Our Editors Share Their Favorite Cleaning Hacks They Actually Swear By

The internet is full of cleaning "hacks" that promise to change your life, but few of them actually end up being useful enough to incorporate into your cleaning routine. At The Spruce, it's our job to find those unicorns—those game-changers that leave your home sparkling clean using surprising methods.

These are the 12 cleaning hacks our editors actually swear by.

Cleaning Grout With Toilet Bowl Cleaner

I'm not sure if this is totally a hack—moreso a repurposing, but I first learned this method as a summer lifeguard. We had members complain that the grout lines in our tiled bathroom were too gross and brown-black, so we spent practically a whole day trying different cleaning products to find what would make the grout white again.

Lo and behold it was Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner. I now use it in my own bathroom on the tile floors and shower. You let it sit for a few minutes and go to town with a scrubber of some sort. Additional hack: I use a toothbrush (purely dedicated to cleaning) to really get in the tiny shower grout lines. On the floor I use a power drill and a scrubbing brush attachment (truly a game changer) to speed up the process. - Emma Phelps, Associate Commerce Editor

Using Essential Oils in the Dryer

I started doing this a year ago but I love adding a few drops of my favorite essential oil (lavender all the way) to my laundry when I'm loading it into the dryer. It always leaves my dried laundry smelling fresh, which lasts for days. - Jane Kim, Associate Editor

Cleaning Jewelry With Toothpaste

This is possibly the silliest/laziest hack but I almost always clean my jewelry with toothpaste and a soft bristled toothbrush before polishing it. Might not be recommended by most but this hack has never let me down and I always end up with really sparkly jewelry every time. I mostly do this with sterling silver jewelry but have also done it on gold plated jewelry and everything has lasted me years! - Aliyah Rodriguez, Associate Editor

Melamine Sponge for Dusting

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is such an excellent tool for cleaning all around your home, and one of my favorite ways to use it is for dusting. If you have spaces around your home that collect dust, like bookshelves, molding, ceiling fans, or baseboards, lightly dampen the Magic Eraser and wipe it over top—boom, magically clean. - Mia Ingui, Editor

IKEA Shower Squeegee for Windows

I use the $2 LILLNAGGEN shower squeegee from IKEA to clean my windows. I've spray on some distilled white vinegar, dish soap, and water, then wipe with the shower squeegee. With the squeegee I know I'm cleaning 100% of the window and I won't miss any spots. I use a microfiber cloth to wipe down the bottom of the window where the dirty water accumulated, and I hit any streaks with a quick wipe, too. - Jenny Hughes, Associate Editorial Director

Vinegar for Hard Water Stains

I recently tried a DIY vinegar spray to see if it would help remove the hard water build-up on my black fixtures, and it did not disappoint. I worked better than my store-bought cleaners, and I love that a vinegar spray can be used elsewhere throughout the home. It's truly multi-purpose! - Kate McKenna, Senior Editor

Microfiber Cloth on a Swiffer

I love my Swiffer: light, nimble, easy-to-use. I reached for it recently and realized I had forgotten to order new pads. It was super cold out, and I had cleared that morning for cleaning, and I wondered—might a microfiber cloth work here? It totally did! Microfiber cloths are thin enough to clip into the Swiffer head and stay on, and I felt like a total genius—and a sustainable genius, to boot! - Courtney Mason, General Manager

Cleaning a Bathroom Fan With a Broom

I live in a very wet area of the Pacific Northwest and to keep my windowless bathroom free of mold I have a combination ceiling exhaust fan on a very tall ceiling. But the vent of this exhaust fan becomes incredibly dusty very quickly and I have tried numerous things to clean it. The best trick to clean this high-up dusty vent is to use a stiff broom and apply pressure while slowly moving the broom's bristles across the vent. It takes just a few seconds and all of the dust comes off in one swipe! - Sara Brown, Social Media Editor

Don't Forget Your Baseboards

One valuable piece of advice I learned from my dear late friend Ann Micou is the importance of cleaning your baseboards. When you're expecting guests, prioritize going over high-traffic areas and giving the baseboards a thorough dusting and cleaning. It's the finishing touch that can make your home appear deeply cleaned even when you're pressed for time. - Jamie Abarca, Senior Editorial Project Manager

Cleaning White Shoes With Toothpaste

I recently discovered using non-gel, white toothpaste to clean my white sneakers, and I was not disappointed. I couldn't believe how glowing white they were after I was done. This is a trick I will definitely keep handy in my playbook. - Candace Madonna, Senior Visual Editor

Dawn Dish Soap for Oil Stains

I don't think this is unheard of by any means, but my favorite cleaning hack is using Dawn dish soap on really any stain, but particularly oil stains on clothes. Every time I'm cooking and a little olive oil gets on my favorite sweatshirt or tee, I put a dab of the dish soap on the spot, rub it in gently while soaking the fabric in warm-cold water in the sink, and then rinse and wring out the item before tossing it in the washing machine on a cold water cycle. It works every single time. Dawn dish soap and warm water is also my go-to combo for wiping down my granite countertops in my kitchen—gentle, easy, and effective. - Marisa Viglione, Senior Commerce Editor

Denture Tablets for Grimy Sinks

Instead of a(nother!) bottle of cleaning spray, I keep a box of denture tablets under my kitchen sink. Whenever the basin starts to look grimy, I dissolve a few tablets in it, scrub the fizzy residue around, and it'll look like new again in just a few minutes. I figure, if these tablets are good enough for something that goes in someone's mouth, then they're good enough for my sink, too. - Dena Ogden, Commerce Writer

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