19 House Cleaning Hacks from Professional Cleaners

Last update: 2 weeks ago

Home is where we should feel the most comfortable, relax after a long day or just spend quality time with family and friends. And part of that comfort is cleanliness.

However, we often don’t have the energy to clean the whole house or apartment. It’s a feeling that we’ve all experienced. It’s hard to overcome, and with time the chores keep piling up.

This is why we composed a list of cleaning hacks that will show you how to clean your home fast. Keep reading to see what the professional cleaners advise!

General cleaning tips

These house cleaning tips focus on getting the order right so you don’t waste time or redo work. A few smart habits can make the whole process quicker and far less frustrating.

Dust from top to bottom

A common mistake is starting to clean the easiest to reach places. The number 1 house cleaning hack any professional cleaner will give you is to dust from top to bottom, so you don’t undo all the hard work you just put in.

If you clean the bottom first, you will inevitably get dust later on when you are cleaning the top. If we’ve just renovated, take a look at our guide on how to clean up construction dust.

Start with high spots like shelves, curtain rails, and light fixtures, then move to surfaces and finish with the floors. This simple tip cuts your cleaning time because you won’t need to redo anything.

Move all furniture and clean underneath

Big furniture like sofas, cabinets and tables can collect quite a bit of dust underneath them. Yes, you don’t see it, but you can certainly sense it, if you start to sneeze every time you enter the room.

If moving everything feels like too much, shift one or two pieces each time you clean. Over a few sessions, you’ll cover the whole room without turning it into a full-day job.

Wiping the dust from your furniture and vacuuming the floor is the best and easiest way to make your home feel fresh and keeps the house clean for longer.

When cleaning your kitchen, leave the stove and oven for last

If you can name one item in your kitchen that is dirty as hell, it’s the stove. Unless you get a professional to clean your oven and stove – leave them to be cleaned last.

This is a rather weird house cleaning hack, but the logic is this: leave the worst, greasiest spot until the end, and clean the general kitchen first.

You can spray the oven/stove leave it to soak, clean everything else, then come back and wipe it easily. You can even use the same sponge on the oven that you cleaned everything else with. After that, you just throw it away.

Dusting & everyday surface cleaning

These easy house cleaning tips help you stay on top of everyday dust and mess. Small, regular efforts here make a big difference and keep your home looking consistently clean.

Clean your ceiling fan with a pillowcase

The only way to clean your ceiling fan without getting dust everywhere is to slip on a pillowcase over each blade.

The inside of the pillowcase wipes the blade, the dust gets trapped inside the fabric and Instead of falling down, it stays in the pillowcase

You’re cleaning and collecting the dust at the same time, instead of letting it fall onto your furniture and floors, which saves you an extra cleaning step.

Use a lint roller to dust off the lampshade

The next cleaning house tip comes here, as a lampshade can be pretty tricky to dust. They’re often made from fabric or paper, which can tear, stain, or trap dust deep in the fibres. If you wipe them with a damp cloth, you only smear the dust and leave marks.

A lint roller works better because it lifts dust gently. Just roll it lightly over the surface of the lampshade. Work your way from top to bottom and don’t press too hard.

If the shade is heavily dusty, go over it a couple of times with fresh sheets. The key is to lift the dust, not spread it

Vacuum curtains and upholstered furniture

It’s inescapable that this dust won’t end up on everything, including the upholstered furniture and curtains. Get a vacuum cleaner with an attachment that’s suitable for cleaning them.

Another suggestion is to invest in a steam cleaner. This way, you won’t have to take down your curtains and put them back on. Plus, there’s always professional upholstery cleaning.

Go slowly over the fabric and focus on seams, edges, and folds. That’s where dust, hair, and crumbs hide the most. Do it once a week, and you will reduce allergens in your home.

Clean your plants

Clean your plants by wiping them down with a soft cloth. Some plants can even be washed under the shower.

Dust blocks sunlight, so clean leaves can actually help your plants grow better, not just look nicer. If you’re unsure, test on one leaf first to avoid damaging sensitive plants.

Bathroom cleaning tips

Bathrooms can get messy quickly, but the right cleaning house tips make them much easier to manage.

Clean dirty bathrooms with household chlorine bleach

This is a two parter cleaning hack for your bathroom.

The first part is to mix it 3/4 bleach with a gallon of water. The second is to clean your bathroom in sections. Clean one section, let some time pass (4-5 minutes) and clean the next. Repeat until the whole bathroom is clean.

Always open a window or turn on ventilation when using bleach, as the fumes can be strong. Never mix bleach with other cleaners, especially anything with ammonia. It creates dangerous fumes.

