I have the cleanest kitchen curtains I have ever had.

[Curmudgeoness]

My kitchen curtains get so grimy and greasy and smoky (yes, I smoke), they were so yellowed and greasy that I did not think I was going to get them clean. I soaked them with dishwashing liquid, then washed them in laundry detergent, and they were still yellowed. I put them in dishwashing liquid again, thinking that since it cuts grease, it would work. It did not.

I was contemplating whether I would have to replace them because they looked so bad, and noticed the bar of soap in the soap dish above the sink. Well, it can't hurt to try that. OMG. It did take some work, since I had to foam up the soap all over each curtain, but it worked a miracle. My curtains are so white and clean, it looks like I just bought them.

So now I have another option whenever I have something that will not clean up with detergents.

[NYC_SKP]

1. What brand of bar soap did you use?

Ivory, Dove, something else?

[Curmudgeoness]

2. It was Cashmere Bouquet

but I don't think that it matters, although I would not use Dove or Caress or one of those with added ingredients, just because. I always knew that soap and detergent were different, but it never occurred to me that one could do so well where the other did nothing. I just had a cheap soap down in the basement for quick hand wash after working in the yard.

[Whisp]

3. Interesting. I have kept years worth of soap leftovers

Some little slivers that I throw in a box in the bathroom and some not so little.

I might shred them up and make a liquid soap out of that and use it for hand washing stuff.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. Oh, what a good idea.

I keep all my soap pieces too, and I don't see what that wouldn't work. It's worth a try. A liquid soap probably would have been easier to use than the bar, which I had to rub all over the curtains.

I know that there are some things that a detergent cleans well. But other things just don't seem to budge.

Thanks for the suggestion. Let me know if you try it and it works.

[grasswire]

5. I had an old, old vintage serving dish found at a tag sale...

....it was covered with years of dust and grime. I tried the Palmolive dish soap, and that didn't touch it. Then I grabbed the windex. Oh lordy. It worked really well! Disolved all that gunk by just spritzing and rinsing.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Sounds like a smart idea.

I sometimes worry about using Windex on some things, especially if they have painting on them, because I once used it on a plate that I should not have used it on....it destroyed the paint job. But if you keep that in mind, I bet it works on most things. I do have a fake crystal plastic large bowl that I keep on top of the refrigerator as a catch-all, and it gets really gross with grease and grime. I always use Windex to clean it and it works without much elbow grease.

[raccoon]

7. I wonder if it's the ammonia in Windex that does it. nt

[Curmudgeoness]

8. I think ammonia is all there is to Windex.

At least as the active ingredient....but I could be mistaken. Great on grease, great on destroying some paint.