If you love the peace that having a clean house provides but hate all the effort it takes to get your house clean, take heart. We’ve rounded up 49 mind-blowing house cleaning tips that you need to know how to save you time and money every time you clean.
Kitchen House Cleaning Tips
Keep your kitchen sparkling clean with some of our best kitchen house cleaning tips:
1Clean a dirty coffee pot or tea kettle with white vinegar. Fill the pot halfway with white vinegar and then add hot water. Let soak and then rinse well. Coffee or tea stains and any build up should rinse away.
2Sterilize your sponges so they can be reused by heating them in the microwave for 60 seconds to eradicate any bacteria.
3Eliminate hard water scum on your faucet. Cut a lemon in half and push it onto the faucet head. Wrap in plastic and tie in place with a rubber band. Let sit for an hour or two and remove and wipe with a clean cloth.
4Unclog your sink drain using vinegar and baking soda.
5Erase streaks and greasy fingerprints from stainless steel appliances with baby oil.
6Scrub pots and pans clean with a wad of tin foil.
7Clean Your Microwave by heating a mug of water for 60-90 seconds. The steam from the hot water loosens the stuck on food and makes wiping it out quick and easy to freshen your microwave and remove any unwanted smells, add a few drops of lemon or vanilla extract to the water before heating.
8Polish silver with toothpaste to get it gleaming.
9Remove greasy build-up from kitchen cabinets using a cleaner with added orange oil and a rag or sponge heated in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
10Clean your oven with baking soda paste and a spray bottle of vinegar and water.
11Freshen your garbage disposal by grinding up a slice of lemon or orange.
Laundry and Bathroom Cleaning Tips
Most people will admit the bathroom can be one of the dirtiest rooms to clean in your house. We’ve rounded up some of the best house cleaning tips for your bathroom and laundry room to help make cleaning easier.
12Clean tile or bathtub grout with that old toothbrush or a dish soap dispensing scrubber. Save water and reduce mess by cleaning shower walls while in the shower.
13Clear dust and buildup from your bathroom exhaust fan using a can of compressed air.
14Freshen and clean your washing machine with vinegar. Simply run a cycle with hot water and a cup of white vinegar.
15Reduce odor in the laundry hamper by tossing a dryer sheet at the bottom of it.
16Clean a dirty iron with salt and aluminum foil. Sprinkle the salt onto the aluminum foil and turn the iron on and then run it back and forth on the foil until clean.
17Deep clean your dryer lint trap by wrapping a ruler or paint stirring stick with a rag.
18Spot treat ring around the collar with shampoo before washing.
General House Cleaning Tips
If cleaning house is something you dread because of the time it takes to get everything done, you can make cleaning easier with these general house cleaning tips.
18Remove Pet Hair by slipper a damp rubber glove over your hand or if you don’t have one handy, grab a clean rubber flip-flop. A paint roller covered in duct tape works great to pick up pet hair from furniture or carpet.
19Erase marker or pen from woodwork by using toothpaste.
20Clean under the rubber guard on your garbage disposal with an old toothbrush.
21Protect floors from scratches by cutting tennis balls in half and slipping them over chair and table legs.
22Clean both sides of your blinds in one swoop by attaching old rag pieces to a pair of tongs.
23Dust furniture and knick-knacks by slipping a mismatched sock over your hand.
24Scrub away rust from patio furniture or polish copper pans with ketchup.
25Make changing the cat litter box a breeze by using a garbage bag over the litter pan before you add cat litter. To change simply pull the bag inside out and dispose of in your dumpster.
26To keep litter from scattering all over the floor, cut a cat-sized hole in a Rubbermaid container turned upside down over the litter pan. Protect your cat as he goes in and out by cutting a pool noodle to fit over the cut edges of the hole.
28Hide unsightly scratches in woodwork by rubbing the meat of a walnut back and forth over the scratch and then rubbing with your finger. The oil in the nut seals the scratch and it should disappear from sight. For deeper scratches or gouges in wood, place a slightly damp cloth over the gouge and iron on the highest setting in circles and up and down until the rag is dry.
29Remove unsightly water marks from wood tables by using a hairdryer to dry the liquid and then wiping with a cloth dabbed with olive oil.
30Polish your shoes with Vaseline.
31Soak up oil spills with kitty litter or sawdust.
32Sharpen scissors by cutting tin foil.
33Clean knick-knacks and other ceramic decorations in the dishwasher.
34Remove trapped dirt in carpets by vacuuming in two directions instead of just one.
35Eliminate the need to move furniture to vacuum by brushing dirt from around furniture legs out into the room with a stiff brush.
36Remove permanent magic marker by rubbing with vegetable oil.
37Clean out your trash can occasionally using a toilet brush and your preferred cleaning solution. To keep your trash bag from slipping down, buy one with a lid and cut the center out and then snap on so the ring holds the bag in place. To keep a fresh trash bag from sticking to the sides, poke a couple holes in the trash can on each side near the bottom to let trapped air escape.
38Dust delicate knick-knacks or photo frames by donning a pair of cotton gloves dampened with cleaning solution.
39Remove scuff marks from vinyl floors by rubbing with a dry clean tennis ball.
40Clean dust and dirt from television, laptop, or tablet screens with a dry coffee filter.
Natural House Cleaning Tips
Budgets are tight for many people. Save money for fun things by eliminating expensive chemical cleaners. Use some of the all-natural and chemical free house cleaning tips below and save the extra money for the vacation.
41Polish wood furniture with a few dabs of olive oil on your dusting cloth.
42Clean window blinds by mixing half water and half white vinegar in a spray bottle. Slip one of those odd socks onto a broom handle and rub along blinds for a quick clean up.
43Use vinegar to remove built-up residue on a showerhead or even shower walls. Immerse the shower head in vinegar and for walls, add vinegar to a spray bottle or dish scrubber.
44White lace, linens, or underclothes. Simply add the juice of one lemon to a gallon of hot water and soak items for 60 minutes or so. Rinse by hand or in a machine and dry as usual.
45Clean most surfaces with baking soda and warm water. It’s all natural and it deodorizes as you clean.
46Clean scruffy white shoes with toothpaste.
47Loosen chewing gum from clothing, furniture, or carpet with an ice cube.
48Deodorize and freshen furniture fabric by sprinkling with baking soda. Let sit for 60 to 90 minutes and then vacuum.
49Remove more stubborn stains from furniture fabric by scrubbing with a solution of dish soap, white vinegar, and water.
Most people relish having a clean house to welcome friends and family but few people want to spend hour after hour cleaning house. These 49 mind-blowing house cleaning tips will help save you time and money so you can have time and money for more of the activities you enjoy. Share some of your favorite house cleaning tips in the comments below and let us know which of these you’ll try next time you clean.