GRILLS

Aluminum foil: Tear off a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil large enough to completely cover your grill. Press foil shiny side down on the grill and fold the sides under, covering as tightly as possible. When the coals have nearly reached their hottest point, place the grill over the coals for 10 minutes. Remove the foil, and any charred grease or food should drop off the grill.

Vegetable oil: Before using the grill, spray it heavily with vegetable oil. Then wipe clean when grill has cooled.

HAND CLEANERS

Prevention: Use nitrile or other type gloves suited for the activity.

Oils: Massage hands with a few drops of baby oil, margarine or butter, or petroleum jelly; wipe dry; wash with soap and water.

Non-toxic: Use a lanolin and glycerin-based, non-toxic hand cleaner.

HAIR PRODUCTS

For Hair Gel: Gelatin: Dissolve l/2 to 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin in 1-cup warm water. Keep refrigerated and use as you would a purchased gel.

For Hair Spray: Citrus: Chop 1 lemon (or orange for dry hair). Place in a pot and cover with 2 cups of hot water. Boil until only half remains. Cool and strain. Add more water if needed. Refrigerate in a spray bottle.

LAUNDRY PRODUCTS

Spot and stain remover

White Vinegar: Eliminate soap residue by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the water's final rinse. Vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics but strong enough to dissolve alkaline in soaps and detergents. Vinegar also breaks down uric acid, so adding 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse water is especially good for babies' clothes. To get wool and cotton blankets soft and fluffy as new, add 2 cups white vinegar to a full tub of rinse water. DO NOT USE VINEGAR IF YOU ADD CHLORINE BLEACH TO YOUR RINSE WATER. IT WILL PRODUCE HARMFUL VAPORS.

Baking Soda: 1/4 to 1/2 cup baking soda per wash load makes clothes feel soft and smell fresh.

Dry Bleach: Dry bleaches containing sodium perborate are of low toxicity (unless in strong solution, then they can be irritating to the skin). Use according to package directions.

Baking Soda: You can cut the amount of chlorine bleach used in your wash by half when you add 1/2 cup baking soda to top loading machines or 1/4 cup to front loaders.

Protein Shampoo: When hand washing silk use a protein shampoo to "feed" the protein in the silk.

Vinegar: To remove smoky odor from clothes, fill your bathtub with hot water. Add 1 cup white vinegar. Hang garments above the steaming bath water.

Cornstarch: For homemade laundry starch, dissolve 1-tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Place in a spray bottle. Shake before using. Clearly label the contents of the spray bottle.

Fabric softener: Add 1 cup of white vinegar or 1/4 cup of baking soda to the final rinse.

LIME AND MINERAL DEPOSIT REMOVER

Vinegar and Paper Towels: Hard lime deposits around faucets can be softened for easy removal by covering the deposits with vinegar-soaked paper towels. Leave the paper towels on for about one hour before cleaning. Leaves chrome clean and shiny.

For Plastic and Metal Showerheads: Vinegar: To remove deposits which may be clogging your metal showerhead, combine 1/2 cup white vinegar and one quart water. Then completely submerge the showerhead and boil 15 minutes. If you have a plastic showerhead, combine 1 pint white vinegar and 1 pint hot water. Then completely submerge the showerhead and soak for about one hour.

METAL CLEANERS AND METAL POLISHES

Aluminum

Cream of Tartar: To remove stains and discoloration from aluminum cookware, fill cookware with hot water and add 2 tablespoons cream of tartar to each quart of water. Bring solution to a boil and simmer ten minutes. Wash as usual and dry.

Vinegar: To clean an aluminum coffeepot and remove lime deposits, boil equal parts of water and white vinegar. Boiling time depends upon how heavy deposits are.

Brass

Olive Oil: Brass will look brighter and require less polishing if rubbed with a cloth moistened with oil after each polishing. Olive oil retards tarnish.

Worcestershire Sauce: Clean and polish unlacquered brass to a shine with a soft cloth dampened with Worcestershire Sauce. The acid-salt combination in the Worcestershire Sauce eats away the tarnish.

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour: Dissolve 1-teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a past. Apply paste to brass and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water and polish dry.

Lemon and Salt or Baking Soda: Make a past of lemon juice and salt and rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water, and dry. Or use a slice of lemon sprinkled with baking soda. Rub brass with the lemon slice, rinse with water, and dry.

Vinegar and Salt: Pour vinegar over the surface. Sprinkle salt over the acid and rub in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.

Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar: Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar. Apply, leave on for 5 minutes and then wash in warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.

Bronze

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour: Dissolve 1-teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply paste to bronze and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean, warm water, and polish dry.

