We’ve all seen the likes of Mrs. Hinch and her domestic-goddess ways. The labels on absolutely everything, the homemade fabric scents, and tile-whitening solutions. #Cleantok on TikTok, seeing trends everywhere of overloading powders, gels and bleach into your toilets. But sometimes, we just don’t have the budget for all the fancy products, not to mention how unsustainable and dangerous it is to overload with chemicals and products
Here, you’ll find the best house cleaning hacks that are both realistic and incredibly effective, tried and trusted from likes of myself, so please have faith in me and trust the process, you will not regret it!
Firstly, you’ll want to make sure you’ve done your weekly shop, because even your kitchen ingredients will come into practice with these hacks, saving you money, time and products!
1. Anti-bacterial cloths and credit cards
Starting off on what already seems pretty weird, have you ever had those stubborn stains or dirt that get caught in textured surfaces and you just don’t know how to clean it out? I promise you, a wet wipe (or antibacterial cloth wrapped around a card of some sort, swipe through the ridged marks, you’ll be golden and your textured surfaces will look as good as new!
2. Lemon juice and bicarb of soda for tile whitening
My grandmothers' age-old tradition of filling up a plastic bowl with 1/3 of boiling water, juice from a whole lemon, and two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (until forming a watery paste) never fails to amaze me when trying to refresh the caulk in between my white tiles. Using a toothbrush to deposit the paste and scrubbing in circular motions, leaving to sit for a few minutes before wiping away with a kitchen sponge will leave you results not even Unibond could.
3. Cotton and bleach on black mould
A charming image, but nonetheless a common one, especially in bathrooms where surfaces often get damp. Rolling cotton into sausage-like shapes and coating them in thick toilet bleach, placing it around your bathroom affected areas overnight will completely remove any sign of mould altogether due to the chlorine in bleach being a powerful oxidiser. So many other people swear by this holy-grail cleaning method. Give it a try!
4. Olive oil and lemon juice wood polish
Another easily accessible combination of products you’ve likely got hanging around in your kitchen cupboards, this concoction in a spray bottle works so well on wood that you’ll never want to use a shop-bought wood cleaner ever again. It's non-toxic, with limited chemicals, so it doesn’t leave a strong smell, and the hydrophobic nature of the olive oil gets up fat-based stains within an instant, as well as leaving a hydrating sheen on the wood. The lemon juice not only smells great and has its clever microbial properties, but the acidity is just enough to remove stains and fine marks without affecting the colouring of the wood, result!
5. Laundry detergent for burn-marks
This one was an absolute game-changer! I've tried it all with burn-stains on my beloved Tefal non-stick pans, but I once read a hack about using laundry liquid or fabric softener, mixed with a few drops of water, and gently exfoliating with a scour or a toothbrush, sure enough those pesky black marks washed off within seconds! Laundry liquids contain hard-water softeners and fat-soluble properties, so it’s no wonder that this worked so well when you think about it!
6. The Pink Stuff (TM) and a toothbrush
Going back to what I was saying earlier about the likes of Mrs. Hinch and her holy grail hacks that continue to go viral, The Pink Stuff exfoliating polish ended up being a B&M best-seller, and I can certainly see why! When it comes to getting stains off metal surfaces whether that be hard-water marks or general oxidation, it can make your home look dull and dreary, but this bargain buy seems to have restored my metal goods completely! Including metal utensils, my stove grids, and even metal door handles! It also works brilliantly against rust.
Now you’ve got the cleaning tips at the ready, why not check out our blog on the top 3 rooms that sell a house and how you can stage it!
Check out our free valuation system here.
By Caitlin Stimpson