My favourite & best cleaning products!

It’s spring-cleaning season and we all know nobody likes to spend their days off cleaning their home. So I thought it would be the perfect time to share my favourite cleaning products, for getting these tasks done with ease and efficiency!

I used to hate cleaning, until I came across some of Mrs Hinch’s favourite cleaning products, that made cleaning my house easy and quick. Since ever I’ve been using some of her fave cleaning supplies, I actually started to enjoy cleaning daily once little one is in bed and do a fortnightly deep clean.

Minky M Cloth Anti-bacterial Cleaning Pad

Hearing people rave about this Minky Cloth, I had to give it a try myself to see why this cleaning pad is so popular and at one point even sold out! I have to say, I was amazed how easy it made cleaning all areas of my home, especially the kitchen and bathrooms.

The cloth is amazing because its dual sided for effective and powerful scrubbing, making any cleaning task a breeze. The scrubbing side is excellent for quickly removing tough stains and marks without scratching, whereas the microfiber effectively lifts away grease and grime.  Since I’ve studied microbiology and immunology at masters level, I’ve become obsessed with killing any nasty bacteria around the house. Thankfully these cloth pads are treated with long lasting antibacterial protection to prevent bacterial growth in these sponges. We don’t want to be spreading bacteria unknowingly around the surfaces of our home, right?

I have a total of 8 of these sponge clothes. 3 for the kitchen, 2 bathrooms and 3 general cleaning around the house. I like to have a fresh sponge every day, so I dump the Minky clothes in the laundry basked every evening. I love that these are reusable, therefore making these an eco-friendly product. Since I’ve been using these, I haven’t bought any disposable sponges, saving me a lot of money in the long run!

P.s.: Primark sells a pack of 2 of the Minky Cloth style Anti-bacterial sponges for £2! Its a bargain! I only have 3 original Minky ones and the rest are from Primark.

Stardrops The Pink Stuff The Miracle Cleaning Paste

If you haven’t tried The Pink Stuff Paste yet, then you’ve to get yourself a tub! You can clean literally anything with the pink stuff past! This stuff is tough on stains, yet gentle on surfaces and is also environmentally, non-toxic, as well as made of 99% natural ingredients. It is definitely a great all round cream cleaner.

I’ve removed some rust on my out door lamps using this paste, as well as cleaned my outdoor stone window sills, that have turned black from algae growing on it. Why pay lots of money for someone to clean it with high pressure water gun, when you can do it yourself, right? I’ve also used this paste to clean stains on my pots, pans oven grills, the hob, pen marks on wooden furniture and the BBQ.

Plus a tub lasts for ages! Unless you use it to clean window sills like me too. Bellow is a before and after my window sill, when I’ve cleaned them last year using The Pink Stuff paste and a old toothbrush to scrub it.

You can also get these at the Pound shop or occasionally at Aldi for a quid.

Eco-Egg laundry egg

You might have seen me using my spring blossom eco-egg on the Channel 5 TV show Bargain Brits on Benefits. To find out more about the laundry gadget check out: My review of the EcoEgg! Does it work & save money?

When I do my spring cleaning I like to give my curtains and all the duvet covers a wash too. Instead of using traditional washing powder, I use my EcoEgg as it saves sooo much money and it’s a sustainable product.

Dyson Stick cordless vacuum cleaner

Lets face it, hovering the house isn’t exactly a fun thing to do, especially if you are having to carry your heavy hoover around the house and changing the plug, to make sure you can reach the area you want to hoover. Due to this issue my bestie Izzy and I used to hoover our shared flat once every 3-4 days back in our university days. 

Since I have a young child and a pet creating mess daily , I’ve no choice, but to get the vacuum cleaner out several times a day! I’ve invested in a Dyson Stick Total Clean in 2018, cleaning the dining area and living room takes me less than 3 minutes! Vacuuming my whole 3 bedroom home takes me 15 minutes! I don’t have to think about cables and a heavy hoover to carry up & down the stairs anymore. Once I’m done, the hoover is back on its charger if it is on its last bar of battery. The current Dyson stick models has a total run time of 60 minutes, which is more than enough in my opinion, as I can hoover my whole house 4 times with a full charge. As it comes with so many adaptors, it makes it so easy to give the car a quick hoover.

