How to get sunscreen out of clothes can seem like an unwanted extra task when the sun is shining, but it doesn't have to be difficult - we have some top tips on getting rid of those unwanted stains quickly.

The sun has come out and you've chosen the best sunscreen to protect you from its rays and enjoy some time taking in the warmth. Children can be sensitive to the protective cream, sometimes needing special sunscreen for kids. Faces can be easily irritated by a lot of formulas for both adults and children, meaning the best sunscreen for your face might need to be a consideration. With all that thought given to protecting your skin, you then find the lotion has stained your clothes and are faced with another dilemma: How to get sunscreen out of your clothes.

Nigel Bearman, CEO and founder of cleaning service Daily Poppins, tells us "Sun protection is important for your skin, but do you know how to protect your clothes from sunscreen? The ingredients in sunscreen, such as avobenzone, can leave sunscreen stains on clothing. In some cases, avobenzone can leave brown, rusty residues when it mixes with minerals found in water. Aside from oils, colours, and active ingredients, there are other ingredients that stain the garment, even after it's been washed and ironed! With solvents and enzymes that work for different stains, sunscreen stains can be effectively removed."

With that in mind, read on for a full range of tips and tricks from industry experts, on how to get rid of sunscreen stains from your clothing.  

How to get sunscreen out of clothes 

1. Act quickly

Fast action will offer the best results. As soon as you spot sunscreen on your clothing, it is best to gently blot the area with a cloth to absorb as much as possible. 

Carl Broadbent from Travel Spock says "In my experience, the key to sunscreen stain removal is patience and quick action - act immediately when the stain occurs." He continues "take off the garment and blot the stain with a clean cloth to remove as much sunscreen as you can. Resist the urge to rub, as this could cause the sunscreen to penetrate deeper into the fabric." 

Alex Econs, founder of t-shirt printing company ICON Printing has plenty of experience helping clients care for their fabrics. He adds "Sunscreen stains are harder to remove the longer you leave them. The best thing to do is wash your clothing as quickly as possible after wearing it – try not to let it sit around for more than a few days or it will be tougher to get rid of." 

2. Spot treat the affected area

If you're not in your home and don't have regular detergent to hand for spot treatments, shaving cream, glycerin, baking soda, white wine vinegar, soap, dishwashing liquid, lemon and salt, and even bread can be used to spot treat.

Carl Broadbent says "Grab some of that shaving cream you've packed in your toiletry bag. Apply it generously to the sunscreen stain, and let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then rinse with warm water, and the stain should come out. The cream acts to break down the oils in the sunscreen, making it easier to rinse out."

He's also a fan of dishwashing liquid, adding "Dishwashing liquid is my go-to remedy. It's designed to cut through grease, and that's exactly what we need it for here. Apply it to the stain, let it sit for a while, then rinse and launder as usual." Shampoo or hand soap can also be substituted for dishwashing soap, if there is none available.

If you have glycerin to hand, Elaine Warren from Family Cruise Companion says "This humble pharmacy essential can perform magic on sunscreen stains. Simply dab a bit of glycerin onto the stain, let it sit for about 30 minutes, and then rinse it off."

Stephanie Ritting from The Unknown Enthusiast says "Applying a mixture of baking soda and water to the spot and letting it sit for about an hour can do wonders. The baking soda helps lift the sunscreen from the fabric."

She has also reached for white wine vinegar and dish soap on many occasions, finding them extremely effective. "Mix equal parts of both with warm water and let the stained clothing soak in the solution for a few hours, or overnight if possible, she said. She added "The vinegar will help dissolve the sunscreen, while the dish soap will wash it away."

Anne Sutherland from Pretraveller  told us about the unusual method of using bread, that has saved her on many occasion. Her advice is "Grab a piece of bread and gently use it to blot and scrape off the excess sunscreen. Believe me, it works like a charm. I discovered this trick on a picnic under the cherry blossoms in Japan and it's been my first resort ever since."

Petya Holevich from Fantastic Services, is a fan of lemon juice and salt. She tells us "A mixture of lemon juice and salt is another DIY method for removing rust-like sunscreen stains. For this method, flush the stained area under cold water but work quickly by only exposing it to water for long enough to saturate the area. Lay the clothing piece on a flat surface where it can remain undisturbed overnight. Apply lemon juice directly onto the stain and a heap of salt onto it. Leave them on overnight to break down the stain and, in the morning, brush the salt away and wash the item as usual." 

3. Soak the garment

After your spot treatment, some methods will be required to stay on overnight. If not, you could try pre-soaking before loading in the washing machine.

Check the laundry care label on the garment beforehand, for any special instructions. Then fill a sink or bathtub with enough water to immerse the affected items, checking the heat symbols on the label to ensure you don't overheat them. Follow the pre-treatment instructions on your chosen detergent if using, and apply directly to the stain. Once the garment is in the water, mix the dispersing detergent around gently, until it has mixed evenly with the water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. 

For a natural pre-soak method, Nigel Bearman from Daily Poppins is a fan of eucalyptus oil. The naturally occurring antibacterial compounds eucamalol and limonene in the oil, not only act as a disinfectant, but have stain removing properties. As with regular detergent, it is advised to soak the sunscreen stained item in a few drops of eucalyptus oil for 30 minutes, before rinsing and washing as usual.

Nigel says "Oil of eucalyptus has magical stain-removal qualities - and it smells fantastic too." 

4. Wash as directed

Once you've acted quickly, spot treated and soaked the sunscreen stain, the garment can then be washed as normal.

However, Gene Fitzgerald from BOS reminds us that some stains can be more difficult to remove if you live in a hard water area. This is because hard water environments have additional minerals in the water like calcium and magnesium which react with the sunscreen and create insoluble compounds. Hard water can make detergents less effective and prevent soap from dissolving properly, also making it harder for stains to be removed. 

"There are specialist laundry detergents for hard water areas which can work better and adding white vinegar to the wash cycle can also remove any mineral residue and soften the water," he says, "Thereby making it easier for stains to be removed. You should also consider using a water softener which will not only prevent mineral deposits but improve the efficacy of your washing. This will make it easier to remove stains."

Petya Holevich adds that the clothing should be carefully inspected after washing. If any traces of the stain remain, you should avoid putting them in the dryer because the heat can set the stain further. She suggests in such cases, to repeat the pre-treatment process and wash the garment again. She also tells us "Avoid ironing the stained area before treating it, because the heat can cause the stain to set." 

She adds "Use a laundry detergent that’s formulated to cut through oils and grease. This will help break down the oily enzymes and your washing machine will be able to perform its job better." 

What gets sunscreen out of clothes?

To summarise, here is what you can use to spot treat and get sunscreen out of clothes. Some of these can be found in the household, and others can be useful if you're on holiday or out and about.

• Shaving cream
• Dishwashing liquid
• Hand soap
• Shampoo
• Glycerin
• Baking soda
• White wine vinegar
• Bread
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Detergents designed to break down grease
• Detergents designed for hard water areas
• Eucalyptus oil

How to get yellow sunscreen stains out of white clothes 

Getting sunscreen stains out of white clothes can require slightly different methods to regular clothing.

It can be easy to reach for the bleach to whiten your whites back up, or simply let the sun bleach them white again. Alex Econs says "One of the simplest but most effective ways of keeping your whites bright is to dry them outside if possible- it isn’t just an old wives tale! The sun will naturally bleach any discolouration lightening any stains and keeping garments whiter for longer."

However, Stephanie Rytting suggests that for a gentler method, hydrogen peroxide and dish soap can be equally effective. "Mix two parts hydrogen peroxide with one part dish soap and apply it directly to the stain," she says, "Then let it sit for a while before laundering. This combo acts like a charm to cut through the yellow sunscreen residue."

Carl Broadbent and Anne Sutherland prefer a take on the previously discussed lemon juice and salt method. Carl's advice is "Apply the mix to the stain, leave it in the sun for a bit, then rinse and launder. The acidity in the lemon juice, combined with the abrasive action of the salt and the bleaching power of the sun, can work wonders." 

How to prevent sunscreen stains on clothes

Although it might require some planning, there are ways to prevent sunscreen staining on clothing.

Some companies also produce mineral-based sunscreens, which have also been found to reduce staining when compared to chemical formulations as they transfer less onto clothing. Similarly, some are marketed as "non-greasy", which can also decrease the chances that prevalent oils will be hanging around on your skin waiting to find a new home on clothing.

It might be difficult when life is busy and there's a lot to think about, but applying sunscreen in advance and allowing it to dry completely can be an option. Carlos Garcia from Total Clean tells us "Allow sunscreen to fully absorb. Apply sunscreen to clean, dry skin and allow it to fully absorb before get dressed. This can minimise the chances that sunscreen will get on your clothes."

Another tip he gave, was "Be mindful of application. Take care when applying your sunscreen to avoid excessive amounts or spreading it on areas that come into direct contact with clothing. Use alternative forms of sunscreen such as sticks or gels, that are usually less prone to staining clothes compared to lotions or sprays."

Now you're fully equipped for a day outside with sunscreen tips, take a look at the best kids sun hats and the best kids sandals, to complete your day of summer fun. To keep children entertained throughout the day, our guide to cheap outdoor toys for summer will have you covered.

I put a DIY air freshener hack to the test. I'll be trying it again, but with one extra ingredient...

Social media these days is awash with Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and hacks that promise to make household chores easier. But not all of them are worth your time - and some of them aren't even safe, like this air fryer cleaning hack - which is why we decided to start putting some of the internet's most popular tips to the test, so you can find out whether they're really worth the time of a busy parent. 

And as those with young children will know, as much as you love them they're not always conducive to a fresh-smelling home - which means a quick fix to banish bad odours is a helpful hack to have in the bank. That's why I tried out this DIY air freshener hack, which uses just four ingredients and promises to have your home smelling clean in minutes.

The hack was shared by cleaning influencer and mum-of-two Chantel Mila, who boasts 1.7 million followers on her Instagram account where she posts home styling, organising, and cleaning tricks. In the video, she boils a pan of water with lemon, rosemary, clove, and vanilla essence to create a natural air freshener, writing in the caption: "This stovetop simmer has been a favourite for so many years, and works so well to add natural, calming fragrance to your home".

I put Chantel's hack to the test and it worked... when I added my own twist. When I initially tried the hack, it only took five minutes or so until I could smell the mixture around the home. However, it was very subtle, and I'm not convinced that it would cover up any lingering bad odours, which is why I decided to add a couple of drops of essential oil.

If you want to try my method, it's worth bearing in mind that you'll need to take the pan off the heat first, because heating essential oils too fast or adding them to water that is too hot can break them down and make them less effective.

With this in mind, I turned off the cooker and added a few drops of rosemary essential oil once the water had stopped bubbling. I then placed it in the bathroom with the door shut (on a heatproof mat, of course!) and left it there for around half an hour.

The bathroom is a problem area for smells in my home because it doesn't have any windows. I've spent a fortune on reed diffusers to try and keep it smelling fresh, so I was interested to see how well this trick would work.

It only took a few minutes for the room to be filled with the scent, and even after I'd removed the pan the pleasant smell lingered, only fully disappearing the next morning after I showered. So, while perhaps not a long-term solution, it's something I think I'll be trying for a quick and easy refresh the next time I'm expecting guests.

How to make your home smell fresh with Chantel's hack

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 1bsp vanilla extract
• 1sp clove

Method

1. Bring the two cups of water to boil on the stove.
2. Add the lemon, rosemary, vanilla extract and clove.
3. Let the mixture simmer and allow the fragrance to fill your home.

Chantel's followers were impressed by the hack, with one commenting, "Will definitely try this😍👏" and another writing, "Love this!!! Love lemon 🍋 and rosemary".

But many social media users were more interested in her see-through saucepan than the hack itself, with several asking where it's from and one follower commenting: "Too distracted by the saucepan 😂 I'm off to buy to do exactly this 😂".

Luckily, Chantel has provided the link for the exact pot she uses:

• View ERINGOGO Glass Saucepan with Lid - £45.07 (UK)
• View ERINGOGO Glass Saucepan with Lid - $35.99 (US)

While I didn't follow Chantel's hack exactly - opting for star anise instead of clove and adding essential oils at the end - it's definitely a hack worth trying for a quick refresh in your home. And the great thing about it is that it's customisable too. Why not try orange and cinnamon instead when the festive period rolls around?

If your home isn't open plan, and you have another room that you want to banish odours from, then perhaps try my tip of adding essential oils once you take the mix off the heat, and shut it in the room you want to make smell nice. 

Looking for more cleaning hacks? Why not try Nancy Birtwhistle's tip for cleaning oven racks while you sleep, this two ingredient trick to banish stinky drains, or 14 non-toxic methods to get rid of ants.

Video of the Week

All you need is lemon juice and baking soda for this super simple drain cleaning hack.

Your kitchen sink gets a lot of action over the course of just a few days - from to dirty pots and pans to leftover food and drink. It's no surprise that they can start to get a bit stinky from time to time, but when kitchen drains start to smell, it can be hard to shift that odor. And while you might be tempted to put the chore off if you've got a busy schedule, leave it long enough and that smell might start to spread around the house.

Luckily for you, we're always on the hunt for Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and other ways to keep your home sparkling, and we've come across one drain cleaning hack that takes just five minutes, and only needs two ingredients. Unlike cleaning the oven or cleaning the dishwasher, you hardly need to set aside any time to tackle this household chore. 

Cleaning experts Clean Mama shared this tip on Instagram, and it's super easy to follow. All you need to do is mix lemon juice and baking soda, pour it down the drain and leave to sit for five minutes. Then, run cold water down the drain, give the interior a scrub, and admire your clean, stink-free sink - that's it!

Clean Mama have plenty more helpful leaning tips on their Instagram and on their blog too, from more home cleaning hangs to organizing tips, decluttering, laundry and DIY cleaning products too.

How to clean your kitchen drain

1. Mix 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh or from a jar). Make sure to do this over the sink, as the liquid will start to fizz and may bubble over.
2. Slowly pour the solution down the drain. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes.
3. Run cold water and turn on the garbage disposal and run for 30 seconds or so.
4. Scrub out the interior of the garbage disposal.
5. Rinse the sink with hot water.
   

The great thing about this cleaning hack is it uses natural ingredients, so you don't have to worry about handling harsh chemicals - which makes it cheaper than buying drain cleaner, too.

The reason this works is because the citric acid in lemons kills bacteria, cutting through any grease or dirt to get rid of nasty smells. Meanwhile, baking soda is a mild alkali and can dissolve dirt and grease as well as act as a deodorizer, because of the way it reacts with molecules.

Clean Mama advises using this hack weekly, or whenever your garbage disposal starts to get a little stinky.

Looking for more cleaning hacks? Why not try this no-equipment trick for cleaning oven racks, or a 4 ingredient hack to banish bad odours.

Video of the Week

Clean your oven racks overnight with this free hack from Bake Off star Nancy Birtwhistle.

Move over, Mrs Hinch cleaning hacks, because Nancy Birtwhistle has arrived with her latest tip that promises to clean your oven racks while you sleep. Sharing the tip on BBC's Morning Live, 2014 Great British Bake Off winner Nancy explained that with this hack, "You don't need expensive cleaning kits with nasty chemicals, and you get a bit of fresh air to boot." All you need is some grass.

We all know how much of a chore cleaning an oven can be, so any tips that promise to make it easier are usually well received - including this 10-minute oven cleaning hack shared by social media star and mum-of-two, Chantel Mila. And Nancy Birtwhistle's latest hack ticks a number of boxes - it's eco-friendly, it's free, and it'll clean while you sleep.

In the video shared on Morning Live's Instagram, Nancy takes her oven racks out into her garden, leaves them in long grass overnight and the next day all the dirt and grease easily wipes away with a cloth. She says, "No one seems to know exactly why this works, but the dew on the grass definitely seems to soften up that burnt on dirt."

During her appearance on the show, Nancy explained, "In the past I used to resort to chemical heavy cleaners but I don’t now, I take my shelf outside and throw it into the long grass, leave it there 24 hours and then the next day, dry cloth and just wipe it." She added, "In the summer you can just lay loose grass clippings over it."

How to clean oven racks with Nancy Birtwhistle's hack

1. Remove the racks from your oven.
2. Take your oven racks into your garden and lay them down in the grass.
3. Leave in the garden for 24 hours.
4. The next day, wipe away the dirt and grease from the oven racks using a cloth.

In the video, Nancy describes her hack as "Eco-friendly, budget-friendly - in fact it's free - and it'll clean whilst you're asleep." She adds when revealing the results, "Mother Nature has done a sterling job!"

