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    26 Cleaning Hacks That'll Probably Make You Think, "Why Didn't I Know About These Sooner"

    Quick, smart solutions for everyday messes.

    1. Dust your ceiling fans with an old pillowcase to trap the grime, instead of just brushing it back into the air and onto your floor.

    Blogger reaches up and grabs the pillowcase in two hands around a fan blade

    2. Microwave a bowl of lemons and water to make all the gunk come out in one easy swipe.

    before: a microwave splattered with food residue and after: the same microwave, completely clean

    3. Vanquish the cloudy scum buildup on glass shower doors, no elbow grease required, with a few dollops of cooktop cleaner.

    4. Mix cream of tartar and water into a thick paste to clean that sticky dust buildup that nothing else seems to touch.

    5. Or you can immediately erase that greasy dust by dabbing a little mineral oil on a cleaning cloth.

    before: blogger Jillee's grimy stove top and panel, dripping with dusty grease; after: the same spot, now completely clean

    6. Wipe your baseboards with dryer sheets to help them repel dust and pet hair.

    bounce box on floor with arrows pointing to baseboards

    7. Dissolve hard water stains on your water faucets by wrapping them up in vinegar-soaked paper towels for an hour — they'll wipe off in one go.

    reviewer's oil rubbed bronze faucet before, crusted with white hard water stains, and after, dark brown and no stains in sight

    8. Banish embedded pet hair from any upholstered surface — in your car or in your home — by spritzing the the area with water, then scraping it up with a squeegee.

    blogger's carpet, squeegee, and pile of hair they've scraped up with the squeegee

    9. Rubber-band a plastic bag filled with vinegar around your shower head and it will basically de-scale and deep-clean itself.

    plastic bag filled with bubbly liquid over my showerhead, rubber band holding it in place

    10. Bust through cooked-on grime on your oven glass by scrubbing with a Magic Eraser.

    oven glass partially cleaned by very dirty looking magic eraser sponge

    FYI, you can find dupes of the original Magic Erasers on Amazon for cheap — they're just rectangles of melamine foam.

    11. Run your ceiling and floor vents through a rinse cycle in the dishwasher to quickly remove all the built-up dust.

    ceiling and floor vents in the bottom rack of a dishwasher

    12. Scrub out rust stains from your tub and shower using a combination of Dawn dish soap and vinegar, followed by a good scouring with a Magic Eraser.

    13. But if your rust buildup's REALLY bad (or you have better things to do besides all that scrubbing) fall back on scientifically-proven chemistry, aka this powerful spray.

    14. Team up with Barkeeper's Friend and a scrubbie pad to make the burnt-on bits on pots and pans vanish right before your eyes.

    15. Spritz some Windex to clean crayon scribbles off painted walls without scrubbing off paint or leaving residue behind.

    blogger's taupe wall with windex sprays on it that says, "remove crayon grease with glass cleaner!"

    16. Reach for bleach or a specialty cleaner when faced with surface mold (aka mildew) in your shower — oh, and a good scrub brush.

    model working in shower with mildew, bleach, and a a bleach, detergent, and water mixture

    17. And if you have *surface* mold on your walls, first clean it with diluted bleach, let dry, then cover the area with a mold-killing primer.

    18. Ditch the hard water buildup on your faucets the same way you did the shower: with a rubber band, plastic bag, and vinegar.

    19. Whiten a grungy porcelain sink with a paste of baking soda and a little bit of hydrogen peroxide.

    20. Prevent water spots on your chrome faucets by rubbing them with wax paper. It'll also keep 'em extra shiny!

    21. Then "wax" your metal shower curtain rod to help your curtain slide more easily.

    22. Shine up your refrigerator and any other stainless steel appliances with a coat of Pledge.

    The blogger's stainless fridge, a towel laid down in front of it, one door covered in dried Pledge

    23. Lay down a layer of wax paper or paper bags on the tops of cabinets and furniture — especially in the kitchen — to catch greasy dust, then simply swap it out months later when it gets grimy.

    24. Quickly de-fuzz and eliminate greasy dirt from a screen door or window screen by running a lint roller over each side.

    25. And pull out a lint roller to quickly pick up all the dust that's built up on your lampshades...well, since the last time you cleaned your lampshades.

    blogger using lint roller on lampshade

    26. Stop buying single bottles of all-purpose cleaner — instead, mix your own by pouring a capful of concentrate into a reusable spray bottle filled with water.

    simple green gallon, mrs meyers refill bottle, and spray bottle sitting on kitchen cabinet

    You, after trying out even just one or two of these hacks: