When looking to clean your home, you have two options to choose from; doing it yourself or hiring the cleaning services of a professional company. For light cleaning or when on a tight budget, doing it yourself is more preferably. Hired services are only necessary when you need a thorough cleanup, or when you don’t have time to do it.
To help you clean your house, you need cleaning tools. These tools are essential and should always be around. Here is a list of the ten cleaning tools every home should have.
• A Broom
A broom is a necessary tool for every household. It helps with light cleanup chores when you want to remove dust and other dirt on surfaces. A broom is mostly used on floors, especially when not much cleaning is required or before damp-mopping a floor.
The broom you keep in your home will mostly depend on the type of floor you have. Fibre brooms are best used with wood or marble flooring. Straw brooms suit floors that are rougher or outside the house where the surface is dirtier and less smooth. Always store your broom safely by keeping it in an upside down position.
• Buckets
The bucket is a versatile cleaning tool in every home. You need it in virtually every cleaning chore. Because it’s usually taken for granted, it’s possible that you ignore its role and fail to have it in your house.
Don’t have a bucket for the sake of it. Its size and durability matters. And, don’t have one bucket only. Have several of them, with the minimum being two. The buckets need to be small-sized for portability. You don’t want to be carrying around enormous buckets that only make your work to be more tiresome. Also, dedicate one of the buckets to wringing the mop on.
• A Scrub Brush
A scrub brush is a necessary tool to remove stuck dirt. It’s useful when cleaning places where the buildup of dirt is intense. Such placed include the shower, sink, and corners. Also the areas between tiles where the dust settles and becomes too stuck to be removed by normal cleaning.
A brush with a handle is better. It’s easy to use, and won’t tire you out quickly. Look for a scrub brush whose handle is ergonomically shaped to reduce hand fatigue when using it for extended hours.
• Gloves
You will need gloves in most of the house cleaning tasks. Gloves protect your hands from abrasions, harsh chemicals and more. They may look clumsy but they’re useful in protecting your skin when going about your cleaning chores.
Buy gloves that perfectly fit the size of your hands. It would feel awkward to work with oversized gloves. Likewise, gloves that are too tight make you feel uncomfortable and have a hard time working with them. Before wearing your gloves, sprinkle their inside with a generous amount of talcum powder. It is essential to increase comfort and protect your skin.
• A Mop
A most one of the most useful cleaning tools in the house. It allows you to make the house free of dirt without having to bend down. A mop helps you do the cleaning in an easy way, and you’re able to work on large areas without feeling tired. It also comes in handy in situations that call for quick cleanups, such as accidental spills that need to be wiped off immediately. In some cases, it even cleans better than a hand duster.
The type of floor in your house dictates the mop you need to possess for the most efficient work. It also depends on your budget or your preference. You can use a string mop or a spring one. Some mops will not require you to wring them yourself and are better at ensuring easy mopping chores.
• A Sponge
Your mop cannot reach every corner of your house. Some spots are too hidden or narrow for the mop and you need a sponge to clean them. A sponge ensures that your work is thorough and no part of the house is left out.
Look for a sponge with one smooth side and an abrasive one. It will help to clean all surfaces efficiently by alternating the sides depending on the stubbornness of the dirt. You can use a sponge for as long as it remains usable. However, the sponge is a cleaning tool you should be prepared to replace often.
• Spray Bottles
You will need them to store your homemade cleaners. Not only store but also to apply them. A spray bottle allows you to apply a cleaning agent on a surface to remove a stubborn stain, before using your microfiber cloth on it.
Have several of them, for the storage of different cleaners for different purposes as well as surfaces. Spray bottles are not only cost-effective options but are also useful in most of your house cleaning tasks.
• A Squeegee
Some surfaces and spots in your home are too high to reach. This is where the squeegee comes in. It allows you to clean high places with easy and fast. From cleaning walls, windows to hanging mirrors, it’s a too you will find necessary to have in your house.
There are many brands of this cleaning tool. You will choose the one that suits your cleaning needs or fancy. One you will feel comfortable to use. Only ensure that you always have it around.
• A Vacuum
A house without a vacuum will gather dust and other dirt to levels that would make cleaning everything difficult. From your furniture’s upholstery to the carpet, you will require a vacuum. It not only cleans fast but also more efficiently. Some items and surfaces also need to be vacuumed rather than cleaned manually.
House cleaning companies use vacuums for most of their work, but theirs are more sophisticated. A domestic vacuum needs not be a complex tool. A simple one that’s capable of sucking up dust from your carpet and furniture is enough. Should you need the big ones for a dedicated vacuuming, you can always hire a professional cleaner.
• Microfiber Cloth
Microfibre cloths remove stains from surfaces without causing damage. You need it for sensitive places that cannot be wiped with any other cleaning tool such as a duster or mop. They are efficient and will take you less time to do the cleaning.
Ensure the microfiber clothes you have in your house are are not capable of staining the surfaces they’re supposed to clean. Avoid floored ones and go for white ones. It will make ensuring they’re clean always easier, plus you will have protected the surfaces being cleaned from color-staining.
Cleaning your home requires that you have the tools necessary for the work. With the cleaning tools in this list, you can take on any house cleaning task with confidence. Once in a while, you may hire cleaning services from a cleaning company for an effective cleanup that removes the dirt these tools are incapable of.