Though the hoover was expensive, it makes hovering the house so quick and effortless! Dyson has different models of the stick and there isn’t much of a difference between the Animal and Total Clean. If you are thinking of getting one, wait for big sales such as January sales or end of summer sale!

Zoflora Concentrated Disinfectant

I have to admit, I have an obsession with Zoflora! Currently I have several bottles of this stuff, each being different fragrances to suit my mood. Zoflora is a multi purpose concentrated antibacterial and antiviral disinfectant, which can be used on floors, baths, tiles, taps, worktops, drains, dishcloths toilets, etc. . The use is endless! I love how amazing the long lasting fragrances smell and 1 120ml (250ml also available) bottle makes a total of 4.8L of full strength disinfectant, which works out a lot cheaper then keep buying the ready made disinfectant like Dettol spray bottles. Zoflora is also cruelty free and vegan friendly.

By switching to concentrated disinfectant from diluted disinfectants that already come in a spray bottles, you will also reduce your carbon footprint as the Zoflora products come in much smaller bottles than the ready to use disinfectant sprays.

My favourite Zoflora scents are:

• Springtime
• Hello Spring (Limited Edition)
• Tropical Twist (Limited Edition)
• Secret Garden (Limited Edition)
• Sparkling Spruce (Limited Edition)

Fabulosa Concentrated Disinfectant

Fabulosa does exactly the same thing as Zoflora, but is a different brand and has more fruity scents, where as Zoflora has more floral fragrances. Before you ask, yes I’m just as obsessed with Fabulosa, as I’m with Zoflora! I tend to buy the concentrated bottles instead of spray bottles, because I get more out of it for the money and produce less plastic waste. Though I can’t completely cut out plastic use, I like to reduce my plastic use as much as I comfortably can. I’ve not tried their foam freshener yet.

My favourite Fabulosa scents are:

• Pet Fabulosa Blueberry & Cranberry
• Electrify (It kind of smells like the perfume Black Opium by YSL)
• Black Cherry Merlot
• Mango Punch
• Winter Fig
• Tropical Fruits
• Sugared Almonds

Microfibre Cloths

I love using microfiber clothes to clean windows, shining stainless steel taps and door handles with, as it doesn’t leave any streaks. They also effectively pick up dust from surfaces.  I find using these types of clothes reduces the amount of product I need to clean, which in turn saves me some money. They are also more effective at cleaning than other type of clothes as they have a higher surface area contact due to the microfibers. I can’t have enough microfiber clothes, because I use then daily and pop it in the washing machine to sanitize them to use again.

Using these instead of kitchen roll has reduced the amount of waste I produce, which is a plus for me! Since microfibre clothes are one of my must have cleaning poroducts!

1001 Carpet Fresh

Carpet fresh is a great product if you want to freshen up your carpet, especially if you have children and or pets like myself. It leaves my carpet and home smelling fresh & clean. It does an excellent job at eliminating pet odors and is quick drying. This product is also wool safe, which was very important to me as I have wool carpet throughout my home. I found the scent stayed for approximately 5 hours, before the house smelt neutral (no smell). I tend to go for the Pet Thai Orchid and Thai Orchid & Passion Fruit ones.

Make sure not to use this product near birds.

Carpet fresh comes in a range of scents including:

Exotic flowers and Pink Grapefruit

Winter Berries

Soft Jasmine & Fresh Linen

Pet Thai Orchid

Thai Orchid & Passion Fruit

Glade Shake n’ Vac

Now and again I like to cover my carpets in Shake n’ V carpet freshener powder before going to the gym, so that it eliminates any odors trapped in the carpet or just to make my home smell fresh and clean. I know the directions say to wait a few minutes then vacuum but I found I got better results from leaving it for an hour or 2 then just vacuum when I get back from my workout. A bottle contains 500g of powder and covers an area of approximately 20-22 sq. meters.

