Let’s talk cleaning

[Anonymous]

I think I’m not the only one on this board who is now cleaning her own house after typically relying on a cleaning service or person (and yes, I am paying them not to come). I haven’t been solely responsible for cleaning for some time. I am giving a lot away when I say I grew up in the era of Pledge and Comet. A lot has changed. So what are your trusted cleaners, tools, and tips for cleaning?
One specific question: how often do you clean— beyond vacuuming— your hardwood floors and with what?
Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Here’s a thread on schedules:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/873004.page

There are a lot of existing threads on this topic, btw.

[Anonymous]

I still use Pledge and Windex, which I used as a kid in the 80's.

I clean the hardwood floors twice a week, because that's how often our cleaning people come to do it. But if we have people coming over I clean the floors even if it's not "their day".

[Anonymous]

I clean my own house and here are my top tips:

Have a bunch of microfiber cloths and a bucket for collecting used ones. A mild general cleaner like Mrs Meyers is mostly all you need. Windex is nice for mirrors and stainless appliances. I only use bleach for toilets, mold/mildew and after prepping raw chicken. Keep cleaner and rags on every floor and also trash bags. I have ammonia and barkeepers friend for extreme situations but I almost never use them.

Clean the shower while you’re in it. Before you get in, spray bleach on any pink stuff or mildew and wait five minutes. At the end of your shower, use Dish soap, a nylon scrubby and a cup for rinsing. Works great on glass also, better if you have a squeegee for after. Cleaning the shower/tub with clothes on is oppressive. Don’t let Big Bathroom Cleaner convince you you need anything noxious or extreme to clean the bathroom. Soap is great for cleaning soap scum, weirdly, and a nylon scrubby is plenty abrasive without a powdered cleaner.

Have a weekly schedule. Mine is:
Daily: dishes, counters, quick run with stick vac over highest traffic entry area and sweep kitchen floor, laundry (not everyday but rolling)
Monday: bathrooms
Tuesday: sheets, towels, bedroom vacuuming
Wednesday: dusting everywhere and wiping surfaces (as needed, doors, light switches etc). I just walk around with a damp microfiber cloth and a swiffer
Thursday: vacuuming everywhere not bedrooma
Friday: kitchen deep clean - mopping wood floors including kitchen, wipe cabinets, spray and wipe appliances.

The downside of using a schedule like this is there’s no moment where you come home to a just cleaned house, but the upside is it’s never really dirty and if you miss a day you can just get it the next week, also you’re forced to tidy a few times and not all at once. Also let’s be honest “coming home” is a thing of the past.

[Anonymous]

Go to cleaning products:

*Pledge multi surface spray (in purple squirt bottle).
*Lysol lemon scented cleaner OR Mr Clean for tile floors
*Lysol spray with bleach for inside of bathroom sinks and outside of toilets and shower stalls/tubs.
*Lysol toilet bowl cleaner - inside of toilet bowl
*Shaw hard surfaces/hardwood cleaner. I first vacuum, then swiffer, then use the hardwood cleaner in an O'Cedar squirt mop. I also use this cleaner on my cabinetry.
*Weiman stainless steel cleaner
*Weiman glass cook top cleaner
*Sprayaway foaming glass cleaner for windows
*Windex for mirrors and shower doors
*Greenworks spray to wipe/shine granite
*Glade Cashmere Woods or Coconut Beach Woods room spray, depending on the time of year.

[Anonymous]

^Forgot to add: Magic Eraser

[Anonymous]

What do you use on old-ish wood floors? If I wipe mine with paper towels to test cleanliness there is always some dark grime coming off. It’s a little better after i’ve cleaned them (warm water and a little dish soap) but I feel they are never impeccably clean.

Here’s what I use in the rest of the house:

- for sinks: greenworks
- countertops: just water and soap
- shower/tub (once every two months): the ROG1 and 3 industrial stuff; periodically barkeepers friend.
- shower glass: mixture of vinegar, water and blue dawn.
- toilets: comet

[Anonymous]

I love the smell of PineSol. I use it everywhere, in all the bathrooms. Makes my home smell so fresh and clean, like a professional did it. I love pouring it in my toilets and letting the smell permeate the whole house. Mmmmmm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you use on old-ish wood floors? If I wipe mine with paper towels to test cleanliness there is always some dark grime coming off. It’s a little better after i’ve cleaned them (warm water and a little dish soap) but I feel they are never impeccably clean.

