It’s often the little things that present the biggest challenge, whether you’re doing some spring cleaning or just keeping things tidy!
And despite our knack for cleaning the big stuff like carpets and countertops, smaller spaces like window tracks, air vents, and other nooks and crannies rarely make it into our daily routines.
Cleaning these spaces requires a little extra effort, but with the right tools, it’s easily done.
1. Car crevices
Are your car’s vents looking dusty? Just use a cheap sponge paint brush to wipe them clean.
The small head on the brush will fit inside most car vents, and the handle allows you to reach further inside to clean out the dirt and dust that’s accumulated there.
Cotton swabs, especially ones with longer shafts, work well too.
2. Window blinds
Using your kitchen tongs makes dusting your blinds a lot easier! Tongs, microfiber cloths, and rubber bands are all you need.
With rubber bands, secure the cloth around the ends of your tongs. By using the cloth-covered tongs, you can quickly clean both the top and bottom of each slat of your window blinds.
Alternatively, you can use your hands to quickly clean your blinds.:
Combine equal parts vinegar and water and dip a sock into the mixture. Slip your hand inside the sock, then use it to clean both sides of your window blinds at a time. Faster, and easier…who doesn’t love that?
3. Faucets
With time, your kitchen and bathroom faucets can accumulate mineral deposits, mildew, and bacteria. An old toothbrush works great for cleaning them!
You will be able to clean out all the nooks and crannies with a toothbrush and some soapy water.
4. Underneath The Rim Of Your Toilet
Toilet bowl rims are a hot spot for all kinds of nasty things! Even a good scrub doesn’t always do the trick.
Soak some paper towels in white vinegar and tuck them underneath the toilet rim. Let sit for about 30 minutes, then toss the paper towels and scrub any remaining gunk with a toilet brush.
Note: You can also use this method to clean out your grimy shower door tracks.
5. Window Tracks
Although your vacuum probably has attachments for cleaning crevices, they may not be useful in all situations. For example, the crevice tool that comes with many vacuum cleaners is often too large to fit into tiny spaces such as the tracks of windows.
This makes it hard to clean out dust that accumulates over time in these areas.
While there are gadgets out there that you can attach to your vacuum hose to help with this, you can DIY the problem yourself by taping a cardboard tube from a toilet paper or paper towel roll to the end of your vacuum’s hose. This allows you to flatten the tube to fit into your window tracks and other tight places.
6. Other overlooked and under-cleaned places
The inside of your purse
Pick up dirt, loose change, and other debris with a lint roller rolled along the bottom of an empty purse.
Sticky candles
Roll a grimy candle around in a stocking. The nonabrasive nylon of the stocking removes dust and grime without sticking to the candle.
Dingy TV screens
Use a coffee filter to clean dusty computer monitors and plasma TV screens. Coffee filters turn out to have all kinds of brilliant uses that don’t involve coffee!
Pet hair
Use a window squeegee to remove pet hair from your carpet. The rubber on the blade quickly lifts fur from rug fibers.
Dusty clothes
Prevent dust from settling on nice dresses and leather jackets by cutting a hole in the center of a cloth napkin and placing it over the hanger.
Use a soap dispenser dish brush in your shower
Use a soap dispenser brush that’s exclusive for use in your shower. Fill it with dish soap and hang it in the shower. Scrub the shower whenever you take a shower. Dish soap is great for cleaning the bathroom.
Use your dishwasher
There are so many uses for dishwashers besides just washing dishes. Quickly dust off grimy knickknacks such as mason jars or glass candle globes.
If it’s glass or ceramic, it can probably go into your dishwasher. However, never place these items in the dishwasher:
- ⬥ Family heirlooms
- ⬥ Dishwashing liquid
- ⬥ Plastic food containers
- ⬥ Copper pans
- ⬥ Wooden cutting boards and utensils
- ⬥ Crystal glass and dishware
- ⬥ Cheese grater
- ⬥ Expensive chef-quality knives
- ⬥ Pet bowls
7. Purchase a paint brush
For hardwood floors, use a stiff paintbrush to pull out dirt from around your furniture to where you can vacuum it up without needing to move furniture around.
As you work around the house, use this checklist to save time, energy, and frustration as you clean these hard to reach spots and items.
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