Service Survey 10/20: Best Cleaning Tips/Hacks Learned

The military is known for being strict and very…..well, militant. For all the services, boot camp is a time where much learning takes place. Whether it’s military history, close order drill, or even fighting with pupil sticks; You learn a lot. Most of it though is basically learning how to not get yelled at and have your entire life fisted inside out because you didn’t lace your boots the right way or because one of your bed folds didn’t stick. Which is why service members are fashioned into natural McGuyvers being able to hack and improvise their way through some real dirty situations….Kevin Barszcz, USN“I could polish brass like a professional but I learned how to skate as well. I was on ship my whole career and learned that you could use Windex to polish brass as well as the floor. I also stole stainless steel cleaner from the galley to clean the stalls and the sinks in the heads. My Chief used to think I spent all day cleaning the heads because of how shiny the stalls looked.”-You sneaky little turd.Crystal Clark, Combat Correspondent, ARMY“The first one that comes to mind is clean from top to bottom. In boot camp, everyone is cleaning at the same time. It's like a cleaning frenzy. Sounds obvious but you have people cleaning the tops of footlockers putting dust bunnies on the floor as someone is sweeping. That’s counterproductive.”-If it makes sense, something ain’t right.Julio Lopez“Need to get those copper pipes looking inspection ready? Two words: HOT SAUCE. There was plenty of copper piping that needed shining in the galley. So, when we needed that copper looking brand spanking new, we’d grab our green weenies, soapy hot water and a bottle of hot sauce. We would pour that hot sauce right on those pipes like it was fried chicken and scrub away! I later found out that it was the salt and vinegar that was really the reason the pipes shined, but I can guarantee that even with that knowledge, I’d still be hot saucin’ my pipe!”-Excellent choice for pipe sauce!Codey Parker, Rifleman, USMC“Two words: baby wipes.”-Absolutely disgusting, Marine.