These Genius Cleaning Tips Do Not Disappoint

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Squeaky is all about the borderline genius hacks and ideas that keep literally every inch of your space pristine.

First, I told you about the genius cleaning product that literally changed my life.

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Now, I'm sharing seven cleaning tips that took me by surprise from Hunker's brilliant cleaning experts. Some simple hacks, some clever tricks, and one "I can never unknow this" idea.

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Have you tried any of these yet?

1. How to get your white towels to look really white.

Boost your detergent with washing soda. It's more alkaline than baking soda — and it's the alkalinity that will help your detergent to loosen up the towel fibers and clean dirt and grime. Also, if you add distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle, it'll help lift stains and soap residue.

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2. The most hygienic thing you can do in your bathroom to keep it clean.

Shut the lid when you flush. Why? Because of this particular detail that has been haunting me all year: fecal matter, bacteria, and other invisible substances can spray up to six feet away when you flush. So, if your toothbrush is hanging out on the sink near your toilet? Yeah, you know where I'm going. This is a do-not-forget tip.

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3. How you should be treating your mattress.

Turns out, our mattresses should be deep cleaned every six months. We're talking vacuumed, deodorized, aired out. And mattress covers should be washed once a month. A clean bed needs to extend beyond the weekly washing of your linens. (Do you ever do this?!)

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4. The recommended way to clean sponges.

Microwaving kills 99.99999 percent of bacteria from sponges, according to the USDA. But you can also soak in vinegar. The acid kills 99.6 percent of bacteria. Bottom line: you need to clean your sponges ... and, replace them every couple of weeks.

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5. The best thing for cleaning your wood cutting board.

It's lemon. Lemon is naturally antibacterial and antiseptic, so it helps to disinfect, eliminate odors, and even bleach out stains on wood cutting boards. And, you can either use the actual fruit, or lemon essential oil — both work.

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6. When you have too much pet hair on your couch.

Just put on a rubber kitchen glove, get it slightly wet, and gently run it across your furniture. The tension attracts and catches the hair. Boom! So simple, so easy, so clever.

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7. How you should be cleaning your ice maker.

A toothbrush (dipped in vinegar) is the perfect tool for keeping your ice maker clean. Actually, a toothbrush seems to show up as the perfect tool for many cleaning hacks, such as washing your showerhead.

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