I've decided I am just crap at cleaning - give me your tips?

[JMAngel1]

Oh I can hoover and dust but when it comes to really getting things to look clean, I'm just rubbish.
I just spent half an hour cleaning the inside of the oven - it's still disgusting despite using an oven cleaner, there are all these stains on the inside if the glass that just look dreadful.
The fridge has got loads of nooks and crannies which have clearly got mould in but I can't seem to access them even with a toothbrush.
The kitchen cupboards have got stains which I just can't get out - think tea, coffee and tomato stains. I've used magic erasers, bicarb and vinegar and even bleach.
The worst is the inside of the bin cupboard - it just looks dreadful with so many stains. I wipe it down every time I change the bin but it doesn't look clean.
Then the bathroom - stains on the bath (my fault as went through a stupid phase of sprinkling essential oils into the foot of the bath whilst showering and mould builds up so quickly in the tiles and the taps always look tarnished/limescaled.
Anyone in the same boat or have any tips. We have a lovely house but I feel like I've ruined it

Here’s a tip:

Chill. You are being WAY to hard on yourself. Who’s telling you the inside of your bin cupboard needs to be clean? Sack them off.

For good cleaning tips you need to go onto TikTok #cleantok

I am watching with interest as I clean my house every weekend without fail but I do not feel like I am doing a proper job at all. So much so that I am paying for a professional oven cleaner next week (£70) and am tempted to get a cleaning company for a one off very deep clean in the spring.

I wouldn't claim to be any kind of domestic goddess, but over the years these are the products I use that work for me! (I am in a hard water area so don't know if that makes a difference?

Oven - get a ceramic/glass hob scraper - it has a razor blade in it and you use to scrape the oven doors / glass hob and remove the majority of the crap before cleaning it. Be careful not to scratch the glass though. All the baked on grease comes off in very satisfying rolls !

• then I use Flash Kitchen cleaner (£1) for anything greasy in the kitchen, it's excellent and as I said only a £1!
• inside the oven I use Oven Pride stuff usually, the gel one as it drips less, but don't do this often enough...

Sink/limescale - Viakal - spray on, go and have a cup of tea/clean something else, then come back and wipe over with a microfibre cloth, rinse and polish with a dry cloth. If it still has limescale anywhere, repeat the spray and leave/rinse/wipe until gone.

Stains - Flash with bleach is pretty good, spray on, leave for a bit, wipe off with clean damp cloth, dry. It's pretty good at killing bacteria too so should get rid of any nasty smells...

Bins - I clean with pink Dettol spray when I change the bag and put the lids in the dishwasher regularly .

General kitchen wiping I use the pink Dettol spray because it smells nice.

Bathroom - I use Dettol Power and Pure bathroom spray, again, it cleans well and smells nice I use it on sink, toilet, tiles, floor, towel rail, windowsill etc.

• any moulding spots on silicone sealer are sprayed with Astonish Moulding and Mildew remover spray (get it in cheap shops for ~£1) and left until moulding is gone, then rinsed with clean damp cloth and dried.

Shower - Viakal - spray and leave method (open window it's a bit full-on doing the whole cubicle!), rinse and dry. Power and pure for shower tray and drain/waste bits or Flash bleach spray if BAD in the sink with a toothbrush...

Floors, I sweep or vacuum then mop with a spray mop containing diluted yellow Flash multipurpose (also great undiluted for cleaning some stains/kitchen cupboards/bins/gutters!)

Windows, mirrors and UPVC doors and window frames (and cat flap!) - I use the green Mr Muscle window cleaner spray with two micro fibre cloths, one to apply and one to polish off.

These may not be the best/correct methods but they work for me (and I hate housework !).

I really wish I had a dishwasher

I second the flash £1 cleaner it's amazing

Get some Pink Stuff. I avoided it for ages because I thought it was just a fad but honestly its great.

Handheld steamers are great too.

I like a clean house but hate cleaning so Im always on the lookout for quick but effective ways to do things.

there are all these stains on the inside if the glass that just look dreadful.

Cooked on fat stains on oven glass are very difficult to get rid of, and I recommend Oven Mate. It really is the business. You have to paint it on and then leave it, preferably overnight, but it is extremely effective.

Then the bathroom - stains on the bath

Toothpaste is brilliant for getting rid of stubborn bath stains

How to clean an oven...

1. Open your smartphone or laptop
2. Open Google
3. Type 'oven cleaner' into the search bar (you may need to check your location is switched on).
4. Select an appropriate looking business or sole trader and make a phone call. It may take a few tries.

How to maintain a clean oven

1. Clean the oven after every use
2. Use oven liners
3. Don't use the oven (remember to dust it occasionally and buff the outside so it shines like new).

Mrs Hinch admits that she lives Mostly on ready meals. Personally I would rather a grubby oven and home cooked rare, but each to their own. Microwaves are mich easier to clean, hobs are ready to clean to, slow cookers also very easy to clean. But I have never managed crispy roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, cakes or delicious pastry in any of those.

