logo
I was a royal cleaner at Buckingham Palace – simple £1 trick leaves windows spotless & streak-free

I was a royal cleaner at Buckingham Palace – simple £1 trick leaves windows spotless & streak-free

The Sun3 days ago

A FORMER royal cleaner has revealed a £1 hack she used to keep the Buckingham Palace windows sparkling.
If you've ever visited the royal palace, and seen its windows gleaming in the sunlight, you would be forgiven for thinking that cleaners use pricey products to keep them sparkling.
2
2
However, Anne Simmons, 57, who worked at the famed London palace for a decade has revealed her cleaning trick costs less than a cup of tea.
The cleaning pro, from Berkshire, told Plates Express that when she cleaned royal windows "there was no room for error."
'The windows had to be perfect no streaks, no marks.
"We weren't allowed to use harsh chemicals either, so I had to find a better way.'
Anne revealed that her simple trick was to use £1 worth of distilled water, which is water that has been purified and stripped of minerals and impurities.
'I kept a jug of distilled water on hand,' she said.
"Before cleaning the windows, I'd wet the cloth with it.
"It made a massive difference—no streaks, no oily residue.
"It was a simple trick but very effective.'
Anne revealed that it is important to use distilled water as, unlike tap water, it doesn't leave behind mineral deposits or spots as it evaporates.
Stacey Solomon shares 3p way to clean your windows which doesn't leave any smears & you may already have it at home
'I kept a jug of distilled water on hand,' Anne said.
'I know some people worry about spending money on fancy cleaning solutions,' Anne said.
'But a bottle of distilled water from the supermarket costs less than a coffee—and lasts a long time.'
And this isn't the only handy hack the royal cleaner has up her sleeve.
Anne previously revealed how she used an old tube of toothpaste to get palace mirrors gleaming.
She recalled how a "surprise inspection" led to the discovery.
With nothing "fancy on hand" to wipe down glass surfaces, she remembered an old trick her mum swore by.
"I ran in, grabbed a tube of toothpaste from the staff bathroom, and gave [the surfaces] a gentle scrub. Minutes later, they looked brand new," she recalled.
And the royal cleaner even swears by a kids toy to keep homes dust free.
Slime, is a popular toy with young children, and is used for squeezing and squishing into shapes.
However, Anne revealed that it is also perfect for dusting.
'It's safe, easy to use, and doesn't leave any marks,' she said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The Great British sauce debate is FINALLY settled: Scientists reveal the ultimate condiment to put on chips - and it's bad news for gravy fans
The Great British sauce debate is FINALLY settled: Scientists reveal the ultimate condiment to put on chips - and it's bad news for gravy fans

Daily Mail​

time13 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

The Great British sauce debate is FINALLY settled: Scientists reveal the ultimate condiment to put on chips - and it's bad news for gravy fans

