e-mails describing my insensitivity. Y’all get a pass, you don’t have to like the scent, save your ire for when I sing the praises of peanut butter.

Send your domestic mysteries to helpme@home-ec101.com.
We won’t always be nice or even prompt, but we will eventually answer.

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Dirty Dish: Burnt on Glassware

July 7th, 2009 15 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

Any suggestions for cleaning a burned pan? It is glass, and I am hesitant
to use steel wool on it. The glass cleaners don’t seem to be helping.

Signed,

Bummed in Burnsville

Heather says:

Always listen to your gut. If you used the steel wool you’d remove the food, but in the process you’d scratch the snot out of the glass. Why yes, that IS the technical term for it. All of those scratches would give food (and bacteria) lots of wonderful places to cling to and hide. So, what to do?

It’s time for our go to, yep, we’re once again plugging Bar Keeper’s Friend. Dampen the burned on mess and sprinkle with BKF. Give it a minute to work, then scrub with a rag. Rinse, repeat. It may take a couple of passes but I’ve not seen BKF beat yet. You can find Bar Keeper’s Friend near other cleaning agents like Comet in many stores (I just found the big can for $1.97 at Walmart). Or you can look for a retailer on their website.

If you feel like experimenting, I have a proposition for you. I’ve run into a tip dryer sheet tip all over the Internet. The tip is to fill the pan with water, add 1/2 a dryer sheet and allow it to soak overnight. We don’t use dryer sheets, so I have not tested this myself. If you do, would you please report to the class with your results?

Good luck!

Got a domestic dilemma? Send it to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Getting Started: The Pile Of Dishes From H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks

June 11th, 2009 18 Comments

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from people wondering, “Where do you start when your house is a mess?” Yes, sometimes it is very overwhelming when pretty much everywhere is a disaster. I ask people: “What bothers you the most? Start there.” Now, the answer does differ some, but largely people answer that the worst part is their messy kitchen OR their messy bathroom.

The worst part of a messy kitchen?

Dishes.

We’ve all had an evening where we’ve looked at the pile of dishes and thought, “I’ll get that in the morning.” Sometimes in periods of high stress, sickness, or just plain laziness (hey! I’ve been there! laziness is a perfectly valid excuse! as my grandmother said, “A poor excuse is better than none.”) we neglect the dishes longer than just overnight and the next thing you know, there’s no clean dishes in the house and you’re wondering if it would just be easier to trash all those dishes and just eat off paper plates from now on.

Sure, it would be easier, but it’s hardly good for the Earth and it’s hard on your pocketbook as well. I have a theory- I try to do a lot of “green” stuff so I can take extra-long showers. (Sorry about that, Mother Earth.) So, let’s skip throwing away all your dishes and let’s just wash them, shall we?

Start by emptying your sink. Pile all the dishes up on the counter, in a dish pan, wherever, but get them out of your sink entirely. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, you need the sink, even if you’re just going to rinse (or not rinse) them and put them in the dishwasher. Secondly, it’s a kind of mental trick. You already have one thing clean. Now you’ll be a bit more motivated to clean everything else.

Now that you have your sink cleaned out, rinse it nicely and shine it up. (alternate sink shining method right here) Now that you have your sink shining, get to work on the dishes. If you have a dishwasher, load up a load of dishes and run it. If not, go straight to the hand washing.

Whether you have a dishwasher or not, you’re probably going to have to do some hand washing. Anything that you couldn’t fit into the dishwasher, hand wash it. Wash until all your dishes are done AND put away. That includes any in the dishwasher. Let me reiterate.

Wash until all your dishes are done AND put away.

This also means going all through your house and finding any dishes hiding out in places they normally shouldn’t, like your teenager’s bedroom. Now, naturally you might miss a dish or two, but do your best. Once you have accomplished that, it will be easy to move on to something else that needs to be cleaned.

Tell me, Home Eccers….I know YOUR house never, ever gets out of control, but let’s just pretend for a minute that it did. What would bother you the most?

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Dirty Drip Pan Blues

April 29th, 2009 12 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

How in the WORLD do you clean off the reflectors on the stove top after you’ve successfully made them the most horribly dirty items in your house?  I am down to one burner that I can use without setting my fire alarms off!

Signed,

~Smells Like Smoke in Smallville

Heather says:
Oh, how I love my ceramic top stove. You, my friend, have just reminded me just how much I hated that chore. I have several methods, but your electric range’s drip pans  are as dirty as you say, I’d pull out the big guns.

The nearly fool proof way to get greasy and grimy drip pans clean is to spray each pan thoroughly with oven cleaner. Then, place the pieces in a garbage back or a pail with a lid and close tightly. Place the bag or bucket outside over night, then wash with regular detergent.

For not quite so dirty electric range reflectors Barkeeper’s Friend comes in handy. The oxalic acid, a safe and non toxic chemical, will help remove grease. 

Another option I have heard repeatedly, but not tested, is to soak the drip pans in a dishpan with a dryer sheet. If you try this version, email your results, I’d love to read a testimonial.

Lastly, if the oven cleaner method does not work, drip pans are reasonably priced between $1 and $6 each. Don’t beat yourself up if they don’t come clean. File it under live and learn, just don’t let them get quite so filthy next time.

Send your household questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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