Submitted by Steven <sew@sew1969.demon.co.uk>
Got a mark on your bath (ceramic or plastic), try putting a small lump of toothpaste on to your finger and rubbing the mark gently with it. Wipe clean with a damp cloth. You will be amazed as to what you can clean up with a bit of toothpaste.

If an aluminium pan has become discolored, boil some apple peel in it for a few minutes, then rinse and dry.

Keep your fingernails clean while doing a dirty job by first running them all across a bar of soap so there is a scraping beneath each of your nails.

Crushed egg shells and water make an excellent scourer for vases.

After you've dyed a pair of shoes, give the heels a coat of clear nail varnish. It prevents the new color scraping off.

Avoid splashing curtains when washing the windows by folding them on a coat hanger and hanging it from the pole or runner.

Prevent streaks when cleaning glass surfaces by using scrunched up newspaper for the final wipe.

Use a little fabric conditioner in warm water to clean glass topped tables, TV screens or stereo lids, then rub dry. This prevents dust settling on the surface.

Reduce condensation in the bathroom by running cold water into the bath first.

Here are the replies and tips we received:

1) Try putting some ice cubes inside the pot and swish them around with a little bit of salt.

2) Soak it in Chlorine Bleach and rinse well before using again.

3) Most grocery stores have a product called Dip-It, it is made just for cleaning coffee pots and thermoses.

4) Assuming the stains are coffee, try filling the pot with about 2 Tbs of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) dissolved in hot water. (We used this to get the coffee stains out of my dad's thermos bottle.)

5) Another tip I think I read somewhere was to dissolve denture cleaning tablets (the fizzy ones) in the pot filled with hot water.

6) Put ice and about 1/4 cup salt in it and swirl till the black comes off. From my old waitress days!

7) To clean a coffee pot or tea pot,I simply put them in my dishwasher and they come out sparkling clean. If you don't want to use a dishwasher, fill pot with javex, let sit for a few minutes and wash. (be sure to rinse well.

Phew!!! Thanks loads you guys for all the tips - and I hope you get your coffee pot clean, subscriber!!!

To get rid of car oil stains on your driveway or in your garage, spray with oven cleaning foam. Leave for 5 minutes, then wash down with water and a brush and the stain will vanish.

Salt will remove burnt marks from the edges of pie dishes, stains from china and earthenware, and egg stains from cutlery.