The following is a list of cleaning products I prefer to use, presented here with pictures to make them easier to find.
About Aerosol Cans | On the Subject of Bleach
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Glass
Jude’s Miracle Cloth works excellent on streaky mirrors and windows. I still use Windex on some things, but nothing beats this. (Please never wash this – I will take care of it.)
Where to buy
*Note: Amazon sells “June’s Miracle Cloth” which is a knockoff. I have not tried it, so do not know if it works as well, so purchase at your own risk.
Windex is great for just about anything.
Generic or store brand glass cleaner usually leaves streaks on glass, but can be useful on other things.
General Cleaning
Any all-purpose cleaner, such as Mr Clean or equivalent generic or store brand. Most come in various scents and most are fine but I do request that you avoid flowery scents.
Bathrooms
Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer, in the can, works best, as it covers a large area quickly. I believe it uses less product per cleaning than the trigger spray version. Either one works very well, though.
If you cannot find the Mega Shower Foamer version, the regular version works well. ***Please Note*** There are two types of this, and they come in almost identical packaging. Please look for the words “Soap Scum Remover” at the bottom of the large label, and/or “Penetrating foam removes soap scum!” on the neck label. The other version is bleach-based and made for mold/mildew.
Please do not buy any bleach-based cleaner unless I request it.
Scrubbing Bubbles makes other variations of their product, such as coloured foam and battery-operated trigger sprayers. Those are gimmicks and are essentially the same product. Buy them only as a last resort.
Please do not buy Scrub Free in any form.
Toilet bowl cleaners come in a bottle with a crooked neck, as with the Lysol brand above. Any brand will do, including Toilet Duck or any generic or store brand.
Extra scrubbing
Magic Eraser or any generic or store brand. (I have found boxes of two “Quick Erasers” at DollarTree.)
Fantastik is great for grease. One of the few products there is no acceptable generic substitute for, though Method makes a comparable “all-purpose cleaner” in a spray bottle.
Comet or any generic or store brand powdered cleanser. I use this exclusively on hard-to-clean toilet bowls (such as rust and other set-in stains). It may say it doesn’t scratch, but I don’t believe that, and would never use it on anything that might scratch.
Floors
For tile, vinyl, and linoleum floors:
Vileda Bee Mop
For hardwood or laminate floors:
Vileda Active Max or Vileda Fibro Contact and…
Zep Hardwood and Laminate Floor Cleaner trigger spray bottle (available from Home Depot)
Bona also makes a good hardwood and laminate floor cleaner
For other types of floors and outdoors:
Vileda SuperMop or similar string-style mop and…
Vileda Quick-Wring Bucket or similar style bucket with wringer for string mops.
(If you don’t buy Vileda brand for both of these, please ensure the wringer in the bucket is compatible with the string mop.)
Other Cleaning
Swiffer dusters – I find generic and store brand versions aren’t as effective.
Perfect Stainless (available at Bed, Bath & Beyond) is one of the effective stainless steel cleaners I have used. Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes are also effective. Both need to be followed up with a microfibre cloth. Neither is effective on all stainless steel. There is an experimentation process….
Scrub brush with no handle
Microfibre cloth (please never wash this – I will take care of it)
Bucket at least 8L (2 gal)
Broom any indoor broom (not corn broom)
Ammonia any brand or generic
Dish soap any brand or generic
Vacuum any vacuum will do, though I find Míele, Hoover and Kenmore are quite good. I’m sure your vacuum is fine!
Dyson Vacuums
Dyson is currently the vacuum-du-jour, likely due to their convincing advertising. In my opinion, if you are going to spend that much on a vacuum cleaner ($600+), buy a Míele canister (with a power head for carpets). If you are dead-set on buying a Dyson, the canister style is better than the upright. I would recommend a Dyson canister for anyone with mostly or all carpets and one or more pets. If you have mostly non-carpeted flooring, a Dyson is a waste of money, as any $100 vacuum will work for that.
Aerosol cans
Please note that ozone-depleting CFCs have been banned in Canada since 1996, so buying products in aerosol cans will not damage the environment. Most cans still show a No CFCs logo. The cans may also be recycled in the Containers bin (plastics and metal).
I don’t use bleach. Some people want bleach used to clean their kitchen. I use dish soap and that has been sufficient for over 35 years. Here’s my reasoning: you use plain old dish soap to wash your plates and then you put food directly on those plates and then put that food directly into your body. How is dish soap sanitary enough for that, but not for your countertops?
I use Mr Clean (or equivalent) in the bathrooms. Believe me, that’s strong enough for most jobs. If there is a mildew problem I will request that you purchase a bleach-based cleaner (like Tilex) to obliterate the stains, but otherwise no, I won’t use bleach. The fumes are just too debilitating and dangerous.
Please do not purchase any of the above cleaning supplies in the “bleach-added” forms. It is no better than the regular version.
I am not currently taking on new clients, but if you are an existing client and have questions or otherwise need to get in touch, please feel free to use one of the methods below.
Text or Call: 604.505.7468
Email: sbeeder@gmail.com