Chrome

Vinegar: To clean chrome, wipe with a soft cloth dipped in undiluted white or cider vinegar.

Baby Oil: Apply baby oil with a soft cloth and polish to remove stains from chrome trim on faucets, kitchen appliances, vehicles, etc.

Newspaper: To make chrome fixtures shine brightly, rub them with newspaper after they have been wet. Wear gloves to avoid getting newsprint of your hands and other surfaces.

Aluminum Foil: Rub chrome with aluminum foil, shiny side out.

Copper

Catsup or Worcestershire sauce: Rub the copper pot with catsup or Worcestershire sauce to make the tarnish disappear.

Salt and vinegar spray: Add 3 tablespoons of salt to a spray bottle of vinegar, spray the solution on the copper pot, let set and then rub clean.

Vinegar and Salt: If copper is tarnished, boil article in a pot of water with 1tablespoon salt and 1 cup white vinegar for several hours. Wash with soap in hot water. Rinse and dry.

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour: Dissolve 1-teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply the paste to cooper and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water, and polish dry.

Lemon and Salt or Baking Soda: Make a past of lemon juice and salt, and rub with a soft cloth, rinse with water, and dry. Or use a slice of lemon sprinkled with baking soda or salt. Rub copper with the lemon slice and rinse with water and dry.

Vinegar and Salt: Pour vinegar over the surface. Sprinkle salt over the acid and rub in the mixture. Rinse with warm water and polish dry.

Lemon Juice and Cream of Tartar: Make a paste of lemon juice and cream of tartar. Apply, leave on for 5 minutes, and then wash in warm water. Dry with a soft cloth.

Sour Milk: Copper bottom pans can be cleaned with sour milk poured into a plat dish or bowl. Soak copper bottom for approximately 1 hour. Rinse and dry.

Gold

Soapy Water: Wash in lukewarm soapy water and dry with a cotton cloth. Polish with a chamois cloth.

Toothpaste: Clean with toothpaste and a soft toothbrush.

Pewter

Salt, Vinegar, and Flour: Dissolve 1-teaspoon salt in 1 cup white vinegar. Add enough flour to make a paste. Apply paste to pewter and let sit for 15 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse with clean warm water, and polish dry.

Silver

Polishing silver while wearing rubber gloves promotes tarnish. Instead, choose plastic or cotton gloves.

Baking Soda: Apply a past of baking soda and water. Rub, rinse, and polish dry with a soft cloth. To remove tarnish from silverware, sprinkle baking soda on a damp cloth and rub it on the silverware until tarnish is gone. Rinse and dry well.

Sour Milk or Buttermilk: Place silver in a pan. Cover with sour milk or buttermilk. Let stand overnight, and in the morning rinse with cold water and polish dry with a soft cloth.

Aluminum Foil and Rock Salt. Fill a glass jar 1/2 full with strips of aluminum foil, then add 1-tablespoon rock salt and enough cold water to fill the jar. Keep covered. Dip silver items into the jar and leave for two minutes. Rinse well and dry.

Aluminum Foil, Baking Soda, and Salt: Place a sheet of aluminum foil in the bottom of a pan, add 2-3 inches of water, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Add silver pieces, boil 2-3 minutes, making sure the water covers the silver pieces. Remove silver, rinse, dry, and buff with a soft cloth. This method cleans the design and crevices of silver pieces.

Toothpaste: To clean off tarnish, coat the silver with toothpaste, then run it under warm water, work it into a foam, and rinse it off. For stubborn stains or intricate grooves, use an old soft -bristled toothbrush.

Stainless Steel

Rub stainless steel sinks with olive oil to remove streaks.

Vinegar: To clean and polish stainless steel, simply moisten a cloth with undiluted white or cider vinegar and wipe clean. Can also be used to remove heat stains on stainless steel cutlery.

Club Soda: Remove streaks or heat stains from stainless steel by rubbing with club soda.

OVEN CLEANER

Prevention. Put a sheet of aluminum foil on the floor of the oven, underneath but not touching the heating element. Although this may slightly affect the browning of the food, the foil can be easily disposed of when soiled. Clean up the spill as soon as it occurs.

Salt: While the oven is still warm, sprinkle salt on the spill. If the spill is completely dry, wet the spill lightly before sprinkling on salt. When the oven cools down, scrape away the spill and wash the area clean.

Vinegar: Retard grease buildup in your oven by dampening your cleaning rag in vinegar and water before wiping out your oven.

Baking Soda and Very Fine Steel Wool: Sprinkle water followed by a layer of baking soda. Rub gently with a very fine steel wool pad for tough spots. Wipe off scum with dry paper towels or a sponge. Rinse well and wipe dry.