It comes in a variety of fragrances including Lily of the Valley, Magnolia & Vanilla  and Fresh Lemon. The lily and magnolia ones are my go to scents. Occasionally I see these for 99p per bottle in Aldi.

Lenor Unstoppables Scent Booster Beads

I love using Lenor Scent Booster Beads to boost the scent of my fresh laundry, but I enjoy using these scent booster beads around the house too.  The scent of these last for ages and a little goes a long way!

My favourite scents are Sun Kiss and Dreams.

Astonish Mould & Mildew Blaster

This stuff is amazing! I’ve tried so many mould sprays over the years, but nothing beats Astonish Mould & Mildew Baster spray! Most sprays you have to apply it to the affected area several times and also scrub the area. However this spray is super effective and fast at removing mould and mildew in minutes, without having to scrub! I got my mother a bottle as well and she couldn’t believe that she has never heard of it before. She had some mildew on the sealant around her bathtub and showers, which are an ugly sight. She sprayed some of this spray around and everything turned white when she got back to rise with water after about 20 minutes. I like to spray this around the bathtub and shower once a month to prevent any mould and mildew growing.

The spray is cheap too at only £1! You can order from Amazon with free delivery or grab a bottle when you are next at Poundland.

Method Daily Kitchen Spray

I lovveeee how divine this smells! I find nice smelling cleaning products make it more fun to clean. If you are into green cleaning products, avoiding the use of harsh chemicals and being more eco-friendly, then this is the perfect kitchen cleaner for you! It is non toxic and is a 100% natural plant based product. It is great for cleaning grease and grime, while leaving your kitchen clean and shiny as well as smelling amazingly fresh of oranges. I really like using this kitchen cleaner on my hob, kitchen sink and worktop surfaces, because I know at least that when foods touch the worktop it hasn’t come in contact with any nasty chemicals that may be present in other kitchen sprays.

Method Anti-Bac All Purpose Cleaner

This Anti-Bac spay comes in 2 of scents including Wild Rhubarb and Orange Yuzu. I love this anti-bac spray by Method as much as I love their kitchen spray, because it is natural and 100% plant based, as well as kinder to the environment. I tend to use this spray to clean my dining table and coffee table, to prevent my daughter and myself from accidentally ingesting a nasty chemical when food has fallen on the table surface then eaten. 

Vileda 1-2 Spray Mop

I used to have a bucket and mop, I hated mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors as it was a pain to fill the bucket with water and detergent, carrying the bucket up & down the stairs and squeezing out the water from the mop. It was too much effort and took up too much of my time. Since I’ve bought my Vileda 1-2 Spray mop, mopping my hallway, 3 bathrooms and kitchen only takes me 15 mins. Plus the mop doesn’t take as much storage space as the bucket and mop. Also there are no more accidental spillages woohoo! I tend to make up the solution by diluting the neat Zoflora or Fabulosa, to make the anti bacterial and anti viral disinfectant then pour it in the spray mop. It leaves my home smelling fruity or floral as well as clean and disinfected. 

Method Daily Shower Non-Toxic Surface Cleaner

This non-toxic and environment friendly shower spray is made from natural ingredients derived from starch and minerals. I spray the whole shower or bath including the glass doors and wall tiles after each shower or bath to prevent soap scum. It also dissolves mildew to keep my bathrooms clean and fresh smelling. I also use a squeegee to remove the water and spray to leave the surfaces nice and clean. 

Method does them in 2 scents, Ylang Ylang and Passion Fruit.

Mr Sheen Multi Surface Polish

To clean my windows, aquarium, tv, mirrors and stainless steel taps and door handles, I like using Mr Sheen Multi Surface Polish with a microfiber cloth. I love how it doesn’t leave any streaks and makes everything so shiny and clean. It has a dust trap technology, which picks up more dust than using a cloth alone. This product can be used on wood, glass, metal and plastic and comes in  different scents but my favourite is the Citrus Fresh one.

You can usually pick this up at the pound shop for a quid.

If you have any favourite cleaning products that you use to make cleaning easier, quicker and save money at the same time that I haven’t been using yet, be sure to share with me in the comment section below!