45 Amazing Cleaning Life Hacks
Many of these tips will employ similar ingredients and if you use them a lot, you’ll be saving yourself a bundle on the costs of household cleaning products. So let’s not waste time, here are 45 (or more) powerful tips, tricks and shortcuts to help you in cleaning around your home!
Tip #1: The air vents in your house can be difficult to clean. Here’s a way to make it easier. Spray them with 409 or a similar cleaning product. Take an everyday butter knife and cover it with a cleaning cloth. Use the covered butter knife to slide across each opening. It may take some time based on how dirty the vent is, but the end result is a very clean vent!
Tip #2: One way to save time and effort when cleaning is to reduce the amount of dust, dirt, and airborne particles floating about in your home. The perfect way to get rid of these is by regularly changing your furnace filters and by using an air purifier.
Tip #3: You can stop your bathroom mirrors from fogging up after showers. There’s a product called Rain Dance that is an anti-fog product. Usually you can find this in automotive parts stores. Some people prefer taking a bar of soap and putting it on the mirror and then wiping it off. This also can work well.
Tip #4: Cut a lemon in half and then rub it on hard water stains in the shower on the various fixtures to help clean them up.
Tip #5: Do you own a coffee grinder and wish to use it to grind something else? A great way to clean it is to use white rice and grind the rice. This helps to soak up anything left behind by the coffee beans and will make cleaning much easier.
Tip #6: If you have stains on your cutting board here’s a good way to clean them off. Use a cut lemon to rub over them and let it sit for 20 minutes. Wipe off with a cloth or towel and it works like a charm to get rid of those stains!
Tip #7: A different twist on a better smelling garbage disposal is to use frozen vinegar cubes. Add some lemon juice and water and run the garbage disposal for a bit. The disposal will end up smelling great after this method!
Tip #8: Getting a recent red wine stain out can always be a challenge. Try using some white wine on it after the spill immediately happens. You will start to see the red disappear. Next, use talcum powder by rubbing it a bit on the area and then rinsing it. The red wine stain should now be gone.
Tip #9: Use salt to clean the bottom of the iron. With your steam off, iron over the salt and the dirt adheres to the salt. This makes it much easier to remove dirt when you wipe the iron clean.
Tip #10: Use a squeegee to clean pet hair off your upholstery or carpet without dragging out your vacuum.
Tip #11: Streak free windows can be more easily obtained by using one part vinegar to one part hot water.
Tip #12: For cleaning grout in your bathroom you can simply use a bleach pen. In order to whiten the area, you can use a homemade product. Use 3/4-cups baking soda and 1/4-cup bleach. Leave on 5 to 10 minutes and then scrub with a toothbrush to improve the look of the spot greatly.
Tip #13: Here’s a great method for cleaning copper on your hanging pot rack. Use a cut lemon and some coarse salt on it. Soon it will be gleaming.
Tip #14: You can use mayonnaise to remove watermarks from your furniture. Rub a good amount on the area to scrub those watermarks right away!
Tip #15: You may want to clean your curling iron because sometimes hairspray builds up on it. With a dampened cleaning cloth use baking soda. Rub it on the iron and it will clean up nicely.
Tip #16: Want to whiten your yellow bed pillows? Try the following recipe. Use hot water, a cup of laundry detergent, a cup of dishwasher detergent, a cup of bleach and a half a cup of Borax. You’ll be amazed at how using this washing method makes those pillows white!
Tip #17: Sometimes you may take glasses out of the dishwasher and they are still cloudy. Hard water can lead to film on glasses sometimes. You can try using distilled white vinegar to address this issue. See if this helps improve them after your next dishwasher load.
Tip #18: Use a squeegee when cleaning your windows or glass doors. This tool can be much more effective than a cloth or newspaper. This is also especially helpful to use on the inside of glass shower or bathtub doors after showering to reduce water beads on the glass.
Tip #19: Here’s a neat way to remove built-up gunk inside the microwave! A household appliance that many people tend to neglect cleaning enough is the microwave. It can easily build up all sorts of “gunk” and grease around the insides. With this special trick, you can easily free up that gunk to wipe it away! Take a microwaveable bowl and pour in ½ cup of vinegar. Next, add ½ cup of water to the mix.
