I’m a professional cleaner & here’s the ‘lazy’ hack to clean your oven for pennies – NO scrubbing required

Antoaneta Dimitrova  reveals her top cleaning hacks - including some very surprising ones...

Rice rice baby

The kitchen is full of oddly shaped items that can be extremely difficult to wash with your standard sponge and soap.

A wire brush is good for some materials like glass bottles, but can seriously damage porcelain and other gentle materials.

In such cases, a mixture of rice grains and soap will do the trick.

All you need to do is fill the item with a little soap, water and rice.

Shake your hand back and forth in short three to four second bursts approximately 10 to 15 times.

Using back-and-forth motions causes the rice to rub against the item being washed.

This friction cleans the item while being incredibly gentle on the material itself.

Lazy oven cleaning trick 

This is a very lazy, but effective way to clean your oven, because the only thing you have to do is wait and wipe.

I use this trick at home when I’m too tired to scrub anything.

All you need is a cup of baking soda and a spray bottle full of white vinegar.

You can do the first part in the evening, and then the second part the next morning.

First, remove any loose debris from the oven, like burnt food particles.

Then, spray the inside of the oven with generous amounts of vinegar.

After that, just sprinkle the baking soda onto the oven floor, walls and the oven door. It will start fizzing and foaming almost instantly.

Don’t be alarmed, just leave it as it is and go to bed.

In the morning, you will most likely wake up to an oven full of dissolved dirt that you just need to wipe clean. It takes care of immense dirt with no effort. 

Secret to dust-free shelves

It’s very difficult to avoid dust in your home completely, however there are a few tricks that you can try to make the dust settle less.

One is to use used dryer sheets for the dusting itself.

You can place a small container next to your washing machine to gather the sheets and use them when needed.

Their ultimate goal is to prevent static electricity in clothes, so they will do the same for your shelves and furniture.

Static electricity draws the dust to settle, so you will be removing a major factor out of the equation.

If you want an additional shine, once you remove the dust, you can get a fresh sheet, place two to three drops of olive oil on it, gently spread it over the fabric, and then do a second run on the shelves.

It gives the wood a great shine and again prevents dust from settling.

Put a sock in it

We don’t do this when we work with clients (for obvious reasons), but using old socks is a neat alternative to microfibre cloths that doesn’t cost you anything.

If you have some old ripped socks around your house, you can just repurpose them as dust rags.

And it’s comfortable too because you can put it on your hand like a glove, and clean hard to reach spaces easily, like blinds, window corners or inside narrow shelves.

You can also spray your favourite detergent directly onto the sock. They are heavily absorbent and won’t allow any spills on your furniture.

Cornstarch carpet tip

The most common carpet stains we encounter at work are various food stains.

When food gets spilt on your carpet, it can be hard to keep it clean - especially if you don’t take action as soon as possible.  

Butter, grease, oil and sauces are described by our clients as the most stubborn stains that leave a permanent stain.

The trick with these is to act quickly.

This is because the water part of the stain is easy to remove, but the oil has fats that make it stick.

To take care of such stains on your own, you’ll need are some paper towels, cornstarch or baking soda, a vacuum cleaner, some dishwashing liquid, a soft-bristled brush and a clean cloth. 

First, remove any excess and blot the area with a paper towel.

Avoid wiping, because it only sets the stain deeper into the padding. Then use the baking soda or cornstarch to absorb the extra moisture.

Spread it all over the stain and wait for around half an hour for it to work. Use the vacuum cleaner to remove the powder once done. 

If the stain hasn't completely come out, you'll need to break up the grease stain with warm water and dishwashing detergent.

Pour the mixture over the grease spot and let it sit for a while before blotting it with a clean towel. If the stain remains, get some rubbing alcohol and apply it directly to the spot.

This trick will work on most fresh stains actually.

However, I would not recommend using it on carpets with gentle fabrics, as those are often Dry Cleaning Only, but for a standard nylon carpet, it would work great.

An energising scrub

Coffee grounds are a natural way to fight bad odour, grease and bacteria.

You can use the leftover product to clean the sink and drain or pour it down the pipe to fight unpleasant odour.

Coffee grounds are also a great replacement for some detergents and air fresheners, leaving things clean and deodorised.

And you can use them to scrub away all the dirt and grease on your dishes.

You can use old coffee grounds to clean your bathroom, kitchen and grill as well. Just mix it with your general cleaner and enjoy the additional scrubbing features.

Coffee is a great general purpose cleaner, but you should use it carefully — it can stain surfaces and remove paint.

You should be careful not to use it on anything that's made of wood or other porous materials.