At the risk of being the bearer of bad news, some tried-and-true methods shouldn’t always be tried and they aren’t always true! In fact, sometimes there’s a very good reason for leaving “the old way of doing things” behind.
For instance, I recently learned that some of the cleaning tips and tricks touted by my parents and grandparents (and even professionals in the hospitality industry) not only don’t work, but can actually make messes worse. In today’s blog post, we’ll be exploring seven of the most pervasive cleaning myths that aren’t nearly as effective as they claim to be!
7 Cleaning Myths That Waste Your Time & Effort
Myth #1: Newspaper Gives Glass a Streak-Free Shine
While it used to be true that cleaning your windows with bunched-up newspaper would leave behind a streak-free shine, times have changed. Today’s newspaper is much thinner than it used to be, meaning it disintegrates far quicker and will likely leave you with a wet, pulpy mess. Buff your mirrors and glass with a microfiber cloth instead.
Myth #2: Tea Bags Can Deodorize Stinky Shoes
Dry tea bags may be absorbent enough to improve the odor of stinky shoes, but they’re far from the most effective option. Save your tea bags for making tea, and remove the odor with one of these effective hacks for stinky shoes instead!
Myth #3: Cleaning Solutions Work Instantly
While I often say that many of my favorite store-bought and DIY cleaning solutions work like magic, sometimes that magic takes time! Most cleaning solutions work best when you give them little bit of time to work. Wiping away solutions too early will make little difference to the stain or mess, making it a huge waste of product.
Myth #4: Sprinkling Salt on a Stain Will Remove It
Treating a stain with salt won’t help remove it — in fact, it might actually make it worse! Salt can set certain stains and make them impossibly difficult to remove.
Instead, blot the stain to remove as much of the staining substance as you can, then rinse the area under cool water. If water alone doesn’t remove the stain entirely, my DIY stain remover spray should take care of the rest of it!
Myth #5: String Mops Wipe up More Dirt
Some people tout the string mop as the most effective type of mop for cleaning up dirty floors, but that’s not exactly the case. While string mops are very absorbent and great at mopping up big spills, they’re not the most effective at picking up dirt and grime. If you really want to make sure you’re not leaving anything behind on the floor, skip the string mop and opt for a mop with a microfiber cleaning pad instead.
Myth #6: Air Fresheners Clean the Air
Don’t let your nose fool you! Products that advertise their “fresh” or “clean” scent don’t necessarily remove more dirt or kill more germs. In fact, most of the time these scents aren’t doing anything but filling the space with a synthetic scent.
If you’re looking for a natural scent that can truly help freshen up your space, try an essential oil diffuser instead —many essential oils have air purifying properties. You might also consider investing in some air purifying house plants too!
Myth #7: Putting Vinegar on a Cutting Board Prevents Onion Tears
I really wanted this one to not be a myth, because I hate tearing up while cutting onions as much as the next person! But unfortunately, the only difference this trick made when I tried it was that I had more of a mess to clean up afterward (after I was done drying all my onion tears, of course). Instead, try these tear-free onion cutting tricks that do actually work!
Do you have a favorite cleaning tip that actually saves you time and effort?
NEW! Can you guess the 5-letter word related to today’s post?
