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Old Wives’ Tales About Cleaning That Aren’t True

Old Wives’ Tales About Cleaning That Aren’t True
January 11, 2021

You know it’s hard to resist cutting corners and finding the easy way out to keep your home clean. You’re busy and have too many other things you could be doing. However, you also know when you come home to a messy condo, it is downright depressing and even stressful. 

Old Wives’ Tales About Cleaning That Aren't True

How do you know if those old wives’ tales about cleaning are true? Here we ask our condo cleaning services gurus to help us bust the most common cleaning myths.

Germ Killers

A common claim for household cleaning products is that they “kill 99% of germs”. Keep in mind if germ killing is your goal, which let’s face it, it is for most of us, thanks to COVID-19, you need to find a germ killer approved for killing all germs. Check out the government’s disinfecting and hand sanitizer list online. Otherwise, you might not be getting the germ-killing benefits you think you are.

Vinegar: The Best Natural Cleaner

Look, this one is true, but only in certain situations. Vinegar is acidic, so you don’t want to be using it on every surface in your home. Avoid using it on any natural surfaces such as wood, stone, and granite or else you could wash away the surface or finish.

Too Much Vacuuming Ruins Your Carpet

This is an interesting one because most of us use a vacuum on our carpeting. Luckily, it just isn’t true. You can vacuum your carpets as often as you like, as long as your carpet is not a natural fibre like wool. Synthetic rugs are designed to withstand vacuuming, and it is the best way to get a deeper clean.

All-Natural Cleaning Products are Safe

Natural is a term that is used loosely for all kinds of products, including cleaners. Therefore you should be careful when choosing a product claiming to be natural. For example, ammonia is natural, but it is very dangerous as a cleaner as it leaves trace amounts behind that are hazardous.

Bleach is a Cleaner

Bleach is not a cleaner. It is a disinfectant. So if killing germs is your goal, it’s a good choice. For anything else, you are doing more harm than good. Overall using pure bleach is not recommended because ammonia is not good for your health. 

Choosing appropriate surface cleaners is always your safest bet, as is following the instructions on the label. And never, ever, ever mix bleach with other cleaners. It creates a noxious gas that could cause serious lung issues.

Newspapers Make Glass Sparkle

Any kind of paper can help clean glass, so it is not specific to newspapers. But the thing is, just rubbing glass with newspaper doesn’t accomplish much unless you have lots of time to stand there rubbing away until the dirt is removed. Instead, you should choose an absorbent cloth with glass cleaner to quickly make those windows and glass surfaces sparkle.

“Febreze” It and It’s Clean 

So, Febreze is just a glorified air freshener. Because it smells fresh, you feel you have just cleaned your entire home with a pump of the can. However, it is not a cleaner, nor is it a sanitizer. If you want your home to smell nice, spritz away.

Hairspray Removes Ink Stains

This is a funny one, as it used to be true. Your grandma’s hair spray contained higher hair frizzing alcohol levels, which did assist in ink removal from grandpa’s shirt pockets. However, today, with hair care brands trying to provide hair-friendly ingredients, there is very little in a can of hairspray that will do any good.  If anything, you’ll seal that stain in for good.

Hot Water Kills Germs

You can boil water as much as you like, but in the end, it won’t kill germs. Although hot water can help loosen grimy, stuck on dirt like food gunk, it does nothing to kill germs.

Dirty Clothes? Use More Detergent

Nope. This is not a good idea. All that will happen is you’ll put your laundry machine in a frenzy as soapy suds make it work harder. The suds also are harder to rinse from your clothes and wreak havoc with front load washers.

Cola Cleans Toilets

Apparently, not only does cola clean toilets, but it can also be used to clean pots and pans and even truck engines. Nope. All of these things are nothing more than myths.

Hot Sponge Anyone?

This is a weird one, but it pops up a lot: Tossing sponges in the microwave kills germs. This is rumoured to help kill germs left in your sponge. So people toss their sponges in the microwave for a few minutes to keep them clean. 

What you’re doing is destroying your sponge and probably causing a fire hazard to boot. Don’t do it. Technically, this can’t be an old wives’ tale since microwaves only appeared in kitchens in the mid-1950s, so really not so old.

Use White Wine to Remove Red Wine Stains

Keep a good grip on those wine glasses because this just isn’t true. You’ve already wasted a glass of red wine; do you want to add to the tragedy by adding white wine to the scene? This does nothing and probably makes it worse. Dabbing the red wine right away with a clean cloth sops up the wine, while some salt sprinkled on the stain helps to absorb the rest.

Lemons, Like Vinegar Wash Anything

Lemons have a few uses in the kitchen. When squirted on a sprinkle of baking soda, you can scrub away stains on surfaces like laminate kitchen counters. However, like vinegar, they aren’t intended to clean. As a result, if you are hoping to clean away germs, lemons won’t cut it.

Ketchup Cleans Silverware

Another weird one, this came up often because of the vinegar content in ketchup. However, as mentioned, vinegar is abrasive and acidic and will harm your silverware. And the ketchup? It just makes a horrible mess. 

These old wives’ tales don’t do much to keep your home clean, but a condo cleaning service sure does. If you want an easy way to clean your condo, a cleaning service is an answer. 

To learn more about which old wives’ tales are real and which are not, call Maid4Condos at (647) 822-0601 or contact us here.

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