NOW CLOSED: Cleaning - Love it or Loathe it: talk to Ecover - you could win a £200 John Lewis voucher!

[AnnMumsnet]

Ecover would like to know about your top cleaning tips - whether you use tried and tested advice passed down from generation to generation, or you have recently stumbled across a magic remedy. What is your best eco friendly cleaning tip?

Also, Ecover are interested in how cleaning makes you feel. Do you see it as a therapeutic Sunday afternoon activity that you look forward to or do you do anything and everything else to put off the chore? Perhaps you multi task and combine cleaning with an energetic, calorie-burning routine, or maybe you encourage your DCs to give a helping hand? Or does your DH/DP do it all?

Are you so house-proud you spend an hour cleaning before letting anyone through the front door or do guests get to see it how it is - whatever state that may be?

All those who do add their tips or comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 John Lewis voucher.

Your comments and tips may be used anonymously on Ecover's website and possibly elsewhere.


Thanks and good luck with the prize draw

[StarlightDicKenzie]

I look at my house and think 'does it look like it MAY have been clean this morning but has had 12 kinds round for a spontaneous DIY tea party?' If so, it's not yet ready for a clean and any visitors, expected or not will just get the 12 kid explanation.

[sairygamp]

I really do enjoy getting the house clean . I have to be comlpetely alone though and will tackle one room at a time on my day off. Kitchen first, then moving around in a clockwise direction (yes, I know, I know....) I very sadly have to get the kitchen done by nine twenty five so I can spend th enxt hour in rooms with tv's watching Jezza Vile. I clean and dust the tops of units, bookcases etc fortnightly and also like to move furniture and kitchen items around every now and then, just to fool the family. I must admit I am a bit 'top tidy' and will let cupboards and under-the-stairs get full to bursting as long as the place looks tidy . My best tip is to make sure that everything you need is in the right area - kitchen cleaning things in the kitchen, bathroom cleaning things in the bathroom (sounds obvious but honestly...) and plenty of dusters/old cloths/ex knickers (clean...) about to grab and wipe surfaces. God I'm sad...

[369thegoosedrankwine]

I don't mind cleaning, but since having 2 small ds's I don't enjoy it as much as 1. it never stays 'lovely and clean' for very long and 2. I feel guilty not spending my free time with the boys. I do love it when it is done.

I find that if I keep on top of tidying up then cleaning is fairly easy to do. I work in short bursts daily (work 4 long days with 2 small DS's) so I tend to tidy every morning and every night and do 1 job a day or when I see it. I also don't put off - it: clean the floor underneath the highchair straight after dinner / breakfast. I don't have a routine as such but a hierarchy of cleanliness - the toilets and bathrooms will get done before the fireplace gets a dusting.

Ecotips: I use white vinegar in water for cleaning windows and I try not to buy too much stuff that has no use or purpose (ie: ornaments).

[MeTheMog]

A little and often through the week and then all hands on deck Saturday or Sunday morning. I live in a 4 floor house (not as glamorous/big as it sounds). Top tip - never go up/downstairs empty-handed. If only I could say the same for DH :(

[ShatnersBassoon]

I hate cleaning, but I like the feeling I get once I've got a clean house.

My top tip for making the housework manageable is to always remember that someone could call around unexpectedly. I do jobs as I see them, thinking 'That wouldn't look good if I had to let someone in this minute'.

[MistyMountainHop]

i actually like cleaning and am very houseproud

i also own my own cleaning business.

at home, i get my dc to help, they are 2 and 5 but you can never start too early. the 2 yo puts her toys away at the end of the day and the 5 yo puts his dirty washing in the laundry basket, tidies his own room and hoovers. make the dc see that cleaning / tidying is everyone's responsibility

also, dh also does a lot round the house cleaning / tidying-wise, and i think it does the DC good to see that. far too many "d" h's don't pull their weight and it just re inforces to any DC that cleaning is "mum's job"

i always clean to music as i swear it makes me clean better :o

always dust before you hoover

with shower screens, always polish with a dry microfibre cloth after you have cleaned it. makes it super shiny and extra clean looking

be absolutely ruthless with chucking stuff out. clutter is the enemy of a clean house!

polish the hell out of anything chrome, ie taps, bath handles, towel rails etc, and it will make the whole room look clean and sparkly

and i only ever use microfibre cloths. for everything. they are just brilliant, pick up dirt like no bodys business and you can even use them without any cleaning product

and zoflora is brilliant. multi purpose and smells amazing

ironing water sprayed on clothes before you hang them out to dry makes them smell extra clean and fresh

i swear by shake and vac as its really satisfying being able to see where you have hoovered and also keeps carpets smelling fresh

i also put handkerchiefs with drops of a nice smelling fabric conditioner behind radiators which gives a nice subtle fresh smell

dust skirting boards with Bounce tumble dryer sheets, picks up dust effortlessly

[MothershipG]

Hate cleaning and it's sisyphean nature, my very own Forth bridge, as soon as I win the lottery I'm paying someone else to do it!

