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- Many people spend hours on TikTok watching clips of people doing amazing cleanups.
- They also love getting neat tips and tricks for cleaning stubborn dirt out of their spaces.
- Some of these tips and tricks have however been red-flagged by an expert who shares that they are not only money and time wasters but also potentially harmful.
Do you find cleaning your house a time-consuming and costly chore? You might be tempted to turn to social media to discover the latest cleaning hacks.
Unfortunately, relying on dodgy TikTok hacks can end up costing you more money and time than you save. Imagine Maids discusses the three TikTok cleaning crazes you should steer clear of.
Cleaning surfaces with lemon and bicarbonate of soda
These ingredients are sustainable and cheap, so many assume using them should be better than paying more for cleaning products with harsh chemicals.
But because bicarbonate of soda is an alkaline substance and lemons contain acid, they actually react and neutralise each other when combined, leaving you with a lot of impressive-looking fizz but no actual cleaning power. Also, bicarbonate of soda is abrasive, and lemon is sticky, so your surfaces could end up covered in unpleasant smears.
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Imagine Maids says, "One environmentally friendly alternative you could try instead is using an equal mix of water and vinegar. This can keep your worktops and kitchen shelving looking clean and fresh."
Mixing cleaning products
Here, the idea is "the more the merrier!", many think mixing two or more cleaning products can let you achieve the results of all of them while cutting your cleaning time in half.
The company said:
In the worst-case scenario, the mixture you create could even have the potential to explode.
According to Imagine Maids, "Mixing chemical cleaning products is a huge no-no, as you could end up creating some seriously nasty mixtures.
Instead, natural cleaning ingredients to consider include white vinegar, thymol, and vegetable glycerine. These natural products will help you clean your home without the risk of poisoning yourself.
Applying fabric softener to your walls
A TikTok influencer recommended that her viewers combine one part fabric softener with three parts water in a spray bottle and use the resulting mixture to clean their walls.
While your walls will look and smell clean afterwards if you try this hack, a residue will be left behind, which dirt and dust can stick to, making your walls look dirtier in the long term.
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It’s for this reason that you should also ignore the suggestion of dusting furniture with fabric conditioner.
An equal mix of water and vinegar is a good alternative, adding some drops of your favourite essential oil for fragrance. Use a spray to clean the walls and a microfiber cloth to dry them.
The company says, "Don’t trust TikTok when it tells you to clean tufted upholstery with dish soap or put Fabuloso in your toilet tank. Proper advice from specialist websites will get you better results - protecting your home and household in the process."
- Information supplied by Journalist Insights on behalf of Imagine Maids.
