The Household Cleaning Hacks That Work

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Cleaning can be exhausting & frustrating at the best of times, not to mention time-consuming. Many of us are cleaning even more in the days of Covid, and it can be hard to keep up with when living with chronic illness or when balancing work with household upkeep. Here are a few helpful household cleaning hacks that work to save you some time, money & hassle!

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Simple Blender Cleaning

Take the effort out of cleaning your blender by squirting in the dishwashing soap, adding water, replacing the lid and whirling the concoction. Once it’s finished you can simply rinse the soapy lather out with water and wipe down to try. 

Effortless Shower Head Cleaning

Shower heads can get gunked up, rusty or mouldy with use. Remove all of that built up residue with vinegar. If it’s a shower attachment that’s hanging on the wall and it’s difficult to take it down, fill a small bag half way with white vinegar and tie it around the shower head. Leave it overnight to soak and it should be clean by the next day when you remove it. If you can take the shower head down then you can simply soak it in a plastic container with white vinegar, leave for about an hour then rinse with water. You might need to wipe the excess gunk away. With chrome shower heads, it’s best to soak just the gunked up rubber surface in a shallow dish with a little white vinegar rather than submerging too much of the shower head. I’ve tried this a few times and it works like a charm.

Give Your Dishwasher A Refresh

It’s always advised to check the manufacturer’s user manual first as some brands may state this shouldn’t be tried with particular machines. To give your dishwasher a clean and remove odours, pour 250ml of vinegar either into a bowl on one of the racks or into the bottom unit. Turn the dishwasher on to run a full cycle without any plates or cutlery inside. 

Clean Computer Keyboards

Aside from cans of pressurised air or mini vacuums, you can use an unused make-up brush to dust keys or a piece of sticky tape to pick up bits of debris or crumbs. 

Weeding With Vodka

This could be a little costly if you have a large garden with a lot of weeds, but instead of a chemical weedkiller solution you can try spraying the weeds with some vodka. Return to the weeds a week later and hopefully you’ll be left with dead vegetation that just needs raking into a bag. 

Microwave Cleaning Miracles

If the microwave pongs after cooking, pop in a bowl with a solution of 1/2 water and a tablespoon or two of white vinegar. Shut the door and microwave for 10 to 15 minutes. The steam will loosen the gunk causing the smell and the vinegar will help absorb the odours. 

For cleaning, you can skip scrubbing by squeezing the juice from a lemon a cup half filled with water, then drop the rest of the lemon in. Pop the lemon & the juice mixture into the microwave, turn it on and leave for about three minutes, just long enough for it to start coming to a boil. Then let it sit for five minutes to allow the steam from the lemon solution to fill the microwave. Open the microwave door, take your cleaning cloth or kitchen roll, and give the interior a wipe down, where hopefully any stuck on residue will easily wipe off and any odours will be taken care of, too. 

A Simple Mattress Refresh 

Although we might regularly change our bedsheets, we might not pay too much attention to the cleanliness of the mattress itself. Give it a refresh and get rid of odours by sprinkling baking soda (aka bicarbonate of soda) over the mattress. Leave it for a few hours to settle then vacuuming it all off, for which a handheld vacuum will be easiest.

It’s worth keeping in mind that one expert suggests this isn’t necessary for some modern mattresses, like those using Purotex, that are designed to “naturally create a clean and healthy sleeping environment”.

Make Use Of Olive Oil

Olive oil doesn’t just have health benefits, it can also have cleaning power. Try olive oil on stainless steel appliances, pots and pans by putting some oil onto a soft cloth then rubbing gently in circular motions to buff and clean off any dirty areas. 

Removing Carpet Stains With White Wine or Vodka

It sounds strange, but clear vodka, white wine or rubbing alcohol can all be utilised for cleaning up stains on the carpet. Blot the stain first, then pour some of this clear alcohol onto the offending stain.  Vodka can be particularly good for tougher stains like blood and grease. It’s best to leave the alcohol on the carpet for a couple of hours before blotting it up with a soft microfibre cloth. 

Dust & Clean Blinds Without The Frustration

Blinds can be incredibly frustrating to clean, and even dusters designed for this purpose can fall short of doing the job well. Save your pennies and try a simple hack first. Wrap either dish towels or microfibre cloths around the ends of a pair of tongs, secure in place with rubber bands and then use this to wipe through all of the slats with relative ease. 

There’s another option if you don’t have tongs. Try popping some white vinegar in a bowl and put your hand inside an old sock. You won’t be wanting the sock back so make sure it’s not a favourite. Dip your socked fingers in the vinegar and wipe down the blinds, slotting your hand between the slats for a thorough clean.

Unblock Shower Drains & Sinks 

Soda Bicarb and white vinegar can both be versatile alternatives to harsh chemicals and can bought fairly cheaply. Pour a couple of tablespoons of soda bicarb down the drain and immediately follow them with half a cup of white vinegar.  The mixture will start to fizz and work its magic, so leave it for at least 20 minutes to an hour, then flush with a kettle full of hot water.

Sticky Removal

It’s frustrating when you’ve got a label that refuses to budge and then leaves a sticky mess behind in its wake. Whether it’s on a new picnic plate or a food jar, sometimes quickly and repeatedly pressing Sellotape over it will help. If that’s not enough, you can try rubbing some cooking oil on a cotton pad over the stickiness then wait for a couple of minutes. After the oil has had time to sink in, any residue should easily wipe away. 

Streak-Free Chemical-Free Cleaning

White vinegar is also a great alternative for cleaning windows and mirrors by creating a solution of it with cold water. Pop the white vinegar and water mix into a spray bottle and spray on the desired area, then wipe with a microfibre cloth.  

Essential Oils For Clean, Shiny Tubs & Sinks

Mix a cup of baking soda with a couple of drops of lemon juice, dish soap and basil essential oils. Apply the solution to the surface of the sink or bathtub with a sponge and leave for 10 minutes before rinsing with water, which should leave them glistening and sparkling clean.

Clean Your Cleaning Materials

Not quite a hack but a way to reduce needless re-cleaning caused by dirty sponges or cloths. After even one use, sponges can get dirty and harbour bacteria along with any of the grime you’ve just cleaned off your plates or kitchen worktops. This is particularly important at the moment given the importance of cleaning with anti-bacterial solutions for protecting against Covid-19 alongside things like social distancing & wearing masks. Regularly sanitise your sponge, such as by soaking for five minutes in boiling water and wringing out, and replace as required. 

Simple Stove-Top Solution

Pour baking soda onto the stove top, sprinkle some water over it, and leave it to sit for an hour. Wipe off with a clean cloth and hopefully all the grease and gunk will be removed a lot more quickly and easily. 

Degrease With Vodka

Vodka can cut through grease on pots and pans as well as carpet stains. Let the vodka have 20 minutes or more contact time with the surface, such as that of your greasy pan, then clean and scrub the surface as required. The alcohol will help remove the real grease with less elbow-grease required and no harsh chemicals.

Do you fancy trying out any of these? Do you have a handy household cleaning hack you’d like to share?

Caz  ♥

It’s worth keeping in mind that if you’re unsure of whether to try something new, to test any cleaning solution on a small area first. Consult any user manuals for different products and materials first to ensure the suggested cleaning solution can be used.