Former housekeeper to the Queen reveals her secrets
If anybody can teach you how to make a bed fit for royalty, it would be the Queen’s former housekeeper. Barbara Allred, who was head housekeeper at Sandringham for a decade, now tutors at The English Manner, which trains butlers and housekeepers for billionaires, celebrities and aristocracy.
Allred (left) tells The Daily Mail, “When you're working for the top, standards have to be 110 per cent, not just 100 per cent.”
So what domestic secrets can the former housekeeper reveal?
For sparkling bathroom thrones
- To remove lime scale build-up on chrome taps, apply a paste of 2 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar. Use a toothbrush or cotton bud to clean difficult areas, and a bottle brush to clean plugholes.
- Keep a sponge and rubber gloves dedicated to the toilet - and manually clean under the rim of the bowl.
- Don’t use bleach as it takes the shine off porcelain. To remove mildew or mould, mix equal parts lemon juice and baking powder into a paste, leave on for two hours, and then rinse off. Toilet paper should roll from the front. Fold the end into a point to show the bathroom has been cleaned.
For crisply folded towels
- Lay the towel flat, then fold it in three, lengthwise, before hanging on the towel rail.
- If you're folding them away in the cupboard, fold them in three again (or four, for large bath towels.) Stack towels, neatly, with the fold towards you, with towels of one size in a single section.
For a table setting fit for a royal
- Set one place setting first to ensure you're happy with it. Then place each main course plate on the table. All plates should be equidistant.
- Each main course plate should be an inch from the edge of the table, as should the bottom of the cutlery. The side plate should be at ten o'clock in relation to the main plate. Glasses are at two o'clock.
- The red wine glass is traditionally larger, and to the right. The white wine glass is smaller, to its left.
- The sweet fork and spoon are normally positioned at the top of the main plate.
- A tablecloth is optional.
- Polish cutlery, and clean glasses without touching the rim - use your left hand to cradle the bowl; never twist the bowl when washing or drying the inside of a glass.
For a dust-free house
- Start from the ceiling, from the left, so you can be methodical. Use a cobweb brush for ceilings.
- A squeezed out damp cloth is best for ornaments. If it's dry, you're just pushing dust around - you need the dust to adhere to the cloth.
- For antique picture frames, use a soft hogshair brush - one for wood and another for metal.
- Dust furniture with a very tightly squeezed out soft cloth. Never spray wood directly - spray the cloth. The same rule applies to cleaning windows.
For silver that shines
- Don’t use a toothbrush if the silver is intricately wrought - use cotton buds.
- Then wash the item in warm water and liquid detergent, and dry. Use a soft, lint-free cloth to buff it - it’s the buffing that makes the difference.
Source: The DailyMail
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