What are your best cleaning tips?
I’ve always been a bit nervous of bleach. My white counters in the kitchen have been picking up stains, so I bought some bleach and have left it to sit. Hooray, the stains are gone!
BUT. Then I googled some bleach tips and discovered that you absolutely shouldn’t use undiluted bleach on your counters because it can ruin them 🤦🏻♀️
I didn’t pick up a lot of cleaning knowledge from my parents, and it’s been a lot of trial and error (so much error) figuring out how to keep everything clean enough. Now I have schedules and products and I do a pretty good job of it, but I moved out of home at 18 and I’m now 36 so it’s been literally half my life getting to this point.
So… what cleaning tips and tricks do you have? What product (remember to specify which country you’re in!) can you absolutely not do without? What products can be used for something unusual? Let’s hear it!
Most people underestimate the power of basic cleaners. Soap is actually enough to clean most nonporous surfaces.
The power of any given cleaner increases the longer it soaks into the mess. This is true even if you are just using water. So rather than reaching for the harsh stuff, try soaking the surface to be cleaned first, waiting a minute, and then scrubbing it. Go with a stronger cleaner only if this doesn’t work.
If you have a particularly stubborn toilet, it’s probably because you don’t clean it often enough. I know this because I … have reasons. The inside bowl can be really easily cleaned if you purchase a toilet cleaner where the active ingredient is an acid of some sort. But once again, it will have to soak for a bit.
If you like the original pine-sol but don’t like the “new” pine-sol, you can actually special order a case of the original straight from the manufacturer.
I usually just use soap and water, but the counter stains weren’t coming up with that. Good tip about letting it sit though, I probably wasn’t doing that.
removing stains is distinct from cleaning, so extra soaking time may not help some stains. some cleaning methods may help some stains set more permanently, in fact
For counters, “Bartender’s Friend” has done miracles. In our case it’s white quartz counters. Idk exactly how it works but by golly it takes out literally every stain and discolouration.
Barkeeper's Friend is primarily oxalic acid, which is an oxidizer. Bleach and hydrogen peroxide are also oxidizers. The oxalic acid reacts with water and uses the oxygen to clean, typically by whitening.
The abrasive powder form also helps remove soils through extra mechanical force. Similar to the green side of a dish sponge.
Fine powder in small, occasional doses is not a problem, but prolonged use may remove the polished finish of stone.
ooh have you tried magic eraser I used those when we had them in our last apartment. Worked well for spot cleaning
Be careful with those, they're very abrasive.
I wouldn't think they are any more abrasive then "Bartenders Friend". And Quartz Counter tops are a composite that so they should hold up better to that kinda use then granite, which is a big no no for both of those products.
Barkeepers friend works by chemical reaction and mild abrasiveness fyi
For solid countertops (NOT soft artificial countertops) like quartz I've found Bon Ami to be amazing for removing tea and coffee stains, and it doesn't scratch at all.
No idea, we live in a rental so didn’t install them, and I’m not knowledgeable enough to know! Not laminate or tile, some kind of stone perhaps? I chipped it the other week and it felt stone-like
My last apartment had white quartz counter tops and magic eraser worked well for spot treatments.
Thank you, I’ll try this!
What's often enough for a two-person household with two toilets that see about equal use?
I feel like I need to scrub them every second day if I don't want them to look like it has been a month. Don't remember this being an issue in any previous apartment. I'm blaming hard water and poor flushing (always need to flush twice, even for a simple pee, to get the water crystal clear again; it mixes more than it flushes) but honestly have no idea what the true cause is, it's not like I benchmarked the performance and hardness in previous apartments with any repeatable method.
I was having problems with a toilet that was constantly having problems with flushing and clogging in spite of replacing the flush valves in their entirety, and we ended up replacing the entire toilet. It ended up being a great investment. We got a toilet with a dual flush valve and it is so much more reliable than your typical flapper flush valve. It wasn’t expensive either; we got one of the cheapest models at the store.
I can't answer the question of what's often enough, but I can tell you from 1st-hand experience that the best deep-clean for a toilet is to turn off the water and flush out as much as will go, then pour a gallon of vinegar into the toilet bowl and let stand overnight. In the morning whatever residue is left can be easily scrubbed out leaving the bowl looking like new. I think this might also help w/ the quick-staining problem but only b/c anecdotally we had a similar problem and after the vinegar soak it seemed not to be a problem anymore.
The soaking is especially true with dishes. A good soak in soapy water will remove 90% of whatever you've been scrubbing off your (non cast iron) pots and pans. Check the manufacturer website for what to do beyond that, they know how to get gunk off of their own products without ruining them. Bar Keepers Friend has saved me so much work.
