TV commercials and magazine advertisements may make you think it requires a closet or cabinet full of specialized cleaning tools, but the truth is, there are only a handful of tools you need to keep your house spic-and-span. These are the only cleaning tools you’ll ever need:
Cleaning Cloths
If you’re using paper towels for most of your cleaning jobs, you’re throwing money away each time you clean. Not only are cloths cheaper and better for the environment, they can tackle twice the number of jobs that the lowly paper towel can — cloths can do everything snatching up dust to scrubbing dishes to mopping floors. That being said, not all cleaning cloths are created equal. You need dish cloths for washing dishes, mopping down counters, and other kitchen tasks (it’s best to have at least seven, one for every day of the week), microfiber cloths for dusting surfaces and floors, cleaning glass and grabbing cobwebs, and general cleaning cloths for all other cleaning duties. When it comes to those general cleaning cloths, feel free to use dish cloths, wash cloths, or even old t-shirts or other clothing scraps — as long as it’s sturdy, it will work. Just throw in the washer when you’re done, and you’re ready for your next job!
Nylon Scrubber Sponges
The lowly little nylon scrubber sponge is an often-overlooked cleaning wonder. While you often find these scrubber sponges in kitchens, they are just as good at scrubbing soap scum in the bathroom, patio furniture, shoes, litter boxes — you name it. Better than cellulose sponges, which get smelly and germy over time, easier to use than scrub brushes, nylon scrubber sponges are also inexpensive and easy to clean. Just place the scrubber sponge you use on your dishes in the dishwasher (top rack) to clean and deodorize; for scrubbers you use elsewhere, dish soap and/or bleach will do the trick.
Broom and/or Vacuum
Whether you’re in the broom camp or the vacuum cleaner camp when it comes to sweeping hard floor surfaces, you need one or the other (or both, if you have carpet) to keep your floors looking their best.
Electrostatic Broom
While it will never take the place of the traditional broom and/or vacuum cleaner, the electrostatic broom is the cleaning tool almost every home has, but few take full advantage of. This cleaning workhorse (no, you don’t need the fancy brand-name version, since a store brand knock-off will work just as well) can handle floors, ceilings and a surprising number of things in between. The best news? You don’t even need those expensive dry or wet cloths to dust and clean your floors — all you need are regular and microfiber cleaning cloths. Use microfiber cleaning cloths anywhere you would have used a dry electrostatic cloth, i.e. to dust floors, pull down cobwebs, or clean the tops of window sills and door trim. Use a damp cloth attached to an electrostatic broom to wash down walls, windows, hardwood floors and other surfaces. You’ll never need a mop bucket and mop again, if you have one of these little brooms. Simply wet a cloth, wring it out, attach it to the broom, then spray floors with an all-purpose cleaner and scrub. Rinse and replace the cloth as needed. This mopping method works on any hard floor surface that’s safe for all-purpose cleaner.
It is far better than the regular vacuum cleaners that are used for daily cleaning and quite on par with the best of the best like Makita manufacturers. To understand the clout of Makita, do read about Makita impact driver range explained, an article which contains all the necessary info.
Protective Gloves
No matter what type of cleaning job you’re doing, you can do it better/faster/easier if you don’t have to worry about destroying your manicure or getting harmful chemicals on your hands. If you’re working wet, work with gloves!
