The Best Cleaning Products You’ve Never Heard Of
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You might not know these holy grail household cleansers yet (including some editors favorites!), but you’ll want to.
Blueland
When it comes to household cleaning products, sometimes it's the lesser-known solutions hidden in the cleaning aisle that do the best job of tackling our most stubborn messes. When you find one of those, that’s when you’ve struck cleanliness gold. We’re always on the lookout for better ways to make our homes spotless, and sometimes that means collecting recommendations from anywhere you can get it. Our editors have scoured Amazon, peaked in our friends and family’s cabinets, and picked the brain of a housekeeping professional or two for hidden gem cleaning products that we don’t know how we ever lived without.
From multi-purpose cleansers to extremely specific stain removers and miracle cures, these are products so good, we would be doing a disservice by gatekeeping them any longer. If you’ve never heard of them, we think that you should.
Windex Electronics Screen Wipes
Clorox wipes? Been there, done that. Windex wipes, however, are a game changer. While the classic glass and window formula wipes are convenient household helpers too, the tech version is where Windex shines and makes shine.
The Pink Stuff
If you do know this stuff, then you’re a fan. This bubble gum pink miracle cure comes in four different forms, that between them, can do it all. It’s not just multi-purpose cleanser; It’s all purpose.
Pet Hair Remover Carpet Rake
For those with furry friends who have made their warm and fuzzy marks all over your home, you need this carpet rake made for clearing up pet hair. Even when Fluffy's shedding, with this contraption, your home can easily be fur-free.
Car Vacuum Cleaner
Dirt in the car can easily be swept under the rug—out of sight and out of mind in most cases. However, this handy dandy miniature vacuum makes it as easy as can be to clean your car’s interior, from the floors to the cracks in the seats that always seem to fall victim to kids’ travel snacks.
Wool Dryer Balls
Ditching dryer sheets is a win-win with dryer balls as a neat alternative. While dryer sheets are wasteful and high in chemical content, eco-friendly dryer balls like these wool ones are able to be used over and over again, and even speed up drying time while tackling static cling.
Sprayway Ammonia-Free Glass Cleaner
“If people are still using windex to clean glass, they're doing it wrong. This is WAY better,” says Southern Living’s Editorial Producer Ivy Odom, recommending Sprayway instead, and seconded by Senior News Writer Meghan Overdeep and Senior Editor Kimberly Holland.
“I asked a hotel housekeeping staff member what she used after seeing a little boy absolutely cover a window in handprints and licks, and it came right off and looked immaculate. She said she swears by Sprayway,” says Holland. “It's all I've used since.”
Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser
For fans of Bar Keepers Friend powder cleaner, we’re happy to make the introduction to its more uncommon liquid cleanser counterpart.
“My mom can only find the powdered version of Bar Keepers Friend in small town, South Georgia, so I buy this for her when she's running low,” shares Odom. I like working with this much more than the powdered stuff.”
No matter which form of Bar Keepers Friend is your new go-to, Brunson Sayes, owner of Geaux Maids, a house cleaning service in Louisiana, seconds this recommendation but says that there's a trick to using this product best.
"For bathrooms and kitchens, Bar Keepers Friend is amazing to remove hard stuck-on grim and other materials that won't come off with a basic spray cleaner," he says. "The trick is that you have to let it sit so the chemical process can do it's job."
CARBONA Stain Devils Complete Set
“These specialized stain removers are the BEST,” Odom, a trained chef, raves. “I stain a lot of things since I spend most of my day in the kitchen, and these along with some dish soap and Borax really get the job done.”
Odom, a trained chef, swears by these stain removers so much that they’ve taken over a tiered spice rack in her laundry room. “It looks like a Carbona ad in there,” she says.
Wine Away Red Wine Stain Remover
“I always thought that red wine was a death sentence for whatever fabric it spilled on,” says Overdeep, “but my mother in law introduced me to this powerhouse little spray that works so well on red wine stains!”
It erases blood, ink, punch, sauce, and coffee stains, too.
Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover Foaming Aerosol For Cats
“Two days after I put down a brand-new white rug, one of my cats returned her breakfast on it. I grabbed this bottle, sprayed, and prayed,” says Holland. “Despite the mess being dry, there is now no sign of it. No stain, no odor. If you have a pet that frequently revisits their meals, this is a secret I happily share with you.”
Nature’s Miracle Enzyme Cleaner
This recommendation from cleaning pro Sayes is dedicated to all the parents of young kids out there.
"We use Nature’s Miracle Enzyme Cleaner when one of our clients has a younger child that sleeps in their own bed," Sayes reveals. "It removes any smell that may have occurred due to any little accidents at night."
Grandma's Secret Spot Remover
A friend recommended Grandma's Secret Spot Remover to a very grateful Assistant Editor Cameron Beall who vouches for its cleaning power. Even though it’s chlorine-, bleach-, and toxin-free, this fabric spray removes stain better than the best of them.
Baseboard Buddy
“Dusting the baseboards is perhaps my most dreaded chore ever, and this handy tool makes it much easier and less pesky,” shares Associate Editor Kaitlyn Yarborough. “You don’t have to bend over and it catches so much dust! I’m a Baseboard Buddy lover for life.”
Cloralen All Purpose Household Cleaning Spray
Content Manager Hannah Zepeda calls this spray her “holy grail surface cleaner.” Thank your lucky stars that a surface cleanser so good goes for under 3 dollars.
“It does have bleach in it,” warns Zepeda, “but it is the best! They also have one designed for bathrooms or showers and it’s just as great!”
Blueland The Clean Essentials
Blueland
“We’ve been using Blueland for at least three years now and we love it,” says Southern Living Fellow Mary Alice Russell. Unlike so many other cleaning products, Blueland’s are plant-based and come in refillable glass containers and dispensers. The products themselves come in tablets that when combined with water, can be used to clean your home.
“The glass bottles are really beautiful and last a long time. The dispensaries are great too,” Russel says. Every time we use it it’s like a little science project. It turns into your miracle product and you’re helping the environment along the way.”
Blueland Dishwasher Starter Set
Blueland
Another Blueland innovation worth raving over is this one for the dishwasher. Rather than Tide pods that refuse to pop and are each wrapped in plastic, these dishwasher tablets, stored in a pretty tin, are made with plant-based ingredients to leave your dishes sparkling without the waste.
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Read the original article on Southern Living.