How do you soak the side of a porcelain bowl? Doesn't it just slide down?
Put it in your sink and fill it with water.
Bar keepers friend stainless steel cleaner's the best for any stainless steel pans, appliances, and sinks! Pretty good at making anything like that shine and look new!
Great tip about the car detailing product!
I hear about this a lot but I’ve never seen it in the shop in australia. Google says it’s available here though so I’ll have to keep an eye out!
I have seen it at Coles.
That being said, I personally prefer to soak stainless steel in diluted white vinegar for a couple of hours. I'll do multiple things at a time: for example, when I soak a pot, I'll also throw in some silverware. Everything comes out nice and shiny.
I also keep undiluted vinegar in a spray bottle to spray on sinks, taps, etc. I let it sit for a while, then come back later and wipe it off.
Barkeeper's Friend is a powder, so you have to mix it into a paste. This is useful for surfaces that vinegar might drip off of (such as the underside of a shower head), and it has a kind of gritty texture that's useful for dislodging thick calcium deposits and soap scum, but it takes elbow grease. In my opinion, it's too much effort if you're just trying to remove clouding or discoloration from your steel pots, utensils, etc.
I've never seen it used it either, but I believe the main ingredient is oxalic acid, which may or may not be easier to find. Although, according to Wikipedia, it also contains an abrasive and a detergent.
I’ll kick things off: I keep a dish wand filled with half dishwashing liquid and half white vinegar in the shower. It cleans it a treat, and I can give it a quick go over while I’m in the shower myself. I have Pinterest to thank for this one, and it’s done me well over the 10 or so years I’ve been doing it!
I own a small house cleaning company, and I buy hundreds of generic melamine sponges a year. The thicker the better (but they are more expensive), and I wash them! I have serious sponge protocol, and one sponge only wipes one counter or one toilet or one floor etc before it goes in a bin to be washed on the sanitize setting with rags. I typically get three washes out of each sponge, and they progress down a ladder of usefulness: new ones are used on countertops, sinks, stove tops, second wash - any non sanitary critical job, third wash - toilets and floors or other gross tasks, and then into the trash. By that time they are small, shrunken and flat and ready to go anyway. Do not put in dryer.
As a pro house cleaner what do you (not) recommend melamine sponges for? They seem to be like very fine grit sandpaper.
Not OP but one thing I can tell you for sure not to use them on is skin. When they first came out my husband and I dyed our hair black and used them to clean up the smudges of dye on our foreheads, temples, etc. The next morning we woke up with bloody scabs all over our faces. The abrasiveness is so fine you don’t realize you’re sanding away at things with them.
So… not skin and not anything with a delicate finish.
Anything with a glossy finish. We used some on our very shiny floors once, and then had dull spots wherever we used them.
Stainless steel appliances for certain, some kinds of shiny marble and wood, but you really need to ask your customer/research what kind of surface you're cleaning (fancy countertops and the like). I use them on most things in my own house but appliances, (I'm not CRANKING down with them though, just light wiping ) to no ill effect.
I'm a bleach man, I love it. Toilets, sinks and any mold above windows and room corners gets the treatment, neat. I usually apply on a cloth so as not to go overboard for surfaces. Then a water wipe about 10 mins later so it doesn't dry and voila, mold be gone and everything sparkly. I'm 44 and done this for years, the wife hates it and she's all about perfumed cleaning sprays as she's a believer in the crap that goes on the packaging. She's definitely a big brand fanatic.
Main tip though isn't so much about cleaning, more of tidying. Putting stuff away as you go keeps the place visually clean and organised, it helps the brain. If only I could get the wife and kids to go along with this my life would be so much easier...
Oh god I FEEL you on your last paragraph. My husband probably has ADHD and my kids are kids. It is a constant battle to keep my surfaces clear of clutter!
I’m glad to hear you use bleach undiluted, that’s how I’ve been using it today but I wasn’t sure if I was doing more harm than good but the house is very clean (although I did ruin a pair of trousers)
Bleach is great. It's also one of the more biodegradable cleaners.
Gotta make sure you get proper bleach though. A lot of the stuff sold in stores doesn't have the proper concentrations to kill stuff like norovirus.
get some One-Step
it's a powdered cleaner meant for homebrewing equipment. at 1 tbsp of powder per gallon of water (or about 4ml per liter) a little bit goes a long way.
it works particularly well on reusable water bottles, Camelbak reservoirs, and the like. washing those with soap can be annoying because of how much rinsing is required to get rid of all the residue.
