I have been cleaning houses for several years. I have worked in a pet boarding facility, and an assisted living facility. Between babies, pets, and old people, I’ve cleaned it all.
What are my secret weapons for housecleaning?
Cleaning Secret Weapons series:
Good Tools for Frugal House Cleaning
Key Ingredients for Frugal House Cleaning
Frugal, Natural Cleaners
Frugal Tips
Good tools for frugal house cleaning:
Toothbrush
You can get two for a dollar at your dollar store, so if you don’t have an old one just get a new one. These are great for scrubbing little spaces.
A plastic knife is good for tiny spaces, too.
Bleach pen
I have a Clorox® bleach® pen that you can remove the scrubby brush from, it’s not too hard to refill it with a bleach and baking soda paste.
This is excellent for grout and caulk, and little tough spots. I don’t like to use a lot of bleach.
Scouring pad with handle
This is the old scrubby pad with a handle that sticks on, good for showers.
Scrubby brush
This is the classic brush that fits in your hand for scrubbing floors
Various rags
Old tshirts are the best for glass.
Your dollar store will have some decent cleaning cloths that will stand up to washing if you don’t have any.
I try not to use more paper towels than necessary. They just make more waste. However, if you don’t use different rags/sponges for different tasks you’re going to be spreading germs around your house.
Microfiber cloth
You can get an eyeglass cleaning cloth at the dollar store. This is the ONLY thing you are supposed to use on LCD tv and computer screens. Anything else will scratch it. Just get it damp.
Old sock
Yup, an old sock. You can elastic band it to a broom stick to get cobwebs. You can stick it on your hand to wipe down the top of ceiling fan blades, blinds, and those bumpy lampshades.
Paint brush
You want one that is big enough that the base for the bristles is a rectangle rather than tapered. It can be cheap.
This will get in nooks and crannies on knickknacks and carved wood.
Hair dryer
You can get dust out of delicate florals with a hair dryer.
You can also use one for a quick dust of shelves, it won’t deep clean but it will pop off any dust clumps.
Telescoping Swiffer® duster
You can get these at the dollar store, with a short handle.
You can wash the cloths, and make your own to reuse.
I like the telescoping one because extended it can dust ceiling fan blades, cobwebs, blinds, light fixtures, the tops of things, high stuff… Collapsed it is small enough to dust regular stuff without being awkward.
Furniture movers/sliders
You can buy these at department stores, hardware stores, and home stores.
I got big oval ones, since some dressers just have a cut out rather than real feet and are too big for those little round ones.
Cleaning Secret Weapons series:
Good Tools for Frugal House Cleaning
Next: Key Ingredients for Frugal House Cleaning
Frugal, Natural Cleaners
Frugal Tips
Frugal, Flexible Monthly Menu Planning OR
Great Depression Era Real Food Recipes OR
A Crunchy Baby Registry: 34 Things You NEED (or should make) Before Baby Comes
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We hope you enjoyed Cleaning Secret Weapons – Good Tools for Frugal House Cleaning
Photo credits:
Cleaning in progresss sign inf3ktion on Flikr
Toothbrush Wokka on Flikr
Clorox bleach pen TheKarenD on Flikr
Butterfly on scrubbing pads Kake Pugh on Flikr
Scrub brush papalars / Andrew E Larsen on Flikr
Rag in the morning sun Pulpolux on Flikr
LCD ajmarx/Alexander Marx on Flikr
Hole in my sock bcmom on Flikr
Painrbushes on wall Degilbo on flikr on Flikr
Hair dryer sglpix on Flikr
Swiffer duster reusable refill prettydaisies on Flikr
All photos licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License
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