In this article, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most effective house cleaning tips. These tricks will help you eliminate some work from your tasks saving you time and money.
Tips for home cleaning
1.Microwave Your towels and sponges
An important factor in cleaning your home is to make sure that the tools you use are also clean. Trying to clean a house with dirty cloths and sponges is counterproductive, so making sure they’re sterile is a good place to start.
Simply put the wet sponge or cloth in the microwave for 30 seconds to remove bacteria. Wait a minute or two before pulling it out as it will be hot. If you don’t have a microwave, you can also put your cleaning rags in the washing machine and your sponges in the dishwasher, but it will take longer. Try to clean your sponges and cloths after each use to prevent the accumulation of unwanted bacteria on the surface. Depending on how often you use them, you should replace your cleaning sponges weekly just to make sure unwanted bacteria don’t accumulate.
2. Clean your glass and mirrors with vinegar and newsprint
Using cloths to clean glass and mirrors can leave streaks, stains and lint. Since newsprint is a very dense material, it has soft fibers that make it abrasion-resistant and therefore perfect for cleaning glass. It is also readily available in most households. If you want to save some money or switch to less toxic cleaning solutions, vinegar is a great cleaning agent and an alternative to expensive window cleaners. It is also better for the environment as the dirty newsprint can be recycled after use. Here’s how:
Step 1: Take an empty spray bottle and fill it with 50% white vinegar and 50% water
Step 2: Shake well and spray on the mirror or glass
Step 3: Use your newspaper to wipe the surface
3. Use prosthetic tablets to clean your coffee or teapot
Prosthetic cleaning tablets are a surprisingly effective cleaning product, especially for hard-to-reach places such as in a coffee or teapot. Due to the bubbly and antibacterial properties, denture tabs soaked in water mimic the scrubbing and cleaning movement of a toothbrush, removing stains in cracks that your hands can’t quite reach.
Step 1: Fill your coffee or teapot with water
Step 2: Insert one or two prosthetic tabs depending on the size of your pots
Step 3: Wait until the prosthetic tabs have completely dissolved and they stop bubbling
Step 4: Empty the pot and rinse it briefly with water
This cleaning tip can also be used on dirty coffee cups or other ceramic or metal objects to remove unwanted residue.
4. Clean your shower head and faucets with vinegar and a plastic bag
Simple cleaning tips that require little work from you are the best. This hack removes unwanted debris, dirt and limescale from your shower and faucets with minimal effort from you, apart from removing the shower heads and faucet handles yourself if needed.
Step 1: Get a sandwich bag and fill it with vinegar and baking soda.
Step 2: Place the shower head or faucet handle in the sandwich bag and make sure they are completely immersed in the liquid.
Step 3: Attach the bag with a rubber band or hair rubber.
Step 4: Wait one to two hours and then remove the sandwich bag.
Step 5: Turn on the shower or faucet and let the water pass through
Step 6: Enjoy your shiny, dirt-free shower head
5. Use tennis balls to wash your duvets and remove scratches from your floor
A tennis ball can be used to prevent the filling of duvets from collecting in a corner during machine drying. Just throw a few tennis balls with your duvet into the machine and start the cycle.
The power of the tennis ball doesn’t stop there. If you have unwanted scratches on your wooden floor, you can gently rub over the spot with a tennis ball. If the scratches are particularly large, try putting a little baking soda on the spot, rub it off with the tennis ball, and then wipe off any residue with a damp cloth.
6. Remove faucet and steel stains with lemon and salt
If left standing for too long, hard water can leave stubborn stains on stainless steel surfaces and faucets. Even after cleaning these surfaces, stains remain when the water is air-dried. Cleaning your stainless steel with lemons is a great way to remove these residues, as citric acid penetrates almost any dirt and your home smells fresh and lemony. Combining citric acid from the lemon with salt creates a perfect scouring formula that will make your faucet and stainless steel areas look like new without being too aggressive.
Step 1: Halve lemons.
Step 2: Sprinkle salt around the area you want to clean.
Step 3: Clean the faucet or steel with the lemon halves.
Step 4: Rinse with warm water for a shiny, streak-free finish.
7. Clean your skirting boards with dryer cloths
Dryer wipes can be an effective tool to keep a clean house – even after they have been used. Placing a dryer cloth over your baseboards will help repel dust while your room smells of fresh laundry.
You can also use the dryer cloths to remove dust from blinds, mirrors, and even chandeliers or delicate lighting fixtures.
8. Use a puller to remove hair from your carpet
If you have a house full of children and pets, you know the struggle to remove hair from carpets, blankets and upholstered furniture. Sometimes vacuuming just doesn’t cut off, but this cleaning tip will do it.
Use your familiar bathroom wiper to scratch over your carpets or runners to lift embedded hair and dust pushed down by the vacuum cleaner. Due to the shape, wipers are also great for removing dirt or dust from the corners of your room.
