Today I’m sharing a roundup of some of my favorite Pinterest cleaning hacks!
Since we moved to our “forever” home, I’ve been a little obsessed with Pinterest cleaning hacks and tips. While I’ve come across a lot of great information over the past year, there are a few hacks that have really stuck out and made a huge difference in my regular cleaning routine.
1. Dawn/Vinegar: Shower/Tubs
I already devoted an entire post to discussing how I clean my master bathroom glass shower, which includes my love for the equal parts Dawn and vinegar cleaning solution. As such, I won’t go into a lot more detail about it here. As far as single cleaning solutions that have changed my weekly cleaning routine, the Dawn/vinegar solution has still had the biggest impact. Save yourself hours of tedious scrubbing by making the switch. Right now.
2. Baby Powder: Cat Litter Boxes
I have lived with at least one cat my entire adult life, most of which has been spent in places much smaller than my current house. Keeping on top of the cat litter boxes and making sure they don’t stink up the whole place is an ongoing process. Baby powder is just as effective, if not more effective, than any commercial pet odor reducer I’ve tried.
I line my cat boxes with litter bags (regular garbage bags work, too) and overhaul the whole thing once per week (which also helps significantly with the smell). Before I put in a new bag, I sprinkle a little baby powder in the bottom of the box. After I fill the box with litter, I sprinkle a little more baby powder. In between overhauls, I scoop the boxes every other day and add a sprinkle of baby powder after scooping.
3. Nonstick Cooking Spray: Stainless Steel Appliances
I have multiple friends with stainless steel appliances who complain that stainless steel is the worst when you have little kids. Spoiler alert: stainless steel gets smudged constantly whether or not you have small children. I cook at home every day and as such, am in and out of the fridge, dishwasher, and microwave (all stainless steel) every day…leaving smudges behind. Yes, it’s worse with kids, especially little children. But it’s still a problem if you use your kitchen regularly.
I have tried several cleaning methods to remove smudges, and nonstick cooking spray is by far my favorite. It only requires one product and one step, and the results last longer than anything else I’ve tried.
4. Bar Keepers Friend: Kitchen Sink, Copper Bottom Pans
I can’t believe that I wasn’t using Bar Keepers Friend before I moved to my current house (not even one year ago). It is such a powerful product and a 15 oz. can only costs a couple of dollars. I originally purchased Bar Keepers Friend to remove scratches from dishes. I LOVE my Crate and Barrel dishes and have been so impressed at how well they’ve held up under nearly 10 years of daily use. However, like any dishes, they have their share of scratch marks from metal utensil use. Bar Keepers Friend does help erase these scratch marks. It’s not 100% foolproof, but it does make a noticeable difference.
After purchasing Bar Keepers Friend, I started using it to clean up my copper bottom pans as well. Similarly, I’ve had the same set of pans for nearly 10 years, and they’ve held up fantastically. However, over time, the bottoms get pretty trashed. Yes, copper develops a natural patina, but after years of use, the pans just look dirty, even when they’re clean. Bar Keepers Friend restores the color nicely. You do have to reapply it periodically to maintain the new copper look. Once you’ve restored them, the reapplication goes pretty quickly.
Finally, Bar Keepers Friend works well for cleaning the kitchen sink. Since I keep it under the kitchen sink for the two previously mentioned tasks, it’s easy to pull it out once a week or so to clean the sink. I clean with one round of Bar Keepers Friend and then one round of baking soda.
5. Baking Soda: Kitchen Surfaces, Hairbrush
When we moved to our “forever” home, I deep cleaned every kitchen surface in our previous home including the stovetop, oven, fridge, and vintage wall tiles (they are pale green and really amazing). Baking soda cut through years of grease and other cooking residue buildup like none other. It’s now a staple cleaning product in my kitchen. I always have an open box under the sink and love using it to clean up the stovetop and tiles and to keep the sink in top condition. Of course, it remains a great option for the occasional deep cleaning (i.e. oven), too.
This past year, I also used baking soda to clean my hairbrush. I own this paddle brush, and it takes a beating. I have tried a couple of other brush cleaning hacks over the years with little to no success. On a whim, I searched Pinterest and found a baking soda brush cleaning hack. I was skeptical but figured it was worth a shot, given the current state of my brush. A baking soda soak really does the trick. My 7+-year-old brush looked good as new, except for some minor wearing on the wood. Mind blown. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never use another cleaning method.
Bonus Tip! White Vinegar: Hard Water Stains
I have only lived in places with fairly hard water, which I think is a blessing because soft water is the worst. Typically, the hard water hasn’t caused issues, but for some reason, our current water supply is REALLY hard. We experience regular hard watering staining in several sinks, on sink countertops, and in the fridge water dispenser. Some pins recommend cleaning vinegar and even a cleaning vinegar and salt paste. Personally, I’ve stuck to regular vinegar, and it’s worked just fine. I apply vinegar (generally with an old toothbrush) on the problem area and let it sit for a few minutes before scrubbing gently (again, with the toothbrush).
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