It is easy to feel like you are fighting a losing battle when you look at your home and when it comes to cleaning your home. There can be so many different rooms and surfaces to keep up with, and with all of life throws at it, they can attract all different kinds of messes. But when it comes to cleaning, you might not know where to start, as there are so many messes, and the different things that need to be used to clean different things.
You might find different tips and tricks that you find from people online, as well as things that have been passed down in your family, so you’ve only ever cleaned something in a certain way after all of this time. So today’s post is collating some of those cleaning hacks and tips and tricks, to make sure that cleaning is something that is quick, easy, and simple for you to do, so no matter what mess you are faced with, you will know how to face it. You may get professionals in like SwiftClean to help you clean, but these tips can help for all of those in-between times. So read on; every tip here will help you to save you time and effort, no matter the stains that you are trying to clean.
Lemons
Lemons are a great natural way to clean a lot of things. First of all, they smell great, and there are no chemicals in sight, so they are a winner from that point of view. Here are just a few of the things that they can be used for:
- Chop a lemon in half and put a spoonful of baking soda on the sliced half. Squeeze the lemon to activate a reaction with the lemon juice and the baking soda, and then use that to clean sinks and shower screens. Wipe and rinse, and it will be shiny and clean.
- Lemon essential oil is a great thing to add into a spray bottle with water, and it makes a great surface cleaner, as lemon essential oil has some great antibacterial properties.
- In an ice cube tray, make frozen vinegar cubes, using white vinegar and chopped chunks of lemon, and then use them to clean your garbage disposal. Simply put the frozen cubes down the drain and leave them to do their thing. It can make it smell better too. Â
Drain Cleaning
Much like a garbage disposal, drains can get clogged and leave smells, especially when water can’t drain away easily. One hack for unblocking drains is using baking soda. Pour it down your sink, and then pour some white vinegar down there too. It will bubble and fizz and as a result, will unblock your sink. You can also use baking soda in a dishwasher to clean it too, but sprinkling inside and then running on an empty wash.
Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets are such a good thing to use in your dryer, as it will leave your clothes smelling like they are fresh off the line. But they also have plenty of uses for cleaning in and around the home too. You can use them to wipe down skirting boards and blinds, as they work as a great duster; the dust really sticks to them (and it will leave a nice smell too). If you’ve got some rusty and sticky oven racks, then dryer sheets can help to clean them too, much more than a wire wool ball in fact. Use some dishwasher soap and soak them, and then wipe them down with the dryer sheets; it really does work.
Dryer sheets can also be used around the home, such as being folded and hidden in artificial flowers, to leave them smelling great.
Clean in the Shower
Of course, being in the shower is a great time for you to get clean yourself, but it can be a good use of time to make sure that you keep the shower clean too. In the last few minutes before you get out of the shower, think about wiping down the shower screen, for example, and using a squeegee to wipe off any excess water. The excess water that remains on the screen is what can cause limescale. So it really is an easy win to avoid that. You could also make sure that the sides of the shower or bathtub are wiped down too, to help leave it with shine, as well as the shower head. If water droplets are left on there, it can cause a buildup of limescale too, so it is a good idea to wipe them off as soon as you can; it will all make a difference.
Carpet Cleaning
Speaking of using a squeegee, it is also a great tool that can be used to clean carpets with. Using a vacuum alone doesn’t necessarily get right into the thick of the carpet, and a lot of things like hair and pet hair can remain, no matter how often you use a vacuum. Scrape the blade of the squeegee along the carpet in the same direction and it will pick up a lot of the hair and dirt; it really is shocking how much can come up. While this isn’t something that you need to do daily or even weekly, it is good to keep up with it around once a month (as long as you are vacuuming regularly).
You can also use steam to clean away some stains that you find on your carpet. For example, you can use some ammonia on the stain on the carpet, as well as your clothes iron, and it helps to remove some mega tough carpet stains. They don’t have to be fresh stains either, so it can be a great way to give your carpet a clean and get rid of stains, without needing to call in professionals.
Coca-Cola Cleaning
The great thing about cleaning hacks is that they make things much easier and much more accessible. If you ever think that you are out of a specific cleaning product, then it is time to look at what else is around the house; as you can see, dryer sheets, vinegar, lemon, and baking soda can clean a lot of things. Coke is another thing that can clean a variety of things. If you have some tough burnt on stains on pots and pans, then have you ever thought to soak them in coke (the full sugar version)? It can also work as a great toilet cleaner too and does help to remove rust on things like old coins.
