If you've been putting off spring cleaning and don't want to shell out the money for expensive cleaning products or services, look through your own home to see if you have basic items like lemons and baking soda. If you do, you'll have your house sparkling on a budget in no time...
Cook Salmon in the Dishwasher
Though using an oven is definitely the recommended method for cooking salmon, a dishwasher is a great backup plan if your oven doesn't work. Simply wrap the filet in tin foil and turn on a non-soap cycle. When you take it out you'll have a stovetop-quality filet.
Rinse Produce in the Dishwasher
Instead of hand-washing all the produce you come home with, you can line them up in the dishwasher and run it on cold. Make sure not to add any detergent to it, though. It's a fast and efficient way to clean all of your fruits and vegetables at once.
Clean Your Grill With an Onion
You can clean your grill gates after a long winter of neglect by rubbing half an onion over the metal. The sugar and water in the onion will act as a "deglazer" and make it good as new again. Then, you can chop the layer of the onion you used for cleaning and throw on the rest of it with your next barbecue.
Lemon and Vinegar as a Microwave Solution
If cleaning your microwave is the bane of your existence, then this hack will be a God-send. Microwave a bowl of lemon and water to soften any debris caked on the inside, then wipe it clean. The lemon will also shine the hardware as well.
Steam Vegetables in the Dishwasher
You can place fresh cut veggies in a mason jar with one cup of water on the top rack of your dishwasher. You can run it on a normal cycle and your veg will come out steamed and ready to eat. Again, don't add any soap.
Clean Makeup Brushes in the Dishwasher
You shouldn't do this every time you run your dishwasher, but once a month it wouldn't hurt to throw your cosmetic brushes in the utensil holder and run a normal cycle. You'll be amazed at how sparkly clean they'll be when they come out.
Onion Deodorizer
If your basement smells like mildew, or if your cat's litterbox has been smelling a little off, place half an onion on a plate and let it suck out all the gross smells from the nastiest parts of your home. This is an easy and cheap hack that not many people think to utilize.
Sanitize Your Cutting Board With Lemon and Salt
Lemon and salt both have natural cleansing powers. Wood is permeable, and it's risky to only clean a wooden cutting board with water. If you use the lemon and salt method, it will kill all bacteria and the salt will exfoliate your cutting board.
Clean Your Computer Keyboard in the Dishwasher
This might seem like a huge mistake, but you can clean your tech in the dishwasher. As long as you don't use soap or the drying mode, your keyboard will come out looking good as new. Don't try and clean a monitor this way, though.
Warm Food In The Dishwasher
If you're in the middle of cooking a big meal and don't have space in your oven to keep a few dishes warm, you can pop them in the dishwasher on the heat cycle. Remember—don't use water, or else your elaborate dinner will be ruined. The warming cycle will mimic that of an oven and keep your food table-ready while you cook.
Clean Your Shower With Dryer Sheets
Using dryer sheets to clean the hardware in your shower is a great alternative to harsh chemical solvents. Shine the glass on the inside and outside as a quick and cheap de-streaking cleaner. You'll be amazed at those results.
Clean Cobwebs With a Tennis Ball
Tennis balls have amazing static-cling qualities. If you swipe a tennis ball through the darkest corners of your house, it will be guaranteed to attract any cobwebs that may have been hiding there for years. Then, go out and practice some serves to knock off those cobwebs.
Disinfect Toys in the Dishwasher
Everyone with kids knows that their toys can get pretty nasty. Thankfully, a dishwasher is a one-stop disinfectant shop. A light wash cycle can kill all of those pesky germs in no time.
Use PAM as a Dishwasher Spray Guard
Cooking sprays can be super messy if you aren't careful with your aim. However, spraying the inside of your dishwasher door with PAM can act as a spray guard. That way you can avoid tough stains inside and out.
Clean Toilet Stains with Denture Cleaner
If you've ever owned a retainer or if you wear dentures, you'll probably have some Fixadent lying around. This Alka-seltzer tab works wonders on scrubbing the porcelain of your toilet as well as the porcelain of your fake teeth. Now you can think twice about buying those harsh scrubbing products.