Microwave the mixture until boiling (several minutes) and allow it to sit inside the closed microwave for a bit. The vapor and steam from this mixture will loosen up all of the gunk and grime around the insides of the microwave, making it much easier to clean up!
Tip #20: For the inside of the toilet bowl, you can buy expensive products out in the grocery store, or use common household items together. First, pour approximately one cup of vinegar into the bowl and swirl it around with a toilet brush. Let that sit for one minute. Next, add one cup of baking soda. Add another one or two cups of vinegar. Let it sit there for 10 minutes as the “fizzing” goes on.
You can use the toilet brush to brush the vinegar and baking soda mixture around the inside of the bowl, cleaning up any of those tough stains above the water line. You’ll want to let the solution sit for a while to free up the stains before you finally flush.
Tip #21: Want a cool way to vacuum those hard to get spots like crevices, cracks or other tight spaces? You can use this household hack with your vacuum hose to get the job done.
You’ll need to have (or buy) one of those plastic ketchup condiment bottle lids. You can find these at one of your nearby dollar stores.
Once you have the lid, attach it at the end of the vacuum hose using duct tape to keep it secure. Now you have a very useful hose attachment with a tiny hole that will be able to get into those hard-to-reach areas you want to clean!
Tip #22: The baseboards around the floor area of your home tend to get dusty and dirty very quickly. They also can be quite a chore to clean up, but you can use this useful trick to make it so you won’t have to clean them quite as often. The trick is simply to take one of those dryer (static cling prevention) sheets, such as the ones by Bounce.
Dust the baseboards using the dryer sheets and it will help to repel dust just the same way it repels static in the drying phase with clothes. This will help keep all that dirt and dust away from your baseboards and on the floor, so you’ll be cleaning it off the floor, rather than the baseboards.
Tip #23: In the kitchen, everyone has that sponge they use for the dishes or other areas of cleanup. That sponge can get very dirty, very fast. However, you can keep it fresh and free of bacteria with this simple trick. At the end of each day after using the sponge, make sure to squeeze it out. Next, put it into your microwave and zap it for a minute. This will easily disinfect the sponge, making it ready to use the next day.
Tip #24: If you’ve got metal pipes in your kitchen, or a garbage disposal, you realize that food and nasty stuff can accumulate down those pipes, bringing about some unpleasant odors. By putting a few simple ingredients down the sink drain or garbage disposal, you can easily fix that issue.
First, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the kitchen sink or garbage disposal. Next, pour 1/2 cup of vinegar down there. Now wait for another fifteen minutes. Pour boiling water down the pipes to complete the deodorizing process. For the garbage disposal, you can also add some lemon down there to give it even more of a fresh deodorized smell!
Tip #25: Those disinfectant cleaning wipes you can buy at the store seem handy and helpful, but what about making your own with items around the house? You may need to purchase an extra ingredient, but with this strategy you can create your own reusable wipes! So what will you need? It’s helpful to have one of those empty disinfectant wipes containers or a baby wipes container to hold your new wipes.
Next, find some scrap cloth you can use. For example, cut up some old t-shirts or cloths into squares to use as your wipes. Once you’ve cut up about 15–18 wipes, roll them together and place inside your empty container. Now, you’ll want to create your cleaning mixture.
Mix one cup of water with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, ½ tablespoon of natural dish soap and 8–10 drops of a lemon essential oil. This creates a powerful cleaning mixture that doesn’t smell like vinegar, but instead has a fresh, clean odor you can use. Pour your mixture over the wipes you have in the container and presto! You’ve now got your own homemade cleaning wipes. You can even toss these into the wash after you’ve used them to clean the cloths for later!
Tip #26: Use a homemade mixture of baking soda, vinegar and water to cut through the grease buildup on your kitchen cabinets.
Tip #27: On a glass top stove use a paste made up of vinegar and baking soda. Put it down on the top and let it set. If there are tougher areas, using a second coating and rubbing it with your finger may also help.
Tip #28: For cleaning leather you can try a mix of 1/2-cup olive oil, 1/4 cup of brewed tea and 1/4 cup of vinegar. Place the mix in a spray bottle and lightly spritz and let it sit for five minutes, then wipe dry. Some people prefer a few drops of olive oil on a microfiber cloth that can be rubbed into the leather, and then produces a nice shine.
