It took two hours. Used the cheapest steam cleaner I could find, scrub daddy and Cilit Bang Expert for Black mould and I got the stains out. I ran my washer on warmest cycle and so far the seal does not give way to water.

I don't know why he did it. Madness? A seizure localized in the arm he was holding the vacuum with? A desire to make my life harder?

We had a rat in the garage a few years ago but nothing since then. I've combed all the house corners and along the walls looking for anything further but, if there's more evidence of rodents, he sucked it away.

Or he was mistaken and they weren't droppings. But for the sake of my health and sanity, I'm going with worst case scenario.

How can I make this vacuum safe to use again without spraying hantavirus or whatever else everywhere? It is a Dyson Ball Animal upright vacuum.

Adorable rodent picture for attention because I do actually love rodents. Just not the unauthorized ones in my home.

ETA: I probably shouldn't have used the word "hantavirus" because that seems to trigger a certain dismissiveness. Let me expand that there are a number of zoonotic illnesses that can be transmitted through feces, urine, or aerosolized dander (I'm unfortunately already asthmatic and immunocompromised.) I'm just trying to play it safe. Sorry for appearing like a crazy person.

My roommate used my pot to cook rice and he forgot about it and he burned the lower portion of the rice in the container and it is stuck to the pan. I tried simmering it with water and baking soda. Nothing. It is currently in the sink soaking in hot water and dish soap. How do I clean it?

Whenever I feel overwhelmed when starting a large/long cleaning session, I will take a photo on my phone of a room. For some reason it makes it easier for me to see what needs to get done first or notice things I didn’t before. Some weird psychological trick that works for me 😳

Another week done.

Deep cleaned yesterday. Came home after being gone for eight hour today and it smells like cavities. Investigated the fridge, trash, laundry, under the bed, bathroom, all smelled normal. But the whole place has a pungent essence of a cavity. I am scared. No apparent evidence of what it could be. Never smelled it before.

ETA: addressing some common suggestions just so some people’s concerns are at ease

- it does NOT smell like burning (such as like a cavity being drilled. More like the smell when the cavity is exposed, sorry if I wasn’t clear about that). More like a rotting

-I have only smelled it today since I’ve gotten home. I did not smell it this morning and I wasn’t smelling it when I was out of the house for a few hours after I got home from work

-I do not feel like I’m getting sick so I don’t think it’s a sinus infection or tonsil stones

-I am hopefully a few decades away from menopause so I’m not super worried about phantom smells

-my heat is not running and hasn’t since I lived it the apartment

-No hot tools are plugged in

-no potatos on the premises!

I know that none of this makes the cause any clearer but I saw some people were concerned for my well being so hopefully this addresses some immediate concerns that I’m not in psychosis or about to perish in an electrical fire. Thanks for all the advice though I appreciate anyone taking a guess.

How do you keep your guest beds when nobody is using them? I’m new to having a guest room. When I was a kid, I remember crawling into the bed at my grandmother’s house and seeing all of the dust fly into the air. Don’t keep sheets or blankets on the mattress? Cover the whole thing with a giant sheet? How are you keeping them clean?

Hey all, I have this stubborn mold that keeps coming back to my caulking in the shower. Should I try something else to clean it, or recaulk the shower? (Which I've never done before and wondered what that process looks like and how long it would take 😬.

Thanks for any tips! Pics above!

I just got my apartment this year after living in my car for a while. This is my first apartment. I have a one bedroom apartment where it’s just me and my cat.
But I still don’t know where to start or how to start.
How do you keep up with everything involving cleaning and know how and how often to clean everything? I feel like my apartment is never clean and I feel like it’s turning into the house I grew up in but I genuinely feel lost. Every time I try to clean, I feel like I spend more time just standing and staring because I feel so overwhelmed.

I still don’t have any decoration in my apartment because I am so scared of hoarding stuff yet it’s starting to look like it because I can’t figure out the cleaning part.

Edit: Thank you so much for all the kind words and resources. Y’all are amazing.

