10 Ways to Supercharge Your Household Cleaning Tasks

By MiShaun Taylor

Housecleaning doesn’t have to be a chore or a bore. In fact, when done on a schedule and with the proper tools, it can be downright rewarding!

New cleaning agents, tools and high-tech cleaning gadgets have made the on-the-knees-scrubbing-with-a-toothbrush vision of housecleaning a distant memory. The new wave of cleaning agents and gadgets use advanced technology to increase cleaning efficiency, which reduces time you spend cleaning and gives you more time to yourself. Now is the time to supercharge your household cleaning! And here are 10 ways to do it:

1) Have a cleaning schedule so you don’t keep procrastinating until the job becomes overwhelming. A little at a time makes the work so much easier. Create a cleaning schedule and post it. That is, break down cleaning into what are daily tasks, weekly tasks, monthly tasks and seasonal tasks. For example:

Daily tasks include putting things away like toys, homework, papers, dishes, trash. Wipe down sinks and counters. Wipe down or squeegee shower walls (or spray Tilex) to prevent mildew and soap scum. Reduce clutter.

Weekly tasks may include mopping floors (or using a Scooba more frequently as needed), vacuuming (or using the Roomba more frequently as needed).

Monthly tasks may include dusting, vacuuming furniture especially if you have pets, washing throw rugs and throw blankets that you may use to cover your sofa.

Seasonal tasks might include dusting for cobwebs, changing furnaces or filters, washing windows, clearing out garage or basement.

Yearly tasks may include a good steam cleaning of carpets and curtains.

2) Use the right tool for the job. A nifty little item called the SonicScrubber has a high-speed sonic oscillation system that generates a scrubbing motion. It’s battery-operated, watertight and weighs only 7 ounces. It replaces the ever popular toothbrush when scrubbing those small areas in the bathroom and kitchen. A brush pack allows users to interchange brush heads for the task at hand, including a polishing brush head. That also means using the right vacuum or vacuum setting for the flooring. For example, upright canisters typically have strong agitators to handle carpeting, but using an agitator on flooring is just going to blow dust around.

3) Consider high-tech gadgets that do the work themselves. iRobot’s Roomba and Scooba are electronic vacuuming and floor cleaning robots, respectively, that do the work without your presence. Users rave about their maintenance ability as they can be programmed and scheduled to run when you’re at work. It’s almost like having the house clean itself! Other interesting items include a backpack vacuum cleaner that weighs just a few pounds and has 35+ feet of cord for easy maneuvering around the house and up and down stairs.

4) Speaking of having the house clean itself, Don Aslett, who calls himself America’s #1 cleaning expert, wrote a book called “Making Your Home Do the Housework.” It offers clever suggestions more specifically geared toward preventative maintenance when remodeling or redecorating your home. So, if you plan on redecorating, you might want to check his suggestions about how to select colors and fabrics that will help keep your home cleaner or appearing cleaner.

5) Swiffer Dusters, Dustbusters and electrostatic dust cloths actually take up the dust rather than move it from place to place like the old dusting clothes.

6) Telescoping shower scrubbers help you reach high areas of the shower (like the ceiling to clean mildew) without trying to keep your balance on the tub ledge.

7) Other housework easing tools include a solid air purifier that cleans the air and reduces dust. Also consider the flushable toilet brush with biodegradable pads. Isn’t it nice to not have the toilet brush sitting there all the time after you’ve used it? Yuck.

8) Supercharged cleaners that clean quicker and easier include the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, which cuts grease, or the Woolite Pod, which is an oxygen-based cleaner for carpet stains. Oxy-clean, Zout and Greased Lightening are all touted as clothing stain removers. Oxy-clean is used for removing stains in carpets, clothes, and a general household cleaning agent. Some swear by it.

9) When you have pets, especially, invest in a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter and bagless system. Also, if you have cats, reduce litter tracking with a litter box cover that fully encloses the litter box from view. Some look like furniture and have storage compartments above the litter box to hold bags of litter. You can also use anti-tracking litter pads (like little rugs) in front of the litter box, but most cats seem to just jump over them, especially if they’re made of that outdoor fake grass material.

10) Have a professional house cleaning service assist you. Even Martha Stewart, the queen of clean, promotes a company called Cottage Care, which offers cleaning service packages starting at around $62. If you have concerns about cleaning products, ask the company about nontoxic and environmentally safe detergents. A cleaning service can tackle some bathroom and kitchen scrubbing while you’re at work.

Much of your ability to supercharge your household cleaning tasks starts with having a plan, then by having the right tools followed by keeping a schedule. Then, when considering outside help, when balancing the household budget and cleaning tasks, you can assess how much money some free time would be worth to you. Consider that using outside services not only eases your burden at the time, but also makes follow up maintenance cleaning tasks simpler and quicker. Happy cleaning!