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If you’ve ever found yourself down the social media rabbit hole of deep house cleaning, you’ve probably heard of Vanessa Amaro, TikTok’s “Queen of Cleaning.”
The 31-year-old has more than six million followers on social media, where she draws on her eight years of experience as a housekeeper and cleaning expert to share tips and tricks for scrubbing and tidying up.
For Amaro, “common sense is not common knowledge,” especially when it comes to what products are the most effective for maintaining that deep clean.
Here are six drugstore cleaning products she swears by:
1. Scrub Daddy Sponge
Price: Starts at $4.59
This non-toxic, scratch-free sponge has a chameleon effect: When you use it with cold water, it becomes firm, which is great for scrubbing the oven.
But with hot water, it becomes soft and is perfect for washing dishes. You can also toss it in the dishwasher to sanitize, which isn’t true for other sponge brands (that can disintegrate or develop unpleasant odors).
2. Zote Soap Bar
Price: Starts at $2
“As a child, my grandma would give me a Tupperware filled with water, my socks, and a bar of Zote soap,” Amaro recalls. “She’d say, ‘Okay mijita, wash your socks by hand.’ And I would sit there and make them look brand new again.”
To this day, she still uses Zote to remove stains. “So many people buy the most expensive stain removers, but all you need is a $2 soap bar.”
3. Swiffer Duster
Price: Starts at $9.84
If you don’t yet have a Swiffer Duster, you “should’ve gotten one yesterday,” Amaro jokes.
Unlike a standard feather duster, it “traps and locks” up to three times more dust and allergens. She uses it for electronics, knick-knacks in home offices, blinds and windows.
It also come in different sizes, with an extendable handle option for homes with high ceilings.
4. Dawn Platinum Powerwash Dish Spray Soap
Price: Starts at $4.99
Amaro loves Dawn’s Powerwash spray soap because of its versatility. “It’s not just for dishes,” she says. “You can clean so much of your home with just soap.”
With a little bit of product, you can use it to mop tiles or to clean showers, toilets, or even the soles of your shoes — basically anything that has a hard surface.
5. Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner With Bleach
Price: Starts at $4.48
For a disinfectant, Amaro’s brand of choice is Clorox’s all purpose bleach spray cleaner.
“I cannot clean a house without my Clorox,” she says, insisting that disinfecting your home is just as important, if not more, than just dusting and wiping.
And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees: Disinfecting can kill viruses and bacteria that remain on surfaces after cleaning.
6. Sprayway Glass Cleaner
Price: Starts at $3.69
“If you’re still using Windex, we can’t be friends,” Amaro jokes. “We’ve revolutionized glass cleaners and have made them so much better than they used to be.”
This cleaner comes in many different scents and is ammonia-free. Amaro uses it to wipe away fingerprints, dust, dirt and smoke film.
Alexandra Hayes Robinson is a writer and content consultant based in Los Angeles. You can find her telling stories and sharing lifestyle and relationship advice on TikTok at @hellohayes.
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