How To Get a Clean House While You Sleep: 3 Overnight Cleaning Hacks
There are only so many hours in the day, and no one wants to spend them cleaning. Believe it or not, there are ways to achieve a spic-and-span house without doing any dirty work (literally). With just a few common household items, you can tackle anything from oven grime to dirty tile in no time. Get ready to save time and money with these 3 overnight cleaning hacks that let you wake up to a sparkling home.
1. Clean your oven overnight with baking soda
Sure, you can sleep through your oven's self-cleaning mode, but the smell it makes can linger in your house for days. Instead, try this trick from Karina Toner of Speckless Cleaning. "Take 1/2 cup of baking soda and water, 1 Tbs. at a time, until it forms a paste. Remove racks; apply paste to the interior of the oven using a damp sponge. Place racks in a bathtub filled with hot water and add another 1/2 cup of baking soda. Let both elements soak overnight. In the morning, drain the bath, rinse the racks and wipe the oven down with a clean, damp rag and you're done!"
Why does this work? Alkaline baking soda breaks down the bond that dirt, grime, grease and food have on our surfaces. It's also mildly abrasive, so just wiping helps "scrub" the surface—no effort needed on your part.
2. Clean tile overnight with lemon juice + cream of tartar
Whether it's on your shower walls, your kitchen counters or your floors, tile has one thing in common: It's a pain to clean. The uneven surface means dirt and grime gather in the crevices, resisting a quick wipe-down. Over time, the grout can develop an impenetrable stain. Rather than waste time and energy scouring away at all those surfaces, put lemon juice to work, suggests Tasha Hall with Tidy Mops.
"Mix the juice and cream of tartar until a paste forms. How much you need depends on how large of a surface you're cleaning. Spread that mixture over your tiles using a damp sponge, especially working it into any grout, than call it a night. In the morning, either vacuum the mixture, rinse it off using your shower hose." You can also "wipe your kitchen counters or backsplash with a damp, clean cloth and voilà!"
Why does this work? Together, lemon juice's citric acid and cream of tartar's acidic properties lift stains and loosen dirt with ease.
Read more on how you can use lemon juice to remove limescale from faucets!
3. Clean your toilet overnight with a denture tablet
You can get your toilet bowl spotless without having to scrub with this genius trick from Vanessa Bossart of Sparkling Clean Pro. "At bedtime, pour 1 cup of white vinegar into the bowl and drop in a denture tablet. Let it fizz away overnight, and in the morning, just flush it for a squeaky-clean toilet!" If your toilet was especially dirty, it may need a quick wipe with the toilet brush before flushing, but that's it.
Why does this work? The acids in the vinegar break down mineral deposits and grimy buildup. Additionally, the chemical oxidants in denture tablets remove stains and prevent the spread of germs.
For more easy cleaning hacks, check out these stories below:
Getting Rid of Mystery Stains in Your Toilet Bowl Is Easier Thank You Think — Here’s How
7 Genius Baking Soda Hacks Guaranteed to Save You Time and Money
