13 Simple House Cleaning Tricks You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner
Updated: Dec. 04, 2023
House cleaners share the cleaning secrets they use to keep your house spic and span.
The best way to dust blinds?
Close them, then wipe up and down with an old dryer sheet. It’ll create an antistatic barrier that helps prevent dust from building up again. Check out these other cleaning hacks from professional house cleaners.
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is your friend.
It will cut your cleaning time in half for bathtubs, sinks, countertops and dirty walls. Don’t miss everything you need to know about Magic Erasers.
Turn to coffee filters
To clean glass and mirrors, use coffee filters rather than paper towels.They leave no streaks or lint—and they’re cheap. Don’t make these cleaning mistakes that leave your house dirtier.
Vinegar and water is a great deodorizer for a musty bathroom.
Spray your shower down as you’re getting out. It really absorbs the odors, and the smell of vinegar goes away in an hour. Check out the best way to clean faucets and showerheads without removing them.
Put down the oven spray
A wet pumice stone will clean a dirty oven faster than any spray-on product. Trust us. Here’s what to know before ever using your oven’s self-cleaning function.
Vacuuming bathroom mats is a nightmare.
Instead, toss them in the wash every week or two instead. If you don’t want to put your bath mats in the washer, these are the best ways to wash your bath mat. Here are some more items you didn’t know you could clean in the washing machine.
Mop with the right solution
To damp-mop wood floors, use plain water or a water-based floor cleaner like Bona, not vinegar. The acid in it will pit your polyurethane finish, can void your warranty and may reduce shine over time.
Double-duty dish soap
Seventh Generation dish soap diluted with water is a great nontoxic all-purpose cleanser. Just put two squirts in a spray bottle and fill it with water. These are the spots you shouldn’t miss when spring cleaning.
Our biggest secret weapon?
A powdered product called Bar Keepers Friend. We use it on everything. Its active ingredient is rhubarb powder, which really cuts through grit and grime. It cleans glass-top stoves, counters, toilets, porcelain and more.
Don’t forget the microwave
To clean your microwave oven, microwave a cup of water with some baking soda in it until it’s boiling. That eliminates odors and makes it super easy to wipe away all that stuck-on stuff inside your microwave.
Dust far-away spots
Clean cobwebs or dusty vents with a yardstick covered by a tube sock.That also works for cleaning under stoves and refrigerators. Here’s more on cleaning the tight nooks and crannies in your home.
Shine your bathroom tiles with lemon oil.
It also helps prevent mold and mildew. You can even cook with essential oils, too. Check out our ultimate guide to cleaning your bathroom as well.
Almost hands-free toilet cleaning
To eliminate that ring in your toilet, drop in a bubbling denture tablet, and leave it for at least 30 minutes or overnight. The stain will come off with just a few swishes of the brush. Next, read these strange cleaning tips that actually work!
