40 handy hints for cleaning every nook and cranny of your house

“One of the handy little tools that I use for cleaning is an electric toothbrush. It’s great for removing stains and grime around the house! To clean up residue and splatters in the kitchen, I use just a bit of baking soda under the spinning toothbrush head to quickly clean the metal sink and plastic dish drying rack. I also use the electric toothbrush with baking soda and a tiny bit of water to scrub grout in both the kitchen and bathroom. Of course, I use a different one for my teeth!” – Ellis Biderson

Don’t worry, that permanent marker stain on your new laminate countertop won’t be there forever! Dab some cooking oil onto a paper towel and then lay the paper towel over the stain that refuses to budge. Wait a few minutes while the oil works to dissolve the stubborn stain. Finally, remove the towel and rub away the stain in circular motions (with some force) with another paper towel dipped in oil. When the stain is gone, wipe the area clean with soap and water. Head here to find out how to remove 12 common stains.

If you own stainless steel kitchen appliances, you may want to consider using car wax to clean them rather than a surface cleaner. Simply apply a light coat of car wax to the appliance, allow time to dry and buff clean to resist fingerprints and smudges. No more kiddy fingerprints on the fridge!

Use this handy hint if there’s an unpleasant smell lurking in your couch or upholstered chair: Sprinkle a generous amount of regular baking soda onto the fabric and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. The baking soda will help to release odours and break up some light stains in the fabric.

After about 20 minutes, remove the baking soda – and the bad smell – with a handheld vacuum or a hose attachment for your large vacuum. Baking soda’s not the only genius cleaning item. Check out 20 clever uses for ammonia you’ll wish you knew sooner.

No need for a special tool to give your window blinds a deep cleaning, just slip a soft (and clean!) sock onto your hand. Your hand is the perfect tool for wiping over, through and under the blinds to get every nook and cranny that collects dust.

Spray a bit of all-purpose cleaner onto the sock for added disinfecting oomph.

“When my bathroom sink gets clogged, I don’t reach for chemicals. Instead, I use a long zip tie. I cut several notches on the zip-ties end. It’ll hook the hair clog, allowing you to pull it out. Problem solved. The size of the eye of the zip tie prevented me from inadvertently pushing the tie past the stopper.” – Rick Holmen

Fabric lampshades are magnets for dust and pet hair. You can’t just throw them in the washing machine, so what do you do? I’ve found that a lint roller works really well. Be careful though, as lampshades are fragile and can even become brittle. A torn lampshade is worse than a dirty one. Meanwhile, head here to find out how to clean flyscreens with a lint roller.

Toilet brushes are relegated to a filthy task, and the thought of what’s leftover on that brush left me a little queasy. So I put a splash of Pine-Sol in the bottom of the brush container. Not only does this help to deodorise my bathroom, but it also disinfects the toilet brush.

Sometimes you need a little bit of creativity to deep clean hard-to-reach areas. If you have a plastic squeeze top bottle, try fitting the tip onto your vacuum nozzle. If it fits, great, if not, there’s always tape. You’ll have a powerful machine to get rid of dirt and dust in even the tiniest of spaces, like a keyboard, headphone port or for detailing your car.

Scratched eyeglasses are a real nuisance and make it hard to see. If your glasses DON’T have antiglare or scratch coating on them, here’s how to get minor scratches out. Put a drop of Brasso on a 100 percent cotton cloth, the softer the better. Apply the product to the lenses, let it dry completely, and then polish out the scratches.