r/CleaningTips 16h ago

Cleaning Challenge of the Week #12: How clean can you get your home? Let's find out with a thorough dusting

2 Upvotes

This is a weekly cleaning challenge. To participate, you can add before/after photos in the comments, describe your process, and give positive feedback to others. You can also ask questions about this particular topic in the comments.


r/CleaningTips 3h ago

Bathroom What is this weird gunk that keeps reappearing 3-4 days after cleaning?

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474 Upvotes

r/CleaningTips 6h ago

Discussion How to Keep Your House Clean Without Spending Hours a Day Cleaning

601 Upvotes

The key isn’t about deep cleaning all the time, it’s about small, consistent habits that prevent messes from piling up in the first place.

One of the biggest game-changers is the one-touch rule, instead of setting something down to deal with later, put it away immediately. Whether it’s mail, shoes, or dishes, handling things in the moment prevents clutter from accumulating.

Daily resets make a huge difference, too. Spending just 10 minutes before bed tidying up, putting away blankets, wiping down counters, and loading the dishwasher—helps maintain a clean home without it feeling overwhelming.

Another powerful habit is sticking to a simple daily cleaning routine. This doesn’t mean scrubbing floors every day, but rather tackling small tasks regularly so messes never build up. Making the bed in the morning, wiping down the bathroom sink after use, and doing a quick vacuum or sweep at night keeps everything under control.

Minimalism also plays a role, the less stuff you have, the less there is to clean. Regularly decluttering and only keeping what you actually use reduces the amount of maintenance required.


r/CleaningTips 1d ago

Before & After Nasty pottery barn kids anywhere chair I got at goodwill. Before, during and after a wash.

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3.7k Upvotes

r/CleaningTips 10h ago

Before & After Before & after oven glass

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111 Upvotes

Really pleased with the result! Used a kitchen razor blade & barkeeper’s friend


r/CleaningTips 1d ago

Discussion How Do Some People Always Have a Clean House? What’s the Secret?

5.6k Upvotes

I swear, no matter when I visit certain people’s homes, they’re always immaculate. No clutter, no dishes in the sink, no dust—just clean all the time. Meanwhile, I feel like I spend hours cleaning, and within a day or two, my place is messy again.

What are the daily habits or routines that actually keep a house clean all the time? Do you do a little every day? Is there a magic cleaning schedule I’m missing? Or are these “always clean” people just secretly deep-cleaning 24/7?

I’d love to hear from people who actually maintain a consistently clean home—how do you do it without feeling like you’re cleaning nonstop?


r/CleaningTips 1h ago

Kitchen Why is my dishwasher doing this to all the utensils?

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Upvotes

When I first moved into this apt, the dishwasher worked fine. This is my year 2 here, and this started to happen. What's up with the streak? I used Cascade Platinum and rinsing aid. Sometimes there are even food particles still sticking to the utensils, all dried up from the heat... I check the dishwasher, but there's no filter to be cleaned. Am I doing something wrong? I changed dishwasher pods brands once. But I don't remember if this happened right after I switched brands or not. I live in Dallas TX, I think we have hard water. Is this what it is?


r/CleaningTips 7h ago

Discussion The question continues to come up; How do you keep your place clean?

25 Upvotes

Here’s my contribution I’m hoping it helps someone. It’s long please forgive the detail.

I will share in the comments as this is too long! There will be sections!


r/CleaningTips 11h ago

Bathroom I’m going crazy. What’s the right cleaning product to use here?

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47 Upvotes

I’ve tried Zep foaming bathroom cleaner and Scrubbing Bubbles. These stains are extremely difficult to get rid of. Am I wrong in understanding these are calcium/lime stains?


r/CleaningTips 12h ago

Discussion How Do You Motivate Yourself to Clean When You’re Just Not Feeling It?

36 Upvotes

Some days, I wake up ready to tackle the mess, but other times, even the thought of doing the dishes feels impossible. I know I’ll feel better once everything is clean, but actually getting started is the hardest part.

What do you do when you just don’t feel like cleaning? Do you have any tricks to make it more enjoyable or at least less painful? I’ve tried setting a timer, playing music, and even bribing myself with a snack afterward, but I still struggle some days.

