Ultimate Cleaning Tips & Tricks Guide: 31 Ideas For A Sparkling Home

Although cleaning the house is not my favorite activity, I always love the results. That feeling of accomplishment when you see the whole place sparkling, justifies the effort. But if you want your house to sparkle, clean it thoroughly. It can be exhausting, but there are ways to simplify your work. We’re prepared 31 must-read cleaning tips for you to check out and try.

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01. Homemade Gunk Remover

Kitchen cabinets accumulate gunk, and it’s not a pretty sight, but you can fix the problem with this homemade gunk remover. Mix vegetable oil and baking soda, and use a sponge or a cloth to clean the cabinets.

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02. Wash Legos In The Washing Machine

Lego pieces, tiny ones, can get very icky, and if you want to clean them one by one, it will take forever. So put them all in a laundry bag and into the washing machine. Add some soap and then take them out and let them dry.

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03. Clean Inside The Oven Glass With A Wire Hanger

Cleaning the oven can be very painful, and the most annoying part is that the window glass always seems dirty. That’s because you have to clean in between too.

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04. Remove Labels With OxiClean

Removing labels from bottles or jars is not easy, but you can significantly simplify the process if you use OxiClean. Fill the sink with warm water and add a scoop of OxiClean. Let the bottles soak for 30 minutes, and the labels come off.

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05. Clean The Iron With Salt

Cleaning the iron is very simple if you know this tip. First, sprinkle salt onto the ironing board, turn the iron to the highest setting, set off the steam option, and then iron over the salt. The dirt sticks to the salt, and the iron becomes clean and shiny.

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06. Remove Pet Hair With Rubber Gloves

If you have a cat or a dog, I’m sure you’re at war with all the hair and leave around the house. But it’s not that difficult to remove all that hair. All you need is a pair of rubber gloves. Run your hand over the upholstery and the hair with cling to the glove.

07. Whiten Yellowed Pillows With This Mix

It’s so annoying when you have pillow covers or other things which used to be white but now have a yellow shade. But the good news is you can fix that. Mix the following ingredients: 1 cup of laundry detergent, 1 cup of powdered dishwasher detergent, 1 cup of bleach, ½ cup of borax, and boiling water.

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08. Fix The Scratches In Wood Furniture With Vinegar And Olive Oil

If you have an old wooden table with the top, all scratched and ugly, don’t throw it out because it can still be saved. Mix ½ cup of vinegar with ½ cup olive oil, dip a cloth in the mixture, and rub it onto the wood. The scratches disappear entirely, and the wood looks like new.

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09. Remove Hard Water With Vinegar

The nasty built-up you often see on and around the faucets and in some other areas is not something you want to have in your home. But you can easily remove it with vinegar. If it’s a flat surface, pour some vinegar and let it sit for about 20 minutes. You can use paper towels soaked in vinegar for the faucet.

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10. Clean The Oil Stains On The Driveway

Having oil stains on your driveway is not pretty, but removing them is not easy unless you use Pour-N-Restore. It’s a solution that dries into a powder, absorbs all the oil, and pulls up embedded stains.

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11. Remove Heat Marks With More Heat

If your furniture has white heat marks, you’ll have to use more heat and moisture to remove them. Take several layers of cloth and spray them with water. Put them over the stain and then iron over for about 15 seconds.

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12. Clean A Microfiber Couch With Alcohol

To clean a microfiber couch, you need a white sponge so there is no color transfer and rubbing alcohol. Spray alcohol on the stained area and scrub it with a sponge. Let the area dry. Then take a bristle brush and re-fluff the area.

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13. Make Your Grill Non-Stick With An Onion

Are you getting ready for a barbecue? Don’t forget the onion. That’s right; you need an onion to make your grill non-stick. Just cut the onion in half and rub the cut side on the heated grill grate.

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14. Clean The Bathroom Faucet With Lemon

Instead of using all sorts of cleaning products which may or may not be toxic, try instead a more natural approach. For example, you can clean the bathroom faucet with lemon. Cut a lemon in half and scrub the hard water stains on any fixture.

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15. Clean The Shower Head With Vinegar And A Plastic Bag

Use distilled white vinegar and a plastic baggy to make your shower head look new again. Pour vinegar into the bag and secure it to the shower head. Let it soak for an hour, and wipe it clean with a wet towel.

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16. Make Your Window Cleaner

All you have to do to ensure clean windows with no streaks is use water, vinegar, and dish soap. Mix these three ingredients, and your windows will be sparkly clean. Also, remember to use a newspaper. Spray the windows with the mixture, use a white cloth to wash them, and then dry them with a waded-up newspaper.

