I've been (mostly) regularly cleaning my house for the past two months now. It's working well. Slowly but surely, the house is getting to a presentable state (except the carpet, but that's a different story).
I'm at the point where I know what works best for the different surfaces in my home. My Mister is the kind of person that will just use Windex or 409 for everything. Which, sadly, is not the right way to go about things.
Different kinds of dirt need different kinds of soap.
I've got a decent handle at this point on what that means for our house.
Kitchen:
- Green Works All-Purpose Cleaner. Just about every surface in my kitchen can be cleaned up with this stuff. Stoves, counters, sink, fridge. I've used it on the floor before and it was fine. I like that it's a "green" product, and that it doesn't have harsh chemicals, because I put food on the counter - I like making sandwiches on the counter. I don't want to be eating whatever-is-in-409-that-makes-it-so-strong.
- Generic Branded Dish Soap. Seriously. Cheap dish soap (but not Ajax, as that stuff has never looked right to me). I use generic Kroger brand. My dishes are clean, I promise.
- Swiffer, both the wet cloths and the sweeper cloths. I hate brooms, as they throw things around. The Swiffer at least catches all the dog hair (which there is a lot of in our kitchen considering the dogs aren't allowed in there!). The wet cloths are fine, since our floors don't get messy enough to need a rough scrubbing (thank goodness).
Bathroom:
- Green Works All-Purpose Cleaner. For the counter, sink, and toilet surfaces. It may take a little more scrubbing, but I'm doing this often enough that the hardest thing to get off is toothpaste, and that fights everything.
- Soft Scrub Total All Purpose Bath & Kitchen Cleanser. For the toilet bowl only. My bottle is almost out and I don't think I will be buying any more, as I don't need it. My shower cleaner should take care of the job this product is doing.
- Vinegar + Dawn Dish Soap. Yup, I use real dish soap for this mess. And it goes in my shower. And it cleans my filthy shower. We live in apartment, and the tub/shower combo is junk, and it just grabs dirt and holds onto it for dear life. So, it's a 50/50 mix of vinegar and dish soap in a spray bottle. Spray, let it sit for a few minutes, scrub, and then it's clean. Well, cleaner, as it's a long process of getting it 100% in there.
- Swiffer, wet cloths and sweeper cloths. Again, for the floor. They do the job, since it's really just water and dog hair that needs cleaning up anyway.
Carpets:
- 409 All-Purpose Cleaner. No seriously. Fresh pet stains? 409 and a cotton cloth. Don't scrub, just lots of pressure. It will almost all come up. I can't actually tell if all of it comes up, since our carpets are past the point of saving, but there is a much less visible spot. This will not work with old stains, though. It may help them, but the stains do not go away with 409 alone, sadly.
- HDX Extractor Carpet Shampoo. The kind you have to buy at Home Depot, and in a very commercial use style of bottle (128 ounces, even!). We have a Hoover steam vac scrub machine...thing. It smells like oranges! And it does a decent job. Our carpets will never be beautiful, but this stuff does help a ton.
- Simple Green. I don't use this, but my mom does, and it works. Do not dilute, just use straight from the spray bottle it comes in, and use like any other carpet cleaner. The stuff smells horribly, though, and you can also use it to clean boat exteriors, so use at your own risk (it's safe, though, honest, just smells bad and may give you a headache).
- Generic Brand Febreeze. It's half the price of the real stuff, and works just the same - which, is to say, not well, but makes me feel better.
So far as cleaning materials go,
- Sponge sponges (no scratchy surface) for the dishes.
- Scratchy/Spongey sponges for kitchen surfaces.
- Dish towels to dry off my counters and stove.
- Scrub brush for the tub and different scrub brush for the toilet.
- Crocheted cotton wash rags for all the other surfaces, which I did up well over two years ago, and they're still going strong.
With everything written out like this, it feels like an awful lot, but it's really not. And, of course, it's my own opinion of what works best for my home.
Do you have any cleaning products you swear by?
~Havok
P.S. This is my laundry detergent! Its fantastic! And cheap!
I've been thinking about getting a Swiffer but it's are not very cheap here. I usually vacuum one day and mop the next day. But it's back-breaking work, yo! How good is a Swiffer at collecting fine dust particles and um, human hair?
ReplyDeleteI actually used Christmas money to get the Swiffer earlier this year, and only bought the pads when they were on massive sale (and once my stash is out, I will be making my own!). They are expensive, and I still use a broom from time to time, but they beat a regular mop, hands down.
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually had much practice with grabbing up human hair...mostly pet hair. I know I have swept up the bathroom after the Mister has shaved (which is rather messy) and it did just fine, but the sweeping cloths are mostly designed for hair and dust. It's actual stuff that it won't get - crumbs and whatnot.
I I also like Green Works cleaners! I use a flannel rag with my swiffer to pick up the cat hair and dust. After I use it goes in the wash. I also use wet microfiber cloths when I need to clean deeper. I no longer buy the pads sold in stores.
ReplyDeleteI love that Green Works are priced the same as everything else, as well. I normally pick up a bottle at $2.79, same as regular Windex!
ReplyDeleteThe Swiffer pads from the stores are awesome, and I love them, but so expensive, they're really not worth the cost, with all the ways to make your own. I will have to pick up some flannel, though, that sounds brilliant!
Thanks for stopping by!!
Oh, do share how you make your own Swiffer pads when you do. I'm still on the fence but I think I'll get one next year just to try out. Mopping is my least favourite chore.
ReplyDeleteYes! I know there are a few different ways to do it, and I do plan on trying more than one way (and all washable, of course!).
ReplyDeleteMopping is horrible, I agree. I've never liked mops in general - very hard to keep the mop itself clean, so I've always felt like I was just pushing dirty water around. For a long time I skipped mopping entirely and just scrubbed the floors by hand, but that's back-breaking work!