There's no doubt the humble potato chip is an icon of the great British cookbook. From the fanciest bistro to the lowliest greasy spoon, where wouldn't you find a nice hot serving of chips? And whether they're served alongside a posh steak or wrapped in paper with battered fish, there's certainly no shortage of serving options. What's more up for debate, however, is the greatest accompaniment to have with this most beloved of fast food. The burning question of the best chip topping is one that has been debated across pubs, chip shops and households for decades. But now, the debate may just have been put to bed for good – and it's bad news for gravy fans. Scientists reveal the ultimate condiment to put on chips – and there's one clear winner. Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, says salt & vinegar is the top choice, followed by mushy peas. The multi-sensory food expert – who is also the son of a chip-shop owner in Leeds – said the malt vinegar is effective at cutting through the oiliness. 'It always end up over chips underneath so the salt and vinegar combination becomes the familiar option and then gets extended to crisps,' he told MailOnline. Although popular, tomato ketchup is 'perhaps an infantile condiment' because of its sweetness – typically containing one teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of ketchup. According to the expert, this may be why ketchup is so favoured in the US, which has long had a predilection for oversweet food. Mayonnaise on chips, meanwhile, is an import from continental Europe – likely originating in Belgium, France or the Netherlands. Mayo on 'French fries' memorably triggers the disgust of Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film 'Pulp Fiction'. But Professor Spence is in agreement that there's 'something about the eggy oily texture and insipid colour' that quite rightly puts people off. Dr Sue Bailey, culinary historian and independent lecturer in food science, agreed that acidic condiments like vinegar and ketchup cut through the fatty coating of the chips. But the best sauces with chips are either mayonnaise or tartare sauce, she claims. These have an unctuous consistency but don't fall off the chips when we raise them to our mouth. 'Adhesive viscous or thicker sauces are always popular and the most favoured ones have good clinging or "thixotropic" properties – so mayonnaise and ketchup, possibly curry sauce depending on if a starchy thickener is used in it,' she told MailOnline. Gravy, meanwhile, is just too runny and makes a mess – meaning chips with gravy requires a knife and fork, which is not preferable. As Professor Spence puts it, 'the first taste is with the hand', as the food we feel in the hands influences our perception in the mouth – so when it comes to chips it's best to avoid cutlery. Professor Spence also thinks eating something with a range of colours can 'make what we eat look more attractive' and in turn increase our enjoyment of it. A good example here is pairing the vibrant yellow of chips with the vibrant, glimmering red of tomato ketchup or the almost radioactive green of mushy peas. Conversely, curry sauce and mustard – despite packing a big punch of flavour – rank somewhere near the bottom when it comes to colourful chip toppings. The 2020 YouGov poll asked Brits what they have on their chip. They found tomato ketchup is a popular chip topping in England and Scotland, but in Wales people are more likely to favour curry sauce 'You don't get much colour contrast with curry or mustard and fish and chips,' Professor Spence told MailOnline. Slightly more 'posh' or alternative options at the chippy are a sprinkle of black pepper or a smear of mustard, but these are far from ideal. 'Mustard or black pepper are not standard choices – they're a bit overpowering flavour wise,' Dr Bailey told MailOnline. Professor Spence added that part of what makes a perfect food combination 'depends on what we are familiar with because we have grown up with it'. And this may be why there's so much variation regarding what exactly Brits put on their fries. According to a 2020 poll of more than 36,000 Brits, the most popular chip toppings are tomato ketchup, curry sauce and mushy peas, in that order. However, salt and vinegar was excluded as a choice in the YouGov poll because 'they simply dominate everywhere'. Interestingly, tomato ketchup is a popular chip topping in England and Scotland, but in Wales people are more likely to favour curry sauce. Tomato ketchup triumphs by some margin in England (34 per cent) and Scotland (25 per cent), whereas in Wales curry sauce reigns supreme (35 per cent).

Throat cancer patient praises new Salisbury District Hospital kit
Throat cancer patient praises new Salisbury District Hospital kit

BBC News

time17 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Throat cancer patient praises new Salisbury District Hospital kit

A throat cancer patient has praised new equipment at Salisbury District Hospital for making an uncomfortable procedure more bearable for Russell, 67, from Maiden Bradley, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in November 2019 after discovering a lump in his throat. Since then, he has undergone monthly check-ups using videoscopes to monitor his condition - a procedure he once described as feeling like going "a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson".With funding from the Stars Appeal, the hospital's charity, six new videoscopes which cut appointment times have been purchased at a cost of £115,000. These devices allow for quicker and more comfortable diagnoses for patients with suspected head and neck their introduction in September, more than 1,600 patients referred with suspected head and neck cancers have benefitted from their use. 'Felt like a punch' Mr Russell said: "I am well used to this unpleasant procedure, but the new cameras make it so much more comfortable. For new patients, they will significantly reduce the fear of having it done."He added: "The new cameras made the procedure so much easier to manage. Sometimes it used to feel like being punched in the nose."The upgraded scopes also offer doctors much clearer images, helping them to detect changes in patients over time. This is particularly important for people like Mr Russell, whose cancer has been persistent and unpredictable. "The unique nature of my cancer meant it kept coming and going. This equipment is really important because doctors can now see subtle changes that may signal something's happening," he scopes are part of a new 'one-stop' diagnostic service led by the hospital's Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and Maxillofacial can now receive assessments in a single visit, instead of attending multiple departments. ENT consultant Mr Kostas Marinakis said the new equipment has had a major impact. "The superior image quality gives us the best chance of detecting early cancers and significantly improves the comfort of the procedure. "We're extremely grateful to the Stars Appeal supporters for making this possible."

