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10 ingenious cleaning hacks you’ll wish you knew sooner

Amelia Wilson
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Cleaning the house can sometimes feel like a nightmare. You spend a lot of time purchasing materials, scrubbing tough stains, and searching for solutions to your toughest messes, only to find your home collecting dust and spills a few days later. But what if we told you that cleaning could be easy? Here are 10 life-changing cleaning hacks that can help hasten the process of cleaning without any harsh chemicals or complicated procedures.

Use vinegar in your dishwasher

If you want to rid your dishes of caked-on grime while also tackling harsh smells, try adding a cap full of vinegar to your dishwasher. Pairing vinegar with your dish detergent can help rid your dishes of funky smells while loosening stuck-on food debris and grime. Just pour vinegar into a small cap or tablespoon and add it to the liquid detergent slot in your dishwasher.

a woman making the bed
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Deodorize your mattress with baking soda

Mattresses can collect a lot of odors from sweat and dead skin. To resolve this issue, sprinkle baking soda over your mattress and allow it to sit on the material for a few hours. The baking soda will collect any odd smells. Then, when you feel the odors have been eliminated, use a vacuum to clean up the baking soda.

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Clean your microwave with a bowl of water

Microwaves collect small bits of food debris and stains after several uses. Unfortunately, these messes can be tough to clean. Make things easier on yourself by filling a microwave-safe bowl with water and a slice of lemon and then placing it into your microwave. Heat the dish on high for two to three minutes and remove. Then, use a washcloth, paper towel, or scrubbing tool to wipe up the loosened debris. And the best part is, this cleaning hack leaves your microwave smelling fresh and clean!

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Use shaving cream for water stains

Water stains can appear on bathroom mirrors, glass shower doors, or anywhere in the home where moisture is abundant. Take care of hard water stains by using shaving cream. Add a little shaving cream to a paper towel or washcloth, and wipe down the area. Then, use a dry cloth to wipe off the shaving cream. You’ll be left with a sparkly, streak-free surface in no time!

Make a gentle fabric freshener

Fabric items like bedding, sofas, chairs, and curtains tend to collect the most smells. And while it’s easy to wash your bedding and curtains, putting your sofa in the washing machine is simply not an option. So why not make your own freshener? Mix two parts water with one part vinegar and a few drops of essential oil to create a gentle solution. Put it in a spray bottle and lightly mist your furniture to help rid your fabrics of any peculiar smells.

Trap gnats with vinegar

Gnats and fruit flies love to overtake your kitchen, especially in warmer weather. Try filling a shallow dish or bowl with vinegar to combat their pesky presence. Use cling wrap or plastic film to cover the dish, and use a needle or pencil to poke holes in the film. The gnats will be drawn to the vinegar scent and will enter the trap through the holes. Since they’ll then be unable to escape, you can rest assured that your gnat problem will slowly fade away.

Use a pillowcase to dust fan blades

When you dust your ceiling fan blades, have you ever noticed all of the dust bunnies and debris that quickly fall to the floor? Unfortunately, what doesn’t reach the floor ends up filling the air. An easy cleaning hack to counter this problem is to use a pillowcase to dust your fan blades. Simply wrap the pillowcase around the blade, covering both the top and bottom, and swipe the case along the fan blade. This will pull off all the dust without allowing particles to fall to the floor.

Clean your showerheads with vinegar

Showerheads collect grime and water buildup fairly often. While hard water stains can be a nuisance, they don’t have to be hard to clean. Get a plastic sandwich bag large enough to fit over your showerhead, and fill it with vinegar. Use rubber bands or zip ties to tie the bag around the showerhead, and let it sit for an hour. Then, remove the baggy and use a warm wet cloth to wipe off any stains.

an elderly woman disinfects and cleans the refridgerator
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Clear out fridge smells with baking soda

Over time, your refrigerator can collect an assortment of odd smells. Thankfully, there is an easy way to tackle this without spending hours scrubbing every inch of your fridge. Simply fill a dish with baking soda and place it inside your fridge. Leave it there overnight to help clear out any funky odors.

Freshen up the garbage disposal with lemon or lime

Another cleaning hack you’ll wish you had known sooner is using citrus to freshen your garbage disposal. Run hot water down your drain to loosen up any debris on your garbage disposal blades. Then, drop some cut-up pieces of lemon or lime into the disposal and allow it to grind up the materials. The citrus juice will help break down any stuck-on messes while freshening up the scent, while the rinds will help more effectively clean the blades.

These cleaning tips can save you time and money, making your job around the house go much more smoothly. Be mindful that these hacks are ideal for taking care of minor messes or funky odors but some aren’t perfect substitutes for a deep clean. Either way, these cleaning hacks should help you create a fresh-smelling space in no time!

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Amelia Wilson
Amelia Wilson
Contributor
Amelia Wilson (author pen name Amelia J. Wilson) is a content writer in Greenwood, IN. She often enjoys topics on…
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