5 of the Most Ridiculous Cleaning Myths you should NEVER try at home
Posted on 27/09/2024
Ineffective Cleaning Methods You should Avoid
A lot of people like to experiment when it comes to cleaning. It seems like everyone is trying to find out the most effective method for home cleaning in hopes of making this chore more bearable and easier to address. If you set out to look for various strategies and tips on cleaning hacks and solutions that make things easier, you will likely find tons and tons of information on the matter.
Not all of it is viable, however. It is important to remember that some of the methods described as innovative and effective are in fact plausible, but totally ineffective. Often times you may end up doing harm to various areas of your home during domestic cleaning, if you are not careful and rush to try out what is thought of as an excellent strategy. Here are 5 common cleaning myths, which you should discard as ridiculous:
- Using vinegar as a ‘clean-all’ solution - let’s be clear on this: vinegar is not some magical ingredient you just slap on your floor to make it shine. Yes, there are many uses and many people have in fact found just how wonderfully vinegar fits with various home cleaning chores. Yes, it can make short work of some stubborn stains and sanitise parts of your home effectively. And yes, it may in fact do damage to some areas if you are foolish enough to use as a universal solution everywhere around your house. Hardwood floors, for example, can suffer greatly if you introduce vinegar, as they have a finish that could be eaten away by its acid ingredients. The same applies to wax floors as well as unsealed grout.
- Using newspaper for window cleaning - this myth has been circling around for quite a long time now. Some people believe that it is a wise idea to clean their windows with newspaper, but the truth is that there is nothing clever or effective about that. All that you will be doing, should you ever decide to wipe your windows with newspaper, is tearing up the paper and possibly introducing some new stains due to the ink on the pages. There are far more convenient tools that you can use for window cleaning, such as squeegees or a plain clean cloth.
- Using Cola to clean the toilet - there is some truth to the myth that pouring down a bottle of Cola down your toilet will leave it sparkling clean. The citric acid in the drink does have a nice effect, as it helps with cleaning. The sugar in the drink on the other hand is far from helpful; in fact, it serves only to attract more bacteria at a later stage. Why would you introduce such a method to your house cleaning routine when all you will be doing is make it harder on yourself at a later time? See, vinegar is in fact a great alternative for this task.
- Washing clothes in cold water - doing so mostly benefits your bills, not your clothes. You still need to remember that it is the hot water you use during washing that removes most bacteria and germs. Apart from that, it is an effective way to kill mould and viruses, which cannot be done with cold water.
- Hand washing dishes is better than using the dishwasher - you may have read that some people prefer to scrub dishes to no end as they believe that this is a more effective way to clean them. However, the truth is that using the dishwasher is in fact a proven way to remove most bacteria from your dishes, in addition to being the more eco-friendly method as it consumes less water. Not to mention the effort you save…
Looking for an effective way to clean your home may lead to some interesting finds. Stay alert and double check every strategy and tip you read, as you may be doing yourself a poor favour by blindly following some of them.
