How Clean Is Your House? Hundreds of Handy Tips to Make Your Home Sparkle [Paperback]

Aggie MacKenzie (Author), Kim Woodburn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005

The international bestseller How Clean Is Your House? is a new kind of cleaning book—full-color, hilarious, and fun. Packed with trade secrets and inventive cleaning solutions, it goes through the house room by room, offering do’s and don’ts, step-by- steps, and before-and-after “grime scene” photographs.

Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie are known as “the queens of clean” from Lifetime Television and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Tips include:
• Use a banana peel to dust plants; the dust clings to the skin and the juice nourishes the leaves
• Leave laundry detergent to soak in your bathtub overnight—the tub will gleam in the morning (no scrubbing required)
• To loosen dirt and grease inside the microwave, put a few slices of lemon in an uncovered bowl of water and cook on high for 3 minutes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘Mesmerizing’ is the only word to describe this bible of cleaning. (USA Today) A manual for taking care of all the household items we make a fetish of, veiled in high camp. (The New York Times)

About the Author

Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie are the stars of the hit television show How Clean is Your House? (seen on Lifetime Television). Before they became celebrities, Aggie was an associate editor for Good Housekeeping, while Kim worked as a professional live-in cleaning lady for a sheikh in Kent.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Plume (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452286964
• ISBN-13: 978-0452286962
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Guide for Homes un and under cleaned!, September 26, 2004

By 

RB "FeatherDander" (Glendale, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Clean Is Your House?: Hundreds of Handy Tips to Make Your Home Sparkle (Hardcover)

Being a former housekeeper for an apartment complex, I was quite amused that these two ladies would be kicking up the dust on this topic. LifetimeTV is obviously trying to have its version of the 'Two Fat Ladies' and/or Brit 'Fab Five' to call their own. You would think with the plethora of Merry Maids types out there that most homes wouldn't need folks actually tending to the dirt and grime they create in their homes.

How wrong!

Most of us can't afford the likes of professional cleaners weekly and/or don't want complete strangers in our homes while we are not there. This book is certainly worth its money if you can muster yourself from the chaise lounge and bon-bons or rally up some extra strength after a full day of work or family.
The only real problem some folks might quibble on are the British terms the ladies sometimes use through their book. I am not completely familiar with their 'washing soda' term. I'm not sure if they are referring to Borax or exactly what the substance might be. Perhaps an American proofreader might have been a good investment [Ok, call me an ignorant American- SIGH!]
It has great tips and daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal schedules for the completely clueless.

Though I originally picked this up from the Public Library in my town, I'm thinking strongly of my own copy if just for the tips that I hadn't thought of until I picked up this book.

Better to spend the money here and do-it-yourself than plunking it into the professional cleaning companies. My opinion.

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help is on the way, October 17, 2004

By 

Kimberley Wilson (VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Clean Is Your House?: Hundreds of Handy Tips to Make Your Home Sparkle (Hardcover)

Is your house dirty? No, not just messy is it so dirty that your friends and most of your family have stopped visiting? Are there newspapers from last year turning yellow in the kitchen? Is there a nasty smell in your kitchen? Would the Center for Disease Control consider your toilet a health hazzard? How Clean is Your House is just the book for you. Tough Brits, Kim and Aggie are very, very firm with what they call filth offenders and offer simple (But not easy. If your house is really dirty they warn that you'll will be working hard to fix it up)solutions to the mess.

The authors are big on sanitation. They dont' care if your house is pretty they're talking about preventing illnesses brought on by human skin flakes, bedbugs, dust mites dust in general and bacteria. I prefer Home Comforts because it's an encyclopedia of the science of homekeeping but How Clean is Your House is an excellent guide for the novice cleaner or anyone who's house has gotten out of hand.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!, April 1, 2007

By 

Juli Wyant "Juli" (East Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Clean Is Your House? Hundreds of Handy Tips to Make Your Home Sparkle (Paperback)

I enjoy the television show, so I ordered the book. I'm always looking for new ways to keep my house tidy....and I'm allergic to a lot of the chemicals in housecleaning products. This book provides common sense alternatives to strong chemical cleansers -- my sinks now gleam, my stove is shiny and my floors are awesome!

This book isn't just for those whose homes look like a train wreck. It's also for those who have the little spots within their clean homes that still drive them crazy! For me, it was the bathroom, and my kitchen sink. With the tips in this book, I was able to solve those two problem areas without using strong chemicals. Baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice....and a couple dishwashing tablets down the loo.

Brilliant!!! :) Two thumbs up from me!