Dropping our House Cleaning Service. Looking for Latest Cleaning Product Advice

[Anonymous]

I'm working from home now 3 days a week and wife is home for the summer. We have one kid going back to college in the Fall. Other kid is finishing up junior year in HS. House cleaners just raised prices, which are still manageable, but we feel like we can really do this ourselves now, so we cancelled our cleaning service after 15 years I'd say. She was very understanding and so busy she actually seemed cool with it. However, we don't really have much when it comes to cleaning supplies. Can you all give me your best advice on things to buy to make cleaning as easy as possible. We have tile floors in kitchen, tile in our 3 bathrooms, and tile in the laundry area. We have hardwood floors and our steps are hardwood as well. We do have carpet in a few rooms. We do have a vacuum. : ) What are some of the best "mops"/steam cleaners, etc out there now that you (or even your cleaning service) use to clean your tile and hardwoods? What are your best/most effective cleaning products for shower walls, toilets, sinks, etc. Anything else is appreciated as well. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

We're in a similar position, following!

[Anonymous]

I've never had a cleaning service.

1. I have a dusting cloth that's very plush/fur-like and keeps the dust trapped before I shake it outside, which is very important, because one of my kids has an allergy to dust mites.

2. I have a Dyson apartment vacuum with a very narrow, flat head that can vacuum under relatively low furniture, and go into small corners, which is why I bought it. I don't know if Dyson makes it anymore, so I baby the one I have. It does hardwood and carpet.

3. I have the Bona mop system for my tile and hardwood, with different styles of mop heads for each type of floor, and the Bona cleaner, which is non-toxic.

4. Long-handled duster, for mirrors, light fixtures, chandelier, spiderwebs in high places.

5. Baby wipes. My long haired, double coated dog likes to brush against certain walls in my house, and over time leaves residue. I get rid of it by wiping those portions of wall with baby wipes. I tried other ways, but the wipes are the best solution to prevent paint damage yet still gently take stuff off. I also use the wipes on my baseboards.

6. Bathroom. I have old kitchen sponges that get downgraded to toilet duty (also plunger and toilet brush). For the bathtub, sinks, etc, I have a set of (Oxo?) scrubbing brushes of varying sizes, including one that looks like a toothbrush. I also have a cheap plastic hooked snake thing to fish out the girls' long hair out of the bathtub drain, as well as a really neat drain cover that also traps hair (TubShroom).

Other than the Bona floor product, I mainly use vinegar to clean.

[Anonymous]

Look up various house cleaners on YouTube.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a job for Buzzfeed and one of their thousands of "You'll absolutely lose your mind over these 28 cleaning products" listicles. I swear, Buzzfeed is nothing but an affiliate link site now.

[Anonymous]

Everyone I know who has a cleaning service also cleans in-between. How is it possible that you don’t know which cleaning products? Please report back after you have been cleaning for a few months.

[Anonymous]

Find the normal cleaner accounts that don't tell people to slosh so much water on their floors that they grow mold.

That was the big controversy in CleanTok last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a job for Buzzfeed and one of their thousands of "You'll absolutely lose your mind over these 28 cleaning products" listicles. I swear, Buzzfeed is nothing but an affiliate link site now.

I'll never forget my son's girlfriend somewhere around 2013 sending him some screed about how he wasn't paying enough attention to her and that she expected to be treated like a queen on Valentine's Day including him making dinner for her that wasn't "just some stupid lemon chicken recipe off of Buzzfeed"

That was like five confusing things to think about at once

Didn't even know what Buzzfeed was

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a job for Buzzfeed and one of their thousands of "You'll absolutely lose your mind over these 28 cleaning products" listicles. I swear, Buzzfeed is nothing but an affiliate link site now.

I'll never forget my son's girlfriend somewhere around 2013 sending him some screed about how he wasn't paying enough attention to her and that she expected to be treated like a queen on Valentine's Day including him making dinner for her that wasn't "just some stupid lemon chicken recipe off of Buzzfeed"

That was like five confusing things to think about at once

Didn't even know what Buzzfeed was

Really? They were everywhere back then. Lots of listicles and especially quizzes, but also, one of the best investigative journalism shops around. Their actual journalism wasn't as popular/ profitable as the affiliate link lists and quizzes that told you which kardashian you were, or what hogwarts house, or whatever. So they shuttered it and laid off tons of amazing journalists, and now it's just an aggregator site. It's very sad.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the bona system. It’s great for everyday use.