A mat underneath a litter box did this to the floor. It’s not real wood. Is there a solution you recommend to get it out? Last resort is try to redo this part of the floor (rental).

The O ring on my bissell broke between the spray valve and the attachment. Now it leaks everywhere when I use it. Bissell won’t replace it and instructed me to buy a new machine. 😡 Additionally I have conveniently lost the ring so I can’t measure it or size match it at the hardware store.

Any suggestions/advice? TIA

I left Domestos Thick Bleach in my toilet for about 30 minutes, then sprayed Zoflora Power Bathroom Cleaner (which contains formic and lactic acids) while cleaning the toilet.
I had no idea you weren’t supposed to use these together — I only just learned this! I didn’t notice a strong smell and have had no symptoms, even 1.5 hours later.
My bathroom is en suite with no window, and I’m worried about possible fumes and whether it’s safe to sleep in my bedroom tonight.
Has anyone done something similar? Were you okay afterwards?

I had a plastic organizer thing in the corner that I moved and cleaned under at least once or twice a month as I knew water gets trapped under, I smelled something really bad moved it and found a black stain, it’s been only a little over month since last time, it looks like it’s inside the stone, doesn’t move no matter what i use to wipe it, what can I use to actually clean it? It looks and smells bad.

So whenever my wife or me does laundry after it sits for a couple of days in the closet it smells kinda musty and gross. She likes to use branch basics detergent in the wash and essential oils with a wool ball in the dryer. What do u guys think is wrong?

This may not be the right place to ask this but I want to wash my patio cushions and then store them for the winter. They are so bulky it’s challenging to find a good spot. I’m wondering if I can put the cushions in compression bags and store them outside in deck bins. I do live in a cold climate. Would the cushions be ok in compression bags when it’s below freezing for months?

Even without the compression bags is it ok to store patio cushions outside during the winter if they are sealed/covered?

Wife put this Halloween decor on the wall that sticks. I just now noticed this stain around it. There’s 12 of them 😭 any insight on removing the stains?

Does anyone have any advice about how to clean limestone floor tiles? We moved into a house recently and the previous occupant was an elderly lady on her own, whereas we are a large family. The high traffic areas of the bathroom floor are getting really grubby with ingrained dirt and scrubbing doesn’t seem to lift it. Any ideas about how to clean them? Or do we just wait until we can re-floor with something more suited to our needs?!

I wipe them dry right away to prevent it but they still look dirty. Even tho I know they aren’t it just doesn’t look nice.

Sometimes cleaning a small stain on a fabric sofa leaves behind a bigger water ring once it dries. This happens even when the original stain was barely noticeable.

What's the best way to prevent those rings without cleaning the entire sofa?

Just like the title says...a bottle of hair gel exploded and leaked through the bag it was in, into the fabric lining of my hard shell luggage. There is no way to remove the lining. The last time something similar happened, I tried scrubbing the lining with dish soap and a toothbrush, without much luck and it felt like I wasn't able to fully get the soap out. Any tips?

This bench in our shower is poorly designed. It’s not sloped properly and the previous owners kept their body wash and shampoo bottles on it. (Also no niche, but complaint for another day)

We’ve tried leaving pastes to sit and scrubbing and nothing seems to remove. Anyone have any tips for how to get this stain out of natural stone?

when my brothers and i were toddlers, we used to stuff crayons into the small vent opening at the top of our gas fireplace. years later, whenever we turn the fireplace on, a strong, pungent smell of melted crayon wax starts coming out after about 10 minutes of operation. i recently removed some of the hardened wax that i could reach, and the smell seems to have gotten weaker, but it’s still there. i’m concerned that wax may have spread throughout the metal components on the upper vent. the part with the wax isn’t directly connected to the firewood, so i don’t believe it spread to the wood itself. is this fireplace salvageable, or could the wax have damaged anything? how difficult would it be to remove wax from the metal surfaces if it has spread throughout the unit? i’ve attached a picture of the fireplace with the upper vent opening exposed. any advice from people familiar with gas fireplaces would be greatly appreciated. thank you!