This is a GREAT tip! I just noticed my kids water bottles were kind of slimy inside. So gross. I also read to try denture tablets, but if that doesn’t work I’ll be trying this one for sure
yep, that's a biofilm. bacteria building themselves a city.
I have a water fountain for my cats, and the pump develops a serious biofilm if it's not cleaned regularly. so I just fill it up with hot water, dump a teaspoon of one-step powder in, and let it run for a few minutes.
denture tablets should work as well, it's likely the same active ingredient at the end of the day. sodium percarbonate, when added to water, produces hydrogen peroxide. so it kills off bacteria the same way it would if your kid scraped their knee and needed the cut cleaned.
you can also just buy sodium percarbonate in bulk which I may do when my current tub of One-Step runs out.
I believe it is the same ingredient, yes. Potentially cheaper as the home brew product so I’m going to check it out when these run out!
I have never done this with water bottles but something else to consider.
For homebrewing I tend to use PBW, which is similar to One Step. I know some home brewers use OxiClean Free as a cost saving alternative. The free is very important so there’s no scents or dyes.
That's safe for the pets even without rinsing?
I checked this out, by the way, and according to the safety data sheet the main ingredient is not too far off from sodium percarbonate.
What helped me is using first principles thinking. Learn what the active ingredients in your cleaners are and how they work chemically. Learn about the different types of contaminants and which solution works best for each. Here are a few concrete tips that I've picked up:
General:
Preventative:
A good meter for kitchen clean is if you dropped a piece of bread on that surface would you still give that bread to a guest? For bathrooms: if a guest touched that surface would you want them to touch your face? For floors: if you walked on those with socks would you want those socks in your bed? For beds: hey no judgement here do whatever you’re in to just wash your sheets once a week.
As far as products I don’t have strong preferences for cleaners or solutions but I couldn’t live without blue Scotch-Brite sponges (or equivalent). They don’t scratch, they scrub well.
Fair warning though, it will mess up nonstick surfaces over time. Don't soak non-stick, clean immediately after use.
This is awesome I didn’t know this and I’ve been super guilty of soaking non-stick pans. I do know to avoid putting them in the dishwasher, right?
This is a pretty minor one, but if you run a blender with warm water and dish soap shortly after using it, and then just scrub out the remainder, it becomes way easier to clean. You might be less reluctant to use your blender as a result.
Also if you don't do this already, turn your graphic t-shirts inside out before washing them. The graphics won't crack nearly as quickly this way.
There are a lot of great tips for the performance of cleaning, but my cleaning tip is this: if you see something that needs cleaning, then clean it up. This means if you notice that it's dusty, grab a duster; if the dishes are dirty, clean them; if the sink needs to be cleaned out, do it; if the shower doors are streaky, wipe them down; if you have a food wrapper, put it directly in the garbage.
If you do the small tasks as they happen, then they remain small tasks and are relatively easy to deal with. A bit of cleaning every day is way better than a lot of cleaning on one day.
I have a similar rule. If something takes less than 2 minutes, do it immediately. If only the rest of my family would also follow it, the house would be spotless!
I find this to be a personal preference. My spouse can’t relax if there’s something she knows needs cleanjng, so tends towards immediately doing little things. To me, with the context switching and “fixed overhead” involved in many common (and frequently recurring) cleaning tasks, it feels like death by a thousand cuts. I like to let it build up for a day, week, whatever is reasonable for the particular task and then knock it all out in a block of focused efficient cleaning.
Hey there, I owned a cleaning business for a little over a decade. I'd still have it, but I was burnt out on it. Needed a change.
I almost never used bleach. Never underestimate the power of hot water (doesn't have to be scalding), and Murphy's Wood soap, on just about everything. Scrubbing bubbles for stubborn residue. Greased lightning is a great degreaser. Follow that up with some Sprayway glass cleaner for streaks (I used this stuff for any surface really, and it smells amazing).
Also, yellow microfiber towels from Costco are the best. Magic erasers are are incredible, just be mindful of the pressure applied when cleaning finished surfaces, as it can damage the surface if overused.
Lastly, a couple of tools will make your life easier to clean. Xoxo brand has a corner brush set with a rubber cleaning tip. And get a painters multi tool (at any hardware store), for scraping surfaces and getting in corners. Razor blades too... Just be careful! It's easy to poke yourself. :)
These are fab insider secrets! I’ll look up some of these products, I didn’t like using bleach so much. Everything feels very clean but you have to be too careful not to bleach your clothes
Sure thing! I didn't mention windows or bathrooms or really a ton of things normal people don't think about in their home. If anyone would like advice, please just ask!
