11 Effective Hacks For People Who Don’t Want to Spend Hours Cleaning

Sometimes, it’s amazing how some people manage to keep their homes perfectly clean. And they also have jobs and hobbies! Maybe it’s because they have some certain tips and tricks to help them?

It’s great that nobody keeps these tips secret and that people are happy to share them online. We at Bright Side decided to find out which tips and tricks can really help us!

1. Squeegees can help collect hair from your carpets.

Carpets can make any place feel cozy, but they are also a lot of trouble because dust, pet hair, and our own hair — all build up in them. It’s really hard to get all of this dirt out with a regular vacuum cleaner — because it’s just not powerful enough. Fortunately, internet users know what to do — you just need to use a squeegee. Just go over the carpet by pressing it a bit. The hair and dust will be pulled up, and you can collect them with a vacuum cleaner.

2. Tennis balls can help remove scuff marks.

You can use an ordinary tennis ball to remove scuff marks. You don’t even need any cleaning agents to do it. Just take a light-colored tennis ball and rub it on something dirty. To remove more serious marks, you can put the ball on a mop handle by cutting an X into the ball. This will help you apply more force.

3. Vinegar can clean your washing machine.

You don’t need a special detergent for washing machines because ordinary vinegar can do the job just fine. To clean a top-load machine, pour a liter of vinegar into the washer while running the longest cycle with the hottest temperature. After 5 minutes, stop the machine and let it rest with the solution for 1 hour. After that, continue the cycle and wait for it to finish.

For front-load machines, you’ll need less vinegar — just a 3/4 cup. Put it into the detergent dispenser. Turn on the wash cycle at the hottest temperature and when the water is out, run an additional rinse cycle. You can use baking soda to achieve an even better effect.

4. Dishwasher tablets can be used differently.

One of the most unpleasant problems at home are clogs that happen unexpectedly. Most of us don’t always have an anti-clog agent on hand, so it’s great that they can be replaced with dishwasher tablets. They contain very similar agents that can dissolve grease and food waste. Just let the tablet dissolve in the drain. But don’t expect it to remove the clog as fast as an anti-clog agent. It needs more time. Also, tablets won’t remove hair.

Dishwasher tablets can remove the soap stains on the shower doors too. It’s simple: wet the tablet in warm water and rub it on the doors. After that, wash the surface with water. You’ll be able to see results in around 15 minutes.

5. An unusual way to remove residue from a pan

Even the most aggressive cleaning products can’t always remove all the residue and if you do it too hard, you can damage the surface. But there’s a very effective way to remove residue: pour some oil on the pan and put it inside the oven for 20 minutes. The residue will melt and turn into a liquid that will be easy to remove when it cools down.

6. Putting a tin foil ball into the washer to remove static

To remove the static from your laundry, just put a tin foil ball into the washer. The same ball can be used for a long time — around 6 months.

7. Tape on the pan

We all know how hard it is to sweep all the dust onto the pan. You can put masking tape on the edge of your pan. And it will make it easier to collect all the dust.

8. Use a lint roller to clean your window screens.

A lot of our time is devoted to cleaning windows: the windowsills, the frames, and the screens. When you have just a little bit of time, you can remove the dust and insects from the screen using a lint roller. And you don’t even have to take the screen out.

9. You can wash a lot of things in your dishwasher

Despite the name, it’s not just dishes that you can wash in a dishwasher. Here are some of the things you can wash: a soap dish, a toothbrush holder, toothbrushes, kitchen sponges, plastic lampshades, makeup brushes, your pets’ bowl, fridge shelves, etc.

10. Put a squeeze bottle top on the vacuum cleaner

If you put a squeeze bottle top on the vacuum cleaner, you will be able to clean very difficult-to-reach places. The top doesn’t have to be the exact same size, just turn the vacuum cleaner on and it will keep it in place. You can collect the dirt between the buttons of your keyboard or narrow window corners.

11. A clothes steamer is not just for clothes.

Clothes steamers can completely change the rules of house cleaning. They are universal: you can get rid of grease in the oven, wash mirrors and windows, and clean dust. Also, you can quickly defrost your freezer.

And what cleaning tricks do you know?