Buff Out Scratches With a Walnut
If you have dings in your wooden table, the waxy coating on a walnut can help buff it out in a second. It might sound like a weird trick, but it's been proven to work for centuries. Try it next time you notice a nick in your tables or chairs.
Cook a Lasagna in Your Dishwasher
According to Mythbusters, this method actually works. Though an oven is definitely the preferred method, but you can definitely try this if you're pressed for time. Folding a raw lasagna tightly in tin foil will result in a perfectly cooked dish.
Prepare Lobster in the Dishwasher
It sounds gross, but you can actually cook a lobster tail in here. Cut, de-vein, and de-shell the tail, then put it in a mason jar with an entire stick of unsalted butter and start up the cycle. You won't believe the result when you take it out.
Clean Faucets with Vinegar
Vinegar is great for breaking down calcified materials that cling to metals. If you have Lyme stains or water damage, vinegar is the quickest and easiest way to fix it. If you have vinegar in your cabinets, you're going to want to hang on to it for many of these hacks.
Clean Your Toilet With Cola
Corrosive properties in most sodas can easily clean away any hard-to-reach stains in your toilet. Sugars and carbonation found in an average can of soda eat up all the solids that stick to the sides of porcelain. Next time you order a liter of Coke with your takeout, consider other uses to save your cholesterol before guzzling it down.
Wash Dirty Shoes in the Dishwasher
As long as you don't actually wash dirty clothes with dirty dishes, this method works. This is handy if your apartment doesn't have an in-unit washing machine. You're just going to have to let them sit out to dry instead of using the heat setting.
Ripen Avocados in the Dishwasher
This hack will answer the prayers of avocado lovers everywhere. Though there are several proven methods to soften avocados besides just leaving them out on the counter, sitting them in the top rack of the dishwasher has been the most effective.
Microwave Sponge Sanitizer
Microwaves can actually be the easiest way to clean things that you wouldn't normally think need cleaning. If you soak a sponge and microwave it, all of the germs hiding inside of it will be zapped away. That way you'll save money on kitchen sponges and won't have to deal with the grimy smell they inevitably build up.
Clean Your Blender by Blending
Blenders are notoriously very difficult to clean. You might be able to avoid scrubbing it out by filling it with soap and water and turning it on. If it looks clean upon opening, problem solved.
Bread Catches Broken Glass
Next time you need to clean up broken glass, use a piece of bread to pick up the pieces. That way you'll avoid cutting up your fingers and will guarantee not to miss anything. Be sure to always vacuum afterwards just to be extra cautious.
Clean Metal with Olive Oil
As well as being a great source of B vitamins and healthy fat, olive oil is an awesome cleaning product. You can use it to shine stainless steel and coat the outside to avoid future messes. Not to mention that olive oil has a pleasant smell.
Clean Your Garbage Disposal With Citruses
The natural fresh scents of lemons and limes are useful in cleaning the weird smell out of your garbage disposal. Toss a few slices of each down the drain and give the disposal a run and you're done. A rule of thumb: you should never toss anything down the garbage disposal that you woulnd't eat. That means eggshells are a no go.
Remove Carpet Stains with Vodka
Though it might sound weird to clean alcohol with alcohol, it does work. Vodka has a higher ethanol content than wine, and it lacks pigment. Ethanol will eat the pigment out of the carpet and neutralize the stain as long as it's fresh.
Clean Hubcaps in the Dishwasher
Cleaning your tires by hand can take a toll on your back and knees. Why not remove the hubcaps and throw them in the bottom tray of the dishwasher? One cycle and they'll shine like new again.
Preserve Fake Flowers in the Dishwasher
Though fake flowers might seem like cheesy decor to some, they're a lot longer-lasting than real ones. You can throw them in the dishwasher to clean them up and call it a day. This is one of those things you probably never thought to wash, but you can!
Eliminate Stains With Shaving Cream
Shaving cream has a lot of the same properties as other cleaning products. It's an aerosol soap with baking soda, essentially. It can clean stains and remove weird smells from upholstery in no time.
