Households urged to rub washing up liquid on doors

It’s one of the most universal products in British homes. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher, you almost certainly still keep a bright green (sometimes blue) bottle of washing up liquid by your kitchen sink for those tough stains and those not-dishwasher-safe glasses and plates.

But washing up liquid has all manner of uses well beyond the kitchen, say experts, from cleaning showers to preventing cars from icing over. And one magic trick which this humble neon liquid has at its disposal is that it can be used to fix a noisy or creaky door in your house.

It’s one of those little annoyances which you probably leave unfixed for weeks or even months. A little creak every time you open a door, but eventually it becomes loud enough to disturb someone every time you go in and out of a room.

You don’t necessarily need specialist liquids like WD-40, though - in fact, a humble bottle of Fairy will do the job, according to consumer magazine Which?.

It explains: “Fix a creaky door [with washing up liquid]. Squirt a small amount onto your noisy hinge. And open and close it a few times.”

Which? Says that you can also use washing up liquid to clean garden furniture, as well as remove stains from carpets or to wash your home’s windows.

Another upside of washing up liquid on windows is that it helps prevent condensation in the winter.

Experts at Home Things explain: “By taking a small drop of washing up liquid and rubbing it into the condensation-prone window with a dry cloth you can completely stop the issue all together.

“The washing up liquid forms a barrier on the surface of the windows, preventing the water from sticking. So in the space of just a few minutes, you can put a stop to the damp, mould, and mildew that wet windows can cause.”