Mrs Hinch, Victorian-style! Forget bleach… workers use milk and bread to clean 19th century stately home

• England Heritage used bread and milk to prep interior of Brodsworth Hall
• The charity are prepping the Victorian home for its reopening to the public
• Bread was used to clean wallpaper and skimmed milk helped to wash the floors

Internet cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch uses the latest tips and tricks to show her legion of social media fans the most modern ways to spruce up their homes.

But for others the old habits die hard – and English Heritage has turned to some 19th century techniques to keep one of its grand properties spotless.

The charity is using some unusual methods to clean up the interior of Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, ahead of the Victorian home’s reopening on May 17. The techniques include using bread to clean wallpaper and skimmed milk to wash the floors.

Other tips include using beeswax and turpentine to rejuvenate waxed timber flooring, a pony-haired brush to dust furniture and figurines, and a soft chamois leather as an eco-friendly alternative to glass cleaners for mirrors. It is a far cry from the tricks used by Mrs Hinch, who has 4million followers on Instagram.

English Heritage has turned to some 19th century techniques to keep one of its grand properties spotless

The charity is using some unusual methods to clean up the interior of Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, ahead of the Victorian home’s reopening on May 17

The techniques include using bread to clean wallpaper and skimmed milk to wash the floors

Other tips include using beeswax and turpentine to rejuvenate waxed timber flooring, a pony-haired brush to dust furniture and figurines, and a soft chamois leather as an eco-friendly alternative to glass cleaners for mirrors

The social media star likes to recommend the latest cleaning products and her own modern techniques for keeping everything sparkling – such as using fabric conditioner to get marks off doors.

There is some method in the madness for the old-fashioned tips, however. Bread is good for cleaning wallpaper because of its porous structure which, combined with its slight dampness, helps to pick up any dirt or dust.

And skimmed milk works on stone floors because the combination of moisture, a little residual milk fat and the presence of casein protein leaves a soft sheen and gives a degree of protection to the surface. English Heritage cares for more than 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites. 

Amber Xavier-Rowe, head of collections conservation at the charity, said: ‘Although we may not recommend some of the more bizarre historic cleaning tips… housekeepers of the past were often spot-on with their methods.’

It is a far cry from the tricks used by Mrs Hinch, who has 4million followers on Instagram

The social media star likes to recommend the latest cleaning products and her own modern techniques for keeping everything sparkling – such as using fabric conditioner to get marks off doors

Bread is good for cleaning wallpaper because of its porous structure which, combined with its slight dampness, helps to pick up any dirt or dust

And skimmed milk works on stone floors because the combination of moisture, a little residual milk fat and the presence of casein protein leaves a soft sheen and gives a degree of protection to the surface

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