As houseproud as you may well be, some spills and stains will inevitably be a little more stubborn than others, leaving you with the feeling that your home will never be clean again. However, there is one offending substance that really instills fear in the heart of any cleaning fan: permanent marker.
Once scribbled over your best sofa cushions or - god forbid - your paintwork, it can be all too easy to simply sink into despair, however, there is still hope. Speaking at a recent cleaning festival, dubbed Wilko House of Hacks, homecare guru and author Lynsey Crombie, best known as Lynsey Queen of Clean, answered attendees' questions on all things spick and span.
This included a question about how to get permanent marker scrawls off your paintwork, and it turned out the solution really is nowhere near as arduous as you might expect. Speaking at the informative Q and A session, which was attended by the Mirror, Lynsey heard from one lady who found herself grappling with frustrating permanent marker scribbles on her gloss banister.
Ever keen to assist her loyal fans, Lynsey advised: "Have you tried toothpaste on that one? Try that one, and if that doesn't work, try nail polish remover as well. Try both of those, and if they don't work, message me and I'll help you.
"But remember, with the toothpaste, try and leave it overnight. So don't just put it on and expect a miracle within ten minutes. For permanent marker, I'd leave it on as long as you can. Really rub it in as well and then have a look in the morning."
During the same event, Lynsey also offered some pearls of wisdom regarding how to clean felt tip marks off your coffee table, should you have any enthusiastic young artists running around.
Lynsey suggested: "I find toothpaste works really well with pens, if you scrub it in, it starts to break it down. If you get ink on clothes, hot milk is one of the old-school things that really work. Just rub it in."
Do you have a cleaning tip to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