Arm & Hammer Oven Cleaner: Consumers Union chemists declared this product nontoxic. Use according to label directions.

PAINT BRUSH RENEWER

Vinegar: Soften hard paintbrushes in hot vinegar for a few minutes. Then wash paintbrush in soap and warm water and set out to dry.

PAINT

Prevention: Determine the amount of paint you need for a job and purchase only that amount.

Alternative to oil-based paint: Use water based paint instead of oil-based paint; latex paints are free of the flammable and toxic solvents found in oil-based paints.

Alternative to water-based paint: Use whitewash (a combination of hydrated lime, water and salt which lacks heavy metal pigments, alkyd resins and other chemicals common in water-based paint) for fences, barns, basements and outbuildings. Use a dust mask when mixing.

PEST CONTROL

Helpful predators around the home include frogs, spiders, ladybugs, praying mantis, and dragonflies. Keeping these beneficial creatures around can help you reduce pest populations.

Ants

Prevention: Block points of entry. Clean up all sources of food. Keep food in ant proof containers. Use commercial sticky barriers to block ants.

Pennyroyal, Spearmint, Southernwood, and Tansy: Growing these plants around the border of your home will deter ants and the aphids they carry.

Sugar: Place small sponges soaked in sugar sweetened water wherever ants have been seen. Collect the sponges periodically and plunge them into hot water.

Green sage: Place a small quantity of green sage on your cupboard shelves.

Vinegar: Wash counter tops, cabinets and floor with equal parts vinegar and water to deter ant infestations.

Flour and Borax: Mix 1-cup flour and 2 cups borax in a quart jar. Punch holes in the jar lid. Sprinkle the contents around the house foundation. Keep borax out of the reach of children and pets.

Bonemeal or powdered charcoal or lemon: Set up barriers where ants are entering. They will generally not cross lines of bonemeal or powdered charcoal. If you can find a hole where ants are entering the house, squeeze the juice of a lemon in the hole or crack. Then slice up the lemon and put the peeling all around the entrance.

Carpenter Ants/Termites

Prevention: Prevent moist wood by adequate home maintenance. Repair leaky gutters. Place plastic sheeting on ground surface of crawl spaces as a vapor barrier. Improve ventilation to damp areas. If building in a known problem area consider using non-wood building material. Remove potential sources of ant nests and other means of access, which are close to the home: remove decaying stumps and wood debris, eliminate wood to earth contact surfaces for your home. Check firewood carefully for insects before bringing it inside.

Fleas

Prevention: If possible, establish one sleeping area for your pet(s). Restrict pets from bedrooms, attics, basements and hard-to-clean areas. Wash bedding material.

Vacuum: Vacuum at least weekly all areas where pets have access, remove the vacuum bag, seal it, and dispose of it immediately outside your home.

Vinegar: A ratio of 1 teaspoon vinegar to 1 quart water (per 40 pounds of pet weight) in their drinking water helps to keep your pets free of fleas and ticks.

Fennel, Rosemary, Red Cedar Shavings, Sassafras, Eucalyptus, or Pennyroyal: Spread leaves or shavings of these plants under and around the pet's bed.

Salt: Salt the crevices of the doghouse and/or wash the pet periodically in salt water.

Flies

Prevention: Keep kitchen garbage tightly closed. Sprinkle dry soap or borax into garbage cans after they've been washed and allowed to dry; it acts as a repellent.

Orange: Scratch the skin of an orange and leave it out; the citrus acts as a repellent.

Cloves: Hang clusters of cloves to repel flies.

Mint or Basil: Mint planted around the home repels flies. A pot of basil set on the window sill or table helps to repel flies. Keep basil well-watered from the bottom so that it produces a stronger scent. Dried ground leaves left in small bowls or hung in muslin bags are also effective.

Fly Swatters, FlyTraps, or Fly Paper: Use according to label directions.

Sugar and Corn Syrup: Make your own fly paper by boiling sugar, corn syrup, and water together. Place mixture onto brown paper and hang or set out.

Egg, Molasses, and Black Pepper: Beat the yolk of an egg with a tablespoon each of molasses and finely ground black pepper. Set it about in shallow plates. Flies will be rapidly killed.

Houseplants

Prevention: Get rid of infested plants. Use resistant plant varieties whenever possible.

All purpose spray: For an all purpose spray grind together three hot peppers, three large onions and one whole bulb of garlic. Cover the mash with water and let stand overnight. Strain through a cheesecloth and add enough water to make a gallon of spray. Use on roses, azaleas, mums and beans three times daily for one or two days during heavy infestation.

