r/CleaningTips

I thought this would be a good place to ask. I want to preserve my old teal bathroom, and the tile grout is stained in many places. (The lighting of this photo is not helping either)

Would a grout coloring pen be my best option? Anything I need to think about or do beforehand, besides scrubbing it clean? I've read about people sealing the tile afterwards, but not sure what the best product is to use, or if I even need to do that with this tile?

I've never done this or worked with tile before so any tips are appreciated!

Hey yall!

Hoping I can get some idea of cleaning or possibly a much more complicated issue arises but my shower has an issue.

There is a funky smell of moisture coming from it. I’ve tried cleaning it with vinegar, dumping the green goo through the drain but nothing seems to be working. Any ideas?

Note. It’s a walk in shower with glass door. No fan in it to help dry. It takes a good while for the floor to dry after each use and on the cracks when I push sometimes water comes out of them.

Kitchen ceiling fan dust is clinging to the blades bc it's in the kitchen and everything has a thin layer of aerosolized oil. Pics are after vaccuming. The top is especially gummy. Appears to be made of wood so im not sure about unscrewing them and drowning it in dawn. I rent so maybe it's just not worth the pain.

Hi all,

I just moved into a new rental with my partner, but so much of it was left unclean (shocker..)

I am currently soaking the grates, but I'm unsure on where to start with this part of the stove. Since I know it is a more delicate area, I thought I'd seek help on here. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Edit: Burners, not stovetop.

I'm really kicking myself for not reading the manual on my LG gas range before tossing everything in the dishwasher. I remembered the grates being dishwasher safe, and I stupidly thought the burners were too. Are they still safe to use, or do I need to order replacement parts? They are dramatically discolored from how they should be, with white specks I can't seem to scrub off in some places.

What is this residue all over the dishwasher? How do i clean/prevent it? Once a year I take everything out and give it a good scrub but it comes back with a vengeance so quickly.

Often have similar residue left behind on plastic utensils/tupperware etc.

IT's an electrolux dishwasher, and I live in London where the water is quite hard. Any tips?

Update: Using Fairy pods platinum plus, have not put salt in the machine. Also I occasionally (every couple months) run with one of those dishwasher cleaning bottles, not sure the brand. Last time it didn't make much of an impact! But if there's a specific brand that works well I'm open to trying again!

Some rust stains on the upper left corner and darker stain in middle of shower (assuming it’s from water?)

Any and all help would be appreciated so I can get my deposit back 🫶🏻

Hello my mattress I’m trying to sell had a brown patch in the middle I’m not sure why or how or what even that brown patch could be.I don’t remember pissing myself or spilling cola but it was a long time ago
So I guess it’s probably sweat?
I tried cleaning it with a mix of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and toothpaste it kind of worked but now I kind of smeared the patch and it’s still visible and it’s harder than the normal surface
Is it still salvageable?

My husband received a traditional Georgian hat as a gift from one of our kids and he really wants to wear it (in the winter) but it smells terrible. It's either sheep or goat hair. Online it looks like people say they smell bad bc they are for tourists who don't notice so the leather isn't properly treated.

Maybe this is the wrong group to ask, but any suggestions? We've left it outside for days and it hasn't helped.

I thought this would be one of those purchases where Reddit had already decided on the winner. Turns out... not even close.

I've been bouncing between old threads for the last couple of nights and it feels like every recommendation starts the same, then completely falls apart once people start replying. But after a while I realised the same four machines just kept showing up.

The little green by bissell was everywhere. Honestly, I don't think I opened a single pet thread without someone recommending it. Most owners seem to like it because it's small enough that you'll actually grab it when your dog has an accident instead of telling yourself you'll deal with it later. The only complaint I kept seeing was the tank size. Seems great for the odd spill, less great if you've got multiple rooms to do.

Hoover's cleanslate surprised me a bit. It didn't get mentioned as often, but every person who owned one seemed to bring up the suction. Loads of comments from people saying they thought the carpet was already clean until the cleanslate pulled another tank of dirty water out. The downside is it looks a bit chunkier than the little green, so maybe not the best choice if you're already running out of cupboard space.

Then there's shark's stainstriker, which honestly felt like the most divisive one. Some people were adamant it was the best thing they'd used for pet smells, especially older accidents that kept coming back. Then someone else would jump in saying it stopped being such good value once they started buying replacement solution. I still can't tell whether it's genuinely better or just has really enthusiastic owners.

