must have cleaning supplies!

[makeitpink]

I am a pants cleaner, I hate housework. So I have cleared a whole weekend to really attack my home. Declutter and properly clean the whole house from top to bottom, in the hope that it might be more manageable then! So what I want to know are what are the essential cleaning supplies I will need? I have a Hoover and possibly some antibac spray. What else??

[pippistrelle]

Well, it kind of depends on what you have in your home and possibly on how environmentally friendly you want to be. Do you have things like limestone tiles or old wooden floors that would benefit from specialist treatment, for example? Or do you live in an area prone to timescale? (In which case, Viakal or Cillit Bang are your friends.)

If not, I favour something with bleach for bathrooms. Wipes can be useful for a first go at things like kitchen cupboard doors and the tops and insides of cupboards, because if they haven't been cleaned in a while and you use your kitchen regularly, they inevitably get a sort of sticky, oily residue. If you're venturing in to the oven, then a specialist cleaner like Oven Pride is worth it. Otherwise, just hot soapy water (Fairy Platinum washing up liquid is very good) will go a long way.

In the longer term, and if you're less keen on loads of chemicals, a steam cleaner is great.

Enjoy your gleaming new surroundings, OP.

[LifeBeginsNow]

I love cleaning. I find it hard graft (more so now I'm pregnant) but get such satisfaction when it's all done. I prefer to do it in one hit and then keep on top of tidying through the week (plus another run round with the Hoover downstairs later in the week). My supplies are:
Bathrooms - antibacterial wipes for the toilets (don't flush even if they say you can), bathroom cleaner and blue jay cloth for the shower, bath and sink (I put all my cloths in the wash to get a longer life).
Kitchen - kitchen cleaner (antibacterial product) and blue jay cloth, baby oil (to go over the hob after its cleaned to make it shine).
Rest of the house - polish and duster.
I also use a feather duster in each room to get the light fitting and extractor fan. Now and again I will go over the shower screen doors with something like vikal to get rid of the scummy white marks. I also use a black mound remover if I start to see pinky stuff in the corner of the shower - it's zero effort and stops mound before it starts.
If you've got laminate anywhere, you'll need a mop and bucket too. Aldi do a really nice floor cleaner with lavender in it. Most things can be bought from Aldi/ Lidl except polish and it's all good quality (they've won awards on some of their stuff).
Hope that war and peace explanation is useful! 😀

[LifeBeginsNow]

Oh, I forgot toilet cleaner (and brush). I put a bit of bleach down the plugholes now and again and also pour a kettle of boiling water down them once a month to help move things along.

[Gatekeeper]

bathroom wipes for doing toilet seats
microfibre cloths
stardrops (for washing floors, baths, windows, inside kitchen cupboards etc etc)
scrubber sponge things
bleach ( I use dilutions with fairy liquid for floors, neat for silicon/grout and the inside of the bog)


I also love scrubbing brushes and Morrisons household block green soap. Hot soapy water def does go a long way

[Gatekeeper]

I also love my ostrich feather duster

zinc bucket and cotton string mop

[storybrooke]

I wouldn't get too flustered about cleaning products, I've just got rid of a black bag and a half of things I didn't need since getting a steam cleaner four years ago.

I do this...
Kitchen diner - clean surfaces/cupboards/doors/appliances/table with dettol, steam floors, use the steamers window attachment for windows. Bicarbonate of soda mixed with water left overnight all over the oven, if that doesn't work white vinegar in a bowl and oven on for half an hour, clean when it's cool enough... Removes it all. Dettol and fairy liquid over extractor fan and splash back/tiles. Service wash on the washer. Duster over ceilings, blinds and anything not in reach.

Lounge - Hoover everything, fabrics (throws/cushions etc) in wash, I steam our leather couch but I'm the only person I know who does this as apparently can damage it, dettol over surfaces, duster on ceiling, steam floors, steam windows. - I do the same in bedrooms.

Bathrooms - bleach down toilets, spray dettol on everything to clean, I use toilet paper to blot in some neat bleach on any bits around the seals that are looking discoloured (I leave that overnight), once everything cleaned inc walls I'll steam everything again and put a hot kettle down the sink and bath, clean door and handles on way out.

Stairs/bannister hoovered and steamed, carpets I'll run the steamer over to freshen up. Lights dusted, oven I'll really go at using the steamer once in a while. The shower is steamed and gleams.

The cleaning part of a household doesn't have to take an age, I'm a big fan of my steam cleaners due to ease and less nasty chemicals near my kids. I can deep clean my house a few hours with a brew now I've got a routine, if you can tackle any clutter and have a home for everything then cleaning won't take as long as you think.