Clean the bathroom fixtures with a window cleaning detergent

The steam and overall moisture of the room may lead to scale stone build-up on the fixtures. In time they will end up nasty-looking.

So, wipe the fixtures dry after cleaning to stop water spots from forming again. Regular quick wipes are easier than dealing with heavy limescale later.

Shine chrome faucets with toothpaste

The best way to shine those chrome faucets in the bathroom is to rub a bit of toothpaste on them. After that, wipe them with a wet sponge to remove any water stains and hard water from them. 

Use a soft cloth to buff the surface after cleaning to bring out the shine. Avoid scrubbing too hard to prevent fine scratches.

Want more tips? Take a look at our extensive How to Clean Chrome Taps guide.

Kitchen cleaning hacks

This section is packed with house cleaning hacks for one of the busiest areas in your home. From grease to clogged drains, these tips help you clean smarter, not harder.

Unclog drains with baking soda and vinegar solution

Here is a cleaning hack for your kitchen drains. The non-chemical way to unclog your drains consists of 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup hot water. Pour the baking soda down the drain after it the vinegar and the hot water last. Cover the drain with either a wet towel or a plug and wait five minutes. After the time has passed, rinse with boiling water.

This method works best for slow drains and regular maintenance, not fully blocked pipes.

Repeat once a month to prevent build-up rather than waiting for a clog.

Clean dishwasher with baking soda

It’s easy to forget to clean the dishwasher. The thing is, that with time, the machine starts to stink. So sprinkle a bit of baking soda on a damp sponge and clean any surfaces that you can reach.

Also clean the filter at the bottom, as that’s where food and grease tend to collect. Running an empty hot cycle after cleaning helps remove any remaining odours.

Use a ball of tin foil to scrub off baking dishes

Having baked-on food on your baking dish can be pretty hard to clean. Use a ball of tin foil and spray some dish soap. Scrub until clean.

This works best on metal trays and should be avoided on non-stick coatings, as it can damage them.

Glass and shiny surfaces

Streaks and smudges can ruin the look of an otherwise clean home. These tips help you get that clear, polished finish on windows, mirrors, and shiny surfaces.

Clean your windows using vinegar

If you’re a fan of DIY or you just want to use less detergents while cleaning, then you might like this recipe. Mix two tablespoons of white or apple cider vinegar and a gallon of water. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and use the solution on your windows. Then, wipe with a microfiber cloth.

Clean in straight strokes rather than circles to avoid streaks. Avoid cleaning in direct sunlight, as the solution dries too fast and leaves marks.

Clean mirrors with coffee filters

To achieve that flawless look from the movies, clean your mirrors with coffee filters. They are better than towels because coffee filters are lint-free. They leave no fibres behind, which is why mirrors look clearer with less effort.

Odour removal and freshening up

A clean home should smell fresh too. These simple tricks help you get rid of stubborn odours and keep your space feeling clean, not just looking it.

Remove pet odour with baking soda

Every pet owner knows that animals tend to have their odour from time to time. The best way to fight the smell is to spray some baking soda on the animal’s bed. Leave it there to soak up for 15 minutes, and then vacuum it.

For stronger smells, leave it overnight before vacuuming. You can also use this trick on carpets and sofas where pets rest.

Remove smell from the garbage disposal with lemon

Every garbage disposal smells terrible from time to time. To solve that problem, rinse some lemon rinds through it and run hot water. The lemon should remove the foul odour.

Adding a few ice cubes helps clean the blades while freshening the smell.

Do this regularly to stop smells from building up in the first place.

Furniture care and outdoor cleaning

Furniture takes a lot of daily wear, both indoors and out. These tips help you keep it looking good, deal with small damage, and extend its lifespan without much effort.

Get rid of wooden furniture scratches by rubbing a walnut on the scratch

Getting your wooden coffee table scratched is something that completely ruins the look of the table. By rubbing a walnut on the scratch, you’ll give it back that brown-ish colour.

The natural oils in the walnut help darken and blend the scratch with the surrounding wood. Mind you, this works best on light, surface-level scratches rather than deep damage.

Clean the outdoor furniture with soap and hot water

Having a lovely garden is always an excellent addition to the house. The outdoor furniture often gets dirty fast. To keep it clean, you’ll need a bit of dish detergent and a bowl of hot water. Wash it thoroughly and rinse with the hose after that. Voila – squeaky clean patio furniture!

Use a soft brush for textured surfaces where dirt gets trapped. Let everything dry fully to prevent mildew, especially on wood and fabric cushions.

Takeaways

Expert Advice