Whether you’re a clean freak or someone who could use a little motivation, there’s no doubt a helpful hack is much appreciated for getting your home sparkling clean with less effort. Reddit is one of those platforms that’s teaming with helpful information, including incredible cleaning hacks you’ll wish you’d known sooner. We’ve rounded up 10 of the best cleaning hacks to get you started.
1. Clean Your Ceiling Fans With a Pillow Case
“Clean your ceiling fans with an old pillowcase!” suggests Reddit user Jacilund. “Just slide it over the blade, pull back and all of the dust will fall into the bottom. Shake it out when you’re finished.” Check out these household cleaning tips for hard to clean spots.
2. Use Lemon Juice to Clean Your Microwave
“Any time I use fresh lemon juice for a recipe, I use the lemon halves to clean my microwave,” says Reddit user kkms. “Pour boiling water over the lemons in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in the microwave for five minutes. The steam will loosen any particles so you can easily wipe it down, and the lemons make it smell great.”
3. Clean Your Glass Shower With This Sponge
“If you have a glass shower, wipe the glass with a Magic Eraser to clean it. It will get rid of the soap scum and have your shower looking like new,” says user johnny5_is_alive.
Another user, TurquoiseCoyote, agrees. “Mr. Clean erasers are the BEST for cleaning tubs, especially if you have silty water. No gloves needed, no nasty sprays to breathe in when you are in a confined space. My only regret was not trying it sooner.” Here’s everything you need to know about the Magic Eraser.
4. Keep Your Hands Clean While Scrubbing the Toilet
“Don’t like getting even clean toilet water on your paws? Get a bucket of water (I use a Pine-Sol solution that I use to clean my floors beforehand) and then pour it in the toilet. The water will flush and won’t refill, leaving you an almost empty bowl to scrub,” suggests greyohshitson. Are you cleaning your bathroom the wrong way?
5. Wash the Mildew Smell Out of Fabric With Vinegar
“To get the mildew-y smell out of towels and dish rags, wash them with white distilled vinegar instead of detergent, then rewash with detergent,” says Redditor akh950418. “I usually do it every three or four wash cycles for those two items. Use about two cups of vinegar, and wash and dry on as hot as you can!”
6. De-Grease Your Kitchen Extractor Fans With Baking Soda
“Best de-greasing tip for kitchen extractor fans,” begins islandbaygardener. “Remove the metal filters and place in an empty sink. Take dry baking soda and mash the powder into the congealed grease. Plug the sink and pour white vinegar over the filter. Chemical reaction will dissolve grease. Rinse with hot water. Replace sparkling clean filters back in the extractor fan.”
Once your vent filters are clean, here are some excellent tips for getting grease out of your clothes.
7. Use Grocery Store Spam Paper for Cleaning Glass
“I use Windex and newspaper to clean mirrors and windows,” says tina_ri. “The newspaper doesn’t leave streaks or lint behind, unlike microfiber or paper towels. Weekly circulars that the grocery store spams your mailbox with also work (and they’re free!).” This is how to clean windows like a pro.
8. Remove Pet Hair With Rubber Gloves
“The best way to remove pet hair from furniture is to put on some cheap rubber kitchen gloves and wipe against the grain,” says user internetguilt. “This collects all the hair and other dirt neatly and you can vacuum it right up. Way more effective than lint rollers or only vacuuming. I just cleaned my whole car doing this, and while it takes some time and effort, it’s totally worth it. It’s no longer embarrassing to have people in my car!” This laundry trick will get rid of pet hair on your clothes.
9. Clean Garbage Disposal With Ice
“A good way to clean out any remaining food from garbage disposals is to put a bunch of ice in there,” notes KarenWaIker. “It’s solid enough to get knocked around and bump into any food that’s there, but it just melts away, which both makes it impossible for the ice to clunk up the disposal plus helps maybe carry away any extra particles.”
10. Use Vodka!
Vodka seems to be all the rage for cleaning hacks on Reddit. “Plain vodka with a couple of drops of an essential oil in a spray bottle is extremely effective at removing bad smells. Personally I think it works better than [Febreze] and Lysol and doesn’t give me a headache. I use it on mattresses, couches, chairs, anything you can’t put in the washer,” says Libida.
“The vodka/water trick is great! Costume departments use it because it’s the easiest, fastest, cheapest way to keep costumes disinfected and odorless,” says the-iron-queen.
Libida continues, “I tell literally everyone about the vodka thing and no one believes me. I started doing it because it doesn’t give me headaches. But you are right, it’s way cheaper and eliminates the smell, not covers it. My son accidentally peed on our couch the other day and I sprayed it on there. You would never know. I think MythBusters did an episode on vodka’s ability to eliminate bad smells. It worked.”
Here are some vintage cleaning hacks that are still brilliant today.
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