Category: Cleaning

We have made plenty of messes worse before we made them better.

Over time, we became much more careful about what we use and how we use it. Here we share the methods we rely on at home

We usually start with the mildest cleaning option that makes sense. If it works, great. If not, we move on.

Our rule now is simple: do less first. It has saved us more clothes and furniture than any miracle product ever has.

Cleaning

Hairspray is sprayed onto an ink stain on a white T-shirt.

Hairspray Used to Remove Ink Stains, Until the Formula Changed

Posted on October 4, 2026October 2, 2026 By Andrea and Mike Dickinson

A few years ago, I remembered an old household trick I used to rely on quite often. I noticed a ballpoint pen mark on a light-colored shirt and, without much thought, grabbed the hairspray from the bathroom. I was pretty sure it would work. After all, the same trick had…

Cleaning

Close-up of a gray, finely textured floor or carpet, bordered by white trim and furniture edges

Why Old Carpet Stains Keep Coming Back and How to Tackle Them

Posted on October 2, 2026October 20, 2026 By Andrea and Mike Dickinson

A carpet stain can disappear after cleaning and return several days later because part of the spill is still sitting lower in the fibers, backing, or underlay. I used to assume a returning stain meant I had not scrubbed hard enough. Usually, I had done the opposite of what was…

Cleaning

That Pink Ring in Your Shower Is Bacteria and Here’s What Causes It

Posted on September 28, 2026October 5, 2026 By Andrea and Mike Dickinson

Pink or orange marks around shower grout have annoyed me more times than I care to admit. I would scrub them away, congratulate myself on a clean bathroom, and then notice the same color creeping back around the drain or along a damp grout line. My first guess was soap….