More Ideas You'll Love
Newspapers on windows only doubles the work. I use an old-fashion cloth diaper. They don’t leave any lint and so long as you don’t use fabric softener (I use dryer balls only), they’ll never leave streaks. They’re great for drying eyeglasses that you’ve cleaned with warm, soapy water. Thank you, Jillee for your cleaning hacks, they make life easier!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Myth #8 – mixing baking soda and an acid (vinegar, usually) is a good cleaner. The little bit of heat generated by the reaction of base and acid and the resulting fizz *might* help clean in a few specific cases. But primarly you’re just cleaning with water (base + acid = water and a few salts left over from the reaction). Water is in fact a good cleaner in its own right, hence why so many people staunchly defend this practice. Use each product separately for purposes best suited to it and you’ll get more cleaning power for your buck.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve tried a lot of different things to stop my eyes from tearing when cutting an onion. What seems to work, in combination is leaving the onion(s) in the fridge, leaving the root end on the onion and cut from the other end and running cold water while cutting the onion. I’ve done all of these things individually but when combined it works for me.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Vinegar, water, and Dawn diswashing soap for anything glass. I use straight vinegar on a paper towel for my big leaning floor mirror and buff it dry. Sparkle!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The only way I can cut onions tear-free is to wear swim goggles!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Don’t cut through the root end, cut around it and discard it last along with the outer skins. Helps a lot. Rinsing the cut onion you are slicing under running water helps as well.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Cleaning is take too much time when we not do it perfectly but with the help of some tricks we can save our time during cleaning the house. Thanks, Jillee. With the help of your tricks I was save my lots of the time that I spent in cleaning. Now I can give most of the time to family. Sometime if we haven’t little time then we can hire a professional cleaning company. “Bond Cleaning Brisbane” I used them for house cleaning and I realize they did a great job in an affordable price.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Salt does work on wine stains. I once spilled red wine on a white cashmere sweater and I immediately took it off, spread it on a table and poured a whole box of salt on the wine stain and within an hour the salt soaked up every bit of the wine.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree totally about using the newspaper’s for cleaning windows . We used to use them all the time when I worked in some fast food restaurants. When we worked in the big chain buffets we used coffee filters which I liked better.It has to be something with the ink because now whenever I’ve tried at home it’s messy. My mom actually uses a Norwek cloth cleaning cloth for windows. She’s had it for years and it’s still in good shape. The other tip I heard was from a customer at my work who was buying a bunch of onions to chop up. She said she just puts them in the freezer before chopping . She says it doesn’t make her eyes watery.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have tried adding a fresh unblemished apple to potatoes to keep them from sprouting. But it never seems to work. I store the potatoes in a cotton produce bag, off the floor, in a cool dark pantry closet. Is this a myth? Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please be careful using essential oils if you have house pets:
Please log in or create a free account to comment.https://www.aspca.org/news/latest-home-trend-harmful-your-pets-what-you-need-know
The best way I’ve found to avoid the tears when I cut an onion is to first remove the core and throw this part away. No more tears!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is in line with not cutting off the root end, leaving the last 1/2″ after girdling then cutting from the top, stem to root. Regardless I still open all the windows and turn on the range hood fan, that helps. If doing massive quantities the best way would be a mandoline!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Funny how many of these I learned early on, once I got out on my own.. Thanks for the post Jillee
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I understand microfiber is the “thing” now, but it’s a nasty contributor to ocean pollution. The plastic in it never goes away. Each time you wash the microfiber item tiny bits go from your washing machine into your drain and on its way to pollute. Use a cut up old cotton t-shirt. You’re not only recycling something, you’re not contributing to a world problem.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for the information Lesa… Yeah – It’s unfortunate that I didn’t know this before I bought some of these cloths. I have quite a few and am not sure what to do with them. Don’t want to send to landfill, can’t recycle. Don’t want to just “hold on to them”. Any suggestions? And I do agree with you about the cotton cloths. I love old t-shirts for that purpose. When they get “holey” I cut them into rags for cleaning.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m in the same boat. Mine are just sitting in the closet.
I’ve been using bamboo cloths for some time now. They can be washed and reused many dozens of times; bamboo is a sustainable source instead of using paper towels (trees) and microfiber (oil). I found 2 different bamboo cloth thicknesses on Amazon, both by Caring Planet, that come on a roll like paper towels.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.One that isn’t a myth – when chopping onions or garlic, do rub your fingers, or anything else that touched the root, on stainless steel. Takes all the smell out immediately!
Thanks for all these myths that don’t work. I was always leary of the newspaper one anyway. It never made sense to me to rub something with ink on it all over my windows with wet solution of any kind!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.As a teenager I worked for a pizza place, and was told to hold a stainless steel spoon in my mouth while chopping onions… I thought I was being pranked, but it really seemed to work! I look ridiculous, but still do it to this day!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I believe it was the ink itself that was the cleaning agent. It always worked great for me. The ink is now different than in the past, which is one of the reasons it does not work as well. I still use it though, no complaints.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You are correct; it was the ink that did the trick. Newer inks are soy based, rather than carbon. And, as Jillee said, the paper is thinner, so the whole thing is a mess.
I use a ‘Swifter’ style mop with the vinegar, water, Dawn mix to wash outside windows. I use an old washcloth instead of a paper pad. Dry with a clean washcloth or two, and windows done – no backaches!!