Not to slate Mrs Hinch, without her I probably would never have started using Viakal in my bathroom. Turns out a lot of what I used to think was grime or mould was actually limescale. I did get into buying multiple different products for a while, but now I use viakal for the limescale when it needs it, and otherwise find bathroom cleaner and bleach do everything I need. Bleach solution is the best thing for mould, and the agent in a lot of specialist sprays (the ones that work anyway!) is essentially bleach.

I like to use a stronger degreaser in the Kitchen at times, but generally I find that washing up liquid is just a brilliant product. It works really well on tile or laminate floors which have got 'sticky' to clean the grouting, etc. I use washing up liquid mixed with warm water to clean my fridge, if I can't reach the corners with a toothbrush I use a toothbrush wrapped in a j cloth. If there is mould/mildew I would use very dilute bleach to clean this off and prevent it coming back.

The way to get things to shine is to buff them afterwards. If I want that that really shiny clean feeling then I will go with windowlene and a micro fibre cloth and shine up all my stainless steel and glass in the kitchen. Likewise in the bathroom using window cleaner on the shower door, getting the mirrors nice and shiny and giving the tiles a bit of a buff too. Same with floors, if I have time to buff them with some micro fibre mop socks after I finish then they always look shinier.

Mostly I don't bother get it shiny though. I know its clean. When I've finished cleaning the toilet (takes 3 minutes) I know I could eat my dinner off it and not get sick. So why make it shiny too?

If you can, get a cleaner, pay someone who is good at cleaning, and will get it done well in half the time you'd take, go out for a couple of hours and come back to a lovely sparkly clean house. Life is too short for struggling to clean unless you really have to.

Oven Pride is the only product that ever properly cleans our oven when left on overnight! I'd say just pick your battles. The inside of your oven is a bit dirty - so what? I'd focus on the things that you can see and work up to the bigger jobs. For stains on the inside of cupboards or on kitchen surfaces I just use the yellow Flash cleaning spray and leave it to soak in for 10 minutes then work in with a toothbrush and wipe off, generally does the trick!

Agree with oven cleaner. I pay £40 and he does the oven and hob, no chemical smell

Method daily shower spray keeps limescale and soap scum away

Line the cupboards (google cupboard liner, eBay or Amazon) then when they get dirty you can usually wipe/wash/replace
Fridge liners too

Leave products to work was my biggest thing. Don't spray it and wipe it off, check the bottle and leave it to do its job!
Stardrops diluted or elbow grease spray and a scrubbing brush will get rid of most stuff

I think if you are really overwhelmed with it all it could be worth hiring a cleaner to do a big clean of all the areas you have suggested, then once it's sparkling clean it will be much easier for you to manage and maintain

I hate cleaning and am also crap at it. Every now and then I wipe down the fridge, bin area, kitchen cupboards if needed. Otherwise it's bathrooms and hoovering once a week and clean surfaces.

Maybe just stop looking too closely

I'd recommend a new philosophy: wabi-sabi, a Japanese concept which I roughly translate in my head as "shabby chic".
Embrace the stains, like some us embrace our stretchmarks (if you can't beat them, join them...)

One word op

Maintenance

You just keep plugging away. Regularly cleaning. Then never had a chance to build up in nooks!

As an aside… half hour isn’t long on an oven that needs it. Not even close!

We cook a lot therefore I have a used looking oven and hob, toaster ditto.
I asked my friend how she kept her toaster pristine and she admitted they very rarely use it!

My only tip is clean little and often. I've found that making up a spray bottle with detergent and water and using that with a kitchen cloth as I go about in the evening helps. Then I'll take it to bathroom and quick spray and wipe in there with bathroom cloth and paper towels. When I change bin liner I'll spray and wipe bin quickly too.

Give the kids the spray and a cloth to do the hard surfaces in their rooms.
(I can end up with have a lot of cloths to wash.😂)
It's the "big" cleaning that seems impossible ime.

It's sort of not you. Nobody can clean that stuff away. The trick is to not let it get that bad in the first place.

So clean the oven after using, when all it takes is a quick one minute wipe down. Don't let grime get baked on and you'll not have crusty bits.

Rinse the bath or shower after every use and clean weekly.

Put a dollop of moisturizer on a plate, add a few drops of essential oils and use it that way. Or add a few drops of them to bathwater. Or buy shower gel containing essential oils.

Crack the window open (or have the air vents open) whilst you bathe. Open your windows wide after bathing or showering so the walls dry. If not dry in an hour, remove the towel from the radiator and turn on the heating for half hour (you can switch all the other radiators in the house off at their individual thermostats if cost is an issue or it's warm enough to not need them on) so the moisture gets evaporated, then put the towel on the radiator to dry for another half hour and open the window again to let the damp air out.

If you've no windows, ensure your fan is on whilst bathing or showering and for an hour or two after.

