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No shame if you save this now and clean later, tho.
Both the USDA and Good Housekeeping found this actually works; try to do it at least once a week, if not every three days or so. And if you heard that microwaving doesn't help, well — all those news reports were inaccurate.
(It's also essentially equally effective to run your sponge through the dishwasher, on the top rack, with the heat-dry setting, if you prefer to do that instead.)
That'll help prolong its life between cleanings! The sponge holder is $9.99 on Amazon.
And rinse it out with hot water when you're done.
On The Kitchn, they do this about once a month. A pack of 24 microfiber cleaning cloths is $15.49 on Amazon.
This is Barkeeper's Friend too, but already in a paste form (versus the powder form you can make into a paste yourself). A pack of two bottles is $19 on Amazon.
(You can also try baking soda + hydrogen peroxide, but that might take a little more elbow grease.)
This gets rid of any odor, although it won't unclog your garbage disposal — for that, you'll have to call a plumber. This is another product one of our readers recommends (see the review below), and it's available on Amazon, $11.75 for eight uses in a lemon scent.
Promising review: "Holy cow I didn't realize how easy and quick it was to clean a garbage disposal. I stumbled across this through a BuzzFeed article. Very simple instructions, literally takes five minutes and some hot water and VOILA! You have a clean, no-longer-stinky garbage disposal. Anytime I got a whiff of an odor, all I did was drop one of those packs in the disposal and the smell was GONE! Plus the blue foam bubbling through the sink was amusing to watch." —VadersGirl
Just put a little bit of oil on a paper towel, and wipe; it'll come off like a charm! If you don't like the oily residue, just use water and dish soap to clean that right up. (You can also use olive oil for this, but if you do, definitely wash it off; otherwise it might go rancid and smell bad.) From One Good Thing By Jillee.
Logic and Laughter added a few drops of water to make a paste, then scrubbed it onto each dirty burner, let it sit for a few minutes, and wiped it up. If you need a can of the cleanser, you can get a pack of two on Amazon for $12.94.
You simply seal them up in a plastic bag and let it do its work — just don't mix ammonia with any other cleaner, and do read the tutorial on The V Spot before you try this at home.
Then simply wipe clean. From My Thirty Spot. Need a dish brush? Pick one up on Amazon for $5.99.
The razor scraper's key here, because it's the best way to tackle the few spots that will inevitably remain after your initial scrub with the cleanser (which is also included in most kits like these). Don't be afraid to put some elbow grease into it! The kit that produced these gorgeous before and after photos is available on Amazon for $12.98.
You'll still have to use a *little* bit of elbow grease, but really the dish soap's gonna do most of the work for you. From Ask Anna Moseley.
This version's fume-free and recommended by our readers (see the review below). You can get a can on Amazon for $6.44.
Promising review: "My oven was in bad shape. I tried this after seeing it in a BuzzFeed article and it actually worked! Let it sit for about four hours and the nastiness wipes off effortlessly." —Natalie C
From Two Twenty One, who uses CLR (aka Calcium, Lime, Rust). It's available on Amazon: a spray bottle for $10.63 or a one-gallon jug for $19.38.
There are a couple of dishwasher cleaners out there. You can get a pack of six of the tablets used in the photos above from Amazon for $18.99.
Promising review: "This stuff is amazing! I tried EVERYTHING before purchasing this product to try to unclog my old portable Whirpool drain, which had funky sitting water and wouldn't fully drain. NOTHING worked until I got one of these babies. Smell was way better after one use. After the second bottle, smell was gone completely, and after the third round bye bye fully to the drain clog!!! Mind you, I had a really really bad clog from lazy non upkeep of the washer and this will now be a regular treatment to keep the washer FRESH and running smoothly. Nothing worse and more dangerously bacterial than rank sitting dishwasher water and this stuff is a miracle! Will be using in the future!" —Kara
Read more about the differences between use-by, best-buy, and sell-by dates on Women's Health.
You can also use soapy water to wipe out the inside, doors, and seals on your refrigerator and freezer; just make sure to rinse well. If you have glass shelves, let them come to room temperature before you hit them with the hot water — if you don't, they could crack or shatter. The full tutorial's on Martha Stewart.
You can hang it on the included hook or just set it on your shelf; it's $7.83 on Amazon.
This is what I do for my stainless, and it works like a charm; just clean off any big pieces of gunk with soap and water or an all-purpose cleaner, first. From The DIY Girl. Three cans of Pledge are $11.88 ($3.96 each) on Amazon.
They also work well to break up the buildup left on the inside of reusable to-go coffee mugs. A pack of 12 tablets is $8 on Amazon.
It'll also remove any rust stains from color-safe fabrics, among many other surfaces. (Some reviewers use it with a Magic Eraser, for extra oomph). A 24-ounce bottle is $4.98 on Amazon.
Whether it's calcium, lime, rust, or some impossible combination, the pumice stone can take care of it. A pack of two is $8.70 on Amazon.
If your regular toilet brush doesn't get up under there, use a dish brush you keep just for that purpose. Soaking your jets in vinegar involves draining your tank and sealing them with duct tape; get the tutorial on Lil Luna.
Basically it cleans just a little every time your toilet gets flushed. I used this all the time in college and it really does help prevent mildew and toilet rings. Once there's only a teensy bit of the gel left, you can use that to scrub things down, then add another dab. (Although if you have particularly hard or rusty water, you might need something stronger). A pack that will last up to four months is $8.34 on Amazon.
Leave it anywhere from a couple hours to overnight, then remove and voila!
To get the bubbles, add in a dash of baking soda. I've had it work well both with the combo and with just plain vinegar, some people swear the bubbling reaction loosens the particles more quickly. Others note that, once the reaction's over and the bubbles stop, the vinegar will just be water with a bit of salt; but you do you.
