Cleaning Tricks

After spending three days cleaning my butt off (with a lot of help from my mom), I have definitely picked up a few tricks about cleaning. If you’ll be living on your own this year, in an apartment or suite-style residence, hopefully these will come in handy for you.

• Clean as you go: if you wipe up that spill right after it happens, you aren’t going to have to deal with icky dried on stains later. Trust me, dried on stuff is waaaaay harder to clean off. Make a mess and clean it up right away and your cleaning life is going to be so much easier.
• Tilex is surprisingly good at cutting through grease, such as you might find sticking to you cupboards and walls in the kitchen. It’s also perfect for anything you don’t want to get scratched.
• Vim is very good at getting out stains, as well as in the bathtub and sink, but it can scratch more sensitive surfaces such as a glass shower door.
• Pine-Sol is a good multi-purpose cleaner that is also safe for wood, painted surfaces, tile, and marble.
• Wipe up water: after a shower, wipe down the walls with a sponge or squeegee and dry the area around a sink faucet after use to prevent mildew and soap scum buildup and water stains.
• Water will often get the job done. So before you pile on the chemicals, try it with just water first.
• After you wash, dry. Leaving your surfaces wet can damage them.
• When washing windows or mirrors, wipe in circles. For whatever reason this won’t leave streaks.

More tips? Please share!