Choose from the following list of jobs that take minutes but bring hours of satisfaction:
- Ceramic tiles: Tiles need to be thoroughly dry to shine -not always easy in the dampest room in the house. Get into the habit of rubbing splash backs with a towel just before you send the towel to the laundry basket.
- Grout: Grouting needs harder work. Use an old toothbrush (and keep this absolutely with your cleaning kit!) and brush bleach-and-water solution on grout to restore whiteness. Rinse to finish.
- Mirror: Rubbing in a dash of washing-up liquid on a smooth cloth prevents mirrors from misting up so easily. Alternatively, steal a screen (window) wipe from your car.
- Showerhead: Unscrew from the shower and scrub with an old nailbrush. For stubborn hard-water scale, use a descaler per packet instructions. Be sneaky and do two descaling jobs at once. Pop the showerhead into your kettle and descale both with one lot of solution.
- Taps:
- Standard tap: Line the sink with a plastic bag to catch drips, then wrap a paper towel soaked in liquid descaler around the tap edge and leave as long as instructions suggest. For a natural approach, half a lemon squashed up against the tap can loosen scale. Again, protect the basin.
- Gold-plated tap: Polish with a soft microfibre cloth. If recommended by manufacturers, use metal polish to ease away scratches. Thoroughly dry to avoid smears.
