Dealing with Mice without Resorting to Pest Exterminators For Pest Control

Mice, and other pests, can cause real damage if left unchecked. However, many of us do not like the idea of using traps or poison in our homes for pest control. I also believe that all of us don’t want to spend a bunch of money on professional pest exterminators. I have always found that the best way to deal with unwanted pests is to remove their entry points and to get rid of any food that may be motivating them into entering your space.

Homemade Pest Control in lieu of Pest Exterminators

As for blocking their entry, my dad gave me a great trick. My father’s house was built in a large field that was formerly a farm. His house has a brick outer wrapping. To allow the moisture out, the builders left small holes around the base of the house in the brick. Mice began to get into these holes and they could hear them running around in the walls. My father purchased stainless steal Brillo pads from a commercial kitchen supply company. He torn off little pieces of the Brillo pad and stuffed it into the holes around his home. The mice don’t go anywhere near it! This is the perfect way to fill in little gaps around your foundation.

You already know to not leave food lying around and to store opened foods in air-tight containers. But, you may also need to think about your pet’s food. Pests will eat anything that they can get. If your cat’s food is lying about in a bowel on the floor, the mice will eat it. Raise your pet’s food and water off of the floor using a pet food stand.

Removing Baked On Grease From a Stainless Steel Stove Top

Reader Angie asks, how do you remove baked on grease from a stainless steel stove top?

The easiest way I have found to get rid of that baked on grease is Dawn Power Dissolver. Just spray it onto the surface and let stand for around 30 minutes. The grease should be easily removed using a rubber scraper or super scrubbing cleaning cloth. Dawn Power Dissolver is an alkali based cleaner that is much gentler than oven cleaner. It also works great for cleaning your burner pans and any of the stuff the drips below the stove top. You can use it on your pots and pans too.

Cleaning and Caring For Stainless Steel Appliances

Stainless Steel has become very popular on new appliances. One of the issues with stainless steel is how fast it shows finger prints, heat marks, and gets dirty. Reader Goldie asks:

I have stainless steel appliances and they get dirty fast and look ugly and old. Do you have any idea how and with what I can clean them? I am really desperate please help.

Here are some tips to keep your stainless steel appliances looking like new:

• White Vinegar - The best way to clean stainless steel is 100% white vinegar. Just put some on a microfiber cloth and rub down the appliance. Vinegar will remove all but the toughest burn marks. For burn marks try our tip Removing Burn Marks From Stainless Steel. Remember that stainless steel is very susceptible to scratching so never use harsh cleaners or steel wool.
• Olive Oil - After you have cleaned your stainless steel appliance, use a clean microfiber cloth and olive oil to polish to a shine. The olive oil will also keep finger prints off the appliance.
• Club Soda - Club soda also works well for cleaning finger prints off of stainless steel.

The Cleaning Powers Of Salt

Salt is another eco-cleaner we use often around our house. Salt is a good cleaner because it is an abrasive and dissolves easily into water. Salt dissolved into a solution creates an electrolyte. Electrolytes have the ability to transmit electricity. This property of electrolytes can boost the cleaning power of solutions, making chemical reactions possible. Our homemade silver cleaning tip uses these properties to transfer the tarnish on silver to the aluminum foil.

Salt can be used to clean carpets, cast iron, egg spills, grease, laundry stains, soot, stainless steel sinks, and wine stains.

Removing Burn Marks From Stainless Steel

If you have ever left your stainless steel pots or pans on the stove for too long, you know just how tough those burn marks are to remove. A great trick to removing the burn marks is to cover them completely with baking soda and white vinegar. The solution will foam up as it begins to break down the marks. Let it sit for about a half an hour and attempt to clean with a scouring pad. A second application of the solution may be required.

Removing Rust and Polishing Chrome

I have detailed a few cars in my life and have never found a better product for polishing heavily rusted or oxydized metal. With a little elbow grease and a pinch of Nevr-Dull Metal Polish, you can bring even pitted, rusted chrome back to life. Nevr-Dull is available at most car parts shops and once you have tried it, you will find a thousand used for it. Nevr-Dull is perfect for cleaning and polishing brass, aluminum, steel and chrome. It removes even the worst tarnish and leaves behind only a light residue that, if you desire, can easily be wiped off with a microfiber clothe.

Cleaning Stainless Steel

No one can argue with the appeal of stainless steel in the kitchen. It provides a fantastic contrast of texture and color to almost any kitchen decor. Also, it's sterile appearance provides the feeling of cleanliness. A few well-placed hand-prints, though, and its all over! Stainless steel cleaners are extremely harsh, and should be used with the greatest of care. They also require quite a bit of buffing to really get the surface perfect. One suggestion, wipe down the worst of the spots with a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol. Once finished, wipe down with a warm, soapy cloth and rinse with warm water. This works great on sinks, but can also be used on fridges and other stainless steel appliances, just wipe them with a warm damp cloth until they sparkle.