Floors

Chairs

• Wilson Tennis Balls. To prevent chair legs from screeching across the floor, carefully cut Xs in four Wilson tennis balls and place one ball over the bottom of each chair leg to silence any skids.

Dance Floors

• Coca-Cola. To give a freshly waxed dance floor more traction, mop the floor with Coca-Cola and let it dry to add a sticky coating to the floor that prevents the dancers from sliding across a slippery dance floor.

Dents

• Maybelline Clear Nail Polish. To repair a small dent in a wood floor, fill the hole with a few drops of Maybelline Clear Nail Polish, let it dry, then add a few more drops until full.

Egg

• Morton Salt. To clean a broken egg from the floor, pour a mountain of Morton Salt over the gooey albumen and yolk, wait one minute for the salt to absorb the mess, and then brush up the salt and wipe the floor clean.

Grout

• Coca-Cola. To clean stained grout, pour Coca-Cola over the affected area, let sit for five minutes, and wipe clean. The phosphoric acid in the Coke cleans the grout.

• Heinz White Vinegar and Oral-B Toothbrush. To clean grout, fill a six-teen-ounce trigger-spray bottle with Heinz White Vinegar, spray the grout with the vinegar, wait five minutes, then scrub with a clean, used Oral-B Toothbrush.

• Listerine. To clean mold and mildew in grout, fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle with Listerine, spray the grout with the mouthwash, wait two minutes, and wipe clean. The antiseptic kills mold and mildew.

Hardwood Floors

• Downy Fabric Softener. To clean a wood floor, mix one capful Downy Fabric Softener in a plastic bucket filled with hot water and mop the floor. Aside from giving the floor a fresh fragrance, Downy helps the mop lift dirt and dust.

• Heinz White Vinegar. To give wood floors a magnificent shine, mix two parts Heinz White Vinegar to one part water in a bucket, dampen a soft, clean cloth with the solution, and wipe down the floor.

• Jet-Dry. To clean hardwood floors, mix four ounces Jet-Dry to four cups water in a plastic bucket. Dip a soft cloth into the solution, wring it out so the cloth is damp, and wipe the floors clean.

• L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose. Cut off one leg from a clean, used pair of L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose, insert a folded bath towel into the leg, and use it to buff the floor by hand.

• Lipton Tea Bags. Steep two Lipton Tea Bags in a quart of boiling water, let cool, and pour into a plastic bucket. Dip a soft cloth into the tea, wring it out so the cloth is damp, and wipe the floors clean.

• Nestea. Dissolve eight tablespoons unsweetened Nestea in one quart of cool wa-ter in a plastic bucket. Dip a soft cloth into the tea, wring it out so the cloth is damp, and wipe the floors clean.

• Reynolds Cut-Rite Wax Paper. To clean and shine a floor between waxings, put a piece of Reynolds Cut-Rite Wax Paper under the mop head and give the floor a rubdown.

Knee Pads

• Stayfree Maxi Pads. To protect your knees when scrubbing floors, peel the adhesive strip from two Stayfree Maxi Pads and stick the pads to your knees for cushioned support.

Marble

• Crayola Chalk. To clean marble floors, pulverize a few sticks of white Crayola Chalk with a mortal and pestle until it is a fine powder. Dip a soft cloth in the powder, wipe the marble, then rinse with clear water and dry thoroughly.

• Downy Fabric Softener. Mix two capfuls Downy Fabric Softener in a gallon of water and mop the marble floor with a sponge mop.

Mops

• Bounce. For an inexpensive substitute for Swiffer sheets, attach a clean, used sheet of Bounce dryer sheets to the Swiffer mop and get the same results. The antistatic elements in the Bounce attract dust and dirt.

Scratches

• Maxwell House Instant Coffee. To hide scratches in hardwood floors, mix one teaspoon Maxwell House Instant Coffee with enough warm water to make a thick paste. Then take a cloth, dip it in the coffee paste, and wipe it into the scratches in the floor to color the scratches until they seem to disappear.

• DAP Caulk. To hide a nick in a vinyl floor, dab a little DAP Caulk in a match-ing color into the spot and wipe up the excess with a damp cloth.

Squeaks

• Johnson's Baby Powder. To stop a squeaky floorboard from squeaking every time someone steps on certain spot, sprinkle Johnson's Baby Powder into the crevices of the floorboard, along the edges.

Tile Floors

• Bounce. Place a sheet of Bounce on the bottom of a dry sponge mop and dust the tile floor with it. The Bounce will cling to the dry sponge mop without having to be attached to the sponge mop.

• Cascade. To clean tile floors, mix ¼ cup Cascade in a bucket of hot water. Scrub the tiles with a scrub brush dipped in the solution and then rinse clean with a mop and water.

• Downy Fabric Softener. To eliminate the stickiness on your floors left by typical cleansers, add ½ capful Downy Fabric Softener to the sudsy mop water. The surfactants in the Downy boast the cleaning power of the water, and the fragrance in the fabric softener leaves behind a fresh scent.

• Listerine. To clean tile floors and kill germs, mix one cup Listerine antiseptic mouthwash in one gallon of water and mop the tile floor with this antiseptic cleanser.

Vinyl Floors

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To clean a vinyl floor, sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a damp sponge, wipe clean, and dry.

• Clean Shower. Mop the vinyl floor with water, spray the floor with Clean Shower, and then mop it up.

• Coca-Cola. To clean a grease stain from a vinyl floor, pour Coca-Cola over the stain, let sit for two hours, and mop it up. The phosphoric acid in the Coke helps dissolve the grease stain.

• Downy Fabric Softener. To clean a vinyl floor, pour one cap Downy Fabric Softener into a plastic bucket filled with hot water and mop the floor. Aside from giving the floor a fresh fragrance, Downy helps the mop lift dirt and dust.

• Huggies Baby Wipes. Use Huggies Baby Wipes to mop up sticky messes, tem-pera paint, or crayon marks from a vinyl floor.

• Procter-Silex Iron. To remove a vinyl floor tile, place a cloth over the tile and iron it with medium heat. The heat from the iron will soften the tile and the ad-hesive under it, making it easy to pry the tile from the floor with a putty knife.

• Reynolds Wrap. To re-adhere a loose vinyl floor tile, place a sheet of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil on top of the tile and run a hot iron over it several times to melt the glue underneath the tile. Place several books on top of the tile to hold it securely in place until the glue dries completely.

• 20 Mule Team Borax, Dawn Dishwashing Liquid, and Parsons' Ammonia. Add ½ cup 20 Mule Team Borax, ½ teaspoon Dawn Dish-washing Liquid, and one teaspoon Parsons' Ammonia to two gallons warm water. Mop the floor with the solution.

Wax

• Easy-Off Oven Cleaner. To remove stubborn wax build-up on flooring, spray Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (while wearing protective eyewear, rubber gloves, boots, and rain gear) on the floor in a well-ventilated room, let sit for ten minutes, and mop clean with soapy water followed by water alone. (Be sure to test an incon-spicuous spot of the flooring first, to make certain the harsh chemicals in the oven cleaner do not ruin the flooring.)

• Parsons' Ammonia. To remove wax from a vinyl or tile floor, mix one cup Parsons' Ammonia in one gallon water. Make sure the room is well ventilated, mop the floor, wait a few minutes, then wipe clean with clean rags. Only clean small areas at a time to prevent the mixture from drying on the floor.