I’m a Cleaner and These Are the 8 Products I’d Never Buy Again

After fifteen years working as a professional domestic cleaner, I have tried virtually every cleaning product on the market. From the cheapest supermarket own-brands to the most expensive premium ranges, I have used them all in hundreds of homes. And the truth is that many of the products people spend good money on every week are completely unnecessary. Here are the eight cleaning products I would never buy again, and what I use instead.

1. Expensive Bathroom Surface Sprays

Those premium bathroom sprays that claim to cut through soap scum and limescale in seconds are mostly marketing hype. A simple solution of equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle does exactly the same job for a fraction of the cost. If you want a pleasant scent, add a few drops of essential oil. This one switch alone will save you over £50 a year.

2. Disposable Dusters and Wipes

These are terrible for the environment and completely unnecessary. A set of good quality microfibre cloths will outperform any disposable duster, and they can be washed and reused hundreds of times. Microfibre traps dust and bacteria through static charge rather than just pushing it around.

• Buy a pack of ten cloths in different colours
• Assign a colour to each room to avoid cross-contamination
• Wash them at 60 degrees after each use and they will last for years

3. Oven Cleaning Sprays with Harsh Chemicals

The aerosol oven cleaners that make your eyes water and your throat burn can actually damage the enamel coating inside your oven over time. The bicarbonate of soda and vinegar method works just as well. For really stubborn burnt-on food, make a thick paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, apply it to the stains, and leave it overnight. By morning, everything will wipe away effortlessly.

4. Antibacterial Kitchen Sprays

Unless you are preparing raw meat, you do not need antibacterial products in your kitchen. Regular washing-up liquid and hot water are more than sufficient for everyday cleaning. Overuse of antibacterial products can contribute to antibiotic resistance and may actually leave behind stronger bacteria.

5. Floor Cleaning Products for Hard Floors

Most floor cleaning products leave a sticky residue that actually attracts more dirt, making your floors look dirty again within hours. The best way to clean hard floors is with a microfibre mop and plain hot water, adding just a few drops of washing-up liquid if needed.

6. Febreze and Fabric Freshening Sprays

These products do not actually clean anything. They simply coat fabrics in a layer of artificial fragrance that masks odours temporarily. If your soft furnishings smell, the solution is to clean them properly. Vacuum upholstery regularly, spot-clean stains immediately, and sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on fabric surfaces before vacuuming to absorb persistent odours.

7. Toilet Rim Blocks

Those little blocks you clip inside the toilet rim look colourful and smell nice, but they are one of the most unnecessary cleaning products ever invented. They do not clean your toilet, they do not kill bacteria, and they can actually cause blockages in older plumbing. A quick squirt of toilet cleaner around the rim and a scrub with the brush every couple of days is far more effective.

8. Specialised Stainless Steel Cleaners

You absolutely do not need a dedicated product to keep stainless steel looking pristine. A small amount of baby oil or olive oil on a microfibre cloth will remove fingerprints and leave a streak-free shine that lasts for days. Buff it in with a dry cloth and your stainless steel will look showroom-new. This single tip has saved my clients hundreds of pounds over the years, and it works on everything from fridge doors to oven fronts and extractor hoods.