Pro Housecleaners Are Sharing Their Go-To Tips For Cleaning Thoroughly In A Hurry, And Several Are Pure Genius

Maintaining a clean home can feel like a losing battle at times because it's a job that's never truly done. However, those who do it full-time have found some great tricks to make some of the most arduous cleaning tasks more manageable. Recently, Reddit user u/Ilikefrogs let us in on some of those secrets by asking people what their best tricks are to thoroughly clean their homes quickly. The responses have tips so good that they might just leave you excited for chores, just for the chance to try them out.

1. "Get an air purifier. Having one will cut the amount of dust that falls in a room by 50-90%. Less dust means things will appear to stay clean longer."

2. "Use old newspapers to clean windows/mirrors. Spray the glass, crumble up a sheet of newspaper into a ball, and wipe. No paper towel residue."

— u/UrbanGimli

3. "The best tip to make clean up quick is to clean often. If you always make a point to straighten up at the end of every day, your place will hopefully never become a disaster. Also, pick one day of the week that you'll spend more than a few minutes cleaning up the bathroom/kitchen, and it should never get too overwhelming."

— u/spiffywang

4. "If your microwave has a turntable, wash that like any other dish — every few days."

5. "Full hands in, full hands out. Even just picking up one little thing every time you go from room to room will make the mess disappear quickly."

— u/bravoitaliano

6. "Always do your vacuuming last. As you clean each room you'll probably be knocking dust and particles and whatnot onto the floor, so once the room has been dusted and surfaces have been wiped down, you can finish off with a good vacuum."

7. "Everything needs a place. It is much easier to keep things tidy when you know where they go. Get rid of the piles of clutter that have nowhere to go, and get rid of as much clutter as you can. Keep it simple. Regularly de-clutter, room by room. Not enough space? Put some things in storage."

— u/BlackCaaaaat

8. "Keep shower cleansing spray in the shower. At the end of every shower, spray the walls and curtain. This will prevent mold and prolong the life of your shower curtain."

— u/UrbanGimli

9. "Don't overdo your cleaning agent. Often times, it'll take longer to remove the cleaning agent afterwards than it will to clean it in the first place. Soft scrub bleach is one of the worst offenders — only use that in showers/the inside of a toilet, otherwise you're going to spend a lot of time picking up the chalk that's in it."

10. "If you hate doing ceiling fans and therefore never clean them, wet down a pillowcase, wring it out, slip it over the blade, clamp down with your hands, and pull it towards you. Repeat for each blade. Clean ceiling fan and it literally takes under a minute."

—u/deleted

11. "I leave extra bags in the bottom of the bathroom garbage. I can just pull out the old garbage and get rid of it and will always have a fresh bag ready to go. Of course, don't forget to wash the garbage out during a big clean, but this is a tip that's made life a bit easier for me."

— u/RazorbladeApple

12. "Take 15 minutes when you get home from work/school/whatever while you are still up and mobile and just pick up something. Anything."

"I'll take 15 minutes when I get home and fold some blankets or laundry, straighten up the living room and consolidate the dishes and whatnot. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish in 15 minutes."

—u/deleted

13. "Does your microwave look horrible? Fill a microwave-safe bowl halfway with water and lemon juice. Run on high for 5-10 minutes. Let the bowl cool a bit, then remove it. The steam should loosen any caked-on grit. Grab a sponge or cloth and wipe clean."

14. "Scrub down your home's banisters or handrails on the stairs. Folks tend to forget this area, and it can be disgusting."

— u/personal_failure

15. "SUGAR SOAP. Cleans walls amazingly. If you smoke inside, it will remove the buildup of grime. If there's a wine stain on your wall it will disappear. If someone has kicked your wall and a black rubber stain is there, sugar soap is the answer."

— u/vitaD

16. "If you're doing a bathroom, fill the sink with hot water and add your cleaning agent of choice. Dip a rag in there, wring it out, and then wipe everything down, with strokes going toward the sink. Pull all the dust/grime into the sink. Once you're done wet wiping everything down, go over it all again with a dry rag."

17. "Do things now . It is so much easier to wash a couple of plates, a bowl, a glass, and a fork than it is to pile your entire kitchen into the sink and wait until the mold is growing to do the dishes."

— u/Offtopic_bear

18. "For carpet stains, scrub with hot water, put baking soda on the wet area to absorb the moisture, let it sit, and vacuum up the baking soda a bit later."

19. "Mix one part liquid fabric softener to nine parts water in a clean, empty spray bottle. Saves you money on fabric spray. Use it on curtains and soft furniture."

— u/jloper

20. "As far as cleaning agents go, for a general wipe down, vinegar is best, bleach is second best. Don't mix the two; it's a one or the other choice (unless chlorine gas is your thing)."

21. "Two denture cleaning tablets thrown down the toilet twice a week keep it sparkling clean and smelling lovely."

—u/deleted

22. "On laundry day, do darks first, then colors/delicates, then whites. That way residual bleach doesn't become an issue with colorful clothing."

23. "Rags are better than paper towels. They let you dig into the grime more."

— u/pwnies

24. "Keep a scouring sponge and a brush in the shower. Know how the shower gets really comfortable and you never want to leave, or you stand around thinking too much? Use those moments to clean."

"Stand on the sponge and move it around to clean the bottom of the tub while you shower. You'll have to kneel to get the sides of the tub though. The next day, pick a wall and scrub it with the brush while you shower. Keep the five-day rotation going."

— u/TBatWork

25. "You carry a box and a bin through your entire house, one room at a time. Anything you find in the room that doesn't belong there, put in the box, anything in the box that belongs in that room, you put away. Any trash goes in the bin. When you hit the end of the house, go back in reverse, putting away what remains in the box."

— u/pooter63

26. "My dog is a shed machine even though he is brushed often. Getting a robot vacuum changed my life and makes it much easier to not have to constantly sweep and vacuum."

What are your favorite hacks to make cleaning less grueling? Let us know in the comments below.

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.