Six home cleaning hacks with a difference
We’ve been locked down all winter but now spring (and the sweet smell of freedom) is in the air. It’s the ideal time to give your home a blitz, so why not try our clever home cleaning hacks, and spruce up the house using cleaning products with a difference. Time to get creative, get cleaning, and crack open a bottle of white wine (vinegar).
1. Spritz your smart tech
Cleaning our smart home devices is often something we overlook. Whether it’s sitting on the loo, or just chilling on a park bench, our phones rarely leave our hands. Time to give those devices a deep clean.
When cleaning screens and smart security camera lenses, a microfibre cloth is great to avoid leaving scratches, smears, or dust particles. But if not, coffee filters work just as well, and are likely on hand (who isn’t drinking coffee like water at the moment?)
Leave no tech unturned. Dirt and dust build-up can be a problem for your smart thermostat or smart hub. A nifty trick for stubborn dirt in tricky places, is to wind tape around the end of a paper clip, creating your own lint catcher.
2. Scrub away marks and muck
After weeks of the whole family all under one roof, you may be finding endless scuffs and marks all over the house. How did they even get there? How on earth do you remove scuff marks off painted walls or off carpets?
An easy way for painted walls, is by using fabric softener and a small brush (or toothbrush). It gets the job done, and as it’s not a strong chemical, it doesn’t strip the paint in the process.
And as the local park is still this season’s hottest destination, muck, dirt and the dreaded grass stains are being trailed across the carpet. These can easily be removed using a little water and detergent to loosen them, before dabbing with rubbing alcohol.
Top home cleaning hack: No rubbing alcohol? Any white spirit, wine included, works (perhaps there’s a little left over from that virtual birthday party?)
3. Play dough to pick up after play-time
Kids will be kids, and with more time together at home, it’s great to get creative. But this can come at a cost.
Spilt glitter? Roll play dough across it. The glitter will stick to it and you’ll get some re-vamped play dough in the process.
Felt tip pens gone way over the lines? Toothpaste, and a trusty toothbrush should do the trick.
Top home cleaning hack: Don’t be afraid to stick plastic toys in the washing machine, it prevents germs, mould, and leaves them squeaky clean.
4. Don’t just sweep dust under the carpet
No feather duster? No problem.
To dust walls and countertops, simply cover the end of a mop with an old fluffy sock. And for more tricky spots, just place the sock over your hand to really get into all the nooks and crannies.
For fiddly blinds, barbeque tongs wrapped in cloth are an easy home cleaning hack for getting between the slats, to get the job done quick.
5. Hair removal around the house
Not off the top of your head – the time for funky lockdown haircuts has passed.
It’s all that unwanted hair down the bathroom drain you’ve got to worry about. Cleaning with bicarb and vinegar is the good old-fashioned way to get rid it. All you need to do is to pour in ½ cup of bicarbonate, followed by 1 cup of vinegar and cover for 15 mins. Rinse generously with water and you’re in the clear.
Don’t take those rubber gloves off just yet, because here’s a great carpet cleaning hack. They can be a magnet for hair (particularly pet hair) which then becomes really hard to hoover up. Simply scrape the gloves across the floor. The friction creates static (like rubbing a balloon against your head to stick it to the wall) causing all the hair to come away as if by magic.
6. The Great Kitchen Clean-up
Here’s some brilliant kitchen cleaning hacks that’ll surprise you.
Time to hoover the fridge. Yes, you heard. And no, not just under it. Inside it. Just suck up the dirt and grime to keep those kitchen appliances working well, for longer. Hoover inside your toaster while you’re at it (hold a straw to the pipe), hoover your oven…hoover everything but the kitchen sink.
Did you know you can clean your oven with bicarbonate of soda too? So once you’ve used it to bake those fairy cakes, simply mix with water, spread over the grimy bits, spray with vinegar and five minutes later, you’ll be able to wipe off the grease without…the elbow grease.
For more tips on how to best to maintain your devices, visit our smart home hub for ‘How To’ guides and more.
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