Clean Your Bathtub With Baking Soda and Vinegar
This is one of nature's most fool-proof cleaning combinations. That reminder to keep vinegar on hand is applicable here. They create a chemical reaction that can remove even the most annoying stains, and works wonders in the bathroom.
The Same Solution Works In The Toilet, Too
Yep, you can clean anything with baking soda and vinegar. As long as you don't pour too much down the drain, it works as a natural cleanser in instants. Though it's not as powerful as harsh chemicals, it will sanitize and deodorize.
Shine Your Toilet With Essential Oils
Essential oils are a quick and easy way to shine your toilet and clean the top chamber. Add a few tablespoons to the water and then give it a flush. It'll smell much nicer than it did before you started.
Cook a Turkey in the Dishwasher
This sounds like there's no way it could work, but it actually has been proven to save a holiday from stress. Wrap the turkey in plastic wrap and run it on three full cycles. Really - it'll be completely edible when you take it out.
Dishwasher Rack Doubles as Storage
If your old dishwasher is ready to go, save the rolling rack and use it as under-bed storage. You can organize the mess you've neglected under beds, sofas, or even in closets. Dishwashers don't have to be useful only in the kitchen.
Clean Your Sofa With Baking Soda
Baking soda naturally pulls oil and liquid out of fabrics. If your couch fabric is permeable, this hack will work. Pour a generous amount onto the cushions and scrub until clean.
Clean Your Oven With Baking Soda
Combining baking soda, vinegar, and water into a paste and smearing it onto the inside of your oven is an easy and quick way to clean it out without the hassle. Run the oven for an hour or so and all that grease buildup will be gone.
Try Out a Fresh Coat of Paint
Sometimes, scuffs and dings in the wall are beyond repair. If that's the case, it's time for a fresh coat of paint. You'll probably save yourself time and money if you just slather it on the wall yourself.
Use a Razor To Remove Paint From Clothes
If you had some mishaps while painting the walls, a razor is an easy and efficient way to scrape the paint off your clothes. Yep, even a cheap disposable razor will work. You'll magically pull away the little paint particles with no damage to your clothing.
Clean Blinds with Vinegar and Water
Vinegar restores shine and color in sun-damaged places, like window blinds. This 3 in 1 solution is simple to make. Just pour into a spray bottle and shine away,
Hairdryers Remove Water Rings
Applying direct heat to a water ring from a cup you let sit on a wooden surface for too long is the easiest way to preserve the varnish. Anyone who owns nice wooden furniture knows water is its worst enemy. You won't make that same mistake twice.
Remove Oil Stains With Baking Soda
Baking soda again is your one stop shop for removing oil and grease stains. It can effectively remove week-old stains that have even seen a couple washing cycles with no luck. It's another one of nature's miracle workers.
Use Lemons to Clean Your Shower Faucets
Acid in lemon works the same way vinegar does. A fast, cheap, and easy solution that lasts longer than some professional cleaning agents. If you don't like the way vinegar smells, this is an easy and effective swap.
Magic Tub Cleaning Paste
Try cleaning your tub with vinegar, peroxide, and baking soda all at once. It cleans, shines, and protects. These natural cleansing hacks work just as well as the heavy duty ones.
Sea Salt Cleans Cast Iron
Cast iron is extremely tricky to clean, but who would have thought sea salt was the answer? Scrub, dry, and wipe out the bottom of the pan. Never, ever use soap or water on cast iron. That's rule number one.
Clean Your Knives With Cream of Tartar
Cream of tartar pulls the tarnish off high-carbon knives. A long enough treatment can help duller knives as well and will leave them looking mirror-clean. Don't forget to sharpen them as well!
Dry Hand-Washed Dishes in the Dishwasher
To save counter space (and water), dry your hand-washed dishes in the dishwasher on a heat/dry cycle. You'll save space and money all in one. Though it might make more sense to just do a normal dishwasher load and save yourself the elbow grease...
