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We’ve all seen those viral cleaning hack videos—those ones that promise us amazement but in the end just leave us with a feeling of “meh.”
What’s the deal with that anyway, internet?
But, I’m here with a list of ordinary items that can *actually* clean well. Some you’ve probably heard before (though you might not know all their uses), some may genuinely surprise you (in a good way), and some may be less than perfect, but great for when you’re in a pinch.
So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Floss (The spool kind, not the pick kind!)
I remember casually lurking at the edges of Fly Lady’s website once and seeing her suggest floss as a cleaning tool. I thought she was slightly crazy.
But, the truth is, floss is a great crevice cleaner—and not just for your teeth. Have a crack or lip that stuff gets caught in, like that line around the base of your sink faucet? Try using floss to scrape it out.
Just pull out a 15-inch piece, wrap either end a few times around a finger on each hand, and “floss” the gunk out.
This works better than just scrubbing with a cleaning brush or rag because it can actually get into those really tight spots.
In addition, you can also use floss to unstick items by running a taught line of floss underneath them.
White Vinegar
You’ve heard it again and again: vinegar is great for cleaning. But what actually makes it great? And how do you use it?
Well, it turns out vinegar contains something called acetic acid (white vinegar has it at a 5% concentration), which is good at breaking down scum and light grease.
Sprucebath recommends mixing it in a 1:1 ratio with water for most surfaces. It works best if you clear debris away first and then spray on the vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes before you come back and scrub.
I’ve done this on my sink and been amazed at how well it got off those old, whitish mineral deposits that never seem to come up with other cleaners!
You can also use vinegar to help renew metal pans, take out stains in laundry (I dilute it with water, add some dish soap, and soak clothes in it—it’s great for berry stains), and as a streak-free glass cleaner (the 1:1 dilution works great for this).
Be aware, though, that vinegar is not the catch all disinfectant that some on the internet claim it is. And, you should avoid putting vinegar on marble or stone countertops, wood floors, and certain ceramics (like terracotta—porcelain is generally okay, as long as it’s diluted).
Also, when it comes to removing odors from the washing machine, I recommend a good enzyme cleaner instead of vinegar.
Tennis Balls
As a child, I remember going to help clean our church building and seeing split tennis balls stuck on broom handles. Why? Well, they were great for scrubbing up black marks on the floor of the church’s gym!
The surface of the tennis ball acts like a sort of brillo pad that picks up rubber scuff marks.
And, as it turns out, tennis balls are also great for scrubbing walls. Just wet one down, rub it on your wall marks, and abracadabra! The marks are gone.
In a pinch, tennis balls also work as dryer balls to help fluff feather pillows and keep things from bunching up.
Denture Cleaning Tablets
This is weird but true! Denture cleaning tablets are great for cleaning hard-to-reach places like the inside of vases or in water bottles, at their bases (I had to finish the rhyme, y’all).
Joking aside, though, I wish I’d known this before I threw out some of my water bottles that I just couldn’t get clean!
It also turns out that denture tablets can also be used for descaling toilet bowls, cleaning jewelry, and unclogging drains. Who knew?
Lint Rollers
Lint rollers are, of course, great at picking up hair and lint—but had you ever thought to use it as a dust or crumb grabber on surfaces you can’t easily vacuum?
I literally watched my mother-in-law use a lint-roller to pick up crumbs off a deflated air mattress this last weekend. It was super-fast and grabbed all the crumbs in just a couple quick passes.
I imagine this would also be great if anyone had snacks in bed (not pointing any fingers here) or if you needed to pick up dust particles on things like a lampshade or upholstered furniture. Martha Stewart also recommends lint rollers for cleaning speakers, drawer interiors, and even spilled glitter.
Toothbrushes (Bonus points if they’re electric!)
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been saved in my cleaning by an old toothbrush. They’re great at scrubbing little cracks and crevices that big brushes can’t reach.
Have vents or small grills you need to clean? Use a toothbrush. Need to get the grout in your kitchen back to its original color? Use a toothbrush. Need to scrub the crevices of your baseboards? Use a toothbrush.
One thing I hadn’t ever considered, though, was using an electric toothbrush to save you energy on the scrubbing action.
Sound expensive? Well, it isn’t as bad as you think—there are some crazy cheap ones out there on Amazon (this is a basic two-pack for about $9).
Hydrogen Peroxide
You’ve heard it before, but there’s a reason you keep hearing it. Hydrogen Peroxide is a good cleaner!
Because it’s a natural bleaching agent, lots of people like to use it for grout (just mix equal parts baking soda and hydrogen peroxide) or to brighten up whites in the laundry (pour some standard, 3% dilution into the bleach spot for your washer before running the load).
You can also use it for removing protein and plant-based stains in fabrics (though you want to be careful with colored fabrics), and WebMD recommends it for disinfecting porous materials—like wood cutting boards—that you wouldn’t want to use a harsher disinfectant on.
Additionally, some people will pour a little bit into a bowl of water and use it as a produce wash!
Baking Soda
What everyday cleaner list would be complete without baking soda?
Now, let me be clear—baking soda is not a crazy harsh cleaner, so it shouldn’t be your go-to for really stuck-on, old messes (try borax instead), but it does have its uses!
A paste of baking soda is a great, food-safe cleaner for ovens, stove-tops, and pans. The slight alkalinity helps break down stains, while the abrasiveness aids in scrubbing. This paste can also be used on lightly soiled floors and grout.
Oh, and if you have baked-on oils to clean up, try making your baking soda paste oil-based to better pick up the polymers.