Fans were quick to praise Nancy's hack in the comments, and some even shared their own tips for making cleaning oven racks even easier. One user wrote, "I collect my grass clippings up in one of those big IKEA bags and then bury the oven shelves in there. Works a treat!" while another commented, "I’ve always done this with bbq racks but never thought of doing the same with oven shelves. Damp long grass is a winner!"

For people without a grassy area to hand, Nancy suggested using a bowl of full of washing soda dissolved in hot water instead, with the oven racks left in overnight to soak.

And there's plenty more cleaning hacks where this came from, because Bake Off winner Nancy has shared her best eco-friendly and money-saving tricks for cleaning household items over on her Instagram, and in her book, Clean & Green.

• View Clean & Green by Nancy Birtwhistle on Amazon

If you're looking for more time-saving cleaning hacks, check out this kitchen drain cleaning hack and this 4 ingredient hack to banish bad odours. Plus, TOWIE star Lauren Pope has shared a simple wet wipe hack that she uses when changing her baby.

Video of the Week

If you own a casserole dish then you HAVE to try this TikTok cleaning hack...

TikTok is awash with some of the best life hacks out there - from Mrs Hinch cleaning tips to cheap and easy recipe ideas - all promising to save time, money, energy or all three on our least favourite chores. And keen cooks will know that cleaning an oven or cleaning an air fryer among other kitchen appliances are some of the most arduous tasks out there, thanks to the burnt on food.

Meanwhile, those with a casserole dish will know it takes a lot of elbow grease to get these stylish bits of kitchenware clean, which is why we were so excited when was found this cleaning hack that takes little more than 15 minutes - and all you need is water and baking soda.

Verified TikTok user and cleaning expert Caroline Solomon posted the hack on her page, where she also shares organising and decluttering tips with her 224 thousand followers.

In the video, Caroline films herself cleaning her casserole dish by boiling water inside before adding baking soda. She then leaves the mixture to simmer before pouring the water away - along with most of the dirt and grease. The remaining marks scrape away easily with a plastic spatula, before rinsing out the dish with soap and water.

How to clean a casserole dish

1. Pour 4 cups of water in your casserole dish and bring to the boil
2. Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda
3. Leave to simmer for 1-2 minutes
4. Turn the heat off and cover for 15 minutes
5. Pour out the water and scape any burnt bits with a spatula
6. Fill the casserole dish with warm water and soap and rinse as usual

In the video, Caroline shares a clip of her casserole dish after trying the hack, which has been transformed from before she cleaned it. Viewers were impressed with the video too, with one TikTok user commenting, "Thank you! Worked for me," while another said, "works perfectly".

And if you're looking for more time-saving cleaning hacks, check out this kitchen drain cleaning hack and this viral TikTok video hack for getting rid of oil stains on clothes. Plus, TOWIE star Lauren Pope has shared a simple wet wipe hack that she uses when changing her baby.

Video of the Week

Get your spring cleaning under way with this 10 minute hack to clean your oven...

Fans of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips will likely already know how to clean an oven, but it's still one of those chores that we all try to put off as long as possible. And while it can be tempting to delay the task of cleaning your oven, the longer you leave it the worse it will get, as a layer of grease and burnt food will quickly build up.

Fortunately, cleaning your oven doesn't need to be as laborious as its reputation suggests, thanks to this incredible cleaning hack from social media star and mum-of-two, Chantel Mila. The Melbourne-based mum has over one million followers on both her Instagram and TikTok accounts, where she shares cleaning, styling and organising hacks.

In a video posted on her Instagram, captioned "The best cleaning hack to get your oven sparkling fast ✨", Chantel explains how to clean your oven using just a dishwasher tablet and a wet sponge - and it takes less than ten minutes.

Chantel places the dishwasher tablet underneath the sponge and scrubs the inside of the glass door, the bottom of the oven and the sides, before wiping clean. In the video, she writes "8 minutes later🕒 The potatoes are here + the oven is spotless!"

Fans were quick to share their success using the hack in the comments, with one user writing under the Instagram post, "I did this for a filthy oven I inherited after moving to a new place - brilliant trick. I’ll use it again too!"

And if you're looking for a way to give your oven a deeper clean, Chantel has plenty more tips, including one TikTok explaining "How to clean your oven while you sleep".

Mixing one cup of bicarbonate of soda with two tablespoons of dish soap to form a paste, Chantel covers her oven in the mixture which she says "softens oven grease".

After leaving the oven overnight, the mum-of-two wipes away the mixture, spraying it with white vinegar "to help remove any residue". Chantel explains, "The mixture is powerful at cutting through baked on grease".

And if you're after more time-saving cleaning hacks, Bake Off star Nancy Birtwhistle shared a hack that promises to clean your oven racks while you sleep.

Related cleaning features:

• How to clean a microwave
• How to clean a dishwasher
• How to clean an air fryer
• How to clean white shoes
• How to get foundation out of clothes
• How often should you change your sheets?

Video of the Week

How to clean a dishwasher is easier than it sounds, and we've asked the experts for their tips to keep this kitchen appliance sparkling clean.

Calling all fans of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips, we've got an expert guide on how to clean one of the most overlooked appliances - the dishwasher. You might think your dishwasher cleans itself, but believe it or not they need a deep clean every once in a while. Unlike cleaning a microwave or cleaning an oven, dishwashers are more complex to clean than other household appliances - which is why we've asked the experts for their advice.

Joyce French from DIY experts Home How told Goodto: "Learning how to clean and maintain your dishwasher properly is essential to ensure it runs efficiently. If left too long, limescale can build up in the machine or the filter may become clogged with bits of old food, which means that your dishwasher will have to work harder to clean the dishes and result in higher energy usage." Keep reading to find out how to clean a dishwasher...

How to clean a dishwasher

Step 1: Remove pieces of food daily

Any leftover food on your plates and cutlery can clog your dishwasher filter and get stuck to your crockery during a cycle, so make sure you remove these after each dishwasher use.

Joyce French told us: "When food collects in the dishwasher, this can leave some nasty odours, so get into the habit of cleaning away any bits of food left over after each dishwasher cycle."

"Pull out the bottom rack and look for any bits of food that may have fallen and become stuck in the filter well, screen, or heating element, and remove the food with your fingers or use a paper towel to wipe and lift them away."

Step 2: Remove the filter, utensil holders, and dishwasher racks

If you're giving your dishwasher a deep clean, you'll need to remove everything inside to really get at every crevice of the machine - but bear in mind you might need to use tools to remove some of the parts.

Once you've taken everything you can out of the dishwasher, place the racks and utensil holders in hot soapy water and leave to soak for at least thirty minutes, before giving them a good scrub to remove any old bits of food.

You could also use a toothbrush or toothpick to scrape out any debris lodged in small crevices.

Step 3: Clean the spray attachments

The dishwasher spray arms are responsible for distributing the water around the appliance so your dishes can be cleaned, but they can also get clogged with debris if you don't clean them regularly. 

Mira Yordanova, owner of TopCleaningGB, explains: "Ensure both water spraying attachments (on the roof and floor of the dishwasher) are clear of build-up or food waste. If any holes are clogged, a toothpick is ideal to clean them out. Once these attachments have been scrubbed, you can pop the filter back in."

Step 4: Use baking soda

If your dishwasher is looking pretty clean, and you just want to give it a quick spruce to keep it shiny and remove any unpleasant odours, then this quick baking soda trick is the way to go.

Mira explains: "If you’re after a standard clean, simply sprinkle baking soda onto the floor of the dishwasher and set to run on an eco-cycle."

Step 5: Use vinegar

However, if you're after a deeper clean, try using vinegar to clean your dishwasher. Mira suggests filling a small bowl with 250ml or 1 cup of white vinegar and placing on the top shelf of the dishwasher before running a hot water cycle - without a tablet or detergent.

Joyce French reminds us to make sure the bowl you use is dishwasher safe, and adds that you could even try the baking soda method with a short cycle after you've cleaned your dishwasher with vinegar, to give the machine and extra deep clean.

How to clean a dishwasher filter

Cleaning your dishwasher filter is essential to preventing food waste becoming trapped in the filter and getting stuck to your dishes. Luckily, dishwasher filters are easily cleaned with hot water and a soft brush.

Joyce French explains, "The dishwasher filter is located below the bottom spray arm. Start by pulling out the bottom rack so that you can easily access the dishwasher filter. If you’re not sure how to remove the filter, check the user manual for your dishwasher or take a look on your manufacturer’s website for more information."

To clean the dishwasher filter, she says: "Once you’ve removed the filter, rinse it under hot water. Use a soft toothbrush to scrub the plastic frame and mesh screen and rinse it once more to ensure it’s completely clean."

How to clean the outside of a dishwasher

Make sure you clean the outside of your dishwasher using warm soapy water, because while cleaning the inside of your dishwasher might be essential to keeping your dishes clean, it's also important to clean the outside to keep your kitchen mess-free and hygienic. 

Joyce told us, "Residue and splatters can build up on the door of the dishwasher. Use a damp microfibre cloth to wipe the interior surface of the door as well as underneath the door, around the edges of the door, the controls area, and the handle. Gently scrub any dirt or gunk from the rubber seal around the door using an old toothbrush and some warm, soapy water."

How often should you clean a dishwasher?

Joyce says, "It’s important to give your dishwasher a good deep clean once a month." 

Cleaning your dishwasher regularly prevents limescale build up in the machine and also stops the filter getting clogged with bits of food, which reduces the efficiency of you dishwasher and may result in higher energy usage.

In between each deep clean, try Mira's bicarbonate of soda trick to keep the inside of the machine odour-free.

How to keep your dishwasher clean

• Scrape off and pre-rinse your dishes before loading them in your dishwasher. 
• Deep clean your dishwasher quarterly.
• Clean your drain filter periodically.
• Run occasional vinegar and baking soda cycles to kill bacteria and keep your dishwasher smelling fresh.
• Avoid overfilling the racks so water and soap can easily pass through the dishes.
• If you use cold cycles regularly to save energy, run a hot cycle now and again to kill the bugs.

Related features:

• How to clean an air fryer
• How to clean a TV screen
• How to clean a hairbrush 
• 10 expert tips for cleaning school uniform
• How to dry clothes without a dryer
• How to get foundation out of clothes - 9 quick hacks
• How often should you change your sheets?

Video of the Week

Whether they're made from canvas, leather or mesh, this is how to clean white shoes - according to the experts.

If you're a fan of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips, then you're probably already a whizz when it comes to sprucing up household items. From how to clean a TV screen to how to clean a hairbrush, no doubt you're up to date on the best methods to keep your belongings dirt free. But there are a few items that are harder to clean than others - footwear being one of them. They collect scuffs, stains and dirt pretty quickly, and if they're white this can be a problem.

Nevertheless, white shoes are a wardrobe staple we're not willing to give up, which is why we've asked the experts how to clean white shoes. Sarah Dempsey, cleaning expert with My Job Quote, says: "There are several ways you can clean white shoes and get them looking bright and white again, just like new. Most methods use household products that you likely already have around the home." If you want to find out the best and easiest ways to clean white shoes, you've come to the right place...

How to clean white shoes

How you clean white shoes will likely depend on the material they are made from. But as a general rule, using soapy water is one of the best methods for removing dirt and stains from white shoes.

Sarah Dempsey told Goodto: "Warm Soapy water is perfect for cleaning white shoes, no matter what material they’re made from. Simply add one teaspoon of liquid dish soap to one cup of water and stir the mixture, then use a cloth or toothbrush and gently scrub the shoe with the soapy water. Continue to scrub until the shoes are clean, then wipe away any excess water and leave the shoes to air dry."

For more stubborn stains, Sarah adds that you can use toothpaste to clean your white shoes. She told us: "Toothpaste can work wonders for cleaning white shoes, but make sure you use a white, creamy toothpaste rather than a coloured gel toothpaste." 

To try this method, apply the toothpaste to your shoes with a toothbrush, working in circular motions. Leave the toothpaste on the shoes and set them aside for around 10 minutes, before wiping it away using a damp towel.

Once you've cleaned your white shoes, it's important to always let them air dry. Vittoria Wellen‑Bombelli, buying assistant at wide fit shoe specialists Pavers, says: "It’s important to avoid trying to rush the drying process, so don’t be tempted to place your shoes on a radiator or use a hairdryer as a heat source, as this may cause damage to your shoes."

How to clean white canvas shoes

Sarah advises using baking soda and white vinegar for cleaning canvas shoes - though make sure you check the label beforehand as some shoes may have specific cleaning instructions. 

1. Mix one tablespoon of hot water with one tablespoon of white vinegar.
2. Add one tablespoon of baking soda and mix the solution together until it forms a paste.
3. Use a toothbrush to apply this mixture to the shoes, working in a circular motion.
4. Leave the shoes to air dry before brushing off the dried paste.

How to clean white leather shoes

Leather shoes are more delicate, so you'll want to use cleaning tools that are less abrasive, such as a soft-bristled toothbrush or a microfibre cloth. You can use the below method with soap and water to clean leather shoes, but micellar water also works on removing stains, or you could invest in some leather cleaner too.

1. Add one teaspoon of liquid dish soap to one cup of water and stir the mixture.
2. Use a microfibre cloth or toothbrush to gently scrub the shoe with the soapy water.
3. Continue to scrub until the shoes are clean, then wipe away any excess water with a towel or paper towel.
4. Leave the shoes to air dry.

• View Kaps Gel Cleaner for Sneakers and Casual Shoes | Amazon - £6.49

How to clean white mesh shoes

Sarah says: "Bleach is a great product for cleaning fabric shoes. However, it’s important that you do this method in a well-ventilated room and you must make an effort to protect your eyes and skin while doing the cleaning."

1. Add one part bleach to five parts water (avoid adding too much bleach as this could turn your shoes yellow).
2. Work the solution into the shoes with a toothbrush, using a circular motion.
3. Use a damp cloth to wipe away the solution before leaving the shoes to air dry.

Expert tips for cleaning white shoes

1. Cleaning the inside of your shoes

If you want to clean the inside of your white shoes too, then Vittoria has a couple of tips. She told Goodto: "To keep the inside of your trainers fresh, remove the soles if possible and leave them out to air. Then go back in with a damp cloth to clean the inside of your shoes."

She adds: "Instead of using a shoe freshener spray for deodorising, sprinkle some baking soda in your trainers for a cheaper alternative - though you may have chalky footprints for a while!"

2. Cleaning the inner soles

Laura Harnett, founder of Seep eco-cleaning tools, also recommends using baking soda to clean the soles of you shoes. She says: "For the inner soles, if they can be removed then I pop these into Seep compostable bin bag with enough baking soda to cover them completely. Leave them tied in the bag over night and in the morning any odours will have been removed. If they are especially dirty, then you can gently wash by hand with a small amount of soap and water."

3. Use newspaper to absorb extra moisture

If you've cleaned the inside of your white shoes, or they got wet while you're cleaning the exterior, you can use newspaper to help dry them quicker.

Vittoria told us: "If you’ve cleaned the inside of any of your shoes, it’s important to make sure that they don’t remain damp, so grab some newspaper and scrunch it up inside your shoes to absorb any remaining moisture. You should then avoid wearing your shoes until they’re completely dry."

Avoid using sheets with excessive ink on - as they could leave marks on your trainers - and make sure to stuff the newspaper all the way into the toe of the shoe.

4. Use a mesh bag or pillowcase for machine washing trainers

Putting you shoes in the washing machine to clean them is not recommended, as it can damage your shoes. However, if you're struggling to find the time to clean your white shoes by hand, the there are some steps you can take to make machine washing your shoes safer.

Vittoria says: "If you would prefer to use the washing machine to clean your trainers, place them in a mesh bag or pillowcase and wash at 20°C to 30°C." 

Placing your shoes in a laundry bag or pillowcase protects the shoes from snagging in the washing machine, and will also reduce the noise as they tumble around in the wash.

5. Use baking soda to neutralise odours

A popular hack that has emerged on TikTok is to use baking soda to reduce any unpleasant smells in shoes. Cleaning influencer Clean That Up shared a video in which he suggested pouring two tablespoons of baking soda into a coffee filter, sealing it with a rubber band and placing the bundle inside of your shoes.

Vittoria says: "Baking soda is a natural deodoriser that can absorb odours  and bacteria, so it’s no surprise that many TikTokers have chosen this approach to combat smelly shoes."

She adds that instead of a coffee filter, you could also use a dryer sheet or sock to hold the baking soda in the shoes. Vittoria advises, "I wouldn’t recommend pouring baking soda directly into the shoe itself without a protective layer."