Disinfect Keys in the Dishwasher
Have you ever considered cleaning your keys? Probably a good idea since they've traveled just as many places as you have. Remove them from the keychain, careful not to soak your car key, and throw it into the dishwasher with a regular load.
Use a Lemon if Cream of Tartar Doesn't Work
Lemons can work instantly to clean high-carbon knives. The tarnish that develops on knives is a form of platina, and if you have to clean your knife with a lemon, that means it's a quality one. Don't sweat over the effort over cleaning expensive cutlery - it's worth it in the longrun.
Clean Baseboards With Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets will cling to any dust or hair that has collected on your overlooked baseboards and leave a fresh scent behind. It's a 10-in-1 solution. Baseboards are one of those places in every home that nobody seems to ever think to clean, but it makes a world of difference when you do.
Use Chalk To Remove Grease Stains
Chalk has the same drying properties as baking soda, and is a great aid in stain removal. This is how mechanics get grease stains out of their clothes. Chalk can pull the toughest oils out of fabrics in an instant.
Use a Toothbrush To Clean Your Keyboard
Toothbrushes can get in all those hard to reach places on your keyboard that any other cleaner might not be able to reach. Don't worry about damage, either. Most keyboards have anti-penetration protection, so scrub away.
Use Duct Tape and Vinegar to Clean Your Toilet
This trick is easy. Pour vinegar into the top of your toilet, wait 20 minutes, then flush once. Use duct tape to pull out any stuck-on grime under the rim of the seat. That's it!
Oil and Baking Soda Can Clean Cabinets
Oil won't break down the varnish on the outside of your cabinet unlike other cleaning products. A toothbrush and some baking soda are the only other things you need. Gently scrub and you'll protect the exterior layer of your cabinets and return them to looking brand new.
Rubbing Alcohol Removes Nail Polish Stains
If you don't have vodka, rubbing alcohol works the same way at pulling out tough stains. Nail polish remover without the added dye will also work. If you've ever fretted over a seeminglyp-permanent polish stain, you have to try this.
Clean Your Cheese Grater With Raw Potatoes
This crazy hack actually works. Potatoes will unclog any bits of left behind cheese in the grater and the starches in the potato will cleanse and shine the metal. Afterwards - who wants hashbrowns?
Use a Squeegee To Remove Hair From Your Carpet
A window squeegee works wonders at pulling cat hair out of your carpet. Just rub the squeegee onto the carpet until the static electricity draws up all the hair. Then rinse and repeat.
Use Steel Wool to Clean Your Curling Iron
Any brillo pad or steel wool will be a total game changer if your curling iron looks like this. Simply wet, heat, scrub, and repeat. It'll be back to new in no time.
Clean Coffee Stains With Baking Soda
Baking soda really is the ultimate fix it. Coffee is a notoriously tough stain to clean, but pouring baking soda over it lets the powder do its thing and then the stain is no more. If you've ever wrestled with a dark stain on a light carpet, baking soda is the only way to go.
Warm Dishes in the Dishwasher
If you want to serve your guests a hot meal on a hot plate, run them through the heat/dry cycle for a few minutes for restaurant-level quality service. You'll be shocked you haven't tried this easy method sooner.
Turn Your Old Dishwasher into a Spray Paint Booth
Who says you have to toss an old appliance when it kicks? The interior of an old dishwasher works great as a protective booth for spray paint projects. Bet you never thought of this repurpose.
Clean Glass Baking Dishes With Aluminum Foil
Foil has anti-tarnishing properties that can strip platina from things like jewlery and silverware with ease. It also works wonders on glass pans. Line a pan with foil, pour vinegar over it, let it sit, wipe clean, and you're done.
Use Play Dough to Clean Up Glitter
Glitter is everyone's worst nightmare. Thankfully, Play Dough can work as a sticking agent and can quickly pick up all the loose particles in seconds.
Clean Makeup Brushes With Baby Shampoo
Baby shampoos strip oils and powders that crust up on makeup brush exteriors. As long as you soak them afterwards and let them hang dry, they'll be good as new. Baby shampoo typically has a nice smell, too!