For deep clean days, I use a Bissel steam cleaner. It gets the floors really clean and it has different attachments so you can use it to clean the oven, grout, tub, windows, etc. I love it. Makes cleaning the oven a lot easier and no harsh chemicals.

The pink stuff is my new favorite cleaning supply. I have both the paste and the liquid stuff. The liquidy stuff is great for sinks and counters etc but the paste is good for everything—stubborn stain in pan, glass top stove, everything. I love it so much. I just got the toilet bowl cleaner and that was a fun experience.

Generally I use seventh generation cleaners for most stuff, method for the floors, whatever countertop spray—caldera, Mrs meyers, method. I keep multiple bottles of cleaners and bar mops around so I always have one within reach to do a quick cleanup.

Toilets stay cleaner longer if you drop a Lysol or Clorox tablet in the tank every 2-3 months.

I change my sheets twice a week (pugs sleep in bed) then if I have a really busy week and can’t get to it, the sheets are at most a week old.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I think you all should drop it to once a month and see if you can clean in between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the bona system. It’s great for everyday use.

For deep clean days, I use a Bissel steam cleaner. It gets the floors really clean and it has different attachments so you can use it to clean the oven, grout, tub, windows, etc. I love it. Makes cleaning the oven a lot easier and no harsh chemicals.

The pink stuff is my new favorite cleaning supply. I have both the paste and the liquid stuff. The liquidy stuff is great for sinks and counters etc but the paste is good for everything—stubborn stain in pan, glass top stove, everything. I love it so much. I just got the toilet bowl cleaner and that was a fun experience.

Generally I use seventh generation cleaners for most stuff, method for the floors, whatever countertop spray—caldera, Mrs meyers, method. I keep multiple bottles of cleaners and bar mops around so I always have one within reach to do a quick cleanup.

Toilets stay cleaner longer if you drop a Lysol or Clorox tablet in the tank every 2-3 months.

I change my sheets twice a week (pugs sleep in bed) then if I have a really busy week and can’t get to it, the sheets are at most a week old.

I used to do this but I think the chemicals nibbled at the flapper. I learned how to change a flapper but it's not my favorite thing. And I cannot stand a toilet leak sound. It keeps me up all night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly I think you all should drop it to once a month and see if you can clean in between.

I think we did that once a long time ago but they just doubled the every 2 week rate or close to it, so it didn't really help except that we were cleaning and paying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with the bona system. It’s great for everyday use.

For deep clean days, I use a Bissel steam cleaner. It gets the floors really clean and it has different attachments so you can use it to clean the oven, grout, tub, windows, etc. I love it. Makes cleaning the oven a lot easier and no harsh chemicals.

The pink stuff is my new favorite cleaning supply. I have both the paste and the liquid stuff. The liquidy stuff is great for sinks and counters etc but the paste is good for everything—stubborn stain in pan, glass top stove, everything. I love it so much. I just got the toilet bowl cleaner and that was a fun experience.

Generally I use seventh generation cleaners for most stuff, method for the floors, whatever countertop spray—caldera, Mrs meyers, method. I keep multiple bottles of cleaners and bar mops around so I always have one within reach to do a quick cleanup.

Toilets stay cleaner longer if you drop a Lysol or Clorox tablet in the tank every 2-3 months.

I change my sheets twice a week (pugs sleep in bed) then if I have a really busy week and can’t get to it, the sheets are at most a week old.

Which Bissell do you have? This is what I'm definitely trying to figure out. I can't use a steam cleaner for my hardwoods so I'm trying to figure out what I need for the tile AND grout and also the hardwoods. not sure if I get two separate things or get one that can do both. There are so many options. So many "Best" lists too.

[Anonymous]

I just use a swifter to dust and then a wet swifter to mop. Clorox Wipes for counters, some sort of toilet cleaner.