That brown ring on the carpet after you’ve “cleaned” a spill is what most people are trying to avoid. Vinegar can shift many everyday stains, but used the wrong way it can leave a watermark,… 

You’ve scrubbed the glass already and stepped back expecting it to sparkle, but the shower screen still looks cloudy, streaky or patchy, especially when the bathroom light hits it. The usual reason is that you’ve… 

That gritty black line along your uPVC window tracks, with bits of dead insects and grey sludge, is usually a mix of dust, grease and a bit of mould. Bicarbonate of soda works well here,… 

That sour washing machine smell and the black slime in the drawer usually start with one simple thing: water sitting where it cannot drain. The quickest check that helps stop black mould building up is… 

That chalky white crust around the base of your bathroom tap or on the spout in a small kitchen sink is almost always limescale. On shiny chrome or black taps it stands out badly, and… 

That fizzing volcano in the sink looks satisfying: a glug of vinegar, a spoon of bicarbonate of soda and a rush of bubbles that feels like it must be scrubbing everything clean. In reality, it… 

That cloudy, greasy look on your windows after you’ve “just cleaned them” with vinegar is usually down to one simple mistake: using vinegar as the only cleaner on dirty, greasy or soapy glass. If the… 

That strange sweet-sour whiff when you open the freezer door is usually the first sign something isn’t quite right. Even if everything looks frozen solid, you might notice a faint smell of old peas, fish… 

The usual scene is this: you open the oven door, get a blast of burnt-on smell, see brown glass and greasy sides, and then put it off again because you know the spray cleaners drip…