7 Cleaning Hacks That Don’t Actually Work

Nowadays the internet is buzzing with different cleaning for every stain and occasion you can possibly think of. Some of them actually sound plausible, but others are just absurd. Our Reading cleaning experts have decided to check out and debunk some of the most popular hacks, so you don’t have to suffer the unpleasant consequences.

1. Coca-Cola in the Toilet

The myth is that by pouring this soft drink into your toilet and vigorously scrubbing it, everything will be somehow magically cleaned. This, of course, is not true. Coca-Cola doesn’t have the qualities needed to properly sanitise anything and to be fair it shouldn’t have – you drink it after all. So don’t waste your time and money on this one.

2. Mouthwash for Your Laundry Machine

This one is borderline absurd. Apparently, if you want to clean your washing machine, you need to pour mouthwash in your detergent drawer and play it in an empty cycle to sanitise it. Let’s start by explaining that mouthwash is not meant to kill germs in your pipes so it’s useless to pour it in your laundry machine. It will get deluded in the water and not to mention the high temperatures inside the washer. Just use specialised cleaning solutions and save yourself the troubles.

3. Removing Ink Stains with Hair Spray

To be fair 10 years ago this hack might have actually worked due to the way this particular hair product was made back in the day. Alcohol used to be one of the main ingredients in hair spray, coincidently enough it can also be used to remove ink stains. However, nowadays alcohol is almost absent from hair sprays as it dries off the scalp. This means the hack is no longer applicable.

4. Clean Pet Stains with Vinegar

Professional cleaners say this is one of the biggest mistakes you could make when tidying up your Reading home. Vinegar is an acid and pet urine also contains a lot of acidic components, which means that chemically speaking the two liquids are not mutually excluded. In plain language, acid doesn’t clean acid. If you want to have really good results, try enzyme cleaners or book yourself a professional cleaning company to cleanse your Reading home.

5. Wash Your Windows Using Vinegar and Newspapers

A true English tradition – washing your windows with a solution of water and vinegar, and wiping with nothing but a newspaper. Time to leave it in the past according to the Reading cleaning experts. The simple explanation is that back in the day people didn’t have the cleaning possibilities we are now entitled to. If you use vinegar on a newspaper, the ink will slowly come off and stick to your windows. Therefore, the hack will have the opposite effect.

6. Disinfecting Your Sponges in the Microwave

The idea behind this so-called tip is that the high temperature in the microwave will destroy the germs on your sponges and they will be as good as new. Let’s be perfectly clear your microwave can’t reach the temperature required for that to happen, not to mention that even if it could, your sponges will be completely destroyed. Just go to the store and purchase new ones, it will be far easier.

7. The More Detergent You Use, the Cleaner Your Clothes Will Be

We have no idea from where this presumption came and who transformed it into a well-known hack. As with the others on the list, this one is flat-out not true. Your detergent comes with very strict instructions on how much of it you need to use with every wash. If you go over the suggested quantities, your washing machine won’t be able to rinse properly your clothes. Thus, they will be covered in a soapy residue. Follow the instructions on the bottle and don’t trust the self-proclaimed cleaning gurus of the internet.