9. Clean your couch with baking soda
Many cleaning tips on the Internet undoubtedly mention baking soda in some form. The great thing about baking soda is that it’s super absorbent, which makes it a great tool for removing persistent odors or unwanted odors in your home.
Step 1: Brush the couch to remove dirt or debris.
Step 2: Sprinkle baking soda on the area you want to clean.
Step 3: Leave it on for about 20 minutes.
Step 4: Soak up the baking soda.
This method can be applied to all soft furniture, including carpets, mats, curtains, and even pet beds.
10. Use brown Coca-Cola to remove stubborn stains
Coke is often used in the household to remove rust and dust, but it can also be used for other stains. Cola contains phosphorus and carbonic acid, which makes it a highly effective cleaning solution.
The most popular way to use cola as an effective cleaning tool is in the bathroom. To make your toilet squeaky clean, all you need is a can of lemonade and a toilet brush.
Step 1: Pour the cola around the rim and let it flow down into the bowl.
Step 2: Let it rest for about an hour.
Step 3: Scrub off stubborn stains with the toilet brush.
Step 4: Flush the toilet – done!
11. Remove bathtub and sink stains with grapefruit and salt
Lemon and vinegar are commonly used as cleansers in the home, but grapefruit is just as effective and can make your home smell fresh and fruity. It’s worth noting that while using lemon and grapefruit indoors is a handy way to remove stubborn stains, they’re not a substitute for antibacterial detergents and therefore can’t be used to remove bacteria from your surfaces.
Stubborn bathtub rings and dirt stains on your sink are undesirable in any household and can be difficult to clean. However, a simple scrub with grapefruit and salt can remove these stubborn stains and make your bathroom or kitchen smell gorgeous.
Step 1: Cut a grapefruit in half.
Step 2: Sprinkle salt on one half of the grapefruit and also on your bathtub, sink or counter.
Step 3: Scrub the grapefruit around your sink or tub. Use the rind to scrub particularly stubborn areas.
Step 4: Rinse the pulp and salt with water, and you’re good to go.
12. Clean the screens with your coffee filters
Clean your TV or tablet screen with the help of your coffee filters. It turns out that the small fluted cones of blotting paper that filter your morning coffee are perfect for leaving your screens streak-free and lint-free.
The filter captures the dust as it removes static charges on the screen – all without leaving unwanted fibers and lint like you would get with traditional household towels. Since you don’t spray your beloved appliances with household cleaners, this tip can be used on pretty much any screen, from phones and tablets to TVs and laptops.
13. Use your dishwasher to clean more than just dishes
The dishwasher is a wonderful invention that has reduced the tedious and dreaded task of pot rinsing. But are you really taking full advantage of yours?
If you have glass, ceramics, or plastics in your home, you can try washing them in your dishwasher for more thorough cleaning. This can be anything from toy Legos and glass lights to toothbrush holders and flip-flops! For small items, be sure to put them in a dishwasher-safe container so they don’t fall to the ground and damage the machine.
Before you put new items in, make sure they’re dishwasher safe – click here for a list of which items are dishwasher safe and which aren’t. After washing your belongings, clean the dishwasher thoroughly by letting it run empty.
14. Clean dirty jewelry and silver with aluminum foil and baking soda
As beautiful as silver is, it’s hard to maintain. Unfortunately, air naturally clouds silver, dulls your favorite necklaces, and covers silver candlesticks with unsightly stripes. In order for it to retain its coveted shine, it must be cleaned regularly. However, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on expensive silver cleaning products. By using simple aluminum foil and baking soda, you can bring your tarnished silver and jewelry back to life.
Step 1: Line a large bowl with aluminum foil – shiny side up!
Step 2: Place the soiled silver items in the bowl.
Step 3: Pour boiling hot water into the bowl and make sure all the silver is covered.
Step 4: Add heaped tablespoons of baking soda to the water. You need 1.5 tablespoons of soda for each gallon of water.
Step 5: Let the silver soak for at least 30 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the silver pieces from the water and rinse them well. Make sure that all the baking soda is removed from all corners and crevices.
15. Remove greasy fingerprints from your walls with white bread
This cleaning tip could finally be the answer to the age-old question of what to do with the stumps of the loaf of bread. Instead of throwing away your stale pieces of bread, use the slices to rub unwanted fingerprints off your walls or wallpaper. The spongy surface of bread is great for removing stains from walls, and the gluten absorbs dirt and stains excellently.
To remove the unwanted stains from your walls, simply dab your piece of bread on the surface. Be careful not to rub too hard, otherwise the bread will break into crumbs – and even more clutter for you.
The benefits of bread don’t stop there. You can also use it to pick up broken glass. Gently push the disc over broken glass and let it stick in the bread, then throw it in the trash.