A quick mention for porcelain... Sinks or especially toilets. Get a pumice stone, or "pumie scouring stick"... Toilets get really gross pretty fast. Even soaking in the blue toilet cleaner and scrubbing with a brush won't get the waterline ring off (unless you clean your toilets every 3 or 4 days). But the pumice will work!
Lastly, if you're a guy, or have guys in your life... You have urine all over the front and sides of your toilets. Clean this regularly, and your bathrooms will smell much better! No one likes cleaning toilets... But it's necessary. Everyone in your life will appreciate it. :)
Hope y'all have a good day!
Unless they sit to pee like a civilized member of your household 😉
True manhood is covering every surface in your vicinity with piss at all times.
In general, a bit of Dawn dish soap in water will clean the majority of stains in your house. I've found that if you have cats, it's far superior in cleaning up after hairballs than any other commercial cleaner out there.
When I moved into my current place a few years back, the hardwood floors were pretty seriously scratched up. I tried all sorts of traditional cleaners, but a fair amount of dust resides in those scratches and is sometimes tough to lift out. Also I have a curious cat wandering around and have always been wary of the harsher cleaning products somehow getting on his paws.
After a bunch of attempts I came across this video:
https://youtu.be/rzR2xuDSagg
It's essentially a portion of isopropyl alcohol mixed with hot water and a tiny bit of soap. It works great! Because of the alcohol it dries very quickly so I don't have to worry so much about the cat.
I was never much of a cleaner prior to Covid, but all of the time I spent inside got me on a regular cleaning schedule. (I think my Mom would have been proud!) My place is not perfect by any means but I have improved a lot from where I used to be.
Saving this one to come back to because we have the same problem with our floors! Thanks
I use a mixture of dish soap and vinegar and hot water (in whatever ratio suits my fancy that day) to get rid of soap scum on showers. Works really well. And when it doesn't, I reach for CLR
What is CLR?
Calcium, Lime, Rust. It's some sort of acidic cleaner that destroys deposits. Any similar substance should work
I just used this stuff in my shower, cut 50/50 with water per packaged directions. It did a pretty good job, and after taking a wire wheel to some of the harder-to-scrub spots, it looks really nice now.
It's a product name.
Here's the product @AgnesNutter. It does indeed stand for Calcium, Lime, Rust, but without the context that it's a product name, it sounds like something you would mix up for cleaning, and don't do that.
A chainmail scrubber works beautifully to get kitchen pots and pans clean of any stains or burnt-on material that remains after soaking. No chemicals required, and it will likely never need replacement.
The chainmail is safe on cast iron and enamel/ceramic-coated pans, but not advisable for Teflon coatings. I've even used it on the stainless steel sink and glass-topped stove without issues of scratching.
"Not advisable" is putting it very mildly. Don't do it, it'll screw it up forever. Teflon is super fragile. Dish soap and water. If it's really bad, boil some water in it then throw in the dish soap.
It works best if the pan is still fresh off the cooking. Don't let a Teflon pan sit with dirty food in it. Clean it right away.
We buy the Scotch-Brite ones and they last a while. If i want my glass-topped stove to shine, ill spray it down with Simple Green and scrub the hell out of it. looks brand new when I'm done.
Melamine foam sponges are the miracle they’re marketed as. (AKA “Magic Eraser”) The only drawback is that they don’t last long; they crumble and fall apart after some usage.Retracted per comments below.
Yea, I keep a few around, but save for like absolute worst-case scenarios. Pretty sure stuff like that contributes to the micro plastic problem. But I figure that using them to restore stuff otherwise destined for a landfill is probably worthwhile.
Yeah that's a good point. I just looked this up and should probably stop using and recommending melamine foam sponges...
Microfibre clothes do too, I’ve seen them mentioned a few times. I didn’t realise it about melamine sponges but now you say it, it’s obvious
Vinegar. Vinegar is my cleaning tip. Use it to clean basically everything. It works VERY well for hard water stains/calcium deposits.
Two tips:
For dealing with that black stuff that accumulates (grows?) in edges and corners of shower stalls: No chemical has served me as well as simply dealing with the moisture. Two things: Use an inexpensive small squeegee (under 5 USD on Amazon, or so) to swipe down most of the water after you shower (three walls and the door); then leave the door open to allow the stall to get more air circulation to dry the moisture faster. I've never seen black stuff ever since I started doing these two simple things, and I've never needed to buy cleaners to deal with it (save $$). I'll admit it might feel like an annoying chore at first, but nowadays, I don't even think about it. I can squeegee all 4 surfaces in under 60 seconds. One more thing: I did have to use cleaners and elbow grease first to remove any existing buildup.
