Twelve easy tips for cleaning tough messes

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GET RESULTS WITHOUT TOO MUCH EFFORT: Cleaning doesn't have to be a chore.

There are some household items that always seem impossible to clean, no matter how muchyou wash or scrub them.

Instead of wasting your elbow grease next time, try some of these tricks to get those hard-to-clean items spotless with minimum effort.

Whites

For the whitest whites, one blogger suggests mixing equal parts laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and half the amount of borax (a cleaning agent you can find at the supermarket) with the hottest water possible.

Soak your whites in the mixture for a couple of hours, then without rinsing them throw them in the washing machine and run a hot cycle.

For extra-tough stains or yellowed whites, you can also add bleach to the potent mix.

Pillows

You use them everyday, but chances are you never wash them and simply throw them away when they start to smell musty.

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Twelve easy tips for cleaning tough messes