10 Simple Projects You Can Do Around the House This Spring

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Clean Vinyl Flooring

Sheet vinyl “resilient” flooring is so easy to clean that it may never require anything beyond damp mopping with a cleaner intended for vinyl floors. But if your floor has marks or stains that still won’t come off, you can use stronger stuff.

Isopropyl alcohol, sold as a disinfectant at drug stores, is a mild solvent. It’s the best cleaner for heel marks and works on other tough stains too.

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Clean the Dishwasher Filter

When your dishwasher no longer gets your dishes clean, a food-filled filter is most often to blame. If it’s clogged, water can’t make it to the spray arms to clean the dishes in the top rack. The fix takes two minutes. Simply pull out the lower rack and remove the filter cover inside the dishwasher. (Check your owner’s manual if you can’t spot the filter.) Then use a wet/dry shop vacuum to clean clean off the screen. While you’re there, slide the nearby float switch up and down. If the cover sticks, jiggle it up and down and clean it with water.