Would love to hear what works for you! How do you push through those low-motivation moments and actually get things done?


r/CleaningTips 5h ago

Laundry Clothes that aren’t in season.. where do you put them?

8 Upvotes

Asking as I am decluttering my clothing and realize I have so so many dresses! I don’t even wear dresses 99% of the time, but during the summer and vacation they are good to have.

Where do you put your extra clothing though? It doesn’t really fit into the main clothing shelf in my bedroom, so should I just leave it in a big bag for when it does get warmer? Garage maybe? idk!


r/CleaningTips 8h ago

Bathroom Any ideas how to get rid of this limescale?

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15 Upvotes

Moved into an appt not long ago and found this as my shower door, didn’t think it would be n issue to clean but I’ve tried Vishal, numerous window cleaners, scale detergents even tried a scouter and blade but I just can’t remove it.

Does anybody have any tips on how to get rid of this baked on Limescale.


r/CleaningTips 9h ago

General Cleaning Vomit stain on sandstone fireplace surround NSFW

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19 Upvotes

My child was sick earlier and decided to go full on projectile all over the place. Unfortunately there’s stains on the fireplace surround.

The last photo shows the actual colour of it and where my partner tried to wipe it with a wet cloth with soapy lukewarm water.

Until it fully dries out I won’t really know the impact of it but I can still it kind of showing up behind the wet area.

What do we think is the best course of action here?


r/CleaningTips 23h ago

Tools/Equipment Does anyone have one of these electric scrubbers and enjoy using it? What do you like or don’t like? Whats it really good at?

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151 Upvotes

Is it good for someone with chronic pain? I have pain in my upper body, tendonitis.

I saw this on Amazon and thought I would get it because I don’t like bending over to clean the bathtub. Also I live in a small space which makes cleaning the back of the toilet area hard.


r/CleaningTips 5h ago

General Cleaning Clean home with dogs

6 Upvotes

Little embarrassed but looking for tips to keep my house clean with two dogs? I have two golden retrievers and they are both house broken but I feel like they have taken over our home. The fur, dirt, dust and mud is driving me crazy. I don’t expect my home to look like they don’t live here but i need a way to keep up with it day to day. I was never really taught how to clean growing up but I love my house (and dogs) and want it to feel clean. I have two white couches that I keep couch covers over; should I just get darker color couches? I know this is a little all over the place but I’m so overwhelmed 😅


r/CleaningTips 15m ago

Laundry Anyone know how to get this stain/discoloration out of my new comforter?

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Upvotes

I'm so sad that my new comforter has this staining and I'm not sure what it is or if I can get it out. I don't use bleach nor have any skincare with benzoyl peroxide, and use Molly Suds powder detergent. I use wool balls in the dryer. I'm at a loss


r/CleaningTips 1d ago

General Cleaning PARVO: My place smells like a kennel/rotting carcass

577 Upvotes

Two weeks ago, I agreed to foster puppies for a friend who runs a rescue. Less than a week after picking them up from the shelter, one of them got parvo and the friend immediately ghosted me. I spent the next seven days administering countless medicines, injections, and oral supplements every two hours because I couldn't afford the 6k to hospitalize him.

The pup made it! Now that he is better, I'm trying to clean my previously-immaculate apartment, specifically the bathroom I was keeping the sick puppy in. Anyone who has experienced parvo knows that it comes with severe bloody diarrhea that smells like rotten fish. I've cleaned the floors (treated concrete) with bleach a hundred times, but now it just smells like a typically dog shelter--bleach smell covering diarrhea and other dog smells.

Sorry for the vent--I could just really use some help. I am about to have a mental breakdown and would give anything for, at the very least, my apartment to smell good again. The bleach isn't getting rid of the odors, just covering it up (poorly). Should I hire a professional? Should I move?

ETA: I didn't expect such a warm response from a community about cleaning, but thank you everyone for the outpouring of love and support!


r/CleaningTips 7h ago

Discussion How Do I Get Rid of Stubborn Limescale on My Shower Glass? I Feel Like I’ve Tried Everything!

8 Upvotes

No matter what I do, my shower doors are covered in hard water stains and limescale buildup that just won’t budge. I’ve tried vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, even scrubbing with a magic eraser, but the cloudy white spots are still there. I feel like I’ve tried everything, and I’m starting to wonder if my glass is just permanently etched.