From They Are Crafty, who used (can you guess?) Barkeeper's Friend, aka BKF. A pack of two bottles is $19 on Amazon.
From Ask Anna Moseley (who pairs the cleanser with special scouring pads, like these, $4.99 on Amazon).
Any version of BKF should work just fine, but some reviewers swear the glass cooktop version does this particular task better; a bottle is $7.50 on Amazon.
You do have to let it sit for four to five hours (or even overnight), but patience pays off. It's on Amazon for $12.99.
Promising review: "Followed the instructions exactly. Squeezed it on, let it sit a few hours, hosed it off. Zero scrubbing and it removed mold we’ve tried to scrub out for years." —Dev G
(You can also use cotton coil and bleach to the same effect — here's a tutorial — but I've done this and, while effective, it's very fume-y.)
And wash your shower curtain itself, separately and according to the directions on the tag. While you're at it, throw in your bath mats, and change out your towels. Freshen everything! Bitz 'n' Giggles has the step-by-step for washing a shower curtain liner.
Practically Functional also vacuums the fan itself before replacing the cover.
Yep, it works in the bathroom, too. From Cute As A Fox.
You just insert it down your drain, twist it a few times via the handle, let the grabby micro-hooks on the tip (similar to Velcro) do their work on the stuck, clogging hair and debris. Then pull it up, and your sink will drain like it's new! Get one (with five included refills) on Amazon for $17.95.
I use and LOVE this brush, and it's absolutely the easiest and fastest way to clean grout (maybe besides bleach, which I don't like to use). You literally see the dirt come up and the grout lighten with just 30 seconds of use. They make a specialty grout head you can buy for it, but TBH the default brush works just as well, unless you have incredibly narrow grout lines. (Some reviewers like to use it with a grout and tile cleaner, but I just use some Castile soap diluted with water. I haven't tested to see if one is faster than the other!)
You can read my full review of the scrubber brush for more, and it's on Amazon for $16.99.
Adventures of a DIY Mom tested a bunch of different solutions, and this one clearly made the most difference. A two-pound bag of Borax is $12.89 on Amazon.
She used an old toothbrush which totally works, but for something like this I'd reach for a bigger scrub brush to cover more area with less scrubbing effort, like this handled one, $7.99 on Amazon.
You can make your own spray cleaner by mixing one part dish soap with one part warm vinegar (full directions from Goodful); or mix an all-purpose cleaner from a concentrate like Simple Green ($17.25 per gallon for two gallons) or Mrs. Meyers ($15.73 for a half gallon), both on Amazon.
And yes, you can substitute a glass cleaner for your mirror, if you prefer!
From One Crazy House. You could even clean all of your vent covers at once.
Basically, you use a saturated mop to get your floors wet, then squeeze out your mop, use it to soak up the dirty water (in no more than three swoops at a time), and squeeze that dirty water back into your bucket. The Creek Line House has the full how-to. A similar microfiber easy-wring mop (that includes three refill washable mop heads) is $29.99 on Amazon.
In my experience it might take a couple of rounds for your carpet to look brand spankin' new, but it's worth it because this particular spray doesn't bleach out the fibers, doesn't need to be vacuumed up or rinsed, and doesn't attract new dirt to the area after you're done. It works well on all kinds of stains, like grease and oil, pet stains, wine, coffee, rust, food, makeup, and dirt. And can of course double as a laundry stain remover. A 32-ounce bottle is $13.13 on Amazon.
You'll capture all the dust inside the case, so you can go dump it outside or in the trash. And then wash the case, of course. From Homemaker Chic.
From One Crazy House. A pack of 24 microfiber cleaning cloths is $15.49 on Amazon.
It comes with two duster options that you can either use with a handle or the extending pole (which starts at 29 inches and telescopes up to 49 inches). Get it on Amazon for $15.99.
This won't remove any stains, but it will help absorb any lingering odors. Get the how-to from One Good Thing By Jillee.
You only need to do it every few months, but it makes a difference! Get the how-to from The Happier Homemaker.
It works for both top and front loaders, and is yet another product recommended by thousands of reviewers. Six tablets are $11.98 on Amazon.
(Note that if you have a front loader with mold problems, this may help some but probably won't completely fix it. I think the best solution for that problem is prevention: every time you're done with the washing for the day, dry off as many nooks and crannies as you can reach with a towel, and make sure to leave the door open. And yes, that includes that lip under the rubber seal, and I'd even pulls out the detergent drawer all the way to dry that and the area where it sits.)
From Today's Homeowner. A pack of two is $7.95 on Amazon and can also be used to clean your refrigerator coils so it works more efficiently (check your fridge's manual to see if that's something you need to do).
The carpet washer that pulled off this before and after — and has over seven thousand five-star reviews — is $179 on Amazon. And a jug of stain remover is $19.97. Because you're wondering: it's a coffee stain.
You can also try to bleach them out using hydrogen peroxide; that may not remove more than the surface stains, though. Get a how-to here.
Just spritz once or twice, squeegee, and watch it clump up. From CareaBearaSara. A similar squeegee is $9.99 on Amazon.
I've witnessed one of these in action at my boyfriend's parents house and y'all, it's so quick and really does pick up like, all the hair. My sister also uses one and swears by it for picking up the small mountains of hair her pet bunnies leave lying around. You open up the back to empty the hair out when you're done, and it's ready to reuse. It's $24.95 on Amazon.
Of course you could use your hand-held squeegee for this too, but this telescoping broom could make it easier on your back. Reviewers recommend using short, quick, rake-like strokes for the best effect. It's also handy for cleaning big windows and pushing snow off of cars in one swoop. It's $16 on Amazon.