The Top Five Household Cleaners

The next time you go to your local grocery or department store, take a look down the cleaning aisle. When you stop and think about how many different cleaning solutions are really there, you will be amazed. Most people just stick with what they know, since it can be an intimidating experience to try to find something new to clean your house.

There are, however, a certain number of cleaners that you should have on hand at all times. These cleaners are all great by themselves, as well as really good in mixtures. With them, you can clean every room in your house and you can clean up virtually any problem or mess. All you need are these big five:

• Ammonia. This works as a good disinfectant, but when mixed with water makes an excellent glass cleaner and surface polisher.
• White vinegar. Not only for cooking, white vinegar is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to cleaning. It is extremely practical in taking out stains when used properly.
• Baking soda. Use this mixed with a little water on your hard surfaces to clean them up. (Baking soda is a very mild abrasive.) It works great in the refrigerator both to wipe it down and, if you keep an open box inside, to remove odors.
• Bleach. This chemical is important because it will clean anything off and kill almost any bacteria. If you have some growing mold, bleach it. If you want to make sure something is really clean, bleach it. Just be careful with it, since it can burn your hands and permanently ruin furniture and clothing.
• Liquid dish detergent. This little item is obviously useful when cleaning dishes, but mix it with some water and rub it on almost any surface, including carpet, to wipe spots clean and disinfect at the same time.

If you have these cleaning supplies constantly at hand, you will be able to clean up your house no matter what, without having to deal with all those confusing ads and brands that just tend to make cleaning into more of a hassle.

A final word of caution: You should be careful when you mix various household cleaners together. In fact, some of them are downright unsafe to mix. For instance, you should never mix ammonia and bleach. Doing so gives off toxic fumes that can be hazardous. If in doubt, make sure you read the labels on the various cleaners you are using.