Household Cleaner Essentials

When your cleaning cabinet is bursting at its seams, it is probably high time to rethink which household cleaning agents to discard with and which to keep. It is unnecessary to hoard endless amounts of cleaning products designed to cater to but one area of your home. More often than not, only a handful of cleaners is needed to keep your house spick-and-span. One can even downsize to between three and five products since have a multi-purpose use.

• Dishwashing liquids are not only limited to cleaning stubborn stains from your homeware. Use these to get your greasy countertops and various other surfaces looking sparkling clean and residue-free. These liquids tend to smear due to their consistency. To ensure streak-free surfaces, wipe clean with a damp cloth.
• Tough burnt deposits can be wiped away with a nothing more than a scouring agent.
• All-purpose, or sometimes also referred to as universal or multipurpose cleaners can be used for any other surface cleaning around the house. They also double up as floor or toilet cleaners. Even though all-purpose cleaning agents can be used for a variety of applications, it is advised not to use these on wooden surfaces or flooring.

Once you have the basics down, it may be of interest to consider adding the following to our essential household cleaner kit:

• Cleaning agents based on vinegar or citric acid are outstanding at limescale removal. Incorporate into your bathroom or toilet cleaning to get rid of limescale, urine deposits and the like. Tip: Apply to the surface to be treated and leave on for a bit longer than required. This will ensure that fixtures or ceramics are not damaged when scrubbing.
• How often does food deposits cook over and stick to the walls and base of your oven and do you clean these away immediately? Cleaning an oven is probably the last thing we think about, and when we do, it may take several tries to get it squeaky clean again. We can cut this time in half with the help of an oven cleaner.

Now, we are aware that the market for cleaning agents is overflowing and these days, you can get your hands on numerous products that promise to chores a breeze. However, be mindful when it comes to the following dubious ingredients that may strain your health and impact the environment negatively (Side note, products containing the following are not sold at Ecosplendo):

• Inorganic acids
• chlorine
• paraffins
• phosphonates
• polycarboxylates

It helps to keep an eye out for ecolabels and certifications that guarantee safe ingredients have been used in the production process of a particular product.

Tools of the trade: There is nothing more pleasant than breathing in the freshness of a clean home. Using mild cleaning agents and developing a routine when it comes to cleaning your home does help. However, to make the chore less tedious, we recommend getting your hands on a micro fibre towel/cloth. Not only to these handy cleaning cloths offer a streak-free finish, but thanks to their rough-like structure, it has the ability to absorb and hold onto more dirt particles than a regular cleaning rag.