Push to keep reviving Wolverhampton's architectural history
Push to keep reviving Wolverhampton's architectural history

BBC News

time18 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Push to keep reviving Wolverhampton's architectural history

A city's historic buildings are undergoing a revival and one local photographer, Ian Hughes, said: "We should be shouting about it from the rooftops."Talking about Wolverhampton, he admitted he was once "one of the naysayers who felt it was a dump" - but has found a love for the city's architectural history and said: "There's a lot to celebrate in Wolverhampton."Emma Purshouse, editor of the Black Countryman magazine, also believes the city has some amazing said: "If it was Stratford or the posh parts of London, they'd have been preserved and made part of a tourist trail." Mr Hughes started going on walks around the city two years ago, taking photos of the buildings as he has more than 10,000 images and said the city was now "definitely a phoenix rising from the ashes".One recent discovery which stuck in his mind was a large brick building near the canal."Nobody seemed to know what it was," he said - but he eventually found it had once been a butter and cheese Hughes said it was a "lovely building, totally overgrown and desperately in need of repair" and he felt it had an interesting story to tell. Mr Hughes said he did not know why Wolverhampton "chose to knock things down" but it was nothing new or unique to the said the Victorians "just swept everything away" to create the modern city centre and their buildings had in turn been replaced after World War Two."In the 1950s, councils up and down the country did exactly the same," he Mr Hughes is not angry about the city's lost history and said: "People made what they think were the right decisions at the time."These buildings were never built to last forever and be part of history, they were built with a purpose and those purposes are long, long gone." Ms Purshouse said she believed it was "easier to knock things down than preserve them" but there were many examples of interesting architecture still in said her favourites included the Great Western pub, with its cobbled street "because it feels like you've just stepped back in time into a little Victorian pocket of Wolverhampton" and the Lychgate Tavern off Queen's some old buildings were "hidden" behind modern shop fronts, with others it had been "easier to knock things down than preserve them", she added. Ms Purshouse was appointed Wolverhampton's first poet laureate during the coronavirus pandemic and, like Mr Hughes, spent a lot of time walking around the said while some buildings had been lost, there were also good examples of historic buildings being preserved, such as the Albion former corn mill has been turned into flats but its appearance has been also hoped the city's former eye infirmary would be treated sensitively when the old NHS site was is planning consent to turn it into flats, a special needs school and an eating disorder city council said the Victorian building and former nurses accommodation would be restored as part of that work and it was encouraging the owners to move the project Purshouse said she has happy to see buildings change their use if they can "keep the architecture and keep the feel of the things". Mr Hughes said there were also encouraging signs for the future of Wolverhampton, with projects such as the planned redevelopment of the former Beatties site will be turned into a mixture of apartments and shops and the city council said it was in "regular contact" with the owners of this building too, "to offer support and encourage action to move things forward". The councillor responsible for development in Wolverhampton, Chris Burden, said the city was "full of beautiful architecture" and the council took the preservation and restoration of heritage buildings "extremely seriously".The authority pointed to a number of other buildings which have been brought back into include the Grade II listed Civic Hall and Wulfrun Hall, now known simply as The Halls, which were refurbished at a cost of £ former Royal Hospital, which closed in 1997, has also been brought back into use as flats for people over the age of projects still in the works include turning the former Chubb Locks factory into a four-screen cinema and the restoration of the central council said it was also working with the owners of the city's other empty buildings to bring them back into use and improve how they look from the outside. While it might be romantic to think Wolverhampton's forgotten buildings could all be brought back into use, Mr Hughes believes people should be realistic about the future of town shopping habits changing, he said: "Towns as we knew them are gone, they're never coming back."But he said if developers were prepared to put in the money and the effort, the centre of Wolverhampton "could become what it used to be". Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store