Household Management Tip #3 - Water Rings

It's an inevitable fate of almost every piece of wood furniture: the dreaded water ring. Either someone forgot to use a coaster, or the plant was over-watered. Without fail, it seems these ghostly white rings tend to pop up in the most obvious spots. In my case, it was dead center of my less-than-a-year-old espresso wood table.

My search for a cure to these unsightly marks began a few days ago, when I decided my ceramic tart burner needed to be cleaned. I carefully removed all the old, excess wax and proceeded to wash with warm soapy water. I towel dried it completely, but apparently that wasn't enough. The porous unglazed ceramic base trapped water very nicely, so that when placed on the table it slowly transferred it's moisture. After nearly two days, I went to dust, and there it was. A bright white ring against my dark espresso table.

Ugly water mark :(

Furiously, I began searching for a solution, besides succumbing to a lifetime of tablecloths. I found toothpaste solutions, salt scrubs, and all kinds of potentially abrasive ideas. Being that my table is not solid wood and has a sheen, I was worried what all these solutions might do to its surface. I then remembered and old cure-all for carpet stains using an iron and lots of kitchen towels. I had no idea if this would work on furniture as well, but for the sake of blogging and Domestic Diva's everywhere, I put my poor table to the test.

DIY Removing Water Rings From Wood Furniture

What you need: Absorbent cloth (I used a Sham-Wow), and a hot iron

• Set iron to Cotton, or similar heat setting. NO STEAM (this is very important!)
• Place cloth over the water mark and press down firmly with hot iron for 10-15 seconds
• Repeat several times, this may take 20-30 tries
• Table needs to get very hot, so be careful!
• CAUTION: Some veneers may not be able to withstand high heat, so use this method with caution

Using an absorbent cloth and hot dry iron to remove a water mark

 After about 10 minutes of moving the iron back and forth, I learned that simply pressing down firmly (actually with all my weight) was the best method. After a that, the ring seemed to disappear before my eyes! Of course, the logic behind this is that heat causes the remaining water molecules to evaporate (turning from a liquid into a gas) and is trapped by the absorbent cloth. Interesting, right? 

The water mark-GONE!

Not to say I will forgo the use of coasters, but I do feel at ease knowing there is a simple solution to a longtime problem.

Household Management Tip #2

Every house has a cleaning cabinet, stocked with all the necessary cleansers and disinfectants. At one point, mine was overflowing into the garage. I looked like a hoarder of cleaning supplies, except every one was for a different purpose. I honestly though it was necessary to have a specialty cleaner for everything. It wasn't until after a hundred dollar shopping trip and countless times of gassing myself out with potent cleaners, that I knew there had to be an alternative.

As a collector of vintage home-management books,  I scoured the pages for articles on the best cleaning knowledge. And lo-and-behold, I read nothing about needing any specialty cleaner. In fact, most homemakers relied on three (yes, only three!) items. There was an all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, and an abrasive cleaner. These were the foundation for a clean home. The staples necessary in everyone's closet. And the best part? They were cheap. Really cheap. I've listed the items below and have made a selection of my favorite products, as well as inexpensive and super easy DIY versions!

Cleaning Closet Staples

1. All-Purpose Cleaner

• (Ready to Buy) Mrs. Meyers Lavender being one of my personal favorites. Useable on almost any surface, non-abrasive, and gentle around children and pets. Plus it instantly makes your house smell amazing!

•  (DIY) 
• 2 tablespoons of a mild dish-washing liquid
• 2 cups of water
• Mix together in a spray bottle. Voila!

2. Window Cleaner

• (Ready to Buy) I previously used Windex religiously, but the chemicals began to irritate my skin and eyes, so I tried Seventh Generation. I've never looked back! This brand is fantastic and I surprisingly use much less than other brands! Seventh Generation is sustainable and eco-friendly, but more importantly wallet-friendly!

• (DIY)
• 1 part white vinegar
• 1 part water
• Mix together in a spray bottle.

3. Abrasive Cleaner

• (Ready to Buy) Bon Ami is one of the best gentle abrasive cleaners on the market. It really works! Whenever my pots and pans are looking kind of dingy, I'll simply use this and they look practically new. Truly amazing stuff!

•  (DIY) 
• Baking Soda
• Water
• Combine and make a paste. Works great as cleaner and deodorizer!

So there you have it, just three items you need for use in your home and not one do you need to worry about around your children or pets! By switching to these three formula's I've not only saved time and money, but my cleaning cabinet is remarkably more organized! What could be simpler?

Household Management Tip #1

When I moved into my home, the first thing the man and I did was tear out the majority of the carpet. We both have pretty bad allergies, and living with dogs and cats made wall to wall carpet a pretty terrible idea. So we replaced the builders beige carpet with dark wide-plank hand-scraped wood, leaving only the bedrooms with carpet. Recently, my craft room carpet was met with acrylic craft paint. Hot pink paint, actually, and dead center in the room. Tiny splotches of pink all over, made it look like a Barbie massacre. Determined to find a solution short of ripping it out, I found a very simple cleaning technique using basic rubbing alcohol.

Here's my hot pink stain and the only supplies you'll need: Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton rag.

Pour plenty of alcohol over the acrylic paint and rub liberally. Make sure you change up the spot on the rag so you don't smear the paint around.

In about 5 minutes, the stain was gone!

While the method isn't foolproof, I'm sure there's some materials you may want to avoid, it definitely worked in this case! Now to clean up the 100 other spots!