The last one that kept coming up was the hydrosteam from bissell. Most of the recommendations for this one weren't even about fresh stains. It seemed to be the machine people bought after something had already been sitting there for a while. Some reckoned the steam made a noticeable difference, while others said the regular little green got close enough that they couldn't justify spending more.

However, none of the threads could seem to come to an agreement, ig that’s just what reddit is, a platform where there is just discourse. And then came the point where I probably went a bit too far.

I have this terrible habit of opening every random link people leave in old threads, and one of them led me to the Carpet and Rug Institute's guide on stain removal. I only meant to skim it, but I ended up reading way more than I expected because it actually explained where I think half these recommendation threads go wrong.

Most of us seem obsessed with comparing suction power, tank size, attachments and whatever feature the manufacturer puts on the box. The guide barely focuses on any of that. It talks about blotting instead of scrubbing, avoiding over-wetting the carpet, and making sure you're extracting as much moisture as possible instead of just spraying more cleaner.

After reading that, a lot of the disagreements suddenly made sense. Two people can own the exact same portable carpet cleaner and have completely different experiences simply because one of them soaked the carpet and rushed the extraction while the other didn't.

If anyone else wants to nerd out for five minutes, this is the article I ended up reading:

https://carpet-rug.org/carpet-stains-4-1-1-best-practices-for-removing-stains/

Right now I'm leaning towards the little green, mostly because there are just so many people who still seem happy with it years later. But at the same time, Reddit has a habit of turning one decent product into the default answer for everything, ifykyk.

So if you've actually lived with one of these for a year or two, would you buy the same portable carpet cleaner again? Or is there another one that quietly deserves to be mentioned every time this question comes up?

Seeding Comments:

I've had the little green by bissell for about 3 years now and honestly the only thing that's ever annoyed me is the tank size. Apart from that, it's been decent to me. One thing I wish more people mentioned is making slower extraction passes. I used to rush it, then wonder why the carpet still smelled damp the next day.

I actually went with hoover's cleanslate instead of the little green because I cared more about extraction than portability. Maybe it's overkill for the occasional spill, but with two dogs I'd rather empty a bigger dirty water tank than keep wondering what's still sitting in the carpet padding.

I ended up reading that article as well. It made me realize I'd been using way too much solution. I always assumed more cleaner = better clean, but apparently that's how you end up with stains wicking back up after they dry.

Am I the only one who never really got the hype around shark's stainstriker? It cleaned well enough, but by the time I'd bought extra cleaning solution it wasn't the bargain I thought it was going to be. Still think it's good, just not the runaway winner some threads make it out to be.

Hey everyone, I’m coming to you asking for help navigating something I’ve had trouble with all my life. THE PILES!!

I have been diagnosed with neurodivergence and have struggled with anxiety on my life, but I can’t tell if it’s task paralysis, poor habits/follow through or just the idea that having to clean the same space every day is useless and redundant…. But I need your help in figuring out how to tackle this terrible habit!

If you were somebody who knows somebody like this, how have you helped them? Are you a pile king or queen just like me, if so, what has helped you?

Thanks everyone!! Can’t wait to tackle these piles once and for all.

Feel free to give me any tips if you notice things in the pictures as well, constructive criticism is more than welcome! Just no hate obviously.

A picture taken after cooking, not after an attempt at cleaning*

I’ve tried adding baking soda and vinegar as well as soaking for a few hours and scrubbing with the brush the air fryer comes with. It does an okay job, but was wondering if anyone has found a better way to more thoroughly clean this, especially that circular metal grate in the upper portion! Ideally that doesn’t involve a bunch of products or time. Appreciate the help!

And how do I stop it accumulating?

Hi all I’ve stupidly left a hot pan on my wooden table and it’s now left this burnt mark!! I’m moving out of this property in 20 days and I need this mark gone! Help what do I do!!

Cleaning before going out of the dorm room for the summer. Bottom of the wall next to bed is black. I am unsure if it is mold or humidity made dust stick to the wall, or something else.

From my experience with mold it is... much more "colorful" and hairy looking. This ain't either.

So if it is mold I need to report it, if not I need to clean it, or if it is too much work report it still.

So what is it, can you offer any help, do I need to take a better picture.

Any advice is helpful, thank you in advance!

P.S.

For any bad writing I apologize, english isn't my first language and I don't use it nearly as much as I used to

I don’t live here, my mom and my 17 year old brother does and I and he have to consistently clean it off the walls