We Tested 10 Popular Cleaning Hacks and Here’s What Actually Worked

We at Bright Side have conducted this cleaning experiment, and here’s what we’ve found out: some of the most popular cleaning tricks actually work.

#1: Use water with lemon to clean your microwave.



Mix 400 ml water with 3 tbsp lemon juice in a microwave-safe bowl. Put the solution in your microwave, and run on high power for 10 minutes.

Result: The trick cleans only big food chunks, but it’s useless for cleaning old oily stains.

Conclusion: It works but not as well as you’d expect.

#2: Try a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and baking soda on your gas stove.



Mix together 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide, 1 tsp dish soap, and 1/2 cup baking soda. Clean the surface using a sponge. For stains that are harder to remove, leave the mixture for 10 minutes.

Result: The hack is quite useful. After a couple of minutes, our stovetop was sparkling clean again.

Conclusion: It does work!

#3: Baking soda and vegetable oil for oven grease.



Result: We mixed 1 tbsp vegetable oil with 2 tbsp baking soda and rubbed the mixture all over the door. Now our oven door is as shiny as when it was new.

Conclusion: It works.

#4: Lemon and salt can clean your stainless steel sink.



Result: This cleaning duo cleaned the stains and also polished the surface.

Conclusion: It works.

#5: Make your faucets gleam by rubbing them with lemon juice.



Result: Just look at our shiny faucets. No comments.

Conclusion: The hack works!

#6: Salt fights grease on a cast-iron skillet.



Result: We covered the bottom of our skillet with salt and left it there for 15 minutes. To clean the skillet, rub it thoroughly with a cleaning scourer.

Conclusion: It works, but the same result can be achieved if you use ordinary dishwashing soap.

#7: Use white vinegar to clean your showerhead.



To get rid of limescale in your showerhead, use the vinegar hack. Fill a plastic bag with white vinegar, and tie it around the showerhead. Leave for about 20 minutes to get amazing results. Leave for another hour if stubborn limescale persists.

Result: A great cleaning hack! You won’t have to scrub it. Just wash it thoroughly.

Conclusion: It works.

#8: Clean your bathtub using baking soda and vinegar.



Sprinkle 4 tbsp baking soda, and rub onto the surface of your bathtub. After 10 minutes apply a solution of 50 g vinegar and 50 g bleach. Rinse thoroughly with water after half an hour.

Result: It’s so not worth it. When it comes to old stains, the solution is useless. Our yellow stain is still there.

Conclusion: It doesn’t work.

#9: Remove chewing gum with ice.



Result: Many believe that chewing gum can be easily removed if frozen. But, as it turned out, it’s not that easy to get it off the carpet. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t remove it, so now a spoiled carpet reminds us of our experiment.

Conclusion: It works but not that effectively.

#10: Citric acid will leave your dishes crystal clear.



Result: We put some citric acid in the dirtiest mug we found in our office, rubbed it with a sponge, and rinsed with water. Voila! The mug is clean again.

Conclusion: It works.

In general, we’re satisfied with the results of our experiment. Most of these hacks are actually useful and effective, and they work just as well as those expensive household detergents.

Photographer Roman Zakharchenko for BrightSide.me

SOURCE: BRIGHTSIDE