The Best Spring Cleaning Products to Make Your Home Shine • Everyday Cheapskate

As spring approaches, it’s the perfect time to gather your spring cleaning A-Team. Bid farewell to winter grime as we identify the best spring cleaning products and DIY cleaning recipes to reveal the secrets to a sparkling home!

There’s an illness that has been documented by poets for centuries and I’ve got it. Spring Fever is that wonderfully amorphous disease we all recognize come March and April. While it remains a fuzzy medical condition, there has been a great deal of research on how seasonal changes affect our mood and behavior. I know how it affects me—it makes me want to spring clean!

While I don’t invite all my friends over to join in, I have built a team of DIY cleaning recipes and spring cleaning products that make the job not necessarily fun, but at least enjoyable. Today, I’d like to introduce you to my Spring Cleaning A-Team.

DIY Cleaning Recipes

When it comes to spring cleaning your home, why not opt for natural and budget-friendly solutions? DIY cleaning recipes not only help you save money but also ensure that your living space remains free from harmful chemicals. Plus, you’ll be amazed by the cleaning power of simple ingredients found in your pantry.

All-Purpose Cleaner

Once you discover the perfect all-purpose cleaner, you’ll likely go through gallons of it. But why settle for store-bought when you can make it yourself—better, cheaper, faster! Here’s a simple recipe to consider.

In a 16-ounce or larger spray bottle, combine:

1 teaspoon borax
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
1/2 teaspoon blue Dawn dishwashing liquid
2 two cups warm water

Optional: For a delightful scent, add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil—lavender or lemon works wonders.

Label clearly, shake well, and use as needed.

This DIY cleanser boasts a lengthy shelf life and because it contains no vinegar or other acidic ingredients, it is safe for use on various surfaces, including quartz, granite, soapstone, and even marble. It cleans like a boss!

Soap and Scum Cleaner

Prepare to be amazed by this household super cleaner, a recipe and instructions shared with me over 25 years ago by a reader who specializes in cleaning dorms and apartments between tenants. You can only imagine what he faces in the showers and tubs. This DIY cleaning recipe is nothing short of magic. To create this powerful cleaner:

Pour 1 cup of blue Dawn (yes, a full cup) into a 32-ounce spray bottle (or 1/2 cup if using a 16-ounce bottle)
Fill the rest of the bottle with white vinegar.
Apply the sprayer top and gently shake to mix.

Here’s how to use it: Open the windows and turn on the bathroom exhaust fan, then liberally spray the mixture on the tub, shower walls, floor, doors, and even the faucets. Allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes, or overnight for tougher stains. The solution works its magic, breaking down grime and leaving surfaces soft and gooey. Simply rinse away the dirt and grime, or for stubborn spots, gently scrub with a sponge or brush before rinsing.

For routine maintenance, just spray, wait, and rinse —no scrubbing required. Say goodbye to soap scum and hello to a sparkling clean bathroom!

MORE: How to Make Ugly Soap Scum, Mildew, and Water Marks Disappear Like Magic

Best Spring Cleaning Products & Essential Tools

Before jumping into your cleaning spree, make sure you’re armed with the best spring cleaning products and tools for the job. These handpicked and top-rated cleaning essentials are designed to streamline your cleaning efforts and guarntee a home that radiates freshness and sparkle.

Heavy Duty Plastic Spray
Bottles, 4 Pack, 16 Oz

To kickstart your journey with the DIY cleaning recipes featured above, you’ll need reliable heavy-duty spray bottles. With the ability to adjust from mist to stream, these bottles adapt to various needs and their chemical-resistant build ensures durability for use with different solutions.

Pumie Toilet Bowl Ring Remover

The Pumie Toilet Bowl Ring Remover offers a quick and eco-friendly solution to unsightly stains in your bathroom. Its gentle abrasive action effectively removes mineral deposits, rust, and scale from toilets, sinks, and showers, leaving surfaces sparkling clean without the need for harsh chemicals. With its convenient handle and safe design, the Pumie is a must-have tool for tackling tough stains and maintaining a pristine bathroom environment.

MORE: How Can I Get Rid of This Stubborn Toilet Ring?

Deep Cleaning Brushes

I received this set as a gift from a friend who knows me well. I love to clean nooks and crannies, which is crazy, but true nonetheless. OXO Good Grips Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set—tools that are perfect but not only for the kitchen. I use them on grout, in corners, and along baseboards. And into the dishwasher they go almost daily, to get sanitized. Watch out nooks and crannies! Your dirty days are fast coming to an end.

No products found.

I suppose that windows would win if I could have only one item on my spring cleaning list of dirty things to clean. There’s just nothing like looking at spring through sparkling, crystal-clear windows. Want to know the secret to the sparkle? A good squeegee and the best scrubber to go with it.

MORE: Sparkling Clean Windows—Cheaper, Better, Faster!

Microfiber Cloths

Forget the paper towels and the terry cloth. When it comes to serious cleaning of anything—especially glass and mirrors—there’s nothing more efficient than microfiber because it is lint-free and streak-free. A set will last for years and years.

Just toss them in the laundry and they come out ready to work some more. VibraWipe Microfiber Cleaning Cloths continue to be my pick for Best Inexpensive™ microfiber cleaning cloths.

MORE: These are the Best Microfiber Cloths and How to Launder Them

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O-Cedar EasyWring RinseClean Microfiber Spin Mop & Bucket

This is a fabulous floor cleaning system. With its unique design, this mop ensures you always have clean water, eliminating the need to mop with dirty water ever again. Plus, the convenient pedal allows for easy wringing without bending over or getting your hands wet, while the machine-washable mop heads can be reused, saving you time and money. This system is safe to use on various hard floor surfaces, including hardwood, laminate, tile, and vinyl.