Here’s what I use in the rest of the house:

- for sinks: greenworks
- countertops: just water and soap
- shower/tub (once every two months): the ROG1 and 3 industrial stuff; periodically barkeepers friend.
- shower glass: mixture of vinegar, water and blue dawn.
- toilets: comet

Every once in a while I get on my hands and knees with a bucket and two rags - one wet and one dry - and really detail the floors. Scrubbing with the wet rag and rinsing out and then drying with the dry rag. I would say that’s 1x/year and otherwise just a spray mop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love the smell of PineSol. I use it everywhere, in all the bathrooms. Makes my home smell so fresh and clean, like a professional did it. I love pouring it in my toilets and letting the smell permeate the whole house. Mmmmmm

This is how I feel about the smell of bleach now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love the smell of PineSol. I use it everywhere, in all the bathrooms. Makes my home smell so fresh and clean, like a professional did it. I love pouring it in my toilets and letting the smell permeate the whole house. Mmmmmm

This is how I feel about the smell of bleach now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I’m not the only one on this board who is now cleaning her own house after typically relying on a cleaning service or person (and yes, I am paying them not to come). I haven’t been solely responsible for cleaning for some time. I am giving a lot away when I say I grew up in the era of Pledge and Comet. A lot has changed. So what are your trusted cleaners, tools, and tips for cleaning?
One specific question: how often do you clean— beyond vacuuming— your hardwood floors and with what?
Thanks.

so I still use comet on my tile, with a scrub brush on my hands and knees. Nothing does a better job. i too have a weekly cleaning person who is on pause, but I have always scrubbed my bathrooms on hands and knees once a month. Cleaners do not do that.

I mop my HW floors 1xs a week (so twice when the clenaers come) I use a broom, swifter dry, and then use a mop with a rag type head with water only and I wring out probably a dozen or so times just doing my foyer, kitchen and family room.

[Anonymous]

I love Pine Sol for floors and use it in my kitchen, hallways and bathroom.

[Anonymous]

I am cleaning one small area everyday and then the whole house on Sunday.

Bathrooms -
1) Scrubbing bubbles on all porcelain surfaces - sink, tub, toilet bowl. Windex on mirrors, fixtures and counter. I am using 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 dish soap on the shower area, tiled walls, glass doors. It blasts through the soap scum and watermarks, rinse and dry. My shower doors have never looked this clear and sparkly. I sweep the floor and wipe it down with a damp cloth and a dry cloth. Final blast of lysol.
2) I shut off the flush and used a plunger to reduce the water in the bowl to a minimum...then poured some CLR to take care of some funky brown scale, rust etc that my cleaning lady never managed to clean. Leave it overnight and then flush. It is sparkling now.
3) Poo Pouri. Everyone is using the bathrooms and everyone is eating lots more veggies, need I say more.

I am actually not missing my cleaning lady. I have realized that she was doing a rather lackadaisical job.

Bedrooms -
1) Beds need to be made as soon as the person wakes up. Use a microfiber cloth to dust the bed frame, window sills, side tables and vacuum once a week.

Kitchen -
1) Lined the stovetop with aluminium foil. It catches all spills. Change it every few weeks
2) Using dishwashing soap and sponge to clean the counters. Wipe dry with a microfiber after a light vinegar spray.
3) Not using a sponge to wash dishes. I am using the dishwasher for most dishes with a capful of vinegar to take care of any egg smell. I am using bounty paper towel in place of the sponge to wash dishes so that I can discard it.
4) I am using an asian broom to sweep the floors and then vacuuming the carpeted areas.
5) I am using floormate wet vacuum for washing and drying all hard-surfaces from tiles to wooden floors.
6) Scrubbing my stainless steel kitchen sinks with some baking soda and a using a lemon peel to scrub it. I am also cleaning the drain using baking soda and vinegar.

Appliances -
1) Cleaning microwave by boiling some water and letting the steam loosen the food splatters.
2) Cleaning and deodorizing the fridge once in 2 weeks. Wiping spills as they happen. Check the seal to see if there is any dirt or mold trapped.
3) Front loading washing machine - wash the whites with oxyclean and on highest temp at the end of the day. Clean filter and empty the water overflow once a month. Leave the doors open overnight. Front loading Dryer - clean the lint trap every single time. Do not let clothes sit in either the washer or dryer once the cycle is complete
4) Wash filter of the dishwasher frequently. I add a dash of vinegar in each load to remove egg smells. Try and get food debris off the dishes before you load the dishwasher.
5) Clean filters and roller brushes of the vacuum.
The last thing you want is any appliance dying on you right now.

No shoes inside the house. We do not have pets. Clean every day. I do multiple loads of laundry and multiple loads of dishes every day.

[EyeCandyOP]

I followed a cleaning "influencer" on instagram named Clean Mama after someone here mentioned her because she has a really specific calendar for cleaning. After a few weeks, it was ingrained in me and unfollowed her - her content is super repetitive and you probably don't need her info long term. She also has "recipes" for the various household cleaners if you'd prefer to make your own Windex, detergent, etc.

She has a bunch of printables on her website, but I just followed her on Instagram where she posts every day as she does whatever is on the calendar. It seems dumb at first, but the routine works pretty well for me. Obviously, you have to adjust it to work for your house size/traffic. For example, we don't have to do a load of laundry every day.