Blogs | Makeover Tool | Share Slow-Cooker Recipes | Subscribe
Links We Love
  • Oatmeal with blueberries
    Kitchen Daily: 7 Hot, Homemade Breakfast Cereals
  • Woman sleeping in bed
    Stylelist Home: 7 Helpful Tips for Buying a Mattress
  • Winter gear
    ThirdAge: 5 Ways to Make the Most of the Winter
|
Real Simple | Life Made Easier, Every Day
       
make us your homepage
  • Food & Recipes
    • Browse All
    • Enhanced Recipe Search
    • Recipe Collections & Favorites
    • Cooking Tips & Techniques
    • Shopping & Storing
    • Tools & Products
    • New Uses For Old Things
    • Guide to Ingredients
    • Share Your Slow-Cooker Recipes
  • Home & Organizing
    • Browse All
    • Organizing
    • Cleaning
    • Decorating
    • Home Improvement
    • Gardening
    • Green Living
    • New Uses For Old Things
    • Decorating With Color
  • Beauty & Fashion
    • Browse All
    • Clothing
    • Shoes & Accessories
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Makeovers & Tips
    • Clothing Care
    • New! Beauty Makeover Tool
  • Holidays & Entertaining
    • Browse All
    • Holidays
    • Weddings
    • Birthdays
    • Entertaining
    • Gifts
    • 50+ Creative Valentine’s Day Gifts
    • Digital Holiday Cards
  • Health
    • Browse All
    • Nutrition & Diet
    • Fitness & Exercise
    • Mind & Mood
    • First Aid & Health Basics
    • Preventative Health
    • Stay Healthy on the Go
  • Work & Life
    • Browse All
    • Money
    • Family
    • Life Strategies
    • Technology
    • Travel
    • Etiquette
    • Entertainment
    • Saving and Budgeting Basics
  • Magazine & More
    • Browse All
    • Inside the Magazine
    • Inside the Website
    • Newsletters
    • Real Simple Products
    • Real Simple Rewards
    • Books & Back Issues
    • Simply Stated Blogs
    • Subscribe
    • Give a Gift Subscription
    • Enjoy Real Simple on Your Tablet

Cleaning 101

  • PRINT
  • SAVE
  • COMMENT
  • SHARE:
  •      
  • Pin It
Baby oil, a cloth and faucetKana OkadaPage 1 of 8

Surprising New Cleaning Solutions

Use everyday items to dust, polish, and conceal flaws.

Baby Oil as Chrome Polish

Forget keeping skin soft, baby oil also polishes chrome. Apply a dab to a cotton cloth and use it to shine everything from faucets to hubcaps. You'll end up with shiny, happy surfaces from a medicine-cabinet staple. (Who actually owns chrome cleaner, anyway?)

Next: Broom as Long Distance Duster
Skip to Daily Finds slides.
Baby oil, a cloth and faucet
Broom dusting crown molding
Coffee grinder full of rice
CD and toothpaste
Dirt Devil vacum and masking tape
Carpet dent and fork

Most Popular Galleries

  • Ketchup bottle as batter dispenser

      50 All-Time Favorite New Uses for Old Things

  • Real Simple March 2002

      16 Before-and-After Room Makeovers

  • Heart to Heart Bow Tie

      Unique Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him

  • Verso Design Silmu Tablemat

      7 Decorative Trivets

  • Cheese Souffle

      Easy Recipes for Two

Hot Topic

Do you have a new use for an old thing?

View Earlier Comments
Advertisement

What's Hot

Halibut With Citrusy Tomatoes and Capers

5 Cool-Weather Dinners

Warm up with these quick, healthy, delicious dinner ideas.

  • How to Host a Swap Party
  • Stylelist Home: 10 Smart Organizing Ideas
Computer deskNew on the Web
Honest Cooking: Wintery Chocolate Caramel Slice
...
from Kitchen Daily on Huffingtonpost
CDC concerned about 'untreatable' STD
Researchers warned gonorrhea is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics,...
from FOXNews.com
Naomi Watts to Play Princess Diana in Upcoming Biopic
  Actress Naomi Watts will play the late Princess Diana in a new biop...
from ThirdAge
5 Painting Tricks And Time-Savers
Five ways to make sure you don't waste time, energy, or paint. Dip It Don't subm...
from Stylelist Home
6 Tax Season Don'ts
A fifth season exists, and it's one that isn't defined by the weather....
from SavvySugar
Houzz Tour: Tahoe Ridge House (20 photos)
The name Tahoe Ridge House concisely sums up what the design by David S. Wilson...
from Houzz
Real Simple Newsletters To receive any of these free e-mails, check the boxes below and enter the required information.
  • Weekly Tips Newsletter
  • Daily Finds
  • Daily Thought
  • Wedding Newsletter
  • Daily Recipe Newsletter
  • Ask Real Simple
  • Keep It Together Checklist
Home & Organizing:
  • Organizing | 
  • Cleaning | 
  • Decorating | 
  • Home Improvement | 
  • Gardening | 
  • Green Living | 
  • New Uses For Old things | 
  • Clever Organizing Solutions | 
  • Speed-Cleaning Tips & Tricks | 
  • New Uses for Everyday Items | 
  • DIY Decorating Ideas | 
  • Unexpected Natural Cleaners | 
  • Top Cleaning Checklists | 
  • Go Green | 
  • Painting Tips | 
  • Home Gardening Tips | 
  • 40 Decorating Tips for Your Living Room | 
  • Quick Weekend Projects | 
  • Simply Stated: Decorating & Organizing Blog


More from RealSimple.com:
  • Food & Recipes | 
  • Beauty & Fashion | 
  • Holidays & Entertaining | 
  • Health | 
  • Work & Life | 
  • Magazine & More
  • Real Simple Magazine:
  • Subscribe | 
  • Give a Gift Subscription | 
  • Tablet Edition
  • On The Go: 
  • Get Ideas Daily | 
  • Become a Fan on Facebook | 
  • Follow Real Simple on Twitter | 
  • Real Simple Mobile Apps
  • Contact Us | 
  • Customer Service | 
  • Privacy Policy | 
  • Terms of Service | 
  • Print Media Kit | 
  • Digital Media Kit | 
  • Real Simple Rewards | 
  • Site Map
  • Ad Choices
Copyright © 2012 Time Inc. Lifestyle Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Real Simple Home and Lifestyle Network