Do you have any suggestions?
Susan
There is a chance that the stains are permanent, and you might want to contact a professional marble expert to grind the marble and restore it. The easiest DIY solutions is to apply a thick paste of baking soda and water.
Cover the stains with plastic wrap. Tape the edges of the plastic with masking tape. Leave for 12 hours and wipe.
Or purchase an etching remover/marble-restoration kit at your local hardware store.
Dear Reena: Part of my grocery bill each week is聽spent on premium orange juice. So I want to confirm that 100 per cent orange juice is made with聽oranges alone, because the carton says: 鈥渘ever聽any water or sugar added.鈥�
Is there anything at all added to the oranges?
Simone
While many orange juice cartons and bottles claim to contain 100 per cent pure premium orange juice, manufacturers often add a chemical flavouring compound known as ethyl butyrate to orange juice to enhance the flavour of the drink.
You can do your own experiment to test this. Squeeze enough oranges into a cup to give yourself a few sips.
Next, pour yourself a cup of your favourite store-bought orange juice.
Smell the difference? When flavour packs are added to 鈥渇resh鈥� orange juice, it gives consumers the illusion that the oranges are freshly squeezed.
When they鈥檙e compared side by side, most people notice a difference between fresh and store-bought juice.
Reader tips
Re: Cleaning stipple
Regarding the homeowner who wants to clean stipple in their home, I advise that they test the ceiling stipple for asbestos first, then remove it using hazardous-waste protocols.
Contact a professional or do it yourself (I have tested my own ceiling). Robert
Re: Cleaning an oven safely and easily
I read Karen鈥檚 letter about her negative experience cleaning her oven. I stumbled upon the perfect oven cleaner when turkey juice burned onto my oven. I used Dawn Ultra Platinum dish soap.
I mixed 1/4 cup of Dawn with 1 cup hot water, stirred it up and poured it onto the bottom of my oven, then let it set for about 30 minutes with the oven door closed.
After 30 minutes, I took a plastic scrubber to it and the yuck came off like magic.
I then mopped up the rest of the soapy water in my oven, and wiped it down with a clean, damp dish cloth to remove the soap residue. Environmentally friendly and doesn鈥檛 stink up the house. Sandra
Re: Icy Porch Steps
I read your tips in previous years for combating icy porch steps. The following is a recipe that I use each year (multiple times) to prevent my steps from becoming dangerous slabs of ice. In a gallon jug, I mix 1 Tbsp rubbing alcohol, 1 tsp Dawn dish soap and 1/2 gallon hot water. Pour the concoction onto concrete. Within a few hours, the ice turns to slush, making the area safer for walking. Ruby
Prepare for garden weeds
鈥� I sprinkle cornmeal onto weeds to discourage them. Cornmeal is inexpensive and biodegradable. Sanjay
鈥� Boiling water is the easiest solution for killing weeds. If you want an extra-strong solution, pour 50/50 boiling water and pickling vinegar onto weeds. Audrey
鈥� Choke out weeds by laying newspaper between garden rows. Cover with garden mulch or cedar wood chips. Caleb
Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.