How to clean white shoelaces

Shoelaces can be washed by hand, or you can put them in a washing machine in a mesh bag. If you're washing the laces by hand, first brush off excess dirt and then soak them for 20 minutes in a bowl of warm water and washing up liquid.

If you choose to wash your white shoe laces in the washing machine, Vittoria says: "You can add your shoelaces in with your regular washing to freshen them up and speed up the process. First, remove any tough dirt debris with a toothbrush or water, then place your shoelaces in a mesh washing bag for delicate items before a regular cycle."

You can also use vinegar to clean shoelaces. Laura Harnett advises placing the laces in a bowl with a 1:1 ratio of white vinegar and water. Using a cloth, she says, "Rub the vinegar liquid into the laces and then leave to air dry. When they’re dry they’ll be white again with no lingering vinegar smell."

If you want to whiten your shoelaces, you could also soak them in bleach. Add one part bleach to five parts water, and submerge the laces for five minutes before putting them in the washing machine.

How to keep white shoes clean

Once you’ve got your shoes looking clean and fresh again, you’ll want to keep on top of maintaining them. Follow Sarah's tips below to keep your shoes looking good as new:

• Apply a stain and water-repellent spray once every few weeks to prevent stains before they happen. You may still need to give them a clean every once in a while, but the repellent spray will make it much more difficult for dirt and grime to penetrate right into the shoe.
• Keep on top of spot cleaning your shoes. As soon as you notice a stain on the shoes, get it cleaned up, as the longer you leave a stain, the longer it has to set and penetrate into the shoe’s material. This will make it much harder to clean in the future.
• Don't put your shoes in the washing machine, as this can damage both your shoes and the washing machine. Plus, it could also make your shoes age prematurely.

Related cleaning features:

• How to clean with vinegar: 5 expert tips
• How to clean an air fryer - top tips
• How to clean a washing machine: 6 step guide
• 10 expert tips for cleaning school uniform
• How to dry clothes without a dryer
• How to get foundation out of clothes - 9 quick hacks
• How often should you change your sheets?

Video of the Week

Tired of the constant battle against school uniform stains? We've sought advice from the experts on how to tackle the toughest of marks...

You might be a religious follower of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and an expert at getting foundation out of clothes or cleaning white shoes, but all this is no match for the stubborn stains that kids bring home with them on their school uniform. New research from retailer Next has found that parents in the UK are spending over two hours a week washing their child's school uniform, and that 44% of UK parents have had to throw away an item of school uniform by January due to uncleanable stains. But, as the product team at Next says: "For parents with two or more children, being able to reuse and recycle old school uniforms in the form of hand-me-downs can save a lot of time and money," so knowing how to tackle pesky uniform stains can be invaluable information.

That's why we've spoken to the experts to find out the best way to get rid of the toughest of stains. Kathleen Bell, cleaning expert with eco-friendly cleaning brand smol, told us: "My top tip when it comes to any stain is to act fast in the hope to remove it as quickly as possible. Try to blot rather than rub stains, starting from the outside and work inwards to avoid spreading. And if possible, avoid adding too hot water or tumble drying your stained items as this can essentially ‘cook’ the stain into your child’s uniform." Keep reading to find out how to tackle the top ten culprits for stains on school uniform, so you can be better prepared next time your child comes home with mud all over their freshly washed polo shirt. 

1. Paint

Next revealed paint to be one of the top culprits for school uniform stains, with over half of the UK’s school uniforms having at least one paint stain by the start of the Spring term.

Laura Mountford, cleaning expert and author of Live, Laugh, Laundry: A calming guide to keeping your clothes clean – and you happy, shared with Goodto the best way to remove paint from school uniform.

She said: "Stains from both oil based or water based paint can be removed by soaking using a mixture of half detergent, half warm water. Blot the stain vigorously until the paint has been removed then wash as normal in the machine."

Kathleen adds that you should make sure to gently scrape off any excess paint from the garment before you blot it, and that it might be beneficial to first hold the reverse side of the stain under lukewarm running water to help loosen it.

She says you could also try applying a stain remover if the stain is still visible before putting the clothing in the wash, but advises, "Be aware that some stain removers rely on bleach which can damage fabrics; instead opt for stain removers that use enzyme technology to break down the proteins of common stains."

2. Felt tip

Laura says, "Ink (including permanent marker) can be removed from fabrics by dabbing with rubbing alcohol. This will dilute and break down the ink stain before washing."

Though she adds that before you try this method, test the garment for colourfastness by soaking a cotton bud with rubbing alcohol and blotting the area it's applied to with kitchen roll. If no colour comes off on the kitchen roll, then the fabric should be safe to pre-treat. 

She adds: "Place the stain face down onto a cloth or paper towel and use a sponge to apply, and the ink should loosen and transfer."

If you don't have rubbing alcohol, Kathleen says you could try using hand sanitiser that has alcohol as one of it's ingredients. She explains, "Using a clean cloth, blot the mark with the sanitiser, but avoid rubbing the stain to stop it from spreading."

3. Mud

Though mud is one of the most common stains that kids pick up on their school uniform, fortunately it's an easy one to remove. In many cases, you can wait for the mud to dry completely and brush of the excess before washing as normal.

For particularly pesky stains however, Kathleen advised us: "Rinse the stain from the reverse side of the garment with cold water, then fill your sink with a mix of tepid water and detergent and let clothing sit in this mixture for 10 minutes. If you can still see the stain when holding the item up to the light, consider using a stain gel and rubbing this in with a clean cloth. Leave the stain gel to sit for five minutes and then wash as normal. "

4. Food and drink

How you remove food and drink stains from school uniform can depend on what the substance is, but fortunately Laura has provided us with a few top tips.

She says, "Tackling food stains can vary, depending on the food. For greasy stains like butter and oil – use detergents and soap." You can also use dish soap to tackle these stains as it is able to break down oils.

Laura adds: "Drinks like fruit juices are oxidisable stains, and bleaches are the most effective way of removing these. Chlorine bleach is the most powerful, but you should use bleach with care as it is toxic.

"Oxygen-based bleach like hydrogen peroxide is safer but does not work as effectively below 40°C."

Laura also recommends trying oxi powders. She says, "Oxi powders are an increasingly popular oxygen-based bleach and I always have a tub of these in my laundry cupboard as they are so useful for removing everyday stains."

If you choose to use chlorine bleach to remove stains from clothing, she offers some advice on how to use such products safely. "Never mix with other products and wear rubber gloves when using it," Laura warns. "It is also important to have good ventilation when using bleach so open windows and doors to allow the circulation of air."

Kathleen also has some advise when it comes to removing food and drink stains. She warns not to run clothing under warm water, as this will set the stain further, adding: "It's important to run the water through the back of the stain to help loosen it, as this should push it back out through the fabric rather than pushing it deeper into the fibres."

5. Biro

Biro can be one of the more difficult stains to remove from clothing, but luckily Kathleen has some tips. She says, "One of the methods to remove biro stains is by using alcohol. Spray the stain with alcohol-based hairspray or hand sanitiser with high alcohol content. Blot the hairspray or sanitiser with a clean cloth and continue to move to a new, clean part of the cloth between each blot. Once the stain has been removed, wash as normal."

However, she warns, "Before you start, it's important to do a small test patch on an area of clothing that won’t be seen."

6. Grass

Much like mud, grass stains are best removed by soaking the clothing. Kathleen told us: "Grass stains can be combated with a good old soak. Fill your sink with a mix of tepid water and detergent and add the stained item of clothing to sit in the mixture for 10 minutes. 

"If you can still see the stain when holding the item up to the light, consider using a stain gel and rubbing this in with a clean cloth. Leave the stain gel to sit for five minutes and then wash as normal. "

7. Crayons

Laura recommends baking soda for stains caused by crayons. She says: "Baking soda does a great job of removing crayon marks. Use a wet cloth with warm water, and then dip it in a bit of baking soda. Scrub the stain until you see the crayon start to dissipate, then wash the item according to its washing instructions."

Kathleen adds that you can also use washing up liquid to remove crayon stains. "First, scrape off as much of the crayon stain as possible using a blunt knife or spoon," she says. "Then use washing up liquid to remove the stain, working the soap into the stain from outside in. After around five minutes, run warm water over the area before washing as normal. "

8. Glue

How you remove glue stains can be dependent on the type of glue, but generally you should allow the adhesive to dry before you treat the mark. 

Laura offered a handy trick for removing glue stains from school uniform. She said: "Pop some ice cubes in a plastic bag and rub across the area, often the glue will peel off when cold enough, then wash with laundry detergent ."

If this doesn't work, you could instead pre-soak the affected area in tepid water for 10 minutes before dabbing the affected with a clean cloth.

9. Sweat

With all that running around in the playground - or teenage hormones if your kids are a bit older - it's no surprise that sweat has made the list of the top ten stains found on school uniform.

Fortunately, Laura knows the best way to get rid of pesky sweat stains. She told us: "Sweat stains can be removed by soaking the garment in white vinegar for an hour and then gently scrubbing with a clean brush."

Kathleen also recommends whit vinegar for removing sweat stains, but adds, "Another tip if some of the stains remain is to leave the clothes hanging outside or by a window for the day, as UV from the sun can break down the stain and even help kill germs!"

10. Blood

Blood is well known as being one of the most difficult stains to remove from clothing, and it makes a common appearance on school uniform. Though it's not an easy fix, our experts have some advice on the best way to deal with these stains.

Kathleen explains there are three different ways to tackle blood stains - all using things you probably already have in your cupboard.

1. Hand soap: Using the soap, repeatedly rub and rinse the stain with cold water until it is lifted and then wash as normal. 
2. Aspirin: Crush two aspirin tablets and add to a small bowl of tepid water. Place the stained area of the garment in the bowl and allow to soak for 30 minutes then wash as normal. 
3. Salt: Cover the stain with table salt and then blot with cold water and a clean cloth before washing as normal.

Laura offers a different method for dealing with blood stains. "Deal with bloodstains as soon as possible by rinsing the item in cold water and pre-treating with a biological liquid or gel detergent directly onto the stain."

She adds: "You can blot the bloodstain with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, but be careful as this may discolour the fabric so is best only for lighter colours.

"You can also mix a baking soda paste (two parts baking soda and one part water) as a pre-treatment."

Once you have treated the stain, put it straight in your washing machine without rinsing, add more of the biological detergent to the wash load and then wash as per the garment care label.

Video of the Week

If you always put your makeup on before getting changed then you've probably wondered how to get foundation out of clothes. We're here to help...

We've all been there. You've just done a full face of make up and had to work out how to get your favourite top on without it touching your face. Or you got over excited after finding your perfect foundation shade and spilt the new bottle down your front. It can feel like a disaster in the moment - especially if you're about to go out. But, much like knowing how to get stains out of school uniform, once you know how to get foundation out of clothes you won't need to stress anymore.

While you should leave delicate fabrics to the professionals rather than tackling foundation stains at home, there are plenty of ways you can remove these pesky makeup marks using household products. Fans of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips, keep reading, because we've rounded up nine of the best hacks to get foundation out of clothes...

How to get foundation out of clothes

1. Shaving cream

You might have seen this hack doing the rounds on the internet, but it really does work! In fact, Kim Kardashian swears by it - as does cleaning influencer and mum of two Chantel Mila.

In a viral TikTok captioned "The stain removal hack makeup artists swear by 🙌", Chantel shared how she uses shaving foam to remove foundation from clothing "instantly". 

After spraying the foam directly on the stain, she advises to leave it for ten minutes before removing with a cloth and washing as usual.

2. Dish soap

If your foundation is oil based, then you should be able to easily remove any stains on your clothing with dish soap.

After gently blotting away any excess foundation, rub dish soap into the stain using your fingers. Leave for 20 minutes to let the dish soap break down the oils, then wash in your machine on the warmest setting that the clothing label allows.

If the garment isn't machine washable, hand wash instead with warm water, before leaving to air dry.

3. Baking soda

Residential cleaning company The Maids recommends using baking soda to tackle foundation stains on cotton and synthetic materials - though they warn against using this hack on silk and other delicate fabrics. 

They recommend sprinkling baking soda on the stain and working it in with a soft cloth, before leaving it for five minutes to absorb the foundation. Then, shake of the excess and flip the garment over to repeat the process on the other side.

Rinse the clothing with cold water and wash as usual, and the stain should have vanished!

4. Makeup remover

It doesn't just work on your face, you can use make up remover to rid your clothes of stains too. You can try makeup wipes or a micellar water - as long as it's not got oil in it. 

While this hack might not be as effective on white or lighter coloured clothing, if you're wearing something dark and need a quick fix before you go out then we'd recommend trying this one.

6. Hairspray

This one's more of a preventative measure if you're prone to getting makeup all over yourself when you're getting ready, as hairspray can stop makeup from sticking to your clothing.

Mother of two Alicia Bailey went viral on TikTok when she posted a video explaining that she sprays hairspray around the neckline over her clothes before waiting 20 minutes to get dressed.

She captioned the video, "Quick hack to stop makeup going on your clothes."

However, commenters were quick to urge caution when trying this hack. One wrote, "Hairspray is flammable just in case some smoke," while another said, "Wow but 🔥 fire hazard central❗️❗️❗️".

7. Hairdryer

If it's powder foundation that you've spilt all over your new white top, then you might be able to get the stain out using just your hair dryer.

Use the cool setting and direct the nozzle at the foundation stain, and most of the powder should just blow off your clothing. 

If there's still some marking left after you've tried this, run warm water through the back of the stain, cover it in liquid laundry detergent and wash as usual.

After you've washed the garment and left it to air dry, the stain should have vanished completely. 

8. Rubbing alcohol

Rubbing alcohol can break down oily stains, so it's another good one to try on foundation marks. Soak a cloth or a wipe then gently blot and rub over the makeup stain and you should see the mark begin to fade.

However, you don't want to be wiping rubbing alcohol on all your outfits, as the harsh chemical can damage delicate fabrics. You're better of using this hack on more sturdy materials.

9. Detergent pens

If you're prone to staining your clothes with foundation, it might be worth investing in a detergent pen for quick fixes on the go. You can get a pack of three Tide to Go Stain Pens on Amazon for just £10 to help you remove tough stains when out and about.

They won't work on all stains, but if you've got a pesky foundation smear along your collar that you want to get rid of, then having one of these in your handbag can be really helpful.

Press the pen onto the stain to release the powerful cleaning solution, before 'colouring in' the stain with the detergent pen and watching it disappear before your eyes.

Video of the Week

It's difficult to know the answer to how often should you change your sheets, which is why we've asked the experts for their advice.

Let's be honest, washing your sheets isn't an enjoyable task, especially in the winter months. It's hard enough knowing how to dry clothes without a dryer when the weather's bad, and adding a huge fitted sheet into the mix doesn't help matters. But given we spend many hours each week sleeping on top of them, it's important to keep our sheets clean. 

So, if you're a fan of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and have been wondering how often you should clean this everyday item, we've done all the research for you. As Georgia Metcalfe, founder of online bedroom retailer French Bedroom, says: "The fitted sheet is the most used and dirty part of a bed and can absorb things from our skin like oils and sweat, so it's important to wash yours regularly."

How often should you change your sheets?

The general consensus is that you should change your sheets once a week. Sleeping in the same sheets every night means they can rack up a serious collection of sweat, body oils, saliva, dirt from outside and more, so it's important you wash them frequently.

Alison Hughes, Interiors Director at Coast Road Furniture, told us: "The frequency you should change your sheets depends partly on the time of year. As a general rule of thumb it’s best to change your sheets once a week for good bedroom hygiene, although if you are away two or three nights a week then washing them fortnightly should suffice. During particularly hot spells you may want to up this to a couple of times a week. Of course if you spill something or spot a stain on your sheets, you should wash them as soon as possible and use some form of stain-remover according to the sheet’s washing instructions."

Georgia Metcalfe agrees, and advises changing your sheets every four to seven days. She adds: "If you suffer from allergies or allow pets to sleep on a bed it is more vital to do so, as they are likely to bring bugs and dirt from outside onto the linen. For those who tend to get very hot make sure to wash it around every four days."

You should also change your sheets more regularly if you or someone else you live with is feeling ill, as it could be contagious.

Reasons to change your sheets

• It's been a week or more since you last changed your sheets
• You or someone else in the house has allergies
• You let your pets sleep in the beds
• You or someone in the house suffers with night sweats
• You or someone you live with is feeling ill
• Your sheets looked stained or smell bad
• You often eat in bed
• You sleep naked

What happens if you don't change your sheets?