[CMOTDibbler]

I hate cleaning, and am not houseproud at all. Fortunatly, I am able to outsource this to someone who likes cleaning and tidying, so on a Friday the house is lovely.
The rest of the week, having hard floors all through downstairs means that a quick broom push round sorts it out in a minute

[CheeryCherry]

I do bits every day, usually vac downstairs daily, keep kitchen and bathrooms clean all the time, but do the most cleaning when its sunny, when we are due visitors, but especially when I'm on the phone! It gets jobs done when I'm not even realising it! I also use bicarb on my carpets, sprinkle on at night, vac off in the morning...it keeps away those doggie smells. And newspaper to wipe my duel fuel stove glass doors-then use the paper to set the fire again. Don't like doing it but do like it when its done. Often think of a job for each DC to do, then all is fair. Would definately hire a cleaner though if we could afford it!

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

Invite your in laws ote your most house proud girlfriend over. Nothing like the combination of shame and a deadline to get the while house sparkling... Or the bits they'll see, anyway...

[MakesCakesWhenStressed]

Do I need to translate the phone auto correct fails?

[ChippyMinton]

Life is too short. And there;s a law which says that whenever you complete a task, someone will come along and mess it up...

Anything that makes the job quicker and easier is my rule. So:
a Roomba to do the quick once-over hoovering jobs
e-cloths to hand for general cleaning but specialist products for some stuff eg limescale remover. mould & mildew remover etc.

And my best tip. Don't use the loo fresheners that hang over the bowl in a plastic or wire cage. If it gets flushed by accident, it may get caught in the pipes and trap loo roll causing a blockage and cost you £££ in plumber's charges.

[KatieMiddleton]

My top tips for cleaning?

Meet friends out

Bung clutter on surfaces into a carrier bag

Never let anyone in your bedroom because that is the best place to stuff all the random crap from downstairs (this assumes there is no junk room)

Don't buy glasses when you become myopic. Not only will everything not look as grimey or dusty but you will look more attractive when you glance in the mirror.

HTH

[Sweetpea5]

I used to enjoy washing dishes - v therapeutic. However as the no of children increases its no fun anymore. Must acquire dishwasher! My top tips are de-clutter -makes cleaning and tidying so much easier (plus house feels so much more relaxing imo) and never leave a room empty handed. Oh and newspaper polishes windows a treat!

[bluebump]

I am terrible at cluttering up areas so I thought the flylady tackling a 'hotspot' (ie just starting with one pile of stuff and not getting distracted by tidying up in other areas until you've finished the hotspot) was a good tip.

I am pretty clean and tend to do stuff as I go along so that I don't have to spend my weekends doing anything other than a few loads of washing.

My 3 year old is already turning into me, he is more than happy to pick up a duster and join in the cleaning but he is a bugger at cluttering up the house with his stuff!

[cobwebthegrey]

Cleaning as I go is the only way I manage to keep things vaguely tidy. As I'm leaving a room I look around to see if there's anything belonging in the one i'm going to. If there is I take it.

Our oldest dc gets pocket money for tidying away after herself, but misses out if she doesn't. At 7 I think she's old enough to take some responsibility for her own things. We'll do the same for our youngest too. DH's mum did everything for him til he left home and is consequentially a nightmare on the homework front!

[HJisgoingtogoBOOM]

I do the timer method , 15 mins proper cleaning = lots longer not cleaning.

[PamFerriswheel]

Do you see it as a therapeutic Sunday afternoon activity that you look forward to

hahaha...er, no!

I'm a blitzer, i.e. I don't mind the cleaning building up until it absolutely has to be done and then I get a sense of satisfaction from the dramatic improvement I've acheived. I actually don't feel comfortable in a pristine house, (like we have it for guests or trying to sell the house). I like a bit of mess, it makes me feel relaxed.

