8 Money-Saving Cleaning Hacks

Most of us love saving a bit of cash here and there. But what if we can do it when it comes to house cleaning? Well, the short answer is ‘we can.’ It just involves a little ingenuity and a willingness to try different methods; some of which you may never even have heard of before. In this article, we’ve listed some of our favorite cleaning hacks to save some hard-earned cash while cleaning our homes. See if you taking us up on any of them:

Make your own cleaning agents.

Forget store-bought cleaning formulas and make your own instead. It’s not as difficult as it sounds and in fact, it’s pretty easy. And, you can use items that you’ve probably already got in your cupboards. Some of the best, for instance, are lemons, vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and rice grains. Here are some of our personal cleaning hacks favorites that we learned from a London home cleaning services agency:

Sprinkle the bottom of your bin with some bicarbonate of soda (BoS) and you’ll never need another air freshener for your bin or that area of your kitchen. That’s because BoS is a natural deodorizer. Mix it into a paste with water and you will also find it is genius at getting grease off the cooker.
Make your own all-purpose cleaner and save pounds on conventional and bleach-based substances. Simply mix together three parts water to one-part vinegar and add a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice. If you like you can also put in a handful of drops of your favorite essential oil. Mix well and add to a plastic spray bottle. Voila!

Meanwhile, another powerful natural ingredient for house cleaning hacks is, of course, a lemon. This is also included in our all-purpose cleaner. Use lemon juice and salt to clean wooden chopping boards or chuck lemon peel down your sink disposal to make that particular area suddenly smell a lot nicer.
And talking of citrus fruits… grapefruit makes a power bath cleaner. Simply cut one in half and sprinkle the half you’ll use with rock salt. Then, simply get scrubbing. Not only will this have your bath gleaming afterward, but the bathroom will also smell great too!

Most of us have heard of the trick to attempt to restore a mobile phone that won’t work because it’s wet ie to leave the phone in a bowl of uncooked rice for 12 hours or more. But you may not be aware that you can use a similar trick for house cleaning ie to clean the inside of a vase that is difficult to reach. Simply fill the vase with the raw rice then add water and a little washing-up liquid. Pick up the ornament and shake vigorously. Repeat until the inside is sparkling clean then rinse and turn upside down to dry.

Use household items to help clean

But it’s not only foodstuffs that can help us clean for free. Old socks and hairdryers can play a blinder when it comes to removing stains or generally giving our homes spruce up:

Blinds looking a little on the dusty side? Don’t bother with polish and a cloth. Grab an old sock instead. Put the sock on your hand as you would a glove and simply run your hand up and down each individual blind. Dust will stick to the sock and it will only take 10 minutes or so to get the blinds dust-free again. Just machine wash the sock afterward and re-use for next time the blinds are looking a little on the dusty side. A housekeeping gem!
Want to know how to reduce your tumble dryer bill? Who doesn’t want to cut back on their utility and home cleaning costs these days? Well, put a dry towel in beside your wet clothes and you’ll achieve it. How does this work? Well, the dry towel will absorb the extra moisture produced from the wet clothes, meaning the tumble dryer won’t take as long to dry them. Be warned though – you have to remember to take the dry towel out after 15 to 20 minutes otherwise the towel will, of course, mean a longer drying time (since it’s full of moisture from the clothes).
Teenagers – and kids in general – can be bad for putting cups and tumblers down on wooden furniture without a coaster underneath. The result is an unsightly watermark. But it doesn’t mean that it’s permanent; not, that is, if you happen to have a hairdryer handy. That’s because putting the hairdryer on at a low heat and aiming it at the stain can get rid of it. The reason is that the stain is caused by liquid and the hairdryer is drying it out.

The above are only some of the numerous clever money-saving domestic cleaning hacks. We’re sure you can probably add some of your own! For home cleaning services in London take a look at the portal www.tidychoice.com where you are sure to find someone suitable in your area.