Aggie MacKenzie - Ask Aggie: For All Your Cleaning Solutions

Ive lost count of the number of times Ive been asked, How do you know all this stuff? Truth is, one way or another Ive been sort of living the domestic life for nigh-on 50 years. My household knowledge came first from my mother, thats for sure. In her late teens she went from the remote northwest of Scotland to work in service in a large London residence at the Air Ministers in Kensington, no less and quickly learned the proper way to carry out domestic duties. As I and my three sisters were growing up, we had no option but to be drilled in the correct way to sweep a floor, form a hospital corner and polish a sideboard.

Now a mother of two teenage boys myself, I hear my own mothers voice as I yell, Can you please not rub the whole of your grubby palm against the white wall as you come downstairs? Its definitely a generation thing.

Over the past 30 years Ive done time on a succession of womens magazines, always picking up domestic hints and tips along the way. Latterly I was at Good Housekeeping, overseeing the consumer and cookery departments, whose expert teams are walking, talking aficionados in all matters domestic. Indeed, each January we used to run a Stains Special feature in the magazine, which was hugely popular with the readers.

Towards the end of 2002 I successfully auditioned to copresent a new Channel 4 programme, and How Clean Is Your House? was born. A year later I was asked both to commit to another TV series and to write a weekly column, Ask Aggie, for The Times. Life was changing fast and time constraints meant I had to leave my job and friends at Good Housekeeping.

For a few years now the other question Im often asked by Times readers is: Will there be a book of all your advice? So I am glad to say that, at last, here it is. Please note that because all the queries are genuine questions put to me by readers over the past five years (as opposed to rewritten press puffs), its an intriguing, eclectic mix, and sorting the chapters hasnt been the easiest job. But here it is: a collection of real domestic problems from real readers, as organised as it can be, with a comprehensive index, and I do hope it will be of great help to you.

Its a source of amazement to me that there seems to be no end to new questions that need answers, and with this in mind youre very welcome to write to me at aggie.mackenzie@thetimes.co.uk. Happy homemaking!

Questions Im forever being asked

Theres black gunk round the seal of my washing machine how to get rid? (page )

Whats the secret of hotel-fluffy towels? (page )

Someones put a cup of coffee on my polished table and its left a mark. Help! (page )

Whats an easy way to get rid of limescale on taps? (page )

Watermarks on my showerscreen are driving me mad what to do? (page )

How do I get greying whites white again? (page )

Whats the answer to glasses that have become cloudy from dishwasher use? (page )

When I got my sons old christening robe out of the cupboard for my grandson, it had yellowed. How can I get it white again? (page )

My shower curtain gets mouldy stains at the base. Whats the easy answer? (page )

How do I remove fly spots baked hard on to the surface of a fabric lampshade? (page )

10 common stains and how to magic them away

Biro on clothes (page )

Sunscreen on clothes (page )

Sweat marks on shirt armpits (page )

Rust-like marks on washing (page )

Vomit/urine/blood on mattress (page )

Lily pollen on clothes (page )

Blu-Tack on painted wall (page )

Colour-run accidents in washing machine (page )

Mystery marks on enamel bath/lavatory bowl (pages )

Grease on headboard/sofa (page )

Pesky household pests & how to show them the door

Clothes moths (page )

Flour moths (page )

Mice (page )

Ants (page )

Woodlice (page )

Woolly bears (page )

Silverfish (page )

Dust mites (page )

Flies (page )

Bed bugs (page )

Bad smells and how to zap them

The washing machine gives off a nasty odour (page )

My sons trainers are beyond the pale (page )

I burned a ready meal in the microwave weeks ago and the smell persists (page )

My cat wees persistently and I cannot get rid of the nasty niff completely (page )

I got back from holiday to find the fridge-freezer fuse had blown in my absence. It works again, and has been cleaned, but still stinks (page )

Ive scrubbed my newly bought Victorian pine chest of drawers but the mothball smell wont go away (page )

My shirts give off a sweaty smell when I iron (page )

Ive inherited some valuable antique books that smell musty (page )

The waste disposal unit gives off a drainy stench (page )

I want to use my vacuum flask for cold drinks in the summer, but it smells strongly of coffee (page )

Thank God for dirty dishes,

They have a tale to tell;

While others may go hungry,

Were eating very well

Anon