Tip #29: Place some coffee grounds in the drawers of old furniture that comes from a smoker’s home. This helps remove that smoke smell.
Tip #30: Cleaning a barbecue grill is not a fun task for many people. This tip to clean it is very easy to accomplish though. Put ammonia in a garbage bag and securely tie it closed with the individual grill sections inside. (Note: Wearing rubber gloves and safety glasses is highly recommended when working with ammonia by the poison control center.) Leave the bag in the sun for a day. When you remove the tie and dispose of the ammonia make sure you are in a well-ventilated area.
Tip #31: Clean your blender by putting water with dish soap into the blender and blend it for a few seconds. Dump the water, rinse and dry the blender. Your blender will now sparkle!
Tip #32: One can easily vacuum up vomit. Combine baking soda and water into a paste and spread it over the vomit. Let it sit overnight and you can vacuum it up the next day.
Tip #33: Those used dryer sheets can also have some other great uses. They can be used for dusting since it actually picks up the dust and doesn’t move it around. They also make great cleaning rags in the bathroom. To be able to recycle things around the house is always a good thing!
Tip #34: To deodorize serious smells in an area, like those from pets on your floor, place three layers of dryer sheets on top of the spot. Sprinkle coffee grounds on top of that. Overnight the area will get deodorized.
Tip #35: Cleaning a gummed-up dryer is very hard to do. When you find the melted gum or stickers attached to the inside drum. Whether to cry or she can scrub. Using the sheets will not harm the finish on the interior.
Tip #36: If you have a dusty chandelier, wear a pair of white cotton gloves. Make sure one is dry and one is dampened with glass cleaner. If it is a crystal chandelier use one part rubbing alcohol to three parts distilled water on it instead. Wipe each prism with the damp glove and then the dry one for a great cleaning method.
Tip #37: If you have a stained bathtub, try this homemade product. Combine an equal amount of cream of tartar and baking soda with enough lemon juice to make a paste. Rub the mixture into the stain with a cloth. Let it set for a half hour, then rinse well with water and see what magic happens!
Tip #38: When there is scuffed linoleum rub the spot with white toothpaste and a dry cloth or an eraser. That should remove that stain effectively.
Tip #39: Eliminate grime on your glass oven door by using this method. Pour 1/2 cup baking soda into a dish and add water but just enough to make a paste. Spread this over the interior glass and let it set 15 minutes. Wipe it with a clean cloth. You’ll be amazed at how sparkling clean the glass becomes!
Tip #40: If you want to clean your stainless steel appliances, like a toaster, a few drops of water, cream of tartar and a sponge will make them sparkling clean again.
Tip #41: Want to clean your window tracks? Simply use a Q-tip dipped in white vinegar and run it along the tracks.
Tip #42: Try rubbing a faucet with wax paper to prevent water spots and fingerprints.
Tip #43: Removing permanent marker can be quite a challenge. To remove it
from painted walls try using toothpaste or hairspray on it. Be careful though, as the hairspray can remove the paint.
Tip #44: Removing permanent marker from a carpet can also be challenging. Pour white vinegar on the area and cover it with a towel. Gently blot. This should remove the stain.
Tip #45: To remove permanent marker from wood cabinets try rubbing alcohol.
Nothing bugs me more.... well than bugs. So as a bonus here are five great tips for eliminating those pesky bugs:
Bonus Tip #1: For eliminating fruit flies try using a small amount of apple cider vinegar plus a small amount of any dish soap. Place this mixture in a small container near the area of the fruit flies. It works like a charm to attract and collect the flies for later disposal.
Bonus Tip #2: Eliminate stinkbugs by using water and dish detergent and a small container. Place it under a light source. It’s amazing what you will catch overnight in that container. Empty it out and repeat as needed each night.
Bonus Tip #3: To eliminate fleas from your carpet, sprinkle the carpet with baking soda. Leave this on overnight and then vacuum them away!
Bonus Tip #4: Insects will stay clear of dryer sheets. Place them under your outdoor furniture on your patio or place them in your socks when sitting out at night. This will deter the mosquitoes from going after you.
Bonus Tip #5: Are ants a persistent pest in your home? Use peppermint oil and water in a spray bottle. Spray around your windows and doors where ants seem to like to enter. This should deter them from entry.
If you enjoyed our list let us know! We would love to see some of your favorite home remedy/life hacks!