Best cleaning products that make things quick and painless

[DawnM]

I hate, hate, hate cleaning. I TRY to keep the areas that are visible somewhat presentable at all times.

What makes cleaning easier?

Cordless Vac for quick pick ups?
Disposable wipes?
Dusting products?
Toilet cleaning products?

Just curious what you all do maybe weekly that doesn't require hours, a bucket, bending over, and scrubbing????

Dh and I have been discussing maybe a cordless Vac that could stay in the kitchen for daily quick pick up of our kitchen hardwood flooring.

 

[ceecee]

I had a cordless, but it didn't pick up as well as my Dyson so in the end it was just easier to get out the Dyson. I have a steam mop that I love, it elimates the bucket and mop. It's a Haan although I liked my Shark better.

 

[DawnM]

I had a cordless, but it didn't pick up as well as my Dyson so in the end it was just easier to get out the Dyson. I have a steam mop that I love, it elimates the bucket and mop. It's a Haan although I liked my Shark better.

Your Dyson isn't cordless?

We have a central vac, so I just need something to do a quick daily job.

I can't use any of that on my hardwood floors, steam or mop.

 

[barkley]

I hate, hate, hate cleaning. I TRY to keep the areas that are visible somewhat presentable at all times.

What makes cleaning easier?

Cordless Vac for quick pick ups?
Disposable wipes?
Dusting products?
Toilet cleaning products?

Just curious what you all do maybe weekly that doesn't require hours, a bucket, bending over, and scrubbing????

Dh and I have been discussing maybe a cordless Vac that could stay in the kitchen for daily quick pick up of our kitchen hardwood flooring.

I hate the look of even a mildly dirty bathtub, so I do this several times a week-I keep a pop up container of flushable 'tush wipes' on the bathroom counter so that after someone has taken a bath and the water/bubbles are gone I can grab a few and take less than 30 seconds to wipe out the tub. it REALY helps keep soap scum from building up.

for quick EFFECTIVE dusting I use fleece. when one of us has a pair of fleece pjs or lounging pants ready to toss I cut the legs off and make loops I can fit over my hand to use. fleece is like a magnet with dust so it makes the task much faster. one tip I learned working in a furniture store for 3 years during college-don't spray dust polish directly on furniture. the propellant in some brands can hasten the breakdown of veneers so it's better to spray the product on the dust cloth.

I stopped buying liquid glass cleaning products several years ago when I was given a can of a foam based. now if I see a smudge I can just attack it b/c the foam products don't dribble down the rest of the window (or mirror) requiring a cleanup of the entire pane (great stuff when dealing with large sliding glass doors which in our house get smudges around the handles).

got hard water stains-try 'brew rite' cleaner. it's made to put through coffee pots to clean them but added to hot water it can be sprayed on stuff to set for a while and works wonders. you can literally take a water glass that's covered in hard water stains-put it into a small container of hot water w/brew rite and see the build up slide off when you take the glass out a few minutes later. I use it for my sink, shower and tub fixtures as well.

stainless steel-I use Clorox or Lysol wipes to do quick cleans but I tried a ton of products to do periodic 'shine ups' on them-nothing worked UNTIL dh and I needed to get something for our hot tub and I noticed that the bbq/pool store we were at had several high end stainless steel bbqs on display that were nice and shiny and showed no fingerprints (I'm knew from the furniture store days that was a never ending battle with display items). I asked the manager what product they used-'sheila shine'. this stuff is AWSOME, and the only stainless steel cleaner I've found that doesn't leave a slightly greasy residue. I use it on all our stainless appliances.

if you've got any carpeting-invest in a steam cleaner (a couple hundred dollars-pays for itself as compared to renting within a handful of uses). if we have a spill on the carpet/upholstered furniture we can quickly attack it so it doesn't set in.

 

[Pembo]

Vinegar. It's my main household cleaning product. I have a spray bottle of vinegar, water and a touch of Dawn to clean my floors. I use vinegar as Downy in the wash.

I do like those flushable toilet things to clean the toilets.

To answer op's question - what makes cleaning easier? Having your kids do it. LOL

 

[DawnM]

I have read not to use Vinegar on natural stone. Our showers have natural stone (travertine), our bathroom floors are travertine, our countertops are granite.

Maybe what I read was wrong info?

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Fiberglass showers - impossible to clean until I found Easy Off Fume Free Oven Cleaner (blue can). It works like a charm...no scrubbing necessary if you do it often enough. The soap sum build up just wipes right off leaving the shower white and sparkling!

 

[tvguy]

Fiberglass showers - impossible to clean until I found Easy Off Fume Free Oven Cleaner (blue can). It works like a charm...no scrubbing necessary if you do it often enough. The soap sum build up just wipes right off leaving the shower white and sparkling!

Wonder if that oven cleaner would work on toilets? We remodeled 2 years ago and put in nice Kohler toilets. Problem is, unlike the cheap contractor grade toilets we had, you can't use any abrasive cleaners (comet, ajax, pumice stone) on the special glazed coating. We are having a tough time keeping mineral rings out. Lime Away, CLR, vinegar, bleach and all the typical non-abrasive toilet cleaners just don't cut it.