If you don't change your sheets regularly, you are exposing yourself to dirt and bacteria that can cause or trigger skin conditions. It's even possible to pick up an infection if you have a small cut on your body and are sleeping in dirty sheets.

Joanna Ross, general manager of design at bedding brand Sheridan, explains, "Not washing your sheets regularly exposes you to fungi, bacteria, pollen, and animal dander that is commonly found on your bed sheets. Other things like bodily secretions, sweat and skin cells can linger on bedding and whilst these may not make you sick, they can trigger eczema or cause dermatitis so it’s better to be on the safe side and wash your bed linen more frequently."

Other effects of not changing your bed sheets frequently enough include allergy symptoms, poor sleep quality and your sheets starting to smell.

How to wash bed sheets

1. Read the product label first, to check for any specific care instructions.
2. Wash bedding at 60 degrees, as this is the recommended temperature for killing germs
3. Use a gentle detergent - if you have sensitive skin you might want to rinse the sheets twice
4. Air dry your sheets when possible, as this is less costly and will avoid wrinkling them

Alison told us: "Before putting your sheets in the wash make sure to check for stains, as these can be more difficult to get out after the wash. You should be able to use a regular stain remover, but always check the washing and care instructions on the sheets before doing so. Use the amount of detergent recommended on the packaging for the most effective wash.

It’s best to wash your bed sheets at the warmest recommended setting. This is especially important if they’re soiled or you’ve been ill, as a warm wash kills the bacteria. Many people wash their bed sheets along with towels but this can make the sheets wear faster as particularly rough towels can act like sandpaper, so it’s best to avoid this.

When it comes to drying the sheets, using a tumble dryer is usually fine as long as it’s on a low setting, but check the care instructions prior. Drying the sheets outside can give them that lovely fresh scent, but make sure to turn them inside out on sunny days so the sunlight doesn’t fade the colour."

Georgia Metcalfe adds: "If your sheets are made of silk, use a non-biological detergent specifically for silk as biological detergents can damage the grains. This should also be done on a much lower heat, at 30°C."

How to keep sheets clean between washes

• Shower before bed
• Remove make up before you go to sleep
• Avoid eating or drinking in bed
• Don't allow pets on your bed
• Make sure recently washed sheets are completely dry before storing away
• Keep your clean sheets in a dry space with good airflow 

Another great tip is to let your mattress air in the morning before making your bed. Dust mites thrive in warmer environments, so letting your mattress air allows it to cool down and decreases the number of dust mites it attracts.

How often should you wash other bedding?

1. Pillows

Pillowcases should be washed once a week along with sheets, although you may want to consider washing them more often if you have oily hair, sometimes sleep in make up or apply a heavy moisturiser before bed.

The pillows themselves should be washed roughly every three months. Lucy Ackroyd, head of design at towel and bedding manufacturer Christy told us: "Similar to bedding, pillows contain a build-up of sweat and dead skin. Most good quality ones will be able to endure several washes without going lumpy, but be sure to check the care label, as synthetic and feather pillows can be washed at slightly different temperatures."

To wash your pillows, Lucy advises, "In the washing machine, along with regular detergent, add around 200ml of distilled vinegar, as this will help to disinfect your pillows. You can add your favourite essential oils to prevent your pillows from holding on to the smell of the vinegar."

She adds: "If you have memory foam pillows, avoid using a washing machine and instead wash them by hand. Submerge the pillow in warm water, add a capful of detergent and wash the pillow by evenly distributing the detergent while massaging all the dirt out."

2. Duvets

Duvet covers should also be washed every week. Georgia Metcalfe says: "As duvet covers sit on top of the bed, dust and dirt will accumulate from day-to-day use. In colder spells, we clutch onto our covers to stay warm so if bacteria, dirt and grime are left on for long then it can cause them to smell, irritate skin and in some cases make you prone to illness."

Duvet inserts however should be cleaned every three months as they are protected by the cover. But while duvet covers do provide protection, thousands of dust mites can live on an insert after a few months.

You can machine was duvets, but getting a professional clean is far safer if it is made from down feathers. If cleaned at home, ensure to line dry it and use an anti-bacterial detergent.

Duvets can last as long as 15 to 20 years when used with a cover and washed or dry cleaned regularly, after this you should consider replacing them.

3. Blankets

Once every two weeks is a good guideline for washing your blankets. You don't need to wash them as frequently as your bedding if they spend less time in contact with your skin, but if you use them often it's still a good idea to give them a regular clean, as they will also build up bacteria and dust.

If you don't sleep with your blanket, and use it more for throwing over yourself when you're on the sofa watching TV, then you don't need to wash it so often - once a month should be fine.

But just like you should wash the bedding you use more frequently when you're sick, the same rule goes for your blankets.

4. Mattresses

Alison Hughes says: "It's equally important to keep your mattress clean as well as your sheets. While mattress cleaning is an often-neglected task, doing so can expand the lifespan of the product. If you don’t clean it two times a year as recommended, the oils and dead skin your body produces can accumulate in the mattress, causing it to deteriorate faster than a clean one. 

She explains, "This task is an important one when it comes to bedroom hygiene, but is especially crucial for those with dust allergies as the dusty debris can prevent you from getting good quality sleep."

It's recommended that you replace your mattress every eight years. This will ensure you continue to get a good night's sleep and prevent you from waking up feeling sore and stiff.

Video of the Week

You might be surprised by how versatile this household products is - here's how to clean with vinegar...

If you're on the hunt for new cleaning hacks or are a big fan of Mrs. Hinch's cleaning tips, then you're going to want to know more about how you can clean with vinegar. Non-toxic, eco-friendly and cheap, vinegar can be used to make your own multi-purpose cleaning spray and works wonders on a variety of household items - whether you want to know how to clean a hair brush or a shower head.

New research from Confused.com has revealed that vinegar is the most popular ingredient to use around the home for cleaning. So, if you've been wondering how you can use vinegar to clean, we've found out from the experts exactly how to use this multipurpose cleaner to keep your home sparkling.

How to clean with vinegar

1. Getting rid of limescale

Limescale is caused by a build-up of calcium and magnesium minerals in hard water, and it's an inevitable problem on your showerhead - given its constant contact with water. However, vinegar is an especially effective substance for getting rid of limescale.

Andy Duncan, cleaning expert from Easy Cleaners, says: "If you’re suffering with limescale on you showerhead, the best thing that you can do is fill up a plastic bag with vinegar and wrap it around the showerhead for 40 minutes, allowing the showerhead to soak in it. Once you unwrap the bag, you should reveal a completely limescale-free showerhead."

As well as having a sparkly clean showerhead, removing the limescale will prevent any blockages and maintain the hygiene of shower water.

2. Removing streaky window stains

Andy explains: "If you mix together one part of distilled vinegar to every ten parts water in a spray bottle, it is the perfect solution to getting rid of any serious streaks on your windows. 

 "Spray this on your windows and then wipe it off using a paper towel or microfibre cloth. Make sure you remove all dust and dirt before doing this."

You might want to try this when the sun isn't shining directly on your windows, so you can better see any spots you might have missed.

3. Cleaning cloudy glasses

Hard water doesn't just cause limescale build-up, it can also turn your drinking glasses cloudy. Luckily, there's an easy way to fix this using vinegar.

Andy suggests filling a bowl with hot water and resting a bottle of vinegar in there for a minute so it warms up. He says: "Once it’s warm, drain the sink and then fill it with the warm vinegar with the plug in. Let the glasses soak in the vinegar for an hour, and use a nylon net to rub the vinegar off. Swill the glasses with warm water and leave them to dry, and this should solve the problem.”

4. Cleaning the dishwasher

Vinegar will not only cut through any build-up and leave your dishwasher sparkling, but it can also remove any unpleasant odours, mould and mildew that it’s built up

“The best way to use vinegar to clean the dishwasher is to firstly remove any bits of food that have come off in the wash." Andy told us. "Then, place a cup of white wine vinegar in a bowl - but make sure that it’s dishwasher safe - on the top shelf of an empty dishwasher. Once you’ve done this, let the dishwasher run on a hot-water cycle, and let it dry."

5. Removing grime in the washing machine

Washing machines can build up grime quickly, yet they're an appliance that people often forget to clean. 

Andy suggests that the best way to clean your washing machine is to add two cups of white wine vinegar into the detergent drawer in you washing machine and running a hot wash. 

You could also add half a cup of baking soda into the drum to get your washing machine super clean and neutralise any odours.

What vinegar can you clean with?

White distilled vinegar is usually the best vinegar to clean with, because it won't leave a stain. However, most vinegars are suitable for cleaning because their acidity enables them to kill germs.

Other types of vinegar include white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, malt vinegar and sherry vinegar. 

If you don't have any white vinegar to hand, apple cider vinegar is the best substitute - and you might find that the smell is slightly more pleasant than that of white vinegar. However, apple cider vinegar is generally much more expensive than distilled white vinegar.

The best way to use vinegar to clean is to mix it with equal parts water and use in a spray bottle. If you don't like the smell of vinegar, try adding a few drops of essential oil to the solution to mask the smell. 

What not to clean with vinegar

• Granite or marble - Vinegar can cause natural stone to lose its shine, so you might want to avoid using it on your kitchen countertops.
• Hardwood floors - Vinegar can dissolve the coating on hardwood floors, which may make your floors look dull or scratched.
• Wool rugs - The acidity in vinegar can permanently damage the fibre of wool.
• Kitchen knives - Vinegar can corrode the blades and dull the edges of knives.
• TV screens - White vinegar will strip away the protective surface on electronic devices and may damage the anti-glare properties.
• Mirrors - You might be tempted because vinegar is so great for cleaning windows, but it can penetrate through the backing and hinder the mirror's shine.

Related features:

• How to clean an oven
• How to clean white shoes
• How to clean a TV screen
• How to clean an air fryer
• How to clean a washing machine
• How to dry clothes without a dryer
• How to get foundation out of clothes

Video of the Week

How to clean a TV screen isn't as easy as it may sound, but we've got all the tips to make sure you don't impair the picture quality or damage the electricals.

It's one of our most-used household items, so it's important to know how to clean - and just like many wonder how often should you change your sheets, how to clean an air fryer and how to clean white shoes, the same question is being asked of TV screens. Flat-screens, PLASMAs and OLEDs all need a delicate touch, which is why we've sought out the experts to help us put together this ultimate guide to cleaning a TV screen.

Sarah Dempsey, cleaning expert at My Job Quote, tells us: "When cleaning your TV it’s important to use products specially designed for that purpose, and to take extra care when cleaning the screen itself and when handling technical parts, such as delicate, live wiring." Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about how to clean a TV screen.

How to clean a TV screen - an expert guide

1. Turn off your TV

The first step in cleaning a TV screen should always be turning off - or better still, unplugging - the device from the mains. Sarah says: "Remember, a TV is an electrical device. Cleaning liquids and skin contact do not mix well with live electricity. Cutting off the electrical supply will greatly lower the risk of any accidents and injuries."

Cleaning a black screen will make it easier to see any smudges and marks that you need to tackle too.

Before you move on to the next step, make sure your TV has cooled to allow you to clean the appliance more efficiently.

2. Use a microfibre cloth

Laura Marsden, marketing manager at Marigold, tells us: "Your TV screen is delicate, so I would always recommend using a soft, lint free cloth. These cloths remove dirt, grease and dust with ease, and without the need for chemicals."

Alternatively, cleaning influencer Laura Mountford recommends using an electrostatic duster. She says "My favourite is the Flash Dust magnet which traps the dust rather than just moving it around."

Sarah adds: "Some TVs come with a cleaning cloth, but if not you should use an anti-static microfiber cloth like the ones that come alongside prescription glasses, camera lenses and computer monitors. Never use a paper towel or a non-microfiber cloth to clean your TV screen, as harsher materials can leave scratches on the surface."

3. Use a circular motion

Move the dry microfiber cloth in circular motions over the screen to remove any loose dust and debris, making sure to be gentle and use only very light pressure. Sarah explains: "Do not push down with a heavy hand on your TV screen as this can cause significant injury to the LED panel, which will result in pixel damage."

Don’t forget to give the vents and buttons some attention too, as these areas often get forgotten.

4. Remove stubborn stains

If a few stains and marks remain after gently wiping your TV screen, lightly dampen the cloth with either distilled water or a cleaning solution manufactured specifically for TVs or monitor glass to tackle the affected areas.

Sarah warns: "Never spray anything directly onto the screen. An excess of liquids can damage an electrical appliance and cause a fire hazard once switched back on."

5. Leave to dry

Let the screen dry completely before switching your TV back on, in case the cleaning substance reacts badly with a hot screen.

You'll probably want to give the screen a final wipe with a dry microfibre cloth too, to make sure your TV is sparkling clean.

How do I get smears off my TV screen?

Use gentle circular motions to lift any debris and buff out tough grease and smudging from your TV screen. You should never push down on your TV screen to remove smears and marks, as this can permanently damage the panelling underneath, resulting in pixel impairment.

Laura Mountford tells us: "To get smears and sticky finger prints off of your TV use a soft, clean, lint free glass cloth. For stubborn marks, dampen the cloth with a light misting of water and gently wipe using a circular motion."

Sarah offers a last-resort solution for any marks that really won't budge. She tells us: "If all else fails, dampen your microfiber cloth using a solution of one part neutral detergent to 100 parts water and lightly rub." She adds a word of caution, however, saying, "Never use a harsh cleaning substance or a substance that is unsuitable for a TV monitor. Doing so can cause discoloration as the substance may react with the screen’s coating."

What household product can I use to clean my TV screen?

The best way to clean you TV is by simply using a dry microfibre cloth, and avoiding using any household cleaning products.

Laura Marsden says: "Whilst these cloths can be used wet or dry, with your TV, you should always use a dry cloth. Using any type of window cleaner, soap, or cleaners with solvents in is an absolute no-go. Not only could it damage the delicate surface, but any liquid entering the TV may cause a failure, fire, or electric shock."

In some cases, however, you can use a small amount of cleaning products for TV screens that are in need of a deep clean. Sarah Dempsey advises, "Always only use gentle cleaners that are specifically designed to clean a TV screen. Before using any cleaning substance, ensure it does not contain ammonia, alcohol, acetone, or any other harsh chemicals."

She adds: "You will find that most HDTV screen cleaners are 99% water, making them extremely gentle and effective. Harsh cleaners can wear down the TV screen coating or cause a chemical reaction which can alter the screen colouring, impairing your viewing experience."

Remember, never spray cleaning product directly onto a TV screen. Instead, lightly dampen a cloth with the product before wiping the TV.

How often should you clean your TV screen?

You should clean your TV screen roughly once a week to avoid dust building up and keep the picture clear and crisp.

Sarah says: "Lightly cleaning your TV frequently will prevent the need for deep cleans, which can be harmful to your TV health. Cleaning smudges and substances from your TV screen sooner rather than later will prevent them from drying and adhering to the glass, meaning you can apply less pressure to buff them out."

Related features:

• How to clean a microwave
• How to clean a dishwasher
• How to clean a washing machine
• How to clean an air fryer

Video of the Week

Eliminate bad odours and get rid of mould for good with our easy guide on how to clean a washing machine.

Clothes can sometimes come out of the washing machine damp or smelling musty - especially if you leave your wet clothing in the washing machine. This happens due to a build up of dirt, limescale or detergent, so your clothes are coming out with this residue on them even though they've been through a full cycle wash.

A dirty machine can also have an unpleasant smell that can be a sign of other problems, like mould growing, which is why you need Mrs Hinch cleaning tips on how to clean a washing machine and how to clean with vinegar.

How to clean a washing machine

No one quite knows how to clean with readily available household products and minimal fuss like Sophie Hincliffe, AKA. Mrs Hinch. These are her tried and tested techniques to getting a perfectly clean washing machine every time.

1. Gather everything you'll need

To clean a washing machine you will need:

• White vinegar
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Flash bathroom spray
• Sonic scrubber or a regular cleaning sponge
• Moppet sponge
• Cloth
• Tea towel
• Baking tray

Cleaning a washing machine doesn't take long to do, explains Mrs Hinch: "I would like to give the washing machine a quick clean, nothing too drastic because I do this often so it doesn't build up that much."

2. Remove the detergent draw

Take the detergent draw out of the washing machine completely, place it in the sink and then clean it with the bathroom spray.

"I use Flash bathroom spray to clean this because it removes soap scum, perfect for removing old fabric softener," Sophie says.

