If you’re like us, you’re not a huge fan of cleaning – especially those big jobs that seem to take up your entire Saturday. Thankfully, there are a number of “hacks” you can use to make your apartment cleaning so easy you’ll wonder why you ever dreaded the task so much in the first place. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite life-changing tips that will get your apartment in tip-top shape in no time.
1. Clean up grease and grime with items from your grocery list. We admit that this seems counter-intuitive, but you can really cut through stubborn grease and fingerprints, particularly those left on your kitchen cabinetry, with items that are found INSIDE those cabinets. Mix up a little vegetable oil and baking soda, slather it on an old toothbrush (seriously) and scrub away. No back-breaking labour with outstanding results.
2. Shoe polish is for more than just shoes. This one is so simple we can’t believe we hadn’t thought of it before. If you have a leather couch or chair, you can remove scuffs and discolorations with shoe polish. Test the shoe polish on the back of the couch first, or any other area hidden from view. If the colour is a match, buff away! Just allow it sufficient time to dry before you sit down again.
3. Cleaning exhaust fans with compressed air. Many of us have compressed air canisters already at home to clean out our keyboards and other electronics. But did you know that you can quickly and easily clean out exhaust fans, especially the bathroom fan, by using the same canister? Do this hack first before cleaning the rest of your bathroom, as you don’t want that dust to get all over your sparkling tub. Cleaning your exhaust fan regularly is important to help prevent fires.
4. Banish carpet stains with rubbing alcohol. Accidentally spilled some nail polish on your carpet? Don’t fear – rubbing alcohol is here. When the stain first occurs, gently dab up as much as you can with paper towel. Don’t press deeply or rub – this will cause the nail polish to sink deeper into the carpet fibres. Next, pour a little rubbing alcohol directly onto the stain and gently wipe away at it with a microfiber cloth. Since rubbing alcohol doesn’t have any colour, it’s the perfect match to remove nail polish without staining. Don’t be tempted to use actual nail polish remover, however – the acetone will remove the colour form your carpet.
5. Grimy cheese graters fixed with…potatoes? Using food to remove food seems odd, but it works. We’ve all struggled to get our cheese graters clean, inevitably noticing some dried up gunk that we simply couldn’t reach with our sponge or scrubber. The solution? Grate a raw potato. The combination of the oxalic acid and the hardness of the potato itself will get your grater shining like new in minutes.
6. Squeegee your carpet to remove hair. Add this to the list of, “Who knew?”. A squeegee, normally relegated to just your windows, does double duty as a perfect way to remove hair, especially pet hair, from your carpets. Simply rub it along and voila! Pet hair that you didn’t even know was IN your carpet is now removed.
7. Heavy metal on glass. Tin foil is your best friend when it comes to cleaning your glass cookware. If you’re starting to notice stains that no amount of scrubbing with a sponge will remove, simply ball up some tin foil and add a little dish soap. With just a small amount of good old fashioned elbow grease, your glass cookware will be flawlessly clean in minutes.
So what are you waiting for? Put these apartment cleaning hacks into action and get your apartment ready for the long winter ahead. Now all you’ll have to worry about is how to fill up all that extra time you’ll have on your hands on the weekend 🙂
The RentSeeker.ca Team
