Homemaker’s Guide to Cleaning Products: Practical and Convenient
First, my favorite product is Clorox Clean-Up with Bleach. I absolutely love this spray cleaner and I may use it a little obsessively. You can quickly disinfect the kitchen and bathroom in minutes. It works great on the counter tops, stove, sinks, and toilets, which is good if you’re like me and have kids that seem to put their hands on any and everything. It’s also handy in the bathtub, but if you have mildew growing, keep reading and you’ll find something that will work even better for that problem. The cleaner is also great at eliminating stains from Kool-Aid and juices from the counters and cutting through grease. Best of all, I like using it to clean up after handling raw meats and poultry to cut the risk of cross contamination of foods. Just spray, give it a minute to disinfect, and wipe.
Tip: For very frequent and quick disinfecting of things (perhaps someone in the home has a cold), there are also Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. They don’t contain bleach, but you can easily pull one out and wipe down the toilet, door knobs, phones, light switches, or anything else the germy loved ones may have touched.
Now for those of you who get mildew build up, prepare for what is in my opinion the best choice for eliminating the headache of scrubbing away endlessly. It is called, Tilex Mildew Root Penetrator and Remover. The name says it all. It actually does penetrate to the root of mildew, which is surprising since so many products don’t seem to do what they claim. All I do is saturate my shower with this stuff, let it do its foaming action while I go about the rest of my cleaning. I come back, simply turn the shower on and rinse it all away. That’s it! Not so much as a wipe or scrub. For really tough mildew, you may have to do it one more time or let it sit longer. I usually keep the door closed and the window in the bathroom open when I do this; obviously the fumes are strong and can be hazardous. This is the best product I have found so far to work this well on mildew.
So, “What about the floors?” you might ask. Well, as far as the old broom and dust pan go, they have been retired from floor duty at my house. I have fallen in love with the Swiffer Sweeper + Vac. This handy device puts an end to the loose particles, dust, and pesky loose hair that the broom doesn’t seem to catch. The hair is my biggest peeve of all. Those of you with shedding pets will love it as well. If you have any floors without carpet in your home, this product is a must. No more dusting with your socks! It’s cordless too so all you do is charge the battery up, put a dry Swiffer pad on the bottom, and start pushing. The pad acts as a duster and the vacuum picks up the small particles. If you move fast, you can probably complete three rooms before the battery dies down. Although, you can use it without turning the vacuum on at all if you just need some dusting. It’s also very light and not obnoxiously loud, so it is pleasant to operate.
Speaking of loud, here is one last item. Does the noise from the vacuum cleaner drive you nuts? Or are you like me and loathe having to drag it out just to go over a small area. A great solution to this is the Swiffer Carpet Flick. Trust me, I’m no paid Swiffer advocate, but those folks just make some darn good practical products. I’m so happy to have this product at the end of the day when I’m cleaning up the cracker crumbs my daughter has dropped onto floor. I grab my Flick and run it over the area a few times and the crumbs are gone. No noise at all. However, it doesn’t eliminate the need for a vacuum cleaner, but it’s great for a quick cleanup without the hassle of big vac.
I hope those of you who try these products find them as essential as I have. I recently moved from an apartment to a house, which meant a lot more to clean. These products have made my job a little easier and will probably do the same for you. I have yet to find a mopping agent that is incredible or above the rest, but when I do, I’ll be sure to share it. Happy cleaning!