If you ever fry with anything sweet, the sugar and oil hardens on your pan when it cools down. Yes, you can run it under hot water in your sink, and it melts away, but the problem with that is you're simply moving that hardened stuff from your pan into your plumbing. Over time, that will build up and clog your plumbing, causing plumber costs. Instead, what I do is warm the pan on low heat to get the hard stuff back to liquid form. The better thing to do is dispose of this stuff as you dispose of biodegradables. i.e. in your designated bin, if your municipality collects this; else somewhere outdoors will do. If there is too much liquid to pour into a bin (plastic bags/liners will just melt, so you don't want to do that), discard some of it first (outside). Then, with the solid stuff still melted in liquid form, wipe (soak) the rest into paper towel, which is also biodegradable. Obviously, the pan is hot enough to burn, so I fold up a generous amount of paper towel so it's thick enough to protect my hands when wiping. This wiping is often enough to get it so there's almost nothing left on the pan. Finally, hand wash the pan as you normally would to get the final thin layer of grease or oil.
EDIT: Oops, forgot a key part of the tip. If the hard stuff doesn't liquify with heat, add a small amount of water (maybe a few tablespoons, or however much you need).
I see a lot of comments on chemicals and scrubbing things down, this is more about attacking clutter, which I find to be a huge nuisance and a barrier to doing proper 🧼 cleaning.
Your point about making the clutter spot an official clutter spot is something I do and it’s so helpful, having a pretty bowl full of clutter looks much nicer AND you can just pick up the whole bowl to clean under it instead of moving all the clutter individually. Great tips!
You can make your cloths and sponges (almost) sterile again by dampening them and putting them in the microwave for up to 30 seconds. This kills the bacteria.
This does work, but you need to do it more and more frequently to keep them that way. As I understand it, although the bacteria etc. gets killed, their 'corpses' remain. This isn't a problem in and of itself, but it provides a tasty smorgasbord for new bacteria to propagate and so it takes less time for the sponge to become manky again.
I think it's incredibly useful and convenient as a quick way to sanitise something for cleaning, but ait doesn't replace a washing machine since that physically removes the dead bacteria.
Use car wax on your mirrors. It will keep them cleaner longer
Great one! Similarly: wipe shaving foam over bathroom mirrors to prevent them fogging up in the shower steam
Beyond just finding a good standby multipurpose cleaner, my biggest tip: if all else fails, try a melamine sponge (magic eraser). There are so many tough stains/spots that I’ve just obliterated with one of these trying to de-bachelorify my fiancé’s place. I credit knockoff Mr. Clean almost entirely for how spotless I’ve gotten the bathroom.
0000 steel wool is also a good thing to try.
Bissel Steam Shot is amazing. Helps get even the most stubborn stains out. Be careful around paint though.
Do you mean calcium build up/hard water marks? If your counter is actually marble you'll need a specialty marble bath cleaner, sort of pricey. Amazon has a variety. On porcelain you can use a pumice stick, but would damage marble like CLR would.
Tree sap on your car windshield/glass? Use a little rubbing alcohol.
Use newspapers to clean mirrors for a streakless shine. I can't remember where I found this but I've been doing for as long as I've been cleaning. I know newspapers aren't as prevalent as they used to be but there's a good chance you receive a monthly mailer of some kind that is printed on newpaper paper.
Second this is less about cleaning and more about accepting that microorganisms will just do their things. The pink rings you sometimes see above the water line in the toilet or around your sink (caused by Serratia marcescens) and the black stuff growing in the corners (mold/mildew) are just a product of high humidity environments and require a bit of elbow grease to maintain. No daily spray, no toilet bowl cleaner, no home remedy is going to completely eliminate the need for regular cleaning (e.g. elbow grease), reduction of humidity, and if needed, the replacement of grout/caulk.
Never mix bleach with anything other than water.
Tree sap: olive oil
Sand: baby powder
Well, it's not what you want, but you asked so I'll answer. My cleaning tip is, don't get things too clean. Cleanliness is next to neuroticism, and a little dust and a few spiders never hurt anybody.
I take out the trash when it starts stinking, vacuum after a spill, and that's enough.
The spiders are definitely welcome in my house! Especially the big huntsmen - they eat cockroaches which I hate.
I somewhat agree, but I do feel mentally better when my place is clutter-free and clean
A razor blade scraper will easily take hard water deposits off a smooth counter top. It's also great for removing tree sap, and other things, from car windows. I got one with replaceable razer blades and it's come in handy many times.
Rubbing alcohol (and pretty much every hand sanitizer) will remove Sharpie from hard surfaces.
Oh yes this one is so good. I discovered this after my children found the sharpies. Lifesaver!