Speed-cleaning tips for quick pick-me ups

Over the holidays, most of us expected guests for lots of reasons. But sometimes we get unexpected guests.

This usually means you run around stuffing things here and there, and just generally hiding the debris that you often have lying around. Then, after your guests leave, you have to go play hide-and-seek with your stuff.

Use these tips to tidy up in a hurry and still keep track of things.

• Laundry baskets can be used for other things besides laundry. Go around the room and fill an empty laundry basket with those books, papers, toys and other stuff you need to hide in a hurry. Then take them into the laundry room to wait until your guests have left. Then you can put them away properly or just throw them back onto the coffee table again!

• Put all mail into a basket or drawer close to your entry so you can close it or carry it off in a hurry when you need to.

• Swiffers are great and will dust off a TV in a hurry, without leaving dust behind. They work pretty well on pet hair, too.

• Lint rollers also will grab pet hair from sofas and chairs in a hurry. Just remove pet beds to get rid of pet smells quickly.

• Wet wipes are great for wiping down counters in the kitchen and bathroom and should be right under each sink. Hit the coffee table and any other flat surfaces in your family room.

• Vacuum the entryway and sitting room. This can be done in a couple of minutes if you have a good vacuum cleaner that will move from surface to surface without a lot of adaptations.

• Straighten pillows and throws.

• Febreze is amazing for erasing bad smells or just a stuffy atmosphere in a room. Go from room to room, spraying as you go, and your home will smell clean in just a few minutes.

• Calming music is a good way of welcoming guests and turns a chaotic or cluttered home into a more relaxed atmosphere.

These tips are for speed cleaning only and, if you had to do this, you might want to consider a more thorough cleaning sometime soon.

Cleaning gutters

Before I put in the gutter guards, I had to clean out my gutters several times a year. I remember that one was always really bad, as it was at the corner of my house where elm trees overhang them. These leaves are small and can clog up a gutter in no time at all. I did find a pretty successful way to clean them out and without having to climb up a ladder. I would just stick the hose up the downspout as far as I could and turn it on full blast. Yes, I usually did get splashed a little bit, but the leaves would come flying out the top freeing it up pretty quickly. I kind of miss it, as it was sort of fun!

Vacuum extension

Lots of folks cover their swimming pools during the winter. This is a good idea for keeping the leaves out. Of course, all of the leaves that would have ended up at the bottom of the pool will pile up pretty quickly on top of the pool cover. You can blow them off or vacuum them up if your hose will reach. You also can make an extension for your vacuum or blower from a piece of PVC pipe. This stuff is lightweight and available in lots of different sizes, so you'll probably be able to find one to fit onto the end of your vacuum hose. Just be careful while using it not to go too far, or you might end up in the pool yourself!

Super hints

• There are several ways you can try to free up a nut that won't budge. One way I really like is to place a hot soldering iron right on the nut and heat it up. This works quite well a lot of times when nothing else will do it. A torch also can be used if you are careful with it.

• I usually carry a small tape measure with me, but when I needed one the last time I was at the hardware store, I couldn't find it. I did, however, have a dollar bill, which just happens to be six inches long. That was all I needed to measure the wall hanging I was looking at.

• One item that's great to recycle in the workshop is a good, heavy-duty cardboard core from the inside of a roll of carpet. These are pretty large, and you can cut them into foot-long sections and stack them to create a super storage area for lots of stuff. They are great for toys and craft items, too. Most of the time you can get them for free if you ask a carpet dealer.

Q. We have a small generator and want to use it to help with power when ours goes off in the ice storms. Is this OK to do?

A. You can only use it outdoors. You need to have it away from the house and use only a proper extension cord to power your appliances. Never try to hook it up to your home. Go straight to the manufacturer for complete information and safety warnings.

Q. My string trimmer has a rechargeable battery. For some reason it won't run very long anymore. What causes this? Is there any way to prevent it or make the battery last longer?

A. Make sure there isn't grass or weeds or any other material that has gotten wrapped around the shaft. Also check your owner's manual. In many cases, storing your battery in excessive heat or cold can prevent proper charging. And, keep in mind, if it's a couple of years old, it's typical that they will stop charging fully.

Q. The chain that goes from the toilet handle to the flapper is getting caught under the flapper sometimes and causes the toilet to run, wasting a lot of water. I've tried taking it up, but am still having problems with it. Any suggestions?

A. Try sliding a drinking straw around the chain before making the connection. The straw needs to be short enough to fit between the handle and the flapper, but not too short. This should prevent any slack from getting into your way.

Reader tips

• I know we have all had more than our fair share of snow to shovel this season. I can't believe how much we've had this year. I have become quite the expert and even help some of my neighbors do their driveways. My secret weapon is nonstick cooking spray. I spray my shovel with the spray before I use it. The snow slides right off when you do this and that does cut way down on the time it takes to clear a driveway. I've tried oil but the spray is so much easier to use. Try it and see if it does a good job for you, too.

• I have a new sliding glass patio door, but it's starting to glide less smoothly than it did when I got it. I wasn't sure what to try, but I greased the track with petroleum jelly. That worked great! I think it is smoother now than it ever was. I just thought I'd pass this info on to you and your readers. Maybe someone else can try it, too.

• I usually try to use up a whole tube of caulk when I open it. I've never had much luck at getting back into one that has been partially used. But this last time I used a wire nut to seal an unfinished tube. It sat for a couple of months with the wire nut on the end of it and, when I opened it back up, it worked pretty well. At least I was able to get enough out to re-caulk a few places that I missed the first time around.

• We had a bad storm and had a window broken out by a tree that fell across the front of our house. It was going to take almost a week for the new window to come in, so I covered it with sticky Contact paper before breaking it the rest of the way out. This kept all of the shards of glass in one piece stuck to the paper. Then I covered the window with a piece of wood to keep the cold out. With the glass all in one piece with the Contact paper, it was easier to throw it away, too.

• I clean my circular saw blades with oven cleaner. It works really well. I place them in a pan and spray them on both sides. Then I let them sit for an hour or so before wiping them clean. It really does a good job of getting them clean, even the really bad ones.

Shoptalk

• Laminate floors are supposed to be tougher than most floors, and they really are. But if you do get a scratch or gouge, you can fix it pretty easily. Pergo makes a floor putty that is water-based and made to match their floors. You even can mix colors if you are trying to match another brand of laminate flooring. It's great and so easy to use, and lasts for a long time. You'll be hard-pressed to even notice it once you have made the repairs. To find out more, you can go to www.pergoonline.com and search for it or check for it at your Home Depot store.

• Most of us don't have the luxury of unlimited counter space in a bathroom. So organizing your bathroom cabinets can make a big difference. Check out some of the over-the-cabinet-door organizers available from Spectrum. There are a lot of styles to choose from, and they can hold anything from a hair dryer to a whole set of hair styling tools. These are installed without any tools required either. Check them out at www.spectrumdiversified.com. They have a lot of other cool organizing gadgets, too.

• Write to Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit online at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2014, Cowles Syndicate Inc.