AN interior whizz gathered a list of 12 “mind-blowing” cleaning tips from the professionals who do it best: housekeepers.
One of the hacks received over 50 million views on TikTok.
Britaany Vasseur (@vasseurbeauty) is a YouTuber known for her content that covers home hacks, décor, and cleaning tips.
In a recent video, she said she turned to professional housekeepers to learn useful cleaning tips because, “they have the best opinion since this is what they do for a living.”
GLASS
Her first hack made use of a household item that most people have in their cleaning closets: the Swiffer.
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“Use the Swiffer to clean your mirrors and glass to get it done faster, more efficiently, and apparently better,” she began.
After spraying the mirror or window with glass cleaner, place a glass cleaning cloth on the Swiffer surface and scrub away.
SWIFFER
Staying on the Swiffer topic, Brittany said you can open the Swiffer solution bottle and refill it with another cleaning product of your choice.
“I don’t personally love the Swiffer solution. I hate how it smells. I don’t think it works that great.”
To open the bottle and replace it with your own product, submerge the top of the bottle in boiling water for about two minutes to loosen it up.
Once open, she said you will want to get rid of the plastic tabs inside the top that are made to keep it locked in place.
To do so, simply cut them off with a nail clipper.
“So now, you can open and close your cleaning bottle and add your solution in there.”
LAUNDRY STRIPPING
If you haven’t heard of laundry stripping, Brittany said it’s time you do.
“It is a deeper clean of your laundry to really get everything out. Hard water buildup, soap buildup, dirt, odors, things that you’re just not fully cleaning in the washing machine.”
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To do so, simply fill up your bathtub with piping hot water, add a quarter cup of Borax, a quarter cup of baking soda, and a heaping scoop of powdered Tide.
After throwing your clothes in there, use a large spoon to stir them around every hour for six hours.
Once the time is up, you will notice the water turn murky from all the dirt it extracted.
“Then ring out the clothes and wash them in your regular washing machine as normal.”
WALL CLEANING
Her next hack, she said, is the most viral of all, as it received over 50 million views on TikTok.
It involves a $40 Amazon wall-cleaning brush and the accompanying $21 wall-cleaning spray.
“The brush has a swivel to it, so it makes it really easy to glide up and down your painted walls, your doors, etc.”
To prove how well it works, she used the brush on her own white wall and quickly took it from spotty to crisp.
“It almost just like, erased the dirt.”
SINK GARBAGE DISPOSAL
Although you may not think about cleaning your sink’s garbage disposal, it’s one of the areas that constantly collects odors and mildew.
“Apparently this is the easiest and most effective way to clean it.”
Begin by putting two cups of baking soda in your sink’s drain and let that sit.
Then, add distilled white vinegar.
“And for the finishing touch, you want to get a full pot of boiling water and dump that down the sink.
“So, the best part about this method is that the sink essentially cleans itself.”
PILLOWCASES
Brittany moved onto the bedroom next.
“If you have any pillows in your house and the pillowcase is too big for the pillow, don’t leave it flopping and hanging.”
Instead, take the hanging fabric and pinch the middle so that it rises, then tuck it in.
“Afterwards, smooth it out so it looks nice and crisp.”
POLISH
To make your home really shine, you want to target the small parts of your space that can use a little extra polish.
“An easy way to do this is by using your glass cleaner on your knobs and on your stainless steel.
“This will give it that extra sparkle, glean, glisten, and it will look that much nicer and cleaner.”
TOILET PAPER
Sticking to the bathroom, Brittany said you can give your space a hotel luxe feel by changing the way you display toilet paper.
“I love the added touch of taking the toilet paper roll, folding it into a point, and then turning on your faucet, turning it off, and then stamping the toilet paper roll into that to give it a nice little emblem.”
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MAKEUP
Another area of the bathroom that is often dirty yet neglected: our makeup containers.
Brittany said she specifically knows how messy eyeshadow palettes can get, with the colorful powder spread across the surface, so she shared a hack for tidying it up.
“The easiest way to clean this is so effective.
“Get another compact, like your blush compact, wrap it up in a baby wipe or a makeup wipe and use that as an eraser on your palette.”
DISHWASHER
The home lover also said she saves time by washing things like her toothbrush holder, dish brushes, and children’s toys on the top rack of the dishwasher.
“Save yourself the scrubbing time, and let your dishwasher do the work for you.”
STOVE TOP
After a long day of cooking, your stove top is likely looking a bit crusty.
“The best way to clean the grill on your stove top – which can be really tough to clean because stuff gets stuck on it, caked on there – is to use a mixture of vegetable oil and kosher salt as the abrasive, and scrub that away.”
You will be left with a grill that looks shiny and new.
GROUT
The final hack targets the grout between your bathroom tiles.
While she knows that some people swear by the toilet bowl cleaner, Srubbing Bubbles Power Stain Destroyer, to clean their grout, she found a better solution.
“The best thing you can use to really brighten up your grout is this grout pen,” she said, pointing at her $22 Amazon find.
“You just draw it on your grout lines, wipe off the excess, and it will be perfectly white again.”
Her parting words of wisdom regarded the order in which you clean.
“Clean from top to bottom always.
“Because as you’re cleaning high up, the dust and debris falls downward, and you can clean that later.
“And you want to start in the back of the room then move your way to the front.”