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Kitchen Bar Mops

These are the small terry cloth kitchen towels I use for cleaning, wiping up, napkins, and just about everything I once relied on paper towels for around the house and kitchen. I simply can’t do without my trusty bar mops! I keep a rotating stash of 6 dozen on hand and use them daily. The amount of money I’ve saved on paper towels over the years by using these bar mops is truly remarkable—I couldn’t imagine living without them!

Steam Cleaner

Oh, I absolutely adore this little gem of a machine with its lengthy hose and assortment of attachments. I put it to the test, and indeed, steam bursts out at a scorching 250°F at the nozzle—perfect for banishing grime from every nook and cranny. From scrubbing away stubborn crud around faucets to tackling those hard-to-reach spots behind toilets, this McCulloch Heavy-Duty Steam Cleaner is a lifesaver. Plus, it effortlessly trails behind me like a loyal pet, thanks to its convenient rolling design.

With its array of accessory attachments, there’s no cleaning job too daunting for this powerhouse. While the manufacturer boasts that its steam can even obliterate bedbugs and their eggs, I haven’t needed to put that claim to the test—thankfully!

However, a word of caution: Avoid using steam on wood or laminate floors. Despite what manuals may suggest, steam’s moisture can penetrate wood, causing it to warp and swell. Similarly, it can melt glue in laminate flooring, leading to separation. So, while this steam cleaner is a miracle worker for many tasks, it’s best to play it safe when it comes to certain surfaces.

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Shark Navigator Pro Lift-Away Vacuum

Sharky. That’s what I call my Shark Navigator Pro Lift-Away Vacuum. I should make that plural because I do have three, and proudly so.

This vac is so lightweight I guess I could carry it up and down stairways, but having one on each floor of my home is just so handy. Besides, it’s my job to test multiple models and colors, right? Yes, indeed!

Here’s the deal with Shark vacuums: The manufacturer comes out with what seems like a new one with a new color and new model number every day! Here’s your cheat sheet: Make sure it has these words in the name somewhere: Shark, Navigator, Pro, and Lift-Away, and you simply cannot go wrong.

MORE: So Disgusting I’m Embarrassed to Tell

Mr. Scrappy

What clean team would be complete without Mr. Scrappy, the finest and most convenient garbage disposer brush on the planet? While there are less expensive “knock-off” versions of this tool, my experience is that they don’t perform well; one even broke, leaving the brush down in the disposal on the first cleaning attempt.

Mr. Scrappy gets in there and cleans the thing including the underside of those rubber flaps! Such a cool and amazing guy, Mr. Scrappy. No more funny smells coming from your kitchen sink, hear?

amazon box

MORE: How to Deep Clean a Garbage Disposal and Why You Need To

Bissell Pro Heat Portable Carpet Cleaner

Okay, so it’s a bit of a luxury, I suppose, but having a wet/dry carpet spot and upholstery cleaning machine is so lovely. I wouldn’t want to hit the spring cleaning field without my Bissell spot clean on the team.

I clean the arms of upholstered chairs before they start to look dirty (I know lots of hands and arms have touched them, so it’s only a matter of time).

I use Bissell to clean carpeted stairs—why do they get so dirty? I use it to deep-clean an ugly spill or greasy footprint. And once I start, it’s so cool to see all that dirt disappear, it’s hard to stop. Just one more stair, one more spot, please! I’m impulsive that way, I guess.

I rely on my Bissell for those small areas just as I rely on my Hoover Steam VAC for the bigger jobs. It may be compact, but let me tell you, it punches well above its weight.

MORE: The Best Thing I Ever Bought – Hoover Steam Vac

So, there’s my first-string, A-team spring cleaning best products line-up! Now that I think about it, I see no reason to wait until all the threat of winter has passed before getting started with my spring cleaning.

Let’s go get ’em, team!

Question: Are you feeling the Spring Fever yet, or are you patiently awaiting warmer weather before diving into spring cleaning? Share your spring cleaning plans with us in the comments below!

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linda says:

March 29, 2025 at 3:17 pm

except for the kitchen, which i have to do whether the spirit moves me or not, i usually wait for inspiration. two weeks ago, while i was at my computer, i looked at the shelf of my desk and wondered what is in all those paper organizers. there were a lot of knitting patterns that i am no longer able to use because of my arthritis, so i recycled them [the other knitters i know prefer to go online], a lot of duplications of pamphlets, also recycle fodder, a lot of empty shabby folders, ditto recycle, and a lot of paper, printed on one side only that i stacked next to my printer. i read my newspaper online, but find it impossible to do the puzzles that way. so i print them out on recycled paper. i am appalled at the amount of paper, printed on one side only used by insurance companies for eobs, so much of it unrelated to the actual date of service. there are usually two full pages, one side only, printed in every language imaginable. my bank statement always includes a worksheet and instructions on how to balance one’s checkbook. all this goes next to the printer. my stack of paper will likely out last me. now i need to be inspired to straighten out my yarn shelf…one of these days

Lisa Kretner says:

March 2, 2024 at 7:17 am

What is washing soda?

Mary Hunt says:
March 2, 2024 at 4:37 pm

Washing soda is a white coarse powder that looks and feels like laundry detergent. Its official name is sodium carbonate. But as a commercial product, it goes by soda ash and washing soda (not to be confused with baking soda). It can often be found on the laundry aisle in a yellow bow—Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.

Susan Bowman says:

April 18, 2021 at 7:42 pm

Mary Hunt says:
April 19, 2021 at 6:23 am

Hi Susan … Great question! You’ll find the answer and more ways to use it in 11 Ways Washing Soda Will Make Your Life Easier

The Best Spring Cleaning Products & Tools to Make Your Home Shine