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17. Clean The Stove Burners With Ammonia

If you ignore them, the stove burners and the grates can look disgusting, and nobody wants that in their kitchen. So what can you do? It’s simple. Clean the stove with ammonia. Take ¼ cup of ammonia and seal it with one of the burners in a plastic bag. Let it sit overnight, and then it should wipe clean with a sponge.

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18. Cleaning Solution For The Kitchen Sink

Make your cleaner for the kitchen sink using the following ingredients: liquid dishwashing soap, distilled white vinegar, baking soda, rock salt, lemon or lime, and ice. You’ll also need an old rag, a toothbrush, and a soft sponge. Rinse off the sink and sprinkle baking soda onto the surface. Make a paste and rinse. Scrub the rim with a toothbrush soaked in baking soda paste or soap.

Then line the entire sink with paper towels soaked in white vinegar and let it sit for 20 minutes. Saturate a sponge with soap and water and clean and sink. Fill the drain with 2 cups of ice and pour a cup of rock salt over the cubes. Run the cold water and turn on the garbage disposal until the ice is gone. Then cut a lemon in half and add it to the removal.

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19. How To Clean A Wood Cutting Board

You’ve probably noticed that wood-cutting boards retain dirt, so here’s how to clean them. You need two tablespoons of white vinegar, 1 cup of water, ½ lemon, sea salt, mineral oil, or board oil, and a towel. Wipe down the cutting board with a mix of vinegar and water. Cut a lemon in half, dip it in sea salt, and scrub. Wipe with water. Then dip the towel into mineral oil and massage it into the wood.

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20. Clean The Tub With Grapefruit And Salt

If you prefer natural or homemade cleaners, here’s one for the bathtub. All you need is a grapefruit and ¼ cup of kosher salt. Cut the grapefruit in half, sprinkle with salt, wet the tub, and sprinkle the remaining salt around the bottom. Scrub the grapefruit around the shower or tub. Rinse with water.

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21. Make Your Oven Cleaner

To clean the oven, you can mix baking soda and vinegar. It would be best if you also had a bowl and a spatula. Scrape the debris with the spatula. Sprinkle baking soda all over the floor of the oven. Then spray vinegar over the baking soda and spread the paste around. Let it sit for 10-20 minutes. Scrub in a circular motion.

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22. Clean The Blinds With Vinegar And Water

Cleaning the blinds doesn’t have to be painful. There’s a simple way to do it. Mix equal parts vinegar and warm water in a bowl. Take slip an old sock on your hand and wipe the blinds clean.

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23. Remove The Permanent Marker With Toothpaste

If you have a kid who just discovered the magic of permanent markers, you’ll most likely find works of art on the floor and furniture. Don’t worry; it can be removed. First, put a dab of white toothpaste on the marker and rub it with a damp cloth or paper towel.

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24. Iron Out Carpet Stains

No matter what cleaner you use, some stains won’t come off the carpet. But there’s a solution for that. Spray window cleaner over the stain, put a cloth or towel over it, and iron. Repeat until the stain comes off.

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25. Clean Silver With Salt And Baking Soda

Both salt and baking soda are commonly used in homemade cleaning products. But why not mix them? If you do that, you get a friendly cleaner you can use on silver. Combine equal amounts of salt and baking soda.

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26. Microwave The Kitchen Sponge

Kitchen sponges allow germs to pile up, so it’s an excellent idea to eliminate them. It’s straightforward. Just the sponge in the microwave for 5 minutes. It will kill almost all the germs.

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27. Clean The Garbage Disposal With Lemon Vinegar Ice

Now you can naturally clean your garbage disposal: you need 3-4 fresh lemons and a bottle of white vinegar. Roll each lemon and then slice it into small chunks. Put the pieces into the separate holes of the ice cube tray. Fill the tray with white vinegar. Freeze the cubes. Drop one cube in the disposal every night.

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Get Rid Of The Smell

28. Homemade Air Freshener Recipe

If you prefer natural smells, then make your air freshener. You can use lemon, vanilla, and rosemary. Mix two cups of water, a teaspoon of vanilla, a sliced lemon, and two sprigs of rosemary in a pan and simmer.

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29. Fruity Air Freshener

Here’s another lovely recipe. It would be best to have apples, an orange, a lemon, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and vanilla extract. Put everything in a saucepan and add some water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer.

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30. Citrus Vinegar Cleaner

Make a natural cleaner that smells wonderful using citrus peels and white vinegar. Take the citrus peels and put them in a jar. Cover with vinegar and let it sit for two weeks. Remove the peels and dilute them with water (1:1). Pour them into a spray bottle.

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31. Make Your House Smell Like Spring

This recipe requires a small stockpot with water, lemon, and rosemary sprigs. Add 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla and let the mix simmer all day.

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