Of course, you are a pro at faking a clean home in minutes. But when faced with a major spill or cleaning mess, we want you armed and ready. That’s why we’ve put together the 20 best cleaning tricks that * everyone * should have in their back pocket, from cleaning your bathtub with a grapefruit to using drying sheets on striped shower doors.
RELATED: 18 Essential Cleaning Supplies to Handle Big, Small, and ‘No … Just No’ Messes
There is nothing worse than trying to remove wrinkles from a shirt and accidentally leaving a new stain. This hack asks to pass the hot iron over the salt, which sticks to the accumulation and dirt. Once the iron is cold, you can clean up the dirt immediately.
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Your favorite Le Creuset piece is still rocking the not-so-beautiful remains of last week’s dinner. Fill the pan with water, add vinegar and bring to a boil. Then add the baking soda, let it do its job and drain until it looks like new.
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Your faithful frying pan has definitely seen better days. Return it to its former glory by rinsing it in the sink while it is still hot, sprinkling it with kosher salt and rubbing your heart. Then, just rinse the salt, dry the pan to prevent rust and finish with a vegetable oil pass.
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Believe it or not, it’s totally possible to clean your oven * without * triggering the smoke detector. There is no need to use the automatic high temperature cleaning function when you could just coat the shelves and the interior with a baking soda paste. Let it sit overnight before finishing with vinegar and a dry cloth.
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It turns out that your favorite drink has other Magic power. Place the coffee powder (new or used) in a bowl on the top shelf of the refrigerator and they will absorb any strange odors. Just replace them every two months.
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Not even. Vodka can smell strongly if you smell it straight from the bottle, but if you add it to a spray bottle with water in a one to three ratio, it can really provide a clean, neutral aroma for your home.
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Have you ever dusted a lamp to keep it clean … just to be totally disgusted by all the dust in the air? A lint roller solves this problem. It also works wonders on pets’ hair.
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Needless to say, this hack is our favorite. It’s as simple as stretching your arms across the width of the blanket, parachuting it, sliding off the covers and smoothing it out.
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You and your iced tea were making the walk from the kitchen to the living room very well … until the glass shattered on the floor. It turns out that the bread not only absorbs the spill, but it also picks up all those tiny pieces of glass that you might not see at first.
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Who knew that this citrus fruit could do more than be beautiful and delicious? It is a great cleaning product for bathtubs when sprinkled with salt abundantly. Besides, it smells a lot better than vinegar, doesn’t it?
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Don’t you believe us? Paper and ink act as a mild abrasive that, when dipped in a DIY cleaner, will help give your windows a spotless shine. PS: Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar with 1 liter of water and a little lemon or liquid soap if you run out of Windex.
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Glass shower doors can be a pain: one day they are slightly stained and the next day they are completely covered with film. Your drying sheet is the unlikely hero here. Once moist, it can soften the soap foam just as it softens the fabric.
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OK, this hack takes sticky notes from convenient to simply ingenious. Just pass the sticky part between the keys on the keyboard to collect dust, crumbs and everything else that is hidden between them.
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Seriously – it’s the secret cleaning weapon you never knew you needed in your life.
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Yes, it can do much more than hair. To get rid of water stains on a wooden table, turn the dryer on in a cold to hot setting and blow the stain a few inches apart until it begins to fade.
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Admit it: yours has smelled like popcorn for weeks. To neutralize the odor or clean up a mess that is difficult to reach, fill a bowl with white vinegar and place in the center of the microwave. Close the door and let it work for five minutes. Clean the dirt with a paper towel and … voilà!
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Oil stains on furniture, mattresses and other places are notoriously difficult to treat, but cornstarch is your secret weapon. Mix with water, apply the paste on the grease stain and leave overnight. In the morning, prepare to be amazed.
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These basic pantry items will polish your furniture like a charm. A few drops of apple cider vinegar will remove the dirt from the wood, while the oil will condition it.
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This trick is not only super practical, but is essentially mess-free (meaning that no clumps of dust will be floating on the floor). Simply slide a clean pillowcase over each blade and remove it to collect the dust.
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Like the vent on your hairdryer, your coffee grinder, blinds and baseboards – plus those hard-to-reach corners and crevices between the tap and bathroom tiles.
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1. Clean the remote control with hand sanitizer.
Squeeze a coin-sized drop onto a paper towel and wipe the entire surface. Get more squeaky using a Q-tip between the buttons.
2. Prevent the goo from sticking to the garlic press.
Mix with kitchen spray before use so that any garlic residue will slide off easily afterwards.
3. Shine your pans with ketchup.
Squeeze a bit over a cloth and rub it in the pots and pans to remove the stain.
4. Rinse the blender with soap.
After making a smoothie, fill the dirty blender with water and a washing powder pump. Run at high speed and then rinse.
5. Dump your coffee machine.
Fill the machine with equal parts of vinegar and water and let it run for a few cycles.
6. Deodorize your garbage disposal with a lemon.
Cut the shell and place a piece in each slot of an ice cube tray. Throw the frozen cubes into the tank and crush them with the tap running.
7. Take the pet’s fur with a squeegee.
The rubber blade catches hair in a flash.
8. Deodorize your carpet with baking soda.
Sprinkle baking soda on your rug, let it sit for an hour and vacuum.
9. Clean the dust under your furniture with socks.
Wrap a pair of socks around the head of a broom and use the handle to reach under the sofa or closet. The static adhesion of the socks acts as a magnet for dust.
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