3. Clean the drawer cavity

Surprisingly, the space where the drawer sits can get really dirty, so "pop in a scoop of bicarb and spray white vinegar in the drawer."

Clean out the drawer thoroughly, making sure that you tackle the sides and top of the space as well using a sponge or scrubber. After this, rinse away any remaining dirt with some water.

4. Clean out the rubber rim around the door

This is one of the main places that mildew and other nasty smells builds up as it gets trapped here between washes.

For this, Mrs Hinch recommends spritzing the rim with Flash bathroom spray and using the moppet sponge as it's "perfect for this, it gets right in there."

5. Drain the filter

This is going to involve water spilling out onto the floor, so this is where the baking tray and tea towel or cloth comes in.

"Next, time for the filter!" Sophie says in the video, "Put your baking tray down and tea towel, it catches the water. Or use your cloth."

A baking tray is the perfect size normally for just fitting snugly between the bottom of the washing machine and the floor, so it catches all the water. Then "clean the filter [using Flash bathroom spray] and screw it back on."

6. Wash out the drum

This is the easiest bit of the whole process, as Mrs Hinch just adds bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to the drum (along with all the dirty cloths used).

Dry off the drawer, put it back into the machine and then give the front of the machine a spritz with either the Flash bathroom spray or a window and glass cleaner for shine. If you've got any scrapes on the washing machine, you can try to use this genius hack to get rid of scratches.

With all the parts of the machine back together and the dirty clothes inside, put the machine on a quick wash.

Alternatively, you can use bleach to clean the drum of the washing machine. It's a good way to deep clean a washing machine, especially if you've never cleaned it before, or if the machine has been exposed to more bacteria than usual - such as blood or dirt.

To do this, add 60ml of neat bleach to your detergent drawer and then run your machine on a hot cycle. After this is done, put it on an extra rinse to make sure that any remaining bleach residue has been filtered out. Take a sniff inside the drum and if you can still smell any bleach whatsoever, run another empty cycle.

There are a couple of things to be aware of though. Bleach is very reactive, so it's important to only use the 60ml amount and not to add any other cleaning products to the drum or drawer when you are doing a bleach wash. If you do, it could create a lot of foam which could end up coming out of the machine or causing other mechanical issues.

Sometimes though, this method is better avoided altogether. "Personally I don't use any strong bleach cleaners," Mrs Hinch explains, "Because I worry it will come out on my clothes in my next wash load, this has happened to me before. Plus I always have these products in the house anyway so it's a win-win, no need to buy anything extra." 

Best products to use to clean a washing machine

Along with the products recommended by Mrs Hinch, we love these cleaning favourites for giving the washing machine a good clean.

• Dettol Anti Bacterial Washing Machine Cleaner, £2.50 - BUY NOW
• Astonish Bathroom Cleaner, £1.38 - BUY NOW
• Method Antibacterial Spray, £3 - BUY NOW
• Ecozone Magnoball (anti-limescale), £9.48 - BUY NOW
• Spontex Handy Sponge, £1.50 - BUY NOW
• Duzzit sponge scourers, £2 - BUY NOW

How often should you clean a washing machine?

Giving your washing machine a clean every month is a good idea, according to Curry's repair advice service.  "We recommend doing it once a month. If you’re starting to get little black spots building up inside your door seal, or you can see sludge when you gently pull the door seal back, it’s time for a wash."

This will help eliminate any lurking bacteria, but if your machine has been exposed to bodily fluids like blood, then you should wash it straight afterwards on the highest temperature, with diluted bleach added to the machine.

How to keep your washing machine fresh between cleans

To keep your washing machine fresh between cleans, Curry's recommends leaving the door open between washes to ensure that there's only limited mildew build-up over time and cleaning the rubber rim around the door regularly to prevent mould festering in the crevices.

You should also run the empty hot wash cycle (normally about 60 degrees) once a month, or enable the machine's own cleaning cycle.

If you're washing a lot of dirty, heavy-duty items such as outdoor work clothes, it's a good idea to give your washing machine a refresh every once in a while.

Related features:

• How to clean an oven
• How to clean a microwave
• How to clean a dishwasher
• How to clean a washing machine
• How to clean an air fryer

Video of the Week

Who is Mrs Hinch, how did she become famous, is she married, does she have kids and what is her net worth now? We've got all the answers...

Mrs Hinch's cleaning tips have made her an internet sensation. The social media darling turned her humble home Instagram account into a a fully-fledged influencer platform thanks to her handy hacks and affordable fixes.

She's known for her sparkling clean home, love of 'minky cloths', 'Kermit' and 'The Pink Stuff' and her excellent advice for getting any space into tip-top condition.

The Essex-born beauty now has over 4 million followers on Instagram. But just who is Mrs Hinch - and is that even her real name?

Who is Mrs Hinch and what is her real name?

Mrs Hinch - whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe - is a self-proclaimed "cleaning mad" woman from Essex.

Before she joined Instagram back in 2018 to share her love of interior design, Sophie had worked a variety of other jobs including being a hairdresser, a waitress and a nursery assistant.

As she told fans on an Instagram Q&A, she also once worked in a call centre office and on job board sales.

But it was when she got married that her true passion for "making a house a home" began. This kicked off her current career as an influencer and an author. Despite her incredible success, Sophie still describes herself as a "normal girl who loves to clean her house".

What is Mrs Hinch famous for?

Known on social media as 'Mrs Hinch', 30-year-old Sophie is famous for her brilliant (and cheap) cleaning hacks.

Sophie refers to her social media followers as the 'Hinch Army', and her pictures of her immaculate home, complete with gleaming kitchen work tops, crumb-free floors and perfectly presented home accessories, gain thousands of likes and comments every time she posts. She's also known for her love of Zoflora, and people were also asking 'who is Mrs Hinch?' when her bizarre pie recipe went viral.

Mrs Hinch has got some famous acquaintances and fans too. She counts Loose Women's Stacey Solomon as a close friend. In one post, she wrote about how the former X-factor singer had helped her through a difficult period with trolling and media attention when she was first launched into the public eye.

"One day I received a message from this amazing woman, simply asking me if I’m ok," Sophie wrote on social media. "It’s like she just knew I wasn’t. Even though I hadn’t made this apparent to anyone. I found myself pouring my heart out to her by message (🙈) asking how she handles the public eye with a newborn."

She continued: "She turned up at my house with her beautiful baby Rex in one arm & McDonald’s in the other for us both! And I just felt myself wanting to cry. A mix of emotions I can’t even explain. We sat down , we ate junk food , fed our babies & talked... talked for hours and I can honestly say I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and I’m ready to face this public eye! Trolls n all! So Stacey I'm forever grateful to you , all the best darling and I can’t wait for next time."

The Instagram icon often posts pictures with the former X Factor singer, enjoying a drink or having a play date with their children.

Who is Mrs Hinch's husband and how many kids do they have?

Mrs Hinch married sales manager Jamie in 2018, after meeting him during her job in sales before she went on to become a hairdresser. Sophie still shares pictures from the couple's wedding at Gosfield Hall from August 2018 on her social media.

The couple have a son, Ronnie, together, who turned one in June 2020, and another baby on the way. Mrs Hinch announced she's pregnant with their second child at the beginning of 2021.

On Instagram, Sophie wrote: "It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars ✨ Baby Hinch Number 2 , We can’t wait to finally meet you."

Sophie and Jamie later revealed their second baby is boy. Mrs Hinch wrote: "Ron & Hen .. we ALL love you!! NOW get ready boys .. there will no longer be two! He is on his way!! 💙 Dreams really do come true 💫."

Ronnie's birth was announced via his Dad's personal Instagram account. Known as Mr Hinch, Jamie Hinchliffe wrote, "Hello Hinchers... Mr Hinch here. Yesterday, the 20th June 2019, at 4.11am, I watched my wife, the love of my life, bring our beautiful son, Ronnie James George Hinchliffe into the world, weighing in at 6lbs 1 oz. I didn’t think I could love Soph any more than I already do, but I was so very wrong. For once, I am completely lost for words. All I can say is thank you for your unbelievable kindness, loyalty and the most pure and genuine love we both feel from you all. I know you’ll understand that we’ll be quiet for a while whilst we take these precious moments in and enjoy our baby bubble.

"I will be spending today and the rest of my life caring for, looking after and protecting my beautiful wife and son. Ronnie, our darling boy, we love you more than we ever knew possible."

Does Mrs Hinch have a dog?

Sophie and Jamie have a dog called Henry. The gorgeous golden pup is a firm fixture in the Hinch household and regularly appears on Sophie's social media - although the spaniel also has his own Instagram account.

How many books has Mrs Hinch done?

Mrs Hinch has four books.

With her incredible success on social media and beautiful family, it will come as no surprise that when Mrs Hinch released her first book - Hinch Yourself Happy - it quickly became a Sunday Times Bestseller and flew off the shelves.

Following this, in October 2019, she released her second book, called Mrs Hinch: The Activity Journal, and in 2020 she released Mrs Hinch: The Little Book of Lists.

Mrs Hinch's first memoir was also published last year. Fans of the social media star have been able to learn all about her life and habits in the book This is Me, and really find out the answers to the question, "Who is Mrs Hinch?" It's the Sunday Times No1 Bestseller 2020, of course!

Mrs Hinch's most recent book takes a look behind the curtain on the influencer's life. By her own description, the book explores "the wife, the mother and the person behind Mrs Hinch."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13YTCu0WpH8

What is Mrs Hinch's net worth?

Mrs Hinch is rumoured to be worth an estimated £1 million.

As well as her book deals, the cleaning guru is paid to feature products in her posts and has done a number of ad campaigns with well-known household brands.

Discover the best Mrs Hinch cleaning tips all in one place, plus her favourite cleaning products for your home.

There are so many cleaning hacks out there - from how to clean an air fryer to how to clean a TV screen - but they don't always work out. That's where Mrs Hinch and her tried-and-tested cleaning tips come in.

But just who is Mrs Hinch? Also known by her real name Sophie Hinchcliffe, she became an online cleaning sensation after sharing her amazing cleaning hacks on Instagram. She joined the social media network in 2018, admitting later that the real reason she started cleaning was due to loneliness. But her handy hacks and low cost solutions to common household issues struck a chord with millions and the 32-year-old is now a social media star and author of four best-selling books. In fact, in March 2021, she was named as the highest-paid 'homefluencer' or 'cleanfluencer' in the United Kingdom.

19 of the best Mrs Hinch cleaning tips

Discover our favourite Mrs Hinch cleaning tips, from how to keep your curtains looking their best to a great trick for keeping a mattress stain-free. Get set for a sparkling home...

1. The best way to clean your shower

Sophie keeps her bath and shower clean that uses just a few key products, all of which come in at around £6 in total, and takes just four key steps.

• Spray the shower and shower head with Viakal Limescale Remover Spray. This removes limescale and water marks. Mrs Hinch recommends leaving the Viakal spray on for up to five minutes before removing.
• Then, using Flash bathroom spray wipe down the bath itself, using Mrs Hinch's trusty Minky (or Minkeh) sponge - more on that later!
• Next, wash off the Viakal using the shower itself. 
• Finish off the job by using Astonish Mould and Mildew buster to remove any lurking nasties.

2. Wipe down your radiators

We often forget to clean our radiators and get rid of the dust and grime that accumulates on them.

Mrs Hinch's cleaning tips for radiators involve two products - Zoflora and a dust cloth. She advises using a diluted Zoflora mix, spraying it on a cloth, and simply wiping down the radiators. Zoflora recommends diluting their product in water at a ratio of 1 in 40.

Not only will this method leave radiators clean, but they will also smell lovely too.

To get rid of the dust behind radiators, try attaching straws to your vacuum cleaner adaptor so that it easily fits between the metal radiator grill slots.

3. How to get stainless steel fixtures to sparkle

Whether it's in your bathroom or kitchen, we all want the stainless steel fixtures to be smudge free. 

To clean stainless steel fixtures like a shower rail, Mrs Hinch uses a Minky Cleaning Pad with Cif Perfect Finish Stainless Steel Spray. To really make stainless steel fixtures shine, Mrs Hinch uses her fondly named Kermit cloth -  a green Minky Microfibre Cloth for Glass & Windows - to finish.

And if you've got a scratch that just won't come out, try this hack to get rid of kitchen scratches. All you need is a toothbrush, toothpaste and some oil and works well on those small scratches that just won't come out with the Mrs Hinch cleaning tip.

4. Make space in your kitchen cupboard

Less of a Mrs Hinch cleaning tip and more of a handy storage trick from the cleaning queen, Sophie has a clever way for storing pots and pans to make the most of cupboard space. 

Simply place your pan lids upside down on top of your pans. This means you'll be able to stack them up on top of each other instead of the pans sliding around because of the handles. Genius!

5. How to store bed linen sets

There's nothing worse than wasting half and hour hunting in the linen closet for a matching bed set. Thankfully, Mrs Hinch has come to the rescue.

She shared a tip on her Instagram Stories, explaining how she groups all her linen sets together in the matching pillow case. She wrote, "Where do I keep my fresh bedding? I store the whole fresh bed set into the matching pillow case!"

But that's not the only linen hack Mrs Hinch has up her sleeve.

She also revealed that - once she has finished ironing her duvet cover, pillow cases and fitted sheets - she then places Lenor tumble dryer sheets in with her clean bedding, to keep it fresh when it's time to change them.

6. Make curtains look their best

All you need for this hack is a toilet roll. We know what you're thinking - how can toilet roll make my curtains look great? But according to Mrs Hinch, empty toilet rolls are brilliant for ensuring the pleats in your curtains are neat, uniform and properly spaced out.

• Start with at least ten empty toilet rolls. 
• Cut them open down the length of the roll, so they're easy to pop on and off your curtain rail.
• Simply place a roll between each curtain ring, to ensure the pleat falls nicely and neatly. Mrs Hinch says you can also cut the toilet rolls to size, depending on how big or small you want the gaps between pleats to be. 
• Tape the toilet rolls back up after hanging them, so that they don't fall down when you draw the curtains at night, or open them in the morning.

As you can see from the tried and tested technique below, this handy hack really works.

7. Wipe down indoor plants

Another of Mrs Hinch's cleaning tips is a hack for dusty plants, because no-one wants their green friends to be dusty and dirty. 

Sophie's solution is to simply use a tumble dryer sheet to wipe away any dust or grime that's built up on the plant. You can do this on both real and fake plants. 

It will keep them smelling fresh, as well as avoid a build-up of dust and dirt that can then transfer onto your carpet or furniture.

8. How to get rid of stains on your mattress

If you've got children who are a little accident prone in bed, or you've noticed some unfortunate dirt marks on your mattress that have accumulated over the years, you'll want to try this Mrs Hinch cleaning tip.

• Remove all bedding first
• Sprinkle bicarbonate powder on the stained areas of your mattress, rubbing it in with a rubber glove.
• Leave the bicarb on your mattress for 60 minutes.
• Once the time is over, simply hoover the powder off and voilà, you should be left with a sparkling clean mattress minus any stains.

If you make your own carpet refresher, which also uses bicarbonate powder, you could also spray this on your mattress to make sure it smells lovely as well.

9. Clean your sink daily

Don't let soap scum and dirt build up around your sink by giving it a quick wipe or clean every day like Mrs Hinch and you'll avoid having to give it a big scrub.

To clean her plug hole and drain, Sophie pours soda crystals down her plug before rinsing it with her go-to product - diluted Zoflora. Sophie then pours hot water over the mixture to rinse out the plug.

And if you want to wake up to a gorgeous-smelling kitchen every day follow this Mrs Hinch cleaning tip. Simply fill the sink with a capful of neat Zoflora and add boiling water straight from the kettle. Then just leave overnight to wake up to a fresh kitchen! 

10. How to keep your bin smelling clean

Mrs Hinch cleaning tips for keeping your bin smelling fresh involves a handy hack for once you've given the outside of your bin a wipe.

After cleaning it with a  spray such as her favourite Stardrops 4-in-1 disinfectant spray, Sophie then scrubs it with a Dishmatic pad, full of washing up liquid. 

Once it's nice and clean, she then douses a piece of kitchen roll in Zoflora, folds it up and leaves it at the bottom of her bin before inserting a bin bag. That way you've got something in there to counteract any smells that come from the stuff you put in the bin afterwards.

11. How to remove marks from painted doors

Sophie surprised even the most clued-up cleaners when she revealed she uses fabric conditioner to keep her doors clean. She appeared on This Morning and revealed fabric conditioner mixed with water gets marks off doors without removing the paint. It smells pretty good as well.

