The Essential Cleaning Toolkit

The essentials for keeping a clean house are really quite simple. We don’t need to purchase expensive overachieving cleaning equipment such as super filtering vacuum cleaners, sanitizing dishwashers, mite-proof mattress covers and ionic air cleaners. Of course if you are an allergy sufferer or have other sensitive allergies you may need these things, but for many of us most of our cleaning tasks can be performed with man-powered tools that work as an extension of our hands.

Here are the top three cleaning tools

The miraculous microfiber mop.
It can dust, wash, and polish your floors more thoroughly and anti-bacterially than any mop ever made, using nothing but water! How does it do this? It’s all bout the fiber. A microfiber is a very thin synthetic fiber that’s thinner than a human hair. It absorbs about seven times its weight in water and dries out two or three times faster than cotton, and refuses to grow mold and mildew! It sheds no lint or other allergens, holds it’s shape and can be machine-washed hundreds of times!

How do you use a microfiber mop? Lightly dampen the mop pad with water, slap it on the floor and press the Velcro-ed mop head onto the pad. You can quickly mop a whole room, when the pad looks dirty, either rinse it or toss it in the washing machine. Let your floor air dry or give it a glossing over with a dry pad.

The Humble Corn Broom
No mater how many advances there are in technology the corn broom is still considered irreplaceable as a serious tool of commercial cleaning. It has the ability to sweep rough surfaces as well as smooth ones, indoors or out. It doesn’t just move dirt around, the fine hairs at the end of its bristles grab onto particles and move them further up into the broom. It doesn’t’ require much manpower; a gentle sweeping is surprisingly efficient. As it ages the bristles soften and when they finally wear out the whole tool can be composted!

The Nontoxic Toilet Brush
There is nothing glamorous about a toilet brush – nor should there be. The real innovation is in how you use the thing. Television commercials have taught us the we need to gear up while pouring toxic potions into the dreaded bowl. This is unnecessary even in the worst situations. Instead, use some distilled vinegar in a spray bottle. For light cleaning, just spraying the bowl and around the rim, and scour lightly with the toilet brush. For heavier cleaning add a couple of cups of vinegar to the bowl and close the lid. Walk away for a couple of hours, and then brush the insides of the bowl as usual.

What are your essential cleaning tools? I purchase vinegar by the gallon and have a pile of old cloth diapers I use as my cleaning rags. Nothing fancy but it does the trick!