The job I hate the most is cleaning the windows indoors, mainly because I never get it right, they always have smears left, so for all that hard work, they still don't look great.

Anyone got any failsafe tips please? I use microcloths, which are a bit of an improvement. I just think for all that elbow grease they deserve to be perfect.

And I'm continually nagging dd about her "floordrobe". Hard to hoover when there's a pile of clothes to negotiate.

I love moist toilet wipes for a quick hygenic toilet cleaning routine - great invention.

[thrifty]

I find that cleaning is best done in the morning, but as I work weekday mornings, that generally only leaves Saturday's, as Sunday is a day of rest doncha know :)
Am usually too nnackered after picking ds up from school, and the little bit of time between work and school has recently been taken up with going to the gym, so my hot tip is shower at the gym, it leaves one less thing to clean. :)
Seriously though, cleaning is a chore, but quite satisfying once its done, my best cleaning is done when I'm in the foulest of moods, I find it really motivating ( wierd emoticon). If I get to the stage where the whole house is clean and tidy then I seem to manage to keep on top of it for a few weeks by doing a little at a time. I get most enjoyment from cleaning the bathroom and seeing it all shiny. Hot tip - get a water scraped for the shower tiles and use it everytime you get out if the shower. Someone once told me they polished the inside if their bath with pledge so the water didn't stick and it was always shiny. Not tried it though.

[TeWihara]

Tip: Stairbaskets, one for each member of the house. As you clean up downstairs you can tip each person's crap beloved possessions into their own basket to take upstairs with them at the end of the day. And while you're waiting for them to get on with it it doesn't get in the way.

I am a stay at home parent so I try and do as much as I can as I go through the day, and to take advantage of when the baby is sleeping and the toddler is having a bit of TV time or is at preschool to do as much as I can.

At the end of the day my husband and I make a lift of everything that's not been done and split it between us. Not leaving anything for the next day makes life much easier.

BTW... I've been using ecover multipurpose spray on a wooden surface top... I suspect this is bad since it's now all rough and pale. How do I rescue it??

[TeWihara]

oh... and yes. I don't mind cleaning. Having everything clean and tidy is really satisfying and the kids make so much mess every single day that just a couple of days worth of dirt and toys makes it look like no one has cleaned for weeks! So if you keep on top of it as much as you can at least if someone pops around unexpectedly it's forgivably clean.

[joanofarchitrave]

I hate cleaning but I do like the look of a clean house. My standards are however at ankle-level so my version of a clean house would probably be considered dangerous by Environmental Health. I only clean 1) if my mother or MIL is coming round or 2) to try and instil regular cleaning habits in my son. I'm mildly allergic to dust, so as soon as I start, I begin sneezing and my eyes stream which is phenomenally annoying.

I'm going to pinch a tip from Katharine Whitehorn, who pinched it from Peg Bracken: do housework in the order in which the mess will be discovered. So if my MIL is coming round, I start by standing at the front door and cleaning visible cobwebs/sweeping the hall floor, run the dust off the top of the coatrack, clean the visible lumps of grot out of the fridge because she brings food which she puts away immediately, then the hob as she will probably offer to make a cup of tea, then the bathroom as she will probably need a wee after the drive over.... etc etc. Remarkably efficient.

[lessa2]

I hate cleaning. I think this is inherited! - so definitely no tried and tested tips passed down from the previous generation. I have got a number of tips and motivation off MN actually - especially things like spending 15 minutes on one small area and then STOP.
My top tip is to invite friends or relatives round on a regular basis to motivate you to keep on top of things .

[Grockle]

I love having a clean house and clean when I am stressed. I think this comes from my mother whose house is like a show-home. I'm more slatternly than that and my house is more lived in, but I like nothing better than a freshly hoovered floor and a shiny sink. Definitely therapeutic when I do it through choice but a pita that it needs to be done so often.

[Honeydragon]

I've picked up loads of tips of mnet.

one of my own is I wash the floor before hoovering it on floor washing days as it clumps up all the random cornery bits.

I use laundry liquid to wash my floors.

And thanks to my chicken soup thread I know that WD40 is a miracle cleaning substance, dishwasher tablets fix yellowed whites, how to stop fridges smelling and that tortoises can only be refrigerated by the professionals.

It is the best top tips thread EVER.