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GH’s resident home care dynamo shares her top tips and

favorite tricks to conquer your toughest messes and trouble spots

ASK THE

GH CLEANING LAB

Which is a

better dryer,

electric or gas?

— LYNN R.

A: I get asked this a lot. I assure you that both dry equally well, so it’s

not a performance issue. If you’re replacing your current dryer, it’s

easiest to use the connection already in your home, whether electric

or gas. If you’re renovating, switching could be an option, but don’t

forget that gas dryers require a gas line hookup, while electric dryers

need a 208V outlet, and changing the connection will require paying

a professional contractor. Gas dryers tend to cost about $100 more up

front, but usually cost less to run over time. Bottom line: I recommend

sticking with the power source you already have. It’s the simplest

way to go, and you’ll find high-end features and lots of options in both

gas and electric models.

A: The fabric may look

clean, but if you’re noticing

a sour odor, that signals

there’s residue left behind.

Plain soap and water or

regular carpet and upholstery

cleaners won’t likely kill the

odor-causing bacteria feasting

on the milk proteins. For that,

you need an enzyme cleaner,

like GH Seal star Bissell

Professional Pet Stain and

Odor Remover. It works well

on pet and food messes and

more! Saturate the area with

the spray, then cover it with

a moist towel to keep the

enzymes multiplying and

tackling the residue. Leave

the towel in place for up

to 12 hours, rewetting as

needed. Wipe with the wet

towel to rinse, then air-dry.

Keeping a glass cooktop sparkling is a never-ending challenge. Splatters, drips and spills all seem to dry

on in seconds. Now a new tool claims to remove deposits with just water. Scotch-Brite’s Glass Cooktop Wand

has a replaceable soft sponge pad with a fine nonscratch scrubbing surface that clicks onto a comfy-to-grip

handle. All you do is wet the surface, go over it with the wand and wipe with a clean cloth or paper towel.

Lab results: To test it, we headed to a well-used glass-top range in the iconic GH Test Kitchen. We were

impressed with how easy the wand was to use and how much gunk it got off with nothing more than water.

I still recommend a quick wipe with a damp cloth every time you cook, and a dab of cleanser was needed to

make old deposits on our stove totally disappear, but when used regularly, this tool will save time and effort,

nixing the need for messy creams and pastes that require rinsing and can leave residue.

My son spilled

his milkshake in

the car. The stain

is gone, but I can

still smell it. Why?

— EMMA S.

Q

TESTED FOR YOU

KITCHEN CLEANING WONDER WAND

SCOTCH-BRITE

GLASS COOKTOP

WAND,$9,

TARGET.COM

Q

CAROLYN FORTé

GH HOME CARE

LAB DIRECTOR

@fortecarolyn

CLEAGHNING

LAB

56 GH OCTOBER^2019

Cleaning ex ert advice