12. How to clean rugs

When it comes to cleaning rugs, Sophie turns to fabric conditioner once again - so you could clean your doors and rugs in one day. 

• To clean your rug the Mrs Hinch way, simply mix one capful of fabric conditioner with washing gel. 
• Add warm water to the mix and stir.
• Using a clean cloth, dab it in the mixture before wiping it onto the rug. 
• Let it dry.
• Hoover it afterwards to get up any remaining dirt or dust.

13. Cleaning windows

Using just a simple spray that can be bought from the likes of B&M or The Range called Elbow De-Greaser, Mrs Hinch spritzs it onto window panes, leaving it for a couple of minutes. She then wipes it away with a sponge or cloth, leaving sparkling window panes every time. 

She also recommends making cuts into a scouring sponge to get right into the hard-to-reach places of the window to elevate your clean.

14. Mrs Hinch's top tip on how to clean a washing machine

If you're wondering how to clean a washing machine, Mrs Hinch has a fix for that as well.  While we use it to clean our clothes, we often neglect the machine itself and this can often make you wonder why does my washing machine smell?

Mrs Hinch says that to clean your washing machine you need different products for different parts. However, the cleaning products don't have to be expensive - standard cleaning products such as Flash bathroom cleaner and the Mrs Hinch must-have Zoflora will do.

Here's how to clean a washing machine the Mrs Hinch way:

• Sophie advises putting an old tea towel on the floor by your washing machine for starters with an oven tray to empty the filter. 
• Then take a Minky cloth and wipe down the inside of your washing machine drum.
• For the washing machine drawer, use Flash bathroom spray as it removes any build-up of soap and fabric conditioner. To get into places that are harder to reach, use a Sonic Scrubber instead of wiping with a cloth.
• Once you've have scrubbed those harder-to-reach parts, spritz the washing machine with Flash Bathroom cleaner and run it through a warm wash cycle while it's empty.
• Afterwards, Sophie recommends wiping down the outside of the machine with Zoflora as “it smells so good!”

Mrs Hinch cleaning tips: Shop her cult cleaning products

From her famous Minky cloth to the more inventive products that you might not find on the supermarket shelves; these are the products that cleaning sensation, Mrs Hinch, relies on to keep her home squeaky clean.

Most Mrs Hinch cleaning tips use these cleaning products - which can all be bought online from places like Amazon, or in stores like Wilko, B&M and Poundland.

15. The Minky Cloth

The Minky anti-bacterial cloth that Mrs Hinch raves about comes from Minky Homecare but you can pick them up at various different stores, such as Amazon, Asda and B&M.

The cloth is double sided so it's perfect for battling those tough stains on any surface around the home and Sophie has been known to use it almost exclusively in many of her home-cleaning hack videos, as it's also easy to remove the dirty residue from the cloth and use again soon after.

Other fans of the cloth say they're brilliant for cleaning the bathroom and kitchen sinks, since they're a little less abrasive than the traditional yellow and green scrubbing sponges but still give a really thorough clean.

As one fan writes, "Cleans good, perfect shape, washes well in washing machine. My Minky has had a lot of use and been replaced in 3 months."

16. The Pink Stuff

Another one of Sophie's favourite products, The Pink Stuff, is a budget cleaning paste that Sophie uses for everything from keeping her oven and hobs gleaming to freshening up old silverware.

Since shooting to Instagram fame a couple of years ago, Mrs Hinch has made The Pink Stuff a household name too. It's tough on stains and germs while being easy to use and affordable.

The Pink Stuff comes in a paste, cream or spray making it super versatile. Mrs Hinch uses hers to clean the oven and hob largely, but it also works on getting tough marks off kitchen floors and cleaning old silverware.

Since shooting to Instagram fame a couple of years ago, Mrs Hinch has made The Pink Stuff a household name too. Ideal for cleaning everything from bathroom tiles to old silverware, it's tough on stains and germs while being easy to use and affordable - as it costs just £1 at Wilko.com. It's also available to buy from Sainsbury's and Tesco, along with other DIY stores like Robert Dyas.

The Pink Stuff comes in a paste, cream or spray making it super versatile. Mrs Hinch uses hers to clean the oven and hob largely, but she also revealed that her Dad used the paste to freshen up old silverware that she'd bought from a car boot sale.

Sophie's dad used the paste to scrub off the grime from the silver goblets before getting the cream out to give them a proper polish.

17. The Sonic Scrubber

Some of Mrs Hinch's tools have come and gone as she finds more effective methods to clean her home, but there's one that's been a constant - the sonic scrubber. 

Looking a little like a giant electric toothbrush, the sonic scrubber is a battery-powered cleaning brush with a non-slip handle and a long head so it can reach into all the nooks and crannies you can't quite get to.

Sophie uses it to clean everything from the grout in the kitchen to the ins and outs of her washing machine.

18. Zoflora

Anyone who follows Mrs Hinch's cleaning tips will know she is crazy about Zoflora. The budget disinfectant liquid is Sophie's go-to product when it comes to most household chores.

Mrs Hinch has used Zoflora to clean and refresh her toilet during a bathroom clean as well as on the outside of the washing machine and in the kitchen. It's so multi-use that Sophie considers it an essential on her 'Hinchlists'.

19. Ace for Whites

This high-powered stain removing product is the first thing Mrs Hinch picks up when it comes to getting stains like fake tan out of bedding.

This high-powered stain removing product is the first thing Mrs Hinch picks up when it comes to getting stains out of bedding and clothing.

"This is my go to when it comes to removing fake tan from bedding guys! It's very cheap and works every time," she wrote on Instagram.

What is the best Mrs Hinch cleaning tip?

In 2020, a survey by End of Tenancy Cleaning London discovered the best Mrs Hinch cleaning tip.

Around 1,400 Hinch-lovers voted on their favourite and winner was dusting a mattress with bicarbonate soda to remove stains. The second most popular was soaking a sheet of kitchen towel in Zoflora disinfectant and placing it at the bottom of your bin, to make it smel like you’ve doused your rubbish in perfume.

How much is Mrs Hinch worth?

The Instagram star is rumoured to be worth just under £3million.

Accounts filed to Companies House revealed that at the end of 2021 Mrs Hinch has reserves of £2.9million, while her net worth is  around £3.1million.

The cleanfluencer was paid £1million for her first book Hinch Yourself Happy and as since released three more best-selling books, including her autobiography, This Is Me. She also makes up to 10,000 per sponsored post on Instagram. 

Where does Mrs Hinch live?

The Instagram star moved to her lovely new house in 2022, but where is Mrs Hinch's farm? Her new £1.55m farm is set in the Essex countryside, just minutes down the road from her parents. 

She lives on the farm with her husband, two children, Henry the Cocker Spaniel, chickens and  and a flock of llamas. 

Related features:

• How to clean a microwave
• How to clean a dishwasher
• How to clean white shoes
• How often should you change your sheets
• How to clean with vinegar
• How to clean a washing machine
• How to clean hairbrushes and combs
• How to get foundation out of clothes
• How to use dishwasher tablets to clean ANYTHING

Video of the week:

How many of us can honestly say we clean our hairbrushes on a regular basis? As much as we love our locks and tend to them with professional dye appointments, regular trims and restoring treatments, we tend to overlook the tools that style our hair every day.  

Over time, brushes tend to see a buildup of dead skin, dirt, loose hair and product residue which, when you think about it, is pretty unhygienic if you use these tools regularly. So, if you can’t remember the last time you washed your hairbrushes, it’s time to give them the once over. 

We asked celebrity hairdresser Michael Douglas for his advice on keeping brushes spick and span, and we've also shared some Mrs Hinch cleaning tips for your hairbrushes as well . 

There are a few methods to choose from when cleaning your brushes, pick the right one for you and your brush.

How to clean hairbrushes with the deep clean method

1: Remove excess hair

Firstly, remove all the dead hair that has accumulated on the bristles. You can use a very wide-toothed comb to help you ‘comb through’ the bristles of the brush, loosening the hair for you to pull off. If the built-up hair is too matted for you to get through, use a small pair of scissors to cut through the hair, carefully avoiding the bristles. 

2: Pop in the dishwasher or fill a bowl with warm water

Now you’re ready to clean the brush. If it’s a plastic brush it can go directly into your dishwasher, on the top rack. The heat will kill bacteria and get rid of any residue. The same goes for plastic combs. Non-plastic brushes and combs shouldn’t go in the dishwasher as they’re too delicate. If you’re unsure whether your brush can go in the dishwasher or find it too gross to comprehend, opt for the manual method.

Fill a sink or bowl with hot water and add some shampoo or washing up liquid along with a splash of white vinegar. Leave brushes to soak for an hour, then scrub at the bristles with an old (but clean) toothbrush to get rid of any buildup. Make sure you’re not submerging wooden, cushioned or natural bristle brushes as water will damage them, reducing their lifespan. Instead, try the baking soda method below.

3: Rinse and dry

Rinse off the brush with clean water and leave it to dry overnight, bristle side down so the excess water can drain. 

Mrs Hinch recommends this same method of soaking hairbrushes and combs in warm water, for one hour. She suggests adding one tablespoon of washing up liquid - and also adding one tablespoon of vinegar to kill bacteria and germs.

How to clean hairbrushes with the timesaver method

The simplest way to clean brushes, says Michael Douglas, is to hop in the shower and bring your brush with you. “Take [brushes] into the shower and use the shampoo you usually use on your hair. If the brush has a lot of build-up on it then go for a clarifying shampoo such as OGX pH Balanced Clarify & Shine + Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo, £7.99, Boots.”

After you’ve lathered up the brush, rinse it with clean water, pat it dry with a towel and leave it to dry overnight with the bristles facing down. Your hair will thank you for it the next day.

Hairbrush cleaning hacks

Other hairbrush cleaning methods include using items you’ll find from around the house - vinegar, baking soda, and dryer sheets (yep, you read that correctly!)

Baking soda - one teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in a cup of water is a great alternative to submerging your brushes. Use a toothbrush dipped in the solution and brush the bristles to remove grime. Rinse with some fresh water and leave to dry overnight.

Vinegar - if you've been wondering how to clean with vinegar, combine equal parts vinegar and warm water in a bowl (or the sink) and let brushes soak for 5-10 minutes. Squeeze the bristles between fingers or scrub with a toothbrush and rinse with fresh water. Leave it to dry overnight.

Dryer sheets - an odd but effective way of cleaning brushes. Put two sheets in a bowl of warm water and leave brushes to soak for a few hours. Swish them around in the water to get rid of dirt then rinse with fresh water before leaving to dry.

How often should you clean your hairbrush and when should you replace them?

“If there’s a build-up of product on the brush then it can restrict its effectiveness,” explains Michael. “Give it a wash about every 2 weeks and use a comb or brush to get rid of the dead hair that’s wrapped around it.” You should replace your hairbrush when you start to see significant wear and tear.

“Once the bristles have started to melt and over 50 per cent of them are misshapen” is when you’re due a new rush, according to Michael. Obviously, the length of time this takes depends on the quality of the brush, whether you’re taking care of it and how often you’re using it. Combs generally only need to be replaced when they’re broken to avoid scratching your scalp. 

How to clean hairbrushes to remove white lint

If you’re yet to clean your hairbrush or have left it a very long time between washes, you may notice small white clumps forming on the bristles. So, what the heck are they?

Effectively, these grey clumps are a buildup of dead skin cells, dust, oil and hair product that has clung to your bristles. They’re stubborn to remove and only come off when you thoroughly clean your brush. We suggest using the old toothbrush method alongside washing up liquid to really combat the clumps.

If you experience dandruff too, it’s even more likely your brush will be harbouring these annoying (and frankly disgusting) clumps. So, get scrubbing and use some elbow grease to avoid brushing this gross combination through your hair on a daily basis. 

How to clean hairbrushes after having head lice

Head lice are not a pleasant experience to behold, they can survive for 24 hours off the human head, be lurking in bedsheets, clothing, and hairbrushes making them tricky to get rid of. But, after you’ve achieved a headlice-free scalp the last thing you want to do is brush your hair and reintroduce head lice. 

But don’t despair, there’s a nifty trick to killing lice and their eggs to avoid them returning to you (or your child’s) scalp and spreading them further. Simply put your hairbrushes and combs into a bag then pop in the freezer overnight. The sub-zero temperature will kill off the creatures (and their eggs) so there’s no need to buy new tools. Just ensure that brushes and combs are dry before freezing to avoid unwanted damage from ice forming. 

Cleaning hacks prove useful but did you know dishwasher tablets can be used to clean ANYTHING?

Cleaning hacks are genius when they work and the latest trend that's got everyone hooked is using a dishwasher tablet to clean anything. Yes anything.

How many times have you fully loaded the dishwasher, popped a dishwasher tablet in the compartment, closed the door, and not thought about it again until the machine beeps at the end of the cleaning cycle?

Well, next time you let the machine clean the stubborn greased-up dishes, think about what else you're struggling to clean and pop out another dishwasher tablet. Or you can make your own dishwasher tablets.

But this time, instead of putting the tablet in the machine, run it under the tap and grab a cleaning cloth as the magic formula that makes dishes crystal clean can do the same for just about anything else. In fact, we're surprised it's not on our list of Mrs Hinch cleaning tips for just how fabulous it is at getting things clean and sparkly.

Is your cooker door glass too grimy to see when your dinner is cooked? Or maybe your washing machine drawer is clogged up with limescale.

Don't waste time trying to scrub off the dirt, unless you've got a dishwasher tablet to hand - but you must make sure you're wearing gloves before you start to protect your hands from the chemicals.

Oven trays and racks

Are you too embarrassed about your baked on trays that you're never keen to host a dinner party, or are you forever throwing them out and replacing them with new ones, only to have the same baked-on grime again?

Well, dishwasher tablets can combat grease on oven doors, at the bottom of the cooker, on the racks or trays.

One woman praised the technique on Facebook. She said, 'After years of using strong chemicals and a tonne of elbow grease to clean my oven I am amazed that all it takes is a dishwasher tablet, warm water, and a light scrub.'

She shared a more in-detail guide on how to use them. 'Pot of warm water dipped the dishwasher tablet in and lightly used it to scrub the glass. Back and forth dipping into the water to keep it moist and washing the grime off.'

Meanwhile, other users swear by soaking trays in a sink of water with a dishwasher tablet popped in for extra power, alternatively you can cover with foil and pour hot water over adding a dishwasher tablet on top.

Burnt pan bottoms

Rubbish bin

We've all forgotten about stirring something on the stove only to realise that it's baked on or worse case, burnt, and the cleaning up process can seem impossible when it comes to removing the burnt stains. but one man shared his technique for blitzing the burns.

He advised, 'Half fill a saucepan with water, bring to a boil and then let simmer for 10 minutes. I've done this a couple of times and it has completely cleaned my pans.'

Time to get stocking up on those dishwasher tablets, and create your own tap to clean!

If you're struggling to reach the bottom of your kitchen or wheelie bin, then a dishwasher tablet can help freshen it up without the hassle - providing there are no holes at the bottom of your bin.

Simply fill it with as much boiling water as possible - giving it a ‘bath’ - before dropping a tablet in. Remember to let it soak for around an hour, then pour out the water and rinse.

Toilet stains

If your toilet cleaner is struggling to remove stains around the bowl then you can dissolve a dishwasher tablet by dropping it in the loo. Wait for it to dissolve and then use the soapy water to scrub around the porcelain bowl to remove stubborn stains with ease.

Washing machine clean

If normal washing machine cleaners aren't working to de-clog your drum of the dirt, then try popping a tablet inside when it's empty and run it on a hot cycle. You will be amazed at the amount of dirty water that comes out.

One mum shared her experience on Facebook. she wrote, 'Decided to try use dishwasher tablets to clean my washing machine - I am now mesmerised.'

And they can be dissolved in water too to clean the drawer using a toothbrush dipped in the solution.

Get plastic patio furniture gleaming

All you'll need is a bucket of hot water, a dishwasher tablet dissolved in it and a sponge. Simply wipe down the items using the sponge soaked in the solution.

Find out how to sterilise jars and bottles including our top tips on how to make sure your preserves don’t spoil.

Sterilising jars and bottles are essential when it comes to preserving jam, chutney, or sauces for an extended amount of time. There are a few ways you can sterilise jars; boiling, warming in the oven, washing in the dishwasher, or microwaving.

Every jar or bottle you are using to store food needs to be sterilised, even if it's brand new. Anything that has a tight lid preserves the food inside, protecting it from bacteria outside the jar, but if it has not been properly sterilised, you could be trapping harmful bacteria within.

