house cleaning

[Mountain Mama]

I'm looking for inspiration.  Do you have any amazing housecleaning tips, recommendations for favorite cleaning tools or products etc. ?   What can you just not clean your house without?

~Blessings~
  Cindy

[fishermanwife]

Hmmm tools and tips.... I found out yesterday when my back was out that bribing kids with quarters gets the towels folded, dishwasher ran, and floor picked up lol.

[Cheryl]

I can't clean mine without vinegar.  I keep a spray bottle with a mixture of Dawn dish soap and vinegar.  I use this on a lot of things.  I clean the counters with it, the bathroom fixtures, etc.  I spray it on laundry stains before tossing items into the washer.  I use white vinegar as a fabric softener.  I sprinkle baking soda in the tub, toilet, and sink, and then pour in vinegar.  I let it foam for a bit then I scrub them clean.  I use vinegar as a rinse aid in my dishwasher too.  I clean windows and mirrors with vinegar too.  Can you tell I like vinegar?

[Rooney]

Hmmm tools and tips.... I found out yesterday when my back was out that bribing kids with quarters gets the towels folded, dishwasher ran, and floor picked up lol.

Haaahaaa!! Someone else who does this.   It also works to get them to conserve soap and toilet paper! LOL

[Alice]

Here's a good one for you all.  I rarely clean anymore!

You might wonder if I'm crazy. Here's the deal--our previous home had such rotten, lousy orangish water that I had to clean the sinks, toilets, etc. everyday with The Works to keep is from turning orange. We couldn't even drink the water and had a huge jug of water with a pump on our counter. Fast forward to our move to our "new" house and to wonderful and clean smelling and good tasting water that NEVER stains the sinks or toilets.  I am so delighted that nothing turns a funny color that I often wait and wait wondering when it's going to happen before I clean.  Why clean something that is not dirty! 

OK, so I do clean once in a while. We used so many chemicals in our old home and even brought the store bought toilet bowl cleaner to our new home but as soon as that is gone, I'm switching to vinegar and baking soda. I will admit that I do use comet cleaner for my kitchen sink about once a week. OK, I'll admit I clean the shower about once every three weeks. Sorry folks if that grosses you out but living in a house that has great water with no staining versus a house that had terrible water that I cleaned EVERY SINGLE DAY because everything was orangish makes me not apologize.  Laundry is white again instead of dingy.

I'm going to rid my house of cleansers and attempt home-made cleansers but I think vinegar and soda is the choice for me. Any ideas would be helpful too so bring them on!

Alice

[Mountain Mama]

How about kitchen floors?  It's getting harder for me to get down on my hands and knees to scrub but I don't feel like I can get the edges and corners very well with a mop.  Maybe this is where the kids and the quarters come in lol.

~Blessings~
  Cindy

[Cheryl]

This is definitely where the kids and quarters come in!   

My almost 10 yr. old loves to clean, especially sweeping and dusting.  I only hope it lasts!

[Shelly]

I soak orange peels in vinegar for 2 weeks and then strain it and use that for all purpose cleanser.  Baking soda and water for heavier jobs and Barkeeper's friend for really grungy stuff, like the stove after canning. 

My biggest tip is to clean as I go.  I take a rag with me as I put the kids to bed and wipe down a few things as I leave.  I spot vacuum during the day and I never leave a room empty handed.  I fill up a sink of soapy water and wash as I cook.  With toddler twins, a very old dusty house in the desert, 4 cats and a bunny, my house looks like a wreck if I don't keep on top of it.

[bobbie78]

Yeah, I agree with Shelly. Clean as you go.  Big time saver. I have bad knees (4 wheeler wreck) and its is near impossible for me to scrub my floors on knees. But sometimes I HAVE to. My kitchen is a bit dingy. I've got to stay on top of the floor in there. I fill the sink up and do dishes as I go just like Shelly. I like to clean with pine-sol. Wish I could switch to something cheaper and be happy. But I miss the smell of pine-sol. Past few months I havent been able to buy it and have been using vinegar and water. It does clean but I miss the smell of pine sol.

[greyhoundgirl]

Microfiber cloths!  I hate the feel of them if my hands are dry but they work wonders when wiping things down.  Mine are cheapie ones from Big Lots and the like, not the expensive brands.  These help get the grunge off baseboards, doors (ever notice all the dirtyish marks around the doorknobs ), the dirty mark where the dog leans on the wall, you name it.  They are great for cleaning just about everything from what I've found.  The one tip I'd say is to wash them alone, not with regular towels or cleaning cloths due to the lint they'll attract.

[Shelly]

I second what catherine said.  Microfiber cloths are great.  I especially love them for cleaning the kitchen table after a meal.  It really gets gunk up.  I've found that they lose that weird feeling on my hands after they've been washed a dozen times or so, so I just hate the feeling of new ones.  And I also agree with the washing them alone.  I made that mistake and was picking lint off them for a couple weeks.  I had washed and dried them with terry cloth....oy! 

[Alice]

so are microfiber clothes meant to be use moist or dry? I thought they should be dry but in order to clean it sounds like they need to be wet. I also dislike the feel of them on my hands and I'm pretty sure I don't have them anymore. Oh, no, now I wish I kept them. I'll look in my linen closet to see if they got stuffed in there.

Alice

[greyhoundgirl]

so are microfiber clothes meant to be use moist or dry? I thought they should be dry but in order to clean it sounds like they need to be wet. I also dislike the feel of them on my hands and I'm pretty sure I don't have them anymore. Oh, no, now I wish I kept them. I'll look in my linen closet to see if they got stuffed in there.

Alice

Depends on what you're cleaning.  They're good for dusting or drying things when dry.  But for scrubbing, they need to be wet.

[bobbie78]

These microfiber clothes....do you need to use a cleaner on them??

[greyhoundgirl]

These microfiber clothes....do you need to use a cleaner on them??

You can, but they work great just wet and wrung out.  If I am doing something really greasy, I might still use cleaner, but for most things, they work fine without.