 

[barkley]

orange spray from the dollar store ('awesome orange')-I keep it next to the kitchen sink. spray it on any cookware and add hot water-within minutes the worst stuck on stuff slides off.

I have read not to use Vinegar on natural stone. Our showers have natural stone (travertine), our bathroom floors are travertine, our countertops are granite.

Maybe what I read was wrong info?

no-we were advised the same. citrus and vinegar containing products can cause etching at worst-dulling at least.

 

[barkley]

Wonder if that oven cleaner would work on toilets? We remodeled 2 years ago and put in nice Kohler toilets. Problem is, unlike the cheap contractor grade toilets we had, you can't use any abrasive cleaners (comet, ajax, pumice stone) on the special glazed coating. We are having a tough time keeping mineral rings out. Lime Away, CLR, vinegar, bleach and all the typical non-abrasive toilet cleaners just don't cut it.

try the brew rite cleaner I mentioned above-empty the water out of the toilet bowl, put hot water into the bowl with some of the brew rite (up to a level above the ring)-let sit for awhile, scrub with whatever you are using now. we have well water/no water softener-it works quite well (and totally non abrasive).

 

[Hikergirl]

I make my own shower cleaner that works great, no scrubbing needed. It has vinegar so it won't work for you OP.
I think clorox wipes were the best invention since clorox LOL. I keep some under every sink in the house, perfect for quick daily wipe downs.
I'm also a fan of the foam glass cleaner.
Microfiber cloths for dusting.

 

[tvguy]

try the brew rite cleaner I mentioned above-empty the water out of the toilet bowl, put hot water into the bowl with some of the brew rite (up to a level above the ring)-let sit for awhile, scrub with whatever you are using now. we have well water/no water softener-it works quite well (and totally non abrasive).

I will. Thanks. I grew up with hard well water, so I grew up with comet and ajax and pumice stones to keep the rings out of toilets.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Norwex - You can clean and sanitize your entire house with only water and their cleaning cloths. I don't use any cleaners anymore other than maybe a little bit of vinegar in my mop water if my floor seems a little sticky.

 

[LJSquishy]

You can mop hardwoods... You need a microfiber mop head (I use a rectangular mop by O-Cedar and warm water) and run it under water and wring until just damp. No need to use a "cleaner".

I use vinegar and water for just about everything else. I dust with a dry microfiber cloth, clean mirrors with Method glass cleaner (only because I still have some...I've had the same bottle for several years, it just lasts forever!), scrub tubs/shower tile with baking soda and vinegar or water, and use baking soda with vinegar for toilet bowls or occasionally will buy Method or 7th Gen toilet cleaner if I'm lazy. I do use wipes for handles, light switches, faucets, etc since I want to kill germs there.

Oh, and I do use a cordless vacuum for the kitchen. Mine is the Electrolux Ergorapido Ion (lithium Ion battery is important to have). The Hoover Linx is also a good one, and Shark just recently came out with a Rocket cordless one I think. Dyson also has a couple but I didn't care much for it...I only used it once at someone's house so if I tried it several times I might have liked it more.

 

[mjkacmom]

My roomba changed my life. With 5 kids and a dog, I was vacuuming almost daily! Now, I set it lose every morning, and once a week upstairs.

I also use flushable toilet pads and swifter duster.

 

[crisi]

My roomba changed my life. With 5 kids and a dog, I was vacuuming almost daily! Now, I set it lose every morning, and once a week upstairs.

I also use flushable toilet pads and swifter duster.

I was about to say the same thing....the Roomba is beyond awesome if you are looking for painless (it isn't quick - you run it for about two hours then it docks itself to recharge and you empty out the tiny little bin. And they aren't cheap, but when my floors are done I find myself WANTING to make everything else looks as good.) Then I have a hand vac for the stairs.

 

[aaarcher86]

Thirding a roomba (although mine is a Bobi). We run it at 3am when everyone is asleep and I'll run it during the day if I need to.

We bought a stick vacuum for upstairs for quick vacuuming.

Those things that go in the toilet tank really help to keep the toilet clean and the bathroom smelling nice. Love the blue water.

I spray Method shower cleaner after the shower and it smells awesome and keeps the soap scum from building, but probably wouldn't work for the stone.

I don't think there's a lot of hacks. Cliche as it sounds, getting a room clean and then keeping it clean on a schedule is the best and fastest way to clean and keep everything looking nice.

 

[DawnM]

I sold my roomba. I would have to pick up everything first and because we have a huge open floor plan, it would die in the middle of the floor.

I think I would do better with a quick cordless Vac and having a kid do it in the kitchen and dining room once per day or once every other day.

 

[mommajo143]

We had a neat-o it was awesome. Our dog hair killed it though & we have t gotten another one yet. It really was awesome.

 

[crisi]

I sold my roomba. I would have to pick up everything first and because we have a huge open floor plan, it would die in the middle of the floor.

I think I would do better with a quick cordless Vac and having a kid do it in the kitchen and dining room once per day or once every other day.

I lay down something the Roomba can't get around so that I wall off portions of my floorplan. And I've never found it a huge deal to get things off the floor - its shoes around here - maybe the couch pillows have fallen to the floor. But I don't have little kids - although when I did have little kids, all toys went into a laundry basket - and we only ever had one laundry basket of toys out at a time. And my kids were never lego kids.