Cleaning - ugh! It takes so much time. There are so many fancy cleaning products out there to choose from, it’s overwhelming to know what to choose. The cleaning cloths you use always seem to leave streaks on the mirrors. And, just when you finish cleaning, you find yourself right back at the beginning with new smudges, trudged in dirt, and toilets that seem to need yet another deep scrubbing. It seems like it’s a never-ending chore.

What a hassle!

Feeling as though you can relate a little too much? You are not alone!

Did you know that there are easy cleaning hacks to save you both time and money, making this chore a bit less of a hassle? These hacks could even make cleaning - dare I say it - fun!

It’s true! Here are five cleaning hacks to help make this never-ending chore more enjoyable while making your house sparkle just a bit longer.

General House Cleaning Hacks

You do not need any fancy cleaning products to make your house shine. All you need are vinegar, dish soap and baking soda. These are what the team at Clean Club Calgary uses. For really tough jobs, we do use Bar Keeper’s Friend, but that tends to be it. Why these items?

• Dish soap is a gentle solution that (typically) doesn’t irritate your skin or give off any harmful fumes like many cleaners do over time.

• Baking soda is a versatile cleaning agent that can be used for everything from removing odours to cleaning ovens and sinks. One note - be sure to rinse surfaces thoroughly to avoid leaving a white residue behind.

• White vinegar is a great choice for deep cleaning tasks like descaling coffee makers, removing hard water stains, and cleaning and disinfecting cutting boards.

A few reasons why these common household items are great for general cleaning hacks around the house include:

• A dollop of dish soap in water goes a long way to cleaning your showers, washing your cabinets, baseboards and doors, scrubbing the toilet - literally the entire house.

• With your floors, you can use a mixture of vinegar and water. Just beware as vinegar can be harsh on some materials. Learn more about which dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda concoctions work best on which type of flooring here.

• From a health perspective, when using these basic household items, you reduce the risk of allergies in family members because they do not contain harsh chemicals.

One final general house cleaning hack is to keep a simple pattern when cleaning: clean left to right, top to bottom. This way, you have a rhythm to your cleaning and you’ll never miss a spot.

Maid Service Cleaning Hacks

If you work with a cleaning service, know that you should be allowed to say what products are used in your house. Simply share that vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and dish soap, along with water, are the items you would like used rather than any chemical-based products they may provide. This will help reduce the risk of unintentional damage to your household surfaces because these items are more gentle than traditionally used cleaning products. Before starting your cleaning, let them know that you would prefer to use these common household items for cleaning. This will help ensure that they come prepared with the right tools and materials. Alternatively, they may ask that you provide these items for them to use, along with instructions for how to use them effectively. If this is the case, below are Clean Club Calgary’s recommendations for which products to use where:

• For kitchen cleaning, vinegar and dish soap are great choices for cleaning countertops, appliances, and floors (material dependent).

• For bathroom cleaning, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda can be used to clean and disinfect sinks, toilets, and shower tiles.

• For dusting and vacuuming, microfiber cloths and vacuum attachments are great for getting into tight spaces and removing dust and dirt.

If you have any concerns or questions about using household items for cleaning tasks, your cleaning service should know how to use these items properly, providing you with tips and advice for using them safely and effectively. If not, please reach out to Clean Club Calgary with your questions.

Deep Cleaning Hacks

Once or twice a year, you should complete a deep cleaning of your house. Ideally more…but let’s be realistic. This is the type of clean where you get into all the corners, underneath all the furniture, and behind all the cabinets. Like regular cleaning, we recommend you use baking soda, dish soap and vinegar. However, here is where you’ll use more hydrogen peroxide to help remove tough stains that have built up, disinfect surfaces rather than simply clean them, and eliminate odours that may appear (such as down the garburator).

One thing to note is that hydrogen peroxide is a powerful cleaning agent that can be used to remove stains from fabrics, clean and disinfect surfaces, and even whiten grout. A few notes to consider when using hydrogen peroxide include:

• Always wear gloves and avoid getting the solution in your eyes or mouth. While this product is safer than other cleaners on the market, it still can be harmful if ingested or irritating to the skin.

• To prevent damage to surfaces, test it on a small, inconspicuous area before using it on a larger scale.

• Always make sure to read the labels and follow instructions to use them safely and effectively. This goes for any household cleaning product, including our preferred product, Bar Keeper’s Friend.

In addition to deep cleaning the above-listed areas of the house, there are also items throughout your home that should be deep cleaned. These items often include descaling your coffee maker, polishing your glasses and silverware, cleaning your oven, or purging your fridge of expired items. Another item that should be cleaned - one that many cleaners, including Clean Club Calgary, steer clear of unless given explicit permission to clean - is the China cabinet and all the sentimental, often breakable items contained within. During your deep clean, do a thorough dusting and wipe down the inside and outside of the cabinet and everything in it. Add these types of items to your deep cleaning checklist and you’ll add extra zhuzh to your after-sparkle.

Recurring Cleaning Hacks

There are items that everyone should clean regularly - think the kitchen, bathroom, and vacuuming of high traffic areas. Below are a few tips to help limit your time on these regularly cleaned areas.

• When dusting with a microfiber cloth, spray a bit of water or vinegar onto the cloth so you can easily trap dust, limiting the number of times you have to go over a spot.

• To freshen up a room, place a small bowl of vinegar - ideally in a central spot - and let it sit for a few hours. The vinegar helps absorb unwanted odours, leaving the room smelling fresh.

• Sprinkle a light layer of baking soda on the carpet and let it sit for a few minutes before vacuuming it up. This hack helps eliminate odours often trapped within the fibres, improving the smell of your carpets and rugs.

• Create a checklist of regular cleaning tasks and identify which household items are used for which task. When ready to clean, you’ll know exactly what you need for each room.

• Set a regular day and time for specific cleaning tasks. Note that you do not have to do all your cleaning in one day (unless you want to). Some families have a designated day for dusting and vacuuming, another for bathrooms, and another for laundry. Others choose one day of the weekend to get everything done. The trick is to stay consistent from week to week.

Spring Cleaning Hacks

Spring cleaning is one of my personal favourite times of the year. Similar to deep cleaning, spring cleaning takes “clean” to a whole other level!

Here is where your vinegar and baking soda will truly earn their keep. In addition to all the great cleaning hacks listed above, the following items will benefit from these products:

Windows

Add vinegar to water and wash the inside and outside of your windows with it for extra shine.

Fridges

When cleaning your fridge, scrub inside using diluted vinegar/water solution to eliminate odours and remove any spills or stickiness that may be lurking.

Pots and pans

Add baking soda to your pots and pans, let them sit for a few minutes, add a bit of vinegar, then scour them clean. One warning - do not do this with cast iron items!

Carpets & Furniture

Sprinkle your carpets and upholstered furniture with a light baking soda dusting, let it sit for a few minutes, then vacuum up the soda. On your furniture, use the proper vacuum attachment so as not to damage the material.

For more tips, tricks, and spring cleaning hacks (and checklists), visit our Spring Cleaning blog here.

There is a world of cleaning hacks out there to be discovered. The above are some of the easiest, most cost-effective ones to start with.

Of course, we believe that the best cleaning hack of all is to not have to do it because you work with a professional cleaning service. If this is the hack you’d like to try, then connect with us for an initial quote.