Not only does sterilising a jar stop the growth of bacteria spoiling your food, but it also extends the food shelf life. In a correctly sterilised jar preserves, jams and sauces should last up to 6 months in a cool, dry place, but do check the individual recipes for accurate shelf life information.

Bacteria will rapidly reduce the shelf life of your food and could be dangerous to those eating it. Therefore it is a very important step that you shouldn't skip - but thankfully it's not that hard at all.

*How to sterilise jars and bottles *How to sterilise jars and bottles in the oven *How to sterilise jars and bottles by boiling *How to sterilise jars and bottles in the dishwasher *How to sterilise jars and bottles in the microwave *How to sterilise jars lids *Top tips for sterilising jars and bottles

How to sterilise jars and bottles

Sterilising just means a really good clean so you need to wash the inside of the jar then steam or heat it to ensure that the jars remain clean while drying. There are a few ways you can do this...

How to sterilise jars and bottles in the oven

Sterilising jars in the oven is the most traditional, efficient way.

1. Wash the jars thoroughly using warm water and washing up liquid and rinse clean. Do not dry with a towel etc.
2. Place a sheet of baking paper on one of the shelves of your oven (not at the bottom of the oven) and place the jars on the shelf - making sure they're not touching each other.
3. Heat your oven to 140°C/210°F/Gas Mark 1 and dry out the jars for around 15-20 mins.

How to sterilise jars and bottles by boiling

You can boil your jars and bottles on the hob or stove but you may need multiple pans to do this especially if you want to sterilise a bulk of jars in one go or opt for the biggest saucepan you’ve got.

1. Wash your jars and the lids with hot soapy water and rinse. Do not dry them but put them to one side.
2. Place into the pan and fill with water just below the rim. Tepid water is best.
3. Bring to the boil and put on the pot lid and boil for at least 10 minutes. The pot will get very hot so you might want to opt to do this at the back of your hob.
4. After 10 minutes turn the heat off and leave the bottles and jars until you’re ready to use them. It best to use them as soon as you can after sterilising.

How to sterilise jars and bottles in the dishwasher

This is a great option if you own a dishwasher but do bear in mind that this will use more water than the other methods so only use this if sterilising jars in bulk.

1. Fill your dishwasher with your clean jars (if using old jars, you will need to rinse them out first.)
2. Set your dishwasher to the highest setting or steam setting if it has one and put them through a cycle.
3. Leave to cool slightly in the dishwasher and remove each one as you need it.

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How to sterilise jars and bottles in the microwave

If you’re short on time you can opt to sterilise your jars or glass bottles in the microwave.

1. Wash the jars in water and leave wet.
2. Place the jars and bottles in the microwave and heat on full power for 60 seconds.

Do not sterilise the jar lids this way. Especially metal lids as metal cannot be heated in the microwave as it will spark and catch alight. Follow the methods below to sterilise your jar and bottle lids separately.

How to sterilise jars lids

It's a good idea to sterilise the jar lids as when packaged to sell this can often be the part of the jar that is exposed and is more likely to collect harmful bacteria.

Lids can be left in boiling hot water to sterilise. This can be done by following the boiling method above on the hob or simple by filling a container with the jar lids with boiled water from the kettle.

If you are using Kilner jars you may want to remove the orange rubber seal and soak that in boiling water too.

Top tips for sterilising jars and bottles

Make sure you check your jars and bottles over thoroughly before sterilising. You want to keep an eye out for cracks, chips, or damages to the lid. If your jar or lid is damaged do not use it.

It's best to sterilise containers around 20 minutes or so before you need them. You’re best to use them immediately after being sterilised and adding your chutney, homemade sauce, or jam into the jar or bottle as quickly as you can to make sure harmful bacteria stays at bay.

Always sterilise more jars or bottles than you think you’ll need. It’s better to have more just in case you’ve got more mixture than intended.

One of the most important things to remember is to make sure the jar or bottle and the food you are putting in it are the same temperatures to avoid any breakages. Hot food in hot jars and cold food in cold jars.

Our easy-to-follow guide for how to make carpet freshener shows you how to make your own, natural carpet deodorizer at home with just three simple ingredients. No toxins, no fuss and - at the end of it - a fresh smelling carpet that feels and looks refreshed and clean.

Every time we come home we bring a little bit of the outside in. While vacuuming gets rid of the dirt on the surface, a deeper clean is required to remove stubborn stains and odours.

However, you don’t need expensive carpet cleaners to freshen up your rugs and carpets. A few cupboard essentials will do the trick for a fraction of the cost.

Sodium bicarbonate, or baking powder as it’s more commonly known, isn’t just for baking cakes - oh no - it’s for cleaning too! A handy cleaning hack, it’s a key part of any eco-friendly cleaning kit, absorbing odours without harming the environment in the process.

Plus, with the help of essential oils, this cleaning paste leaves a lovely smell. We’ve chosen an orange essential oil as citrus-based fragrances give the impression of freshness. You can choose whatever scent you like, something floral like lavender or ultra-fresh like peppermint.

Don’t just try it out on your carpet, this freshener is a fantastic mattress cleaner too - just leave out the water and sprinkle over the top. Vacuum up once it’s done its magic. There’s plenty of forgotten places to clean with this miracle carpet cleaner.

How to make carpet freshener at home

Note: Always do a spot test with any homemade cleaning product before using it for the first time.

To make your own carpet cleaner you will need:

• 50g sodium bicarbonate
• 20ml cool boiled water
• Orange essential oil
• Glass jar
• Small bowl

For supplies, check out Wilko

How to make your own carpet cleaner:

1. In a small bowl, mix the sodium bicarbonate with the cool boiled water.
2. Add 10 drops of orange essential oil, then stir.
3. Store in an air-tight glass jar, ready to scoop onto a cloth or brush and scrub away spots of dirt and grime on your carpet.
4. Once scrubbed, allow the paste to dry. Scrub once more with a dry brush and then use a vacuum cleaner to remove any dried residue that remains on the carpet fibres.
5. Alternatively, omit the water completely. Sprinkle the essential oil and sodium bicarbonate mixture onto the carpet and let sit for about 30 minutes. Vacuum up the powder to leave behind a fresh smelling rug or carpet. This is a much quicker method for cleaning larger surfaces rather than spot cleaning.

For bigger clean-ups on all sorts of surfaces, try our homemade multi-purpose spray to add to your eco cleaning kit.

For those who don’t want to make their own and just want the best products for the job, our list of Mrs Hinch’s favourite cleaners is sure to have a suitable alternative.

A hack to help you clean dust from between your radiators has been shared by a mum who modified her vacuum cleaner in an impressive yet simple way.

Katie Caswell stumbled across a problem while cleaning her home, like many others she struggled to clean up the dust from between her radiator.

But then she devised an easy but effective way to modify her vacuum cleaner so that the adaptor could easily fit between the metal radiator grill slots.

In sharing her genius tip to Hinch Army cleaning Tips Facebook group, Katie uploaded a picture of her funny-looking modification and captioned it, 'Here is the new radiator cleaner 3000 all you need is 4 straws and a bit of tape! You will never have a problem getting that dust out now.'

Move over Mrs Hinch, as Katie has been inundated with comments from people eager to try it out themselves.

One user wrote, 'Life changer!!!! Doing this tomorrow!!' a second put, 'Now I need to buy some straws!' and a third added, 'I do this in my car to get down the sides of seats.'

Meanwhile, some clean conscious people shared their epic cleaning attempts at trying to get hold of the dust. One wrote, 'Might be better than me sticking the hairdryer over the top and seeing all the dust fly out the bottom and all over the place.'

And another wrote, 'I have a radiator duster from Lakeland and just bought the shark car detailer from Amazon so use that... What you buy on furlough.'

A clever mum has shared a genius trick for de-icing a frosty car, using a cheap cleaning product you might already have in the cupboard.

Angela Hickling took to social media to share the life changing hack, sharing a video of her removing frost from her windshield in seconds using nothing but an empty stain remover bottle and some warm water.

Both the Dr Beckmann Carpet Stain Remover and the Pet Stain and Odour Remover bottles come with a built in brush, allowing you to gently scrape the ice away from your car using the power of the gentle bristles combined with the warm water.

No more freezing cold fingers from scraping the ice off by hand or splashing yourself with moisture from throwing cup after cup of water over the car.

'I'm a genius, get ya self one of these bottles, fill it with warm water and ya sorted, no cold hands scraping anymore and it cleans ya window screen to, the brush bit is ideal,' Angela wrote alongside the ingenious upload.

https://www.facebook.com/angela.hickling.967/videos/pcb.1207603269430012/1207602932763379/?type=3&theater&ifg=1

You can pick up a Dr Beckmann bottle for just £3 on Amazon now and Prime customers will receive it the next day.

Simply pour the product into a separate bottle and you can use the brush for defrosting your car straight away - or have a rummage in the cleaning cupboard to see if you already have one to hand!

Make sure you don't put scorching water on your chilly windshield though as this could cause a crack.

Another super smart way of banishing pesky ice from the car is to simply fill a sandwich bag with warm water and glide it over the ice, melting it away in moments.

'Hot water in a food bag and bam you’ve got a de ice and a hand warmer. Works a treat, and it’s fast,' Facebook user Daniel Harris posted on the platform.

'I used warm tap water so I could safely hold it and lower the risk of cracking my screen. The de-icer cans are so cold in the morning and this way keeps u nice and toasty.'

Dishwashers may save us a lot of time and energy when it comes to cleaning piles of dishes, but they aren’t the cheapest appliance to run.

Not only do they use a surprising amount of water, but dishwater tablets are often priced higher than you’d expect. 

Now one cleaning expert has come up with the perfect solution to keep your dishwasher running smoothly, for a fraction of the cost. Posting on social media as @mrs.ds.cleaning.reviews, she has posted how you can use a simple ice cube tray to create tablets that work out at just 1p each.

Many of us might have already looked into how to make our own cleaning sprays, bathroom cleaners and fabric softeners, so it seems only natural that there would be a way to make your own dishwater tablets. 

But how do you go about making your own dishwater tablets at home?

How do you make dishwater tablets at home?

The Instagram poster revealed that she uses just three simple ingredients to make her homemade dishwasher tablets. They’re all easy to find in supermarkets up and down the country. All you need then is a silicone ice cube mould and you’re ready to start. 

You will need:

• Baking soda
• Citric acid
• Washing up liquid 
• Silicone ice cube mould

Method:

• Mrs D started by putting one cup of bicarbonate of soda and a quarter cup of citric acid (available in cleaning aisles) in a bowl and mixing it
• She added one tablespoon of washing up liquid to the mix and stirred it in
• Once it was well combined, she pressed the mixture into the silicone ice cube moulds
• She then advises to leave the tablets to set for at least four hours, but overnight if possible 
• Once set, she simply popped them out of the mould and stored them in an airtight jar 

In her Instagram caption alongside the recipe post, Mrs D reveals just how much money this could save you.

According to her, one of these homemade dishwasher tablets will only cost you 1p. This is compared to around 17p per tablet for branded tablets, Mrs D claims. She suggests that over time, this saving could begin to add up considerably. 

What do the experts think of making dishwasher tablets at home?

Mrs D has recommended this recipe to her 62,000 followers and it seems to work for her. However one cleaning manufacturer has supposedly said it wouldn’t recommend the method.

Metro reports that Dri-Pak, who produce household cleaning and laundry products have said: “The issues with these home made recipes may not be apparent immediately and they may indeed appear to do the job at first, but the chances are that you’re storing up problems further down the line.’ 

The company supposedly added that washing up liquid isn’t intended for dishwasher use and could end up with suds over the floor.

So it seems the cleaning community may be divided when it comes to this particular homemade method.

Many of Mrs D’s followers have already commented their excitement at the method for making dishwasher tablets at home.

One wrote: ‘Wow love this!’ and another: ‘such a fab tip’. 

More and more of us have been inspired to spruce up our cleaning routine after the rise of cleaning expert Mrs Hinch with her handy cleaning tips and recommendations for favourite cleaning products.

With the profile of online cleaning experts never higher, we’re sure that this won’t be the last homemade cleaning hack we hear about.

Take advantage of these Prime Day discounts to stock up your cleaning cupboard – there are bargains galore to be had on cleaning gear.

• Don’t forget, that in order to take part, you’ll need to already have a Prime Membership.
• See more great Amazon Prime Day deals
• Get huge savings on toys and games, as well as baby products

Who doesn't love a bargain on cleaning products? You don't have to be a Mrs Hinch fan to appreciate the absolute joy of a well-stocked cleaning cupboard.

True, stocking up on dishwasher tablets and cleaning products isn't the most exciting shopping spree we can think of, but savvy shoppers know that bulk-buying household cleaning products makes sense. Why spend more on such things when you can save some cash to put towards more exciting purchases? Happily, Amazon has slashed the price on a range of household cleaning products, so we're filling our trolley with all the antibacterial surface wipes and dishwasher tablets we can fit under the sink.

Amazon Prime Day cleaning products at a glance:

• Dettol Cleansing Surface Wipes Multipack – £14,99 (SAVE £20.01)
• Calgon 3-in-1 Washing Machine Cleaner and Water Softener Tablets Multipack – £10.99 (SAVE £9.00)
• Finish All-in-One Max Dishwasher Tablets Multipack – £14.99 (SAVE £15.01)

You can't really have too many packets of these antibacterial surface cleaning wipes in the house. Dettol say they kill 99.9% of bacteria, and they're safe to use to clean everything from baby equipment to food preparation areas. They're thick and moisture-rich, unlike some wipes, and they come in a resealable airtight pack that stops them from drying out.

Sign up to a free, 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, which you can cancel before the 30 days is over if you change your mind.

Amazon is making it even easier to save money on household cleaning products, offering discounts on a selection of cleaning products from many well-known brands. These multipacks of cleaning products are only at this price for Prime Day – so don't hang around if you want to snap them up and save some cash for more frivolous purchases.

With students across the country going back to school in September, everyone is taking extra measures to protect themselves. And a laundry expert has offered some advice on how to keep school uniforms as clean as possible.

Deyan Dimitrov, CEO of Laundryheap has listed some key tips to help keep uniforms as clean as possible.

COVID-19 can linger on fabrics for up to three days, so he has stressed that establishing a safe washing routine is essential.

First off, he has advised people to learn the difference between cleaning and disinfecting clothing.

Deyan reveals, "Cleaning involves the removal of dirt and germs from the surface of clothing. In some cases, this simply moves germs from one surface to another.

"Disinfecting, on the other hand, involves the use of chemicals to avert the spread of viruses or bacteria: by killing a high percentage of the germs or by preventing their reproduction. To be as safe as possible, you should ensure that you are disinfecting your clothes."

You should also wash laundry at a high temperature with a bleach product to really tackle germs.

Deyan recommends washing at 60 degrees Celsius for maximum results.

He adds, "Wear gloves to carry your washing and use any bleach-based detergent: powder, liquid or tablet. The heat of the water will work to deactivate bacteria and improve the effectiveness of the detergent. However, take note of fabric-care instructions, as delicate items may be damaged."

Where possible, it's recommended that you don't shake your laundry as it can spread particles.

Read more: Back to school: What safety measures are in place and how can children protect themselves?

Deyan also offered some specific advice when it came to PE Kits and school bags, as they can often get dirty after a long day at school!

Deyan said,  "Sportswear is more exposed to germs than the regular school uniform and so students should avoid wearing their PE kits more than once between washes."

As for bags, it all comes down to the material, as they need to be washed differently.

"Fabric bags can be placed inside the washing machine alongside the rest of your laundry and disinfected in the same way."

"Bags made from leather, or other delicate materials, can be washed using disinfectant spray or wipes."

Online cleaning influencer Mrs Hinch has taken social media by storm over the past year.

The housework pro has amassed over three million followers with her innovative tips and tricks on keeping the home sparkling and squeaky clean.

And with the nation in lockdown, we have more time than ever to pull on our rubber gloves and do a thorough spring clean.

In fact, a recent poll by YouGov found that 49% more of us are cleaning and tidying our way through the pandemic.

So it’s also no surprise that Google searches for Mrs Hinch’s favourite cleaning accessory, the Minky cloth, have soared by 160% in the past seven days.

Now loyal fans of the Instagram star, whose real name Sophie Hinchliffe, have voted on what they reckon her most ingenious cleaning hack is.