Additionally, baking soda is great at soaking up moisture and odors, so many people use baking soda as a carpet cleaner. Just sprinkle it on, let it rest for a while, and then vacuum it up. One person on reddit swore that it took skunk odor out of their carpets after an incident with their dogs!
Lemons
We see cleaning hacks with lemons all over the internet, but are they really all that great?
The answer is yes! Similar to vinegar, lemons are acidic, which makes then great for breaking down mineral deposits and cutting through mild grease.
You can clean pans with half of a lemon and some salt (see the next point), polish furniture with a 2:1 ratio of olive oil and lemon juice, treat laundry stains (works best if you let it sit for a bit and then come back and scrub), run frozen cubes of vinegar and lemon rind through your garbage disposal, and even make a powerful, eco-friendly, fermented lemon cleaner.
(You can get a recipe for it here—though you should note that this is specifically a cleaner, not a disinfectant).
Oh, and apparently if you put a lemon wedge in your dishwasher while it runs it’ll boost cleaning power and leave things smelling fresh!
Salt
Yes, you read that right. Salt can be used for cleaning!
How, you might ask?
Well, salt is actually a great abrasive. Lots of people on the internet love using salt to scour pans—especially cast-iron ones that can be damaged by other cleaners.
Want an extra boost? Combine salt with lemon juice, vinegar, or even Listerine (see down below) for extra break-down power (Just don’t use the acids on cast-iron! It’ll ruin the seasoning.)
Another way that salt can be used for cleaning is to absorb liquids. Have a casserole that overflowed in the oven? Sprinkle some salt inside on the spill. (Make sure you’re careful!) The salt will absorb the liquid, prevent smoke, and make it way easier to scrape up later!
Cornstarch
This one is simple, but effective. Have an oil stain to get out? Cornstarch is your key.
Sprinkle it on the stain, let it sit for 20 minutes or so, scrape with a toothbrush, apply detergent (or dish soap, which is what I like to use), and wash. The cornstarch will absorb the stain from the material, and the detergent or dish soap will pick up what remains.
(I should note that the credit for this method goes to Martha Stewart, who shared it on air many years ago).
Also worth noting is that cornstarch’s absorbance isn’t limited to fabrics—it can also get up car oil spills on the driveway!
Borax
My childhood memories of Borax include never having it on hand for crafts (though I believe my mom did finally get a box for us). I later learned it could be used for laundry as a brightener, but I didn’t know about its cleaning properties until recently.
Borax is actually a naturally occurring compound known as sodium tetraborate. It’s naturally alkaline (the opposite of acidic), and has a pH of 9.5, which makes awesome for breaking things down (similar to our acidic cleaning friends on the other end of the pH spectrum).
Cleaning methods using borax include putting 1/4 to 1/2 cup in the toilet bowl to soak (it will remove stains and mineral build-up), mixing it with a tiny bit of lemon juice to make a stain and rust-removing paste, sprinkling it in carpet to deodorize and freshen it (I’ve done this in the carpet of rentals and it made a difference!), and even diluting it in water (1 Tablespoon of borax for every 2 cups of water) to make an all-purpose cleaning spray,
You should be aware though, that just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be handled with caution—Borax is irritating if it gets on skin, and you should avoid breathing it in. It should also never be ingested (just like how you shouldn’t ingest other cleaners).
Shaving Cream (The classic, puffy white kind!)
This is one of the most surprising items on this list, but reddit backs it up: classic, white shaving cream is a great stain and odor remover!
Kelly the cleaning girl says that it’s shaving cream’s surfactants (the chemicals that make it foam) that lift dirt and smells right off surfaces.
You can use it as an upholstery cleaner, to get rid of urine odors around the toilet, to clean your car, and even as an anti-fogging chrome and mirror polish. (Apparently you just wipe with shaving cream, and your mirrors won’t fog for weeks!)
However, you should be careful not to use it on stone or some ceramics—the shaving cream can remove the finish over time.
Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is a classic disinfectant, but it’s often underestimated in the home. I mean, hello, it’s alcohol! That’s the stuff in hand sanitizer and tons of wipes. It’s great at killing bacteria!
If you want a simple, natural disinfectant for your home, just throw 70% ethyl rubbing alcohol in a basic misting spray bottle, coat surfaces and let them sit for a few minutes before wiping dry.
Note that this is specific to ethyl rubbing alcohol (which you can buy at Walmart or on amazon)—isopropyl also disinfects, but it fails to kill a number of hydrophilic bacteria, like adenovirus and norovirus, which ethyl alcohol can handle.
Some people also recommend ethyl alcohol as a deodorizer for mattresses and other spaces (it kills the bacteria causing the stench).
Mouthwash (Specifically the original Listerine!)
Listerine was originally introduced as a solution for sanitizing surgical instruments in 1879. And while you shouldn’t depend on it as a disinfectant, since there are better products out there, the essential oils in Listerine do a great job of cleaning, reducing bacteria and controlling odors in a pinch.
Apartment Therapy recommends using it as a soak and wash for toilets and sinks, a natural drain deodorizer, and a good additive for fighting mildew smell in laundry.
Just be sure to use the original, yellow Listerine. Other colors leave stains!
Don’t Estimate the Power of Everyday Cleaners
Whew! That was quite the list. Thanks for sticking with me through it! I hope you found some great tips for cleaning with the stuff you have around the house.
Let me know in the comments below about your everyday items that pack a secret, cleaning-power punch!