It's not as cozy without the steamy room whilst you're drying but it's better than walls that run water and take an age to dry.

If something spills in your kitchen cupboards wipe it up as soon as you notice. Don't have your cupboards so crammed that things get knocked over, spilled and it goes unnoticed. Take everything out once a year and get rid of all the crumbs and dust. Declutter all the things you're keeping "just in case" while you're at it.

Empty the fridge, remove the shelves, drawers etc before unpacking the weekly shop and give it a wipe down. Takes less than 5min. I've never had mould everywhere like you have or spills in cupboards etc.

As a general rule keep things tidy, it makes it so much quicker and easier to clean if you don't have to tidy up first.

I clean the fridge in stages usually too.

Yes to cleaning fridge before a shop.

Mould needs moisture. Wipe down surfaces (we have a shower scraper thingy) Ventilate and heat the bathroom as described by the pp. I have learned that not opening windows in these circumstances is a total false economy.

If you want tips for the rest of the home, my main one is clean weekly. I have minimal products. Fairy Liquid for washing up, washing powder for clothes, I use Flash multipurpose for almost everything. Diluted in a bucket or diluted in a spray bottle or neat onto a Brillo pad type sponge for the bathtub and sink including taps and shower head. The tiles are sprayed and wiped. I have toilet cleaner (a limescale one, not a regular bleach one) for down the bowl and clean with the loo brush, spray and wipe the cistern and seat.

Everything is weekly including bathroom and kitchen, general hoovering. Sweeping all hard floors because even if they look clean they won't be. Mopping all hard floors so they never get to the point of being sticky.

Bins emptied and cleaned inside/outside if needed with spray and paper towels. During the week they're just emptied as necessary and not cleaned.

Wiping all surfaces eg tables, windowsills and window handles, shelving, moving ornaments etc first, spray and wipe with cloth, replace ornaments. Remote control, phone, stair rails, light switches, door handles including cupboard doors and front/back door too.

Fridge cleaned before unpacking weekly shop, remembering the edges of the door that get touched the most.

Windows cleaned if there's fingerprints or once a year regardless. Kitchen cupboard interiors yearly too.

Change bedding and towels and wash, either line dry or tumble dry depending on the weather, put away by the end of the day. Start this first thing so they get maximum drying time outside.

Nothing ever looks like it needs cleaning, but there's always dust and crumbs etc in a pile after sweeping and you want to see the colour of the bucket water or cleaning cloths when everything is finished! If you wait until it looks like it needs cleaning, it's filthy and will be a mammoth job. I never spring clean, I've no need to.

Sorry I just realized I didn't make it clear if you have to heat the bathroom to dry it, shut the window while you do that for half hour then open the window again to let the hot damp air out.

My top tip is get a cleaner.

I am a great believer in little and often too.

I wipe surfaces, or clean the sink or unload the dishwasher while I am waiting for the kettle to boil.

I never go up or downstairs empty handed.

When I am at home and on a long telephone call, I have damp, folded into quarters e-cloth in my hand. I wipe down bannisters, light switch surrounds, skirting boards etc. as I chat. Folding the e-cloth into quarters means I have 8 clean sides to use, which is enough to last a telephone call.

Regular maintenance definitely helps. I've always found that if I clean things regularly the issues don't arise in the first place. And if I've neglected the Housework and these things arise, that if I go back to regular cleaning they resolve. So instead of trying to get rid of all the grime that day through strenuous effort, I just start wiping it regularly and find the grime comes away, if that makes sense? It's ok to not do a perfect job, if it's done regularly what isn't perfect this time will be resolved the next.

Thanks all. Some good tips here.
I do clean twice weekly and find surface cleaning/hoovering is a doddle. It’s the stain build up and limescale build up that kills me. I use Viakal on taps and it works really well but has scuffed all the surfaces of the taps so now they look tarnished and peeling. Then the limescale returns around 3-4 days later and I have to use it again. There’ll be no chrome left on the taps!

The stains on the cupboards are on the outside. The inside I can keep clean just by wiping but the tea and coffee drip stains are awful on the outside and I never seem to see them until a few days later when the stain has set in. Ditto tomato sauce splatters around the stove area.
The cupboards are painted wood so I’m not supposed to use bleach on them? I have the Pink Stuff tub but don’t find it good at stain removal - maybe I don’t have enough elbow grease? I just find cleaning demotivating when I don’t get good results!

To the poster who said half an hour to clean an oven isn’t enough, you’re probably right. I just gave up, disheartened when nothing was shifting off the glass.

But then to the poster who said it only takes 5 minutes to clean the fridge - it would take me at least half an hour with taking all the glass trays out and inner door containers.

I would love a cleaner but just can’t justify the cost - I only work 3 days a week so I should be able to do it all myself - I spend the time but am just ineffectual. I would kill for a cleaning firm to come and do a pre-Xmas deep clean though. Would it be around £100 do you think?