Garlic clove: Plant a garlic clove along with your plant. As it grows, simply keep cutting it down so it will not effect the appearance of your plant. Garlic will not harm the plant, but bugs hate it.

Tobacco: Place tobacco on potted plant soil. This helps control indoor infestations of a variety of pest that hatch from eggs deposited when plants are outside.

Tobacco and water spray: Place a large handful of pipe or cigarette tobacco in 4 quarts of warm water. Let stand for 24 hours. Dilute and apply with a spray bottle. Nicotine is deadly to mammals in high concentration: use caution when handling.

Soap and water spray: Mix up a solution of liquid soap and water in a pump-spray bottle at the ratio of 2 1/2 teaspoons per quart. Spray infested leaves with soapy water, then rinse off with plain water after a few minutes.

Mice

Mashed potato powder or buds: Place instant mashed potato powder or buds in strategic places with a dish of water close by. After eating the powder or buds mice will need water. This causes fatal bloating.

Mouse Traps: Use according to label directions.

Mosquitoes

Prevention: Encourage natural predators such as dragonflies or praying mantises. Eliminate pools of stagnant water. Avoid wearing perfume, bright colors, flowery prints, and bright jewelry as these items attract mosquitoes.

Citronella: Burn citronella candles to repel insects.

Tansy or Basil: Plant tansy or basil around the patio and house to repel mosquitoes.

Moths

If you can see moths, these aren't the ones to worry about. Moths that cause damage to clothes are too small to notice. It is the larvae of these moths that eat fabric.

Prevention: Periodically shake out woolens. To avoid contaminating newer material, discard or donate woolens, leathers and feather products that are no longer used. Wash clothing and clean furniture from yard or garage sales thoroughly before bringing into your house: they may contain moth eggs. Before storing woolens, dry clean and double wrap them in tightly sealed plastic bags; moth larvae especially like areas soiled with food stains. Store seasonal woolens in very tight containers when not in use.

Rosemary, Mint, Thyme, Cloves, and Ginseng (optional): Chicago area weavers and spinners use 1/2 pound rosemary, 1/2 pound mint, 1/4 pound thyme, 1/4 pound ginseng (optional), and 2 tablespoons cloves. Mix and put in cheesecloth bags and place in closets or drawers.

Dried Lavender or Rosemary and Mint: Make sachets of dried lavender or equal portions of rosemary and mint. Place in closets, drawers, or closed containers to mothproof garments.

Rosemary, Sage, Mint, Dried Lemon Peel and Cinnamon: Mix handfuls of first three ingredients. Add a little lemon peel and a pinch of cinnamon. Place in muslin bags.

Molasses, Vinegar, and Yellow Container: To trap moths, mix 1 part molasses with 2 parts vinegar and place in a yellow container to attract moths. Clean regularly.

Clothes Dryer: Kill moth eggs by running garment through a warm dryer.

Pesticides

DO NOT USE: These pesticides are banned from household use:

Aldrin, Chlordane, Cyanide, DBCP, DDT, Dieldrin, Heptachlor, Kepone, Lindane, Mirex, Silvex, 2,4,5,-T, Toxaphene, Arsenates, Sodium Arsenite, Creosote, Pentachlorophenol (PCP).

Roaches

Prevention: Close to all gaps around pipes and electric lines where they enter the house by using cement or screening. Caulk small cracks along baseboards, walls, cupboards, and around pipes, sinks, and bathtub fixtures. Seal food tightly and rinse dishes that are left overnight. Do not leave pet food out overnight.

Hedge Apples (Osage Orange): Cut hedge apples in half and place several in the basement, in cabinets, or under the house to repel roaches.

Flour, Cocoa Powder, and Borax: Mix together 2 tablespoons flour, 4 tablespoons borax, and 1 tablespoon cocoa. Set the mixture out in dishes. CAUTION: Borax is toxic if eaten. Keep out of reach of children and pets.

Borax and Flour: Mix 1/2 cup borax and 1/4 cup flour and fill a glass jar. Punch small holes in jar lid. Sprinkle powder along baseboards and door sills. CAUTION: Borax is toxic if eaten. This recipe may not be for you if there are young children or pets in the house.

Oatmeal, Flour, and Plaster of Paris: Mix equal parts and set in dishes. Keep our of reach of children and pets.

Baking Soda and Powdered Sugar: Mix equal parts and spread around infested area.

PORCELAIN CLEANER

Cream of Tartar: To clean porcelain surfaces, rub with cream of tartar sprinkled on a damp cloth. Works well on light stains.

RUGS (SEE CARPET/RUG)