Wednesday, June 30, 2010

More Cleaning With Cornstarch - Cleaning Windows Formula

See, cleaning with cornstarch isn't so crazy after all... Connie's mother has been using it to clean her windows with for years! Here's reader Connie's email, with the SECRET formula recipe:

"My mother's window cleaning (also mirrors etc) equal parts white vinegar, non-sudsy ammonia and water and add 1 or 2 tablespoons cornstarch."

I've also been doing some research into corn starch, and why it's such an incredible substance. For one thing, it's excellent for soaking up grease or oil spills. (Man, wish I'd known that about a week ago when I had a lovely HUGE bottle of olive oil fall down from a shelf and land in an oily puddle all across the kitchen floor. Ugh.)

And...corn starch is, obviously, a starch. So, if you (unlike most of us Happy Slobs) are an ironing fan, then corn starch is an excellent way to get a crisp, starchy finish to items like white shirts or cotton bed linens and sheets.

Start with about 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch in 1 cup of cold tap water. Add slowly to fully dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Use as you would any starch spray.

Who knew, right? Here we thought it was just a great gravy thickener - shows us.

Anyone have any other tips using cornstarch to clean? Post them in a comment or email them to me at christina@happyslob.com. Happy cleaning, all!

5 comments:

Tarah said...

I decided that it was time to get my house under control and after perusing countless books at Barnes and Noble today I found YOUR book and I LOVE it! I will be doing my first Cleaning Burst tomorrow morning! Thanks for sharing such good/practical tips. I am really enjoying the book!

HappySlob said...

Hey Tarah - Awesome! Your comment seriously made my day, and thank you for choosing my book over all of the ones available. Let me know how your first day goes, okay? Do you have your timer ready to go?

Tarah said...

I have been going to town (timer and all) for the past several days. My husband is SO surprised and impressed! :) Our house is already looking DRASTICALLY improved. Thanks again for the fabulous book!

HappySlob said...

How proud am I of you? (Answer: VERY!) Thanks for coming back to let us all know how things are going. Just keep going, step by step. (Hey, is it just me, or did I sound like a New Kid on the Block just then?) :) Keep up the amazing work, Tarah!

Unknown said...

I actually own a cleaning company. I would just like to tell you that I love your blog. I find it very useful. You have actually helped my business out in many ways.

Thank you,

Mike Estes
House Cleaning Friendswood, TX