But we all know some less conventional ways of dealing with common spills and stains. Good HouseKeeping magazine put some to the test to find out if they are fact or fiction.

Club Soda With That?

You've probably heard the advice: When it comes to removing stains, club soda does a better job than water. According to Carolyn Forte, Associate Director of the Good Housekeeping Institute, the bubbles in club soda don't do anything special.

"We've done side-by-side tests," Forte says, "and found that you get the same benefits from plain water that you do from club soda."

Forte says you just need to get to that stain quickly. Before using either liquid, blot any excess spill with an absorbent cloth and make sure the fabric is washable. You don't want to add a water stain to the mess. When in doubt, she says, take it to the dry cleaner.

Vinegar and Coffee Pots

A lot of us use white vinegar to clean out our coffee pots. But can we use it to remove clogs from a steam iron? No!

In fact, Forte says, that could ruin your iron. To clean a steam iron, just fill it with water, plug it in and hold it horizontally over the sink.

"Allow the steam to just pour right on out," she says, "and every once and a while give it a good burst of steam. If there are any fiber deposits, minerals, or anything stuck in the holes in the sole plate, they should fall out."

Polish With Toothpaste

Here's something I bet you never thought about -- using toothpaste to polish silver. In a pinch, you can.

Obviously, you don't want to clean an entire silver set this way. But Forte says if you have a fork or knife that's a little too tarnished to put it out, and you don't have any silver polish around, you can use toothpaste, if you're careful.

"Dip the item first in water," Forte explains. "Rub a little toothpaste with your finger onto the piece of flatware. Rinse it off again. And buff it dry."

Don't rub too hard, toothpaste is more abrasive than silver polish. Just be gentle and keep it to a small area. By the way, Good Housekeeping says stick to plain toothpaste; no tartar control or whitening agents.

Cleaning With Bread

Here's a clever solution to another problem. You have paper or fabric wallpaper, so you can't use water to clean it. How do you remove those fingerprint smudges around the light switch?

Take a piece of soft piece of white bread or wheat bread. "Rub it like an eraser around the stain," Forte says, and it'll rub it right off."

For More Information:

Cleaning Myths Debunked

Good Housekeeping: My Stainbuster