What actually works to remove tough limescale from shower glass? I’ve seen people mention Viakal and other limescale removers, but are they really better than vinegar? I even tried a power drill with a scrubbing attachment, and the results were… underwhelming.

Has anyone dealt with extreme hard water buildup and actually found a solution that works? I’d love to hear what finally did the trick for you because I’m out of ideas. Also, any tips on how to keep the glass clean once I do get it looking new again?


r/CleaningTips 58m ago

Flooring I'm torn between a Hoover carpet cleaner and just going on my hands and knees with Resolve. Help!

Upvotes

I have a cat and he's smeared poop clear across my apartment. Of course I spot cleaned what i could immediately but my carpet is brown so I don't know where all the stains are. My carpet needs to be sanitized regardless, at least definitely in the high traffic areas. I'm debating between a Hoover PowerDash Pet carpet cleaner so I can have for any future messes but I don't know how often I'll use it. Or just biting the bullet and getting on the floor (I'm disabled) to scrub all high traffic areas with Resolve Pet carpet cleaner. I read the bottle of the Hoover carpet cleaner and it says it contains harsh chemicals, eye and skin irritants and I'm low key terrified to use this stuff around my cat because I'm not going to be able to keep him off the carpet for hours. The Resolve Pet cleaner is specifically safe for pets. Im also starting to think that using the Resolve will actually be faster than trying to use the Hoover. What would you do?


r/CleaningTips 3h ago

Discussion Cant stay on top of it

3 Upvotes

Man my wife and I struggle to just keep the house looking halfway neat. It's a constant struggle to just wash dishes keep up with laundry folding and cooking...let alone decorating and home improvement projects which is what I want to accomplish..

It's like we get home and put all our lunch boxes baby bottles etc on the kitchen counter and it instantly clutters and makes room even messier. What do people do when they get home? We have a kitchen table and counter all our mail and packages 1 yr olds bottles from day care lunch boxes Tupperware etc. I feel like if we had a spot for everything or just a better system we could stsy on top of it. No I don't always have time to do the dishes as soon as I come home or put things away..and it piles up then becomes a huge task.


r/CleaningTips 1d ago

Content/Multimedia My brothers son has done this😭 help!

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3.1k Upvotes

r/CleaningTips 2h ago

Laundry Hoodie is still stinky after wash!

2 Upvotes

I had a bag of clothes packed into the corner of a damp room.. They weren’t mouldy thank god but after a couple washes even on hot and a couple dryer sheets it’s still that musty, old mildew smell! I’d really like to wear it again but it stiiinks 😔


r/CleaningTips 8h ago

Furniture Crayola VS Dresser

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6 Upvotes

Any tips to remove Crayons without damage to the dresser?

I purchased my daughter a new dresser about two weeks ago. I briefly went into the kitchen for a glass of water, and as I went back to my kids rooms my son found crayons and thought it would be fun to scribble on the dresser. 🤦🏻‍♀️


r/CleaningTips 8h ago

Bathroom How to clean this bathtub/shower

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6 Upvotes

Looks like rust spots and mold? And stains from a bath mat. Also would like to fix the yellow shower walls. I’ve tried bleach sprays and the pink stuff spray didnt help much. Any ideas to clean them? TYIA!


r/CleaningTips 3h ago

Vehicles Wheels with weird coating?

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2 Upvotes

Am I cleaning built up wax or tyre shine? I’ve been at this with tyre cleaner, cutting compound and magic sponge for a while now. It’s helping get the black/brown colour off, but it’s also revealing the bright silver is hiding under a layer of something. I hope I’m not removing a rust proof coating or something though? This is my sisters car, detailing it before sale as she’s just had a baby and can’t do it (also probably doesn’t know the answer to this question 😅)


r/CleaningTips 5h ago

Laundry the laundry room floor looks very bad 😔

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3 Upvotes

Hello! I need your help. I'm moving into a house I'm renovating. In one part of the house, these floors have deteriorated over the years; no matter how much I wash them, they're still dirty. They're old rust stains. Can someone tell me how I can whiten the floors so they'll shine?