7 Misleading Cleaning Hacks that Are Waste of Time
Everyone wants quick, simple, and effective ways to clean up the dirty areas of their house. Since cleaning is one of the most stressful and time-consuming tasks, people are always looking for the hacks that can make their work easier. From using expensive and hazardous cleaning products to trailing cleaning hacks, we consider every single aspect to reduce the pressure of cleaning chores.
Unfortunately, most of the hacks available on the Internet just make you feel disappointed. Of course, they look intriguing and effective, but actually, they do nothing than wasting your precious time.
Here in this article, we bring you the seven misleading cleaning hacks or tricks that are just a waste of time. You should avoid them and try to stick with the basic cleaning tips.
01. Coca-Cola as an Effective Toilet Cleaner
You must have heard that Coca-Cola is one of the best alternatives to toilet cleaners. The small quantities of phosphoric and citric acids available in the carbonated soda can eliminate rust and stains, but the process is not 100 % effective.
The bitter truth is that one litre of coca cola will do nothing. Instead of killing harmful bacteria, the sticky residue will give more exposure to bacterial growth. So, it is good to avoid coca-cola or any other carbonated soda while cleaning your toilet.
Tip: Always use disinfecting toilet cleaners, or you make a solution of baking soda and hot water for better results.
02. Use Dryer Sheet to Remove Soap Scum
Managing an entire house cleaning task can be challenging, especially when it comes to cleaning bathrooms. From scrubbing wash basins to disinfecting toilet seat, wiping floors to removing soap scum, everything requires a lot of time and effort.
In order to save precious time, people try new bathroom cleaning hacks. One of them is using dryer sheets to eliminate tough soap scum from shower doors and walls. This trick is just a waste of time because dryer sheets can’t obliterate tough stains and scum.
You need an effective cleaning solution or a magic eraser that takes less time in bringing back the shine of your shower doors.
03. Remove Ink with Hairspray
Gone are the days when people used to clean the spills of ink using hairsprays. Earlier, hairspray contains a huge amount of alcohol, which worked as a magical ink remover as well. But today’s hairsprays contain more essential oils and conditioners and less alcohol – which won’t help you in getting rid of ink stains.
So, stop wasting your time and stick with effective cleaning tricks that can make your life easier.
04. Use Hot Water to Kill Bacteria
The cleaning hack of using hot water for killing bacteria, molds and other harmful germs is not worthy at all. Of course, hot water works amazing, but it has to be extremely hot (212-218 degrees F) and the dirty surface must be exposed at least for 5 minutes.
Since water heaters available in houses are set at 120 degrees F, so this trick won’t work as it is expected.
If your water is less than 212 degrees F, then it is better to avoid this trick at home. Instead, you can prepare a solution using baking soda, white vinegar and hot water to kill germs and prevent mold from different surfaces.
05. Clean Dishes with Lemon
Many cleaning hacks claim that lemon is a great ingredient that can help you bring back the shine of your dishes.
Unfortunately, this is one of those tricks that won’t give you 100 % satisfactory results. Of course, lemon is a citric substance, but it won’t eliminate stubborn stains and food residue from your dishes. Instead of scrubbing lemon wedges on your dishes, you can blend the lemon juice with baking soda to get this trick done properly.
Tip: Lemons can give your dishes a fresh and pleasant fragrance. So, you can attempt this trick anytime!
06. Disinfect Kitchen Sponge in the Microwave
No wonder that kitchen sponges are the dirtiest and most contaminated things in the house. It contains thousands of harmful germs, allergens and yeast that need to be taken out as soon as possible. To get those dirty sponges sanitised, you need to clean them twice in a week. Now, you must be wondering that how to clean kitchen sponges?
Well, you can easily find a trick which claims that keeping a sponge in a microwave for a minute and set it on high heat can kill all the bacteria. This trick is completely ineffective, and the process of heating will lead to an incinerated sponge – which is even worst.
Tip: Use a disposable cloth and replace it after every use.
07. Use White Vinegar to Remove Water Rings
White vinegar is undoubtedly a great cleaning product, but it won’t remove stains of water rings from your table. The acidic properties of vinegar might damage the polish of your wooden table. So, it is better to avoid this hack, particularly when you are dealing with water rings.
If the watermark is light, you can expose it to the gentle heat. For this, you need an electric iron and a plain along with a non-abrasive cloth.
Put the cloth over the affected area and set the iron to its lowest heat level. Next, run the warm iron over the fabric. Make sure you move the iron in the same direction. This can help you release trapped moisture that caused the watermark on the wooden surface.
For darker stains that are tough to remove, you can use a small dab of toothpaste. All you need to do is to brush the surface using the paste until it disappears gently.
Tip: Make sure you don’t rub it too hard or for too long – this can make your wooden table look dull and faded.
Conclusion
There are plenty of cleaning hacks out there, make sure you do thorough research before putting your time and effort into it. For deep cleaning of carpets, oven and other contaminated surfaces in your house, it is better to hire professionally trained cleaners who know the right cleaning tricks and techniques. Hope you enjoyed this article!