So what else is it that I've bought that hasn't worked? Where to do I even begin? How about we start with the Swiffer Duster. Great idea. How simple. Fast, easy to use. Problem? It may take me half as long to dust, but I have to dust twice as often. Then there's Pledge Multi-Surface (this was before my all natural route in cleaning). One product to do everything. Works GREAT on my bay window seat, and horribly on everything else. It leaves such horrible streaks that I have to reclean. Who can forget about the Shark Steamer? Luckily, this one I only borrowed! Commercials show grout just turning white in an instant, and it does....in milimeter sections. That means it take about 20 minutes to clean on 10" line of grout. I can scrub my whole floor clean in that amount of time. To go along with that, there's spray grout sealer. Don't bother. It takes more time to spray, wipe excess, let dry, reapply, wipe excess, let dry again than it does for the grout to get dirty again. We did it because the wonderful people who lived here before us never sealed the white grout on the kitchen floor! Of course we also have an issue with the caulk on our bathtub getting mildew behind it and coming through. Tilex Mildew Root promises to fix that for me in about 5 minutes. Not so much. And shall we move on to the laundry. There are a whole list of products that don't work there, but I'll go with the most recent Tide Stain Release. I honestly should have know better than to even have tried this. Two little packets in my wash can really get out my set in stains? Too good to be true. Plus, every load was 2 packets, so really, you're only getting half the amount of product in the package. I'm really not sure where people are testing these products, but it's apparently not my house.
So what are my tried and trues? OxiClean is one. It may not save time, but it saves clothes. If I soak clothes that have been stained, even if they have gone through the dryer, for about a week, stains come right out. However, I would skip the liquid OxiClean and the gel stick. Neither of those work as well as the powder or spray. Then there's Dreft. I love Dreft. I would not have made it through my children's baby years without it. Dreft spray gets out everything, as long as you get to the stain while it's fresh. If you don't get the stain fresh, you have to move on to OxiClean. But, Dreft detergent is one of the only things my son isn't allergic to. I use all the free and clear, eco-friendly products, yet those irritate his skin. Dreft isn't an issue. For mildew? A mixture of water, white vinegar and Purification oil *tea tree would work also, but Purification was designed for molds*. Simple, cheap, and it smells good. You can actually use this mixture for everything. However, if you have a husband like mine, he still can't get his head around that the vinegar is a natural antimicrobial, so for him, we buy Method's Antibac. Best product ever. But really, you can't go wrong with anything Method. I also couldn't live without my steam mop. I'm not sold that it's the best one out there, so I'm going with pretty much any steam mop would be great. There there is the number thing that gets our family through winters. It's not really a product that makes cleaning easier, but it makes life easier because I SWEAR it works in helping keep my kids healthy, Thieves Essential Oil. One drop on the bottom of the kids feet (and mine) and it helps boost their immune systems. We've done it for two years now and *knock on wood* my kids have not gotten really sick. Little colds, but nothing serious. When we do have colds in this house, I diffuse Thieves to boost the rest of our immune systems.