READ MORE:Mrs Hinch cleaning tips you’ll definitely want to copy at home

End of Tenancy Cleaning London put together a list of ten of the best Mrs Hinch-approved products and hacks and asked 1,473 Hinch-lovers to vote on their favourites.

When it comes to Mrs Hinch's clever cleaning methods, the clear winner is dusting your mattress with bicarbonate soda to leave you with a clean and fresh place to sleep, with 26.32% of the vote.

Meanwhile the second most popular is soaking a sheet of kitchen towel in Mrs Hinch’s beloved Zoflora disinfectant, to keep it smelling like you’ve doused your rubbish in perfume.

The third is cleaning your hobs with tough-on-grime paste The Pink Stuff and using mayonnaise to polish stubborn stains came in at fourth place.

The hack with the least votes is cleaning your toothbrush pot with bicarbonate soda and mouthwash, with just 2.63% of the vote.

As for the must-have Mrs Hinch cleaning products, Zoflora is by far the best according to those surveyed, with a third voting it the winner.

Of course, The Pink Stuff, Ace for Whites, Bicarbonate of Sofa and Minky Cloths made it into the top five too!

While many of us are taking to Netflix and reading our way through lots of books, this extra time is a great chance to give the forgotten areas of your home a little spring clean. But where should you start?

There are lots of areas of your home you may have overlooked during your weekly clean. To make sure you've got it covered, avoid heading straight towards the larger areas of your home, like the kitchen and bathroom straight away.

As leading therapist Sally Baker says, "Don’t set yourself a job of cleaning the whole kitchen as that can easily trigger you to feel overwhelmed. Ideally break domestic tasks down into incremental, manageable steps."

Instead, start with the areas of your home that you don’t normally clean. Sally advises, "As you clean each part acknowledge the difference you have made and how much you have achieved."

So, where should you start with your spring cleaning?

Cleaning houseplants

If your houseplants have managed to stay alive throughout the winter, then you probably know what great benefits they give both you and your living space. Not only do they improve the air quality in your home but have been proven to uplift your mood with their forest colours and vibrant flowers.

However, houseplants also harbour a whole lot of dust. So give them a 30 second low power shower or gently give them a once-over with your hairdryer on a low heat to get ride of unwanted dust.

Cleaning throw pillows

Often forgotten about because we don’t sleep on them, throw pillows have the potential to collect food, pet and cosmetic stains, as well as dust and dirt.

Luckily, most throw pillow covers are removable. Put them in the washing machine (checking the label for the temperature), or vaccum any dust from them and sponge clean with an upholstery cleaner.

Pillows can be cleaned, and then reshaped after washing by fluffing them in a dryer with no heat, using a couple of dryer balls.

Cleaning skirting boards

They’re around by our feet, so skirting boards are sure to gather lots of dirt and grime. Especially as, when you’re cleaning shelves or something at a higher level, dust also falls onto your skirting boards.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, before hovering, wipe a dust cloth over your skirting boards and finish with a quick polish to keep them looking fresh.

Cleaning your mattress

You might have a protective bed sheet that gets washed regularly, but sweat and other nasties like dead-skin, dust mites and stains can still make their way through to your mattress, resulting in poor hygiene and air-quality in your sleeping space.

So according to the experts, you should clean your mattress at least twice a year by removing all your bed linen, hoovering the surface of the mattress and then treating any stains or discolorations with an upholstery cleaner.

READ MORE: How often should you be washing your bedding?

Cleaning blinds

Spring is almost in full bloom and one of the most annoying things about blinds is how much dust you can see on them as the sun shines.

Some types of blinds are easier to clean than others, but you should clean your blinds once a month ideally to get rid of any dust or germs that lingering on them. For venetian blinds and plantation shutters, wipe down each slat with a damp cloth and some washing up liquid.

Cleaning underneath furniture and appliances

We often think that if we can’t see dust and dirt, then it’s not there. But it’s very much still lurking under all the areas we've forgotten to clean like fittings in your home. If left for ages, the dust underneath can start to cause health problems.

Underneath armchairs, beds, sofas and appliances like microwaves are a good place to start.

Cleaning bed headboards

Every night your headboard comes into contact with your skin and hair, meaning that oils, sweat and make-up will transfer easily onto it.

Different fabrics need to be cleaned differently, to make sure they retain their texture and colour. However a simple fabric-safe detergent and vacuum should do the trick with most fabric headboards.

For a full guide doing a spring clean one of the most forgotten areas of your home, read Time4Sleep’s handy guide.

Remote controls, door handles and light switches

With the recent epidemic, it makes sense to be cautious when cleaning objects that people handle a lot around the house - like door knobs and light switches.

Clean with your standard disinfectant, using Q-tips to get in and around the buttons on your remote control.

Cleaning your washing machine and dishwasher

Mould and grime can easily build up in the moist environment of your dishwasher, so a little spring clean is good to do every few months.

To clean out your washing machine, run it through an empty cycle at the hottest temperature with two cups of white cleaning vinegar added to your usual detergent. After that, run a separate cycle at the hottest temperature, adding half a cup of baking soda to the rum.

For your dishwasher, run a cup of white vinegar through the machine on a standard cycle every couple of months.

READ MORE: How often you should be cleaning households appliances

Cleaning brooms and mops

Finally, the objects you use to clean often need some spring cleaning too! We don’t keep sponges and clothes for years like we often do with these objects.

Soak brooms and mops in a water and soap mix, with bleach to keep them sparkling and hygienic.

Coronavirus has got the whole world in a panic at the moment, especially after it was declared an official pandemic.

And the outbreak has got people the world over brushing up on their hygiene habits to ensure that they’re doing everything they can do to stay clean, stay healthy and avoid the virus.

But while we may all be humming alone to Happy Birthday while we’re washing our hands and keeping a bottle of antibacterial hand gel glued to our sides all day long, there may be more that you could be doing to keep the virus out of your and your family’s environment, especially when it comes to your home.

MORE: What is herd immunity - and can it stop the coronavirus?

And now an expert has revealed what we should all be doing to keep our homes as safe as possible from the outbreak.

While it is impossible to guarantee that we can avoid the virus altogether, resident cleaning expert on ITV talk show This Morning Alice Beer has spoken out about how we can try our best to protect our homes from the outbreak.

How to protect your home from coronavirus

Isolate outdoor clothing

“What I do the minute I get home, is take off my coat and hang it up, get rid of my phone. And put them to one side,” explained Alice, adding that everything that anyone could have sneezed, coughed, breathed over or touched goes by the doorway.

“My shoes, my handbag that all stay there,” she added. “Preferably by the back door, so we can keep the house clean”.

Wash your hands first

Alice went on to reveal that after removing all of her outerwear, the first thing she does is wash her hands.

She also added that she turns of the tap with a piece of kitchen roll to avoid touching the same surface that her dirty hands did with her now clean hands.

Keep your phone clean

After washing her hands, Alice then wipes down her phone.

“Phones are filthy,” she said. “But Apple has now said that it’s ok to clean your phone with alcohol wipes.

“So, you can use your screen cleaner, your glasses cleaner, your universal wipes on your phone.”

Keep your house clean

While coronavirus “isn’t waiting for you at home,” it can potentially be brought in, explains Alice.

She advises taking extra care when cleaning your household surfaces amid the outbreak.

“There are two ways of getting rid of the virus on any surface,” Alice explained. “You’re either washing it off, that means using any soap, liquid soap to loosen the microbes from the surface and then rinse it, rinse it”.

‘The other thing you can do is kill it off,” she added. “There are two things that kill the virus. One is alcohol. The second is bleach”.

“Bleach will kill it,” she explained. “There are many surfaces around your home that you can wipe down with bleach”.

Make sure to always exercise caution whenever using bleach and follow instructions when it comes to diluting.

For further information on the outbreak, visit NHS website at nhs.uk and follow their guidelines.

While many of us have been washing clothing at a cooler temperature due to its environmental benefits, it’s not enough to kill all germs.

According to Laundryheap CEO Deyan Dimitrov, the higher the temperature the better if you want to banish germs. He told The Sun, “Our core body temperature runs at an average of 37C, and provides the ideal conditions for bacteria and viruses to thrive. This means if you’re looking to fight off the dreaded coronavirus, the much revered 30C wash might not always pack the punch needed.”

Deyan added that most viruses won’t survive in temperatures over 60C.

He noted that a high setting would be good for items that are “particularly germ ridden and washed less often, like tea towels, bedding, bath towels, gloves, scarves, and children’s clothing."

However, if you are concerned about your environmental impact there are steps you can take to banish germs. Deyan said, “Extreme heat and freezing temperatures can stop bacteria from multiplying, so if you’re doing laundry, take the extra steps and throw your washed items into the tumble drier for 20 minutes for some added heat and germ killing action.”

Doing ironing can also help, as irons can reach temperatures over 100C. As Deyan notes, “not much can survive that”.

In addition to this, you should disinfect properly if someone in your house has been sick. He said, “Handle all bedding and clothing with rubber gloves and wash straight away - never leave to sit in a hamper. Wash with a laundry-safe disinfectant at the highest setting available, or according to the instruction label."

Whenever our clothes are dirty, the first thing we do is put them in the washing machine without giving it a second thought.

But there’s one item you should never put in a washing machine, according to experts.

Dry cleaning company Jeeves of Belgravia, people should never wash their shoes in the washing machine as it can cause some serious damage.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Operations Director Will Lankston revealed that washing machines can damage the glue in trainers making them more likely to fall apart.

He said, “We would strongly advise against putting shoes in a washing machine.”

Will added, “And we definitely wouldn't recommend putting them anywhere near a tumble dryer, as the heat can warp the shoes and damage the glue that holds them together.

"Tumble dryers can often shrink shoes depending on the fabric that is used."

READ MORE: How often you should be cleaning and ditching your everyday items – REVEALED!

Whilst it’s a lot more effort, experts claim we should be washing our shoes by hand instead as it's much gentler.

If you need advice on how to clean a certain pair of shoes, Will added, “We would definitely recommend taking shoes to a reputable dry cleaners who can advise on how to correctly clean them.”

According to popular trainer brand Nike, there’s a simple way to hand wash your trainers without exposing them to any potential damage.

They recommend using a dry brush or old toothbrush to remove dirt from the outsole, midsole and uppers.

Then, make a mild cleaning solution with warm water and a small amount of laundry detergent.

Once you’ve given them a thorough wash, they should be left to dry at room temperature and definitely not in a tumble dryer.

Nike added, ‘We don’t recommend putting your shoes in a washing machine or dryer or using harsh cleaning products (like bleach).

'And for best results, clean your sneakers as soon as they get dirty. Then lace up and get back out there.’

Do you wash your shoes in the washing machine? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook!

Swedish death cleaning - it might sound terrifying, but it's actually an interesting new decluttering trend that's taken over the world of cleaning and organisation.

In the beginning of 2019, we had Marie Kondo, whose KonMari method asked us to think about which possessions 'spark joy', in order to declutter our homes.

But Swedish death cleaning is a slightly more radical - but arguably, simpler - approach. But don't worry, it doesn't have anything to do with actually cleaning dead people.

What is Swedish death cleaning?

The concept was first introduced by a writer called Margareta Magnusson, in the book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter - and so far, it's found celebrity fans in the likes of Nigella Lawson.

Put simply, it's a way of getting rid of your belongings and thereby organising your living space, before you die. Stay with us...

Margareta began writing about the concept following the deaths of her mother and father. She explained how traumatic and upsetting it was to go through all of their possessions after they had passed away, and as a result, decided to come up with an idea that would save others from the pain. Enter: Swedish death cleaning.

MORE: Why this household chore could be harming your health

The idea is that people - typically in their older age - clear out and get rid of some of their possessions, in order to make sure friends and family aren't left to deal with a deluge of 'stuff' after their passing. In her own words, the author said, "Don't collect things that you don't want - someone has to take care of it one day."

But death cleaning - or döstädning, as is the Swedish term - isn't just for people who may be nearing the end of their lives. She states in her book that it's a valuable concept for anyone, of any age, looking to clear out their clutter.

Despite its origins in upsetting truths, Margareta emphasises that death cleaning is not meant to be sad, although she accepts that it is hard. Really, she says, it is a way of considering not only how you feel about your things, but also how your family and friends will feel about them. After all, you can't take any of it with you when you go...

How do I Swedish death clean my home?

In the book, Margareta explains that death cleaning is not meant to be a quick decluttering fix for a messy home - instead, it is something that might take weeks, months, or even years. It's also meant to create lasting change in your home, and how you consume 'stuff'. But it always has the end goal of curating your possessions in a way that makes them easy for your loved ones to sort through.

There are a few main pillars of Swedish death cleaning.

Firstly, the author suggests working from the top down - begin in the loft (if you have one), then the house, and then the basement (again, if you have one).

Try and get rid of 'embarrassing' things you wouldn't want family to see

Whilst sorting, Margareta advises getting rid of 'embarrassing' things that you may not want your family and friends to see in the future - or that they may not want to see! Think personal love letters, private *ahem* bedroom items, or even just old diaries. Just imagine whether you'd want your kids, or siblings to see them, and bin accordingly...

Involve friends and family in your death cleaning

Another key element of the process is getting your loved ones involved, too. With any other method of decluttering, we usually consider it a solo process - one where only we can make the decisions about what we do and don't want to keep. But when it comes to death cleaning, our family's opinions are just as important. Margareta says, "To know something will be well used and have a new home is a joy." During this time, you can ask the people closest to you whether they'd actually like to keep a jacket you love, or a photo album you put together - or whether they'd prefer not to deal with your old CD collection.

MORE: What to do with old bras - don't bin them, donate them!

Similarly, it can be an invaluable time to share what you'd like done with your possessions after your shuffle off this mortal coil. For example, you may want all your clothes donated to charity shops, or old books given to libraries that need them. In the book, Margareta shared that her own mother had attached notes to many of her items, sharing instructions on what should happen to them after her death.

Doing this is also a nice way to share memories with your family or friends that you might not otherwise think to tell them about.

Declutter your sentimental items last

For Margareta, it's essential to do personal items last. As anyone who has decluttered before will know, attempting to sort through things to which we have an emotional attachment can be the hardest of all. So keep these back until the end and bear in mind how your loved ones might react to them - they may serve as touching momentos when you're gone.

Another pillar of death cleaning, Margareta shared, is reserving a 'throw away' box just for you. Whether you're young or old, keeping a box of belongings that mean a lot to you, but may not resonate so much with your family is a big aspect of Swedish death cleaning. By writing 'throw away' on the box, you're giving your loved ones permission to bin all the contents of the box after your death, if they wish to - again, making the process that little bit less taxing on them.

Of course, it's clear now that Swedish death cleaning is not actually about cleaning - but in fact, it's a great opportunity to do that too! With you newly decluttered home, it could be a good time to do a deep clean too, if you're able to.

Most importantly, remember that it doesn't need to be morbid

Margareta explained, "Of course, acknowledging your own mortality can be uncomfortable, but when you think about it, the considerate thing to do would be to take care of your belongings ahead of time."

Many of us may never have stopped to think about where our belongings will end up when we die, but considering how they may be dealt with is a way of making life much easier for your loved ones.

It might be helpful to also consider the benefits to your life too, rather than the positives after you're gone. "It's a permanent state of living your life in such an organised way that things constantly run smoothly", Margareta said. When you begin to consider the entire life-span of your possessions, it helps to consider how worthwhile buying and buying and buying things, and adding to your clutter, really is.

After all, as Margareta says, “A loved one wishes to inherit nice things from you. Not all things from you.”

We like to think we keep our homes pretty clean (no easy feat when you have kids, pets and a partner running around), but here's how often you actually need to clean your everyday items...

While we feel like we're in a never ending stream of washing, scientists are now saying this probably isn't enough to combat the amount of bacteria around our homes. Thanks to a recent study looking into just how filthy everyday objects can be, we were left feeling extremely grubby and wondered... is there such a thing as being TOO clean?

You've probably wondered how often should you change your sheets, how often should you clean you phone (which we touch up to 150 times a day!), your bras, jeans, tea towels, pjs and now even our mattresses. These are just some of the items that are, according to a microbiologist and other experts, teeming with bacteria and germs. So, how often should we be cleaning - or ditching - these everyday items?

How often should you clean your everyday items?

1. Hand towels

Swap: Every two uses Quite the same way it works with bathroom towels, whenever we pat our freshly washed hands dry, we're just slathering a lot of harmful bacteria onto them all over again.

Quite often, we're not washing our hands properly, so whatever is left on them gets transferred onto hand towels, which then make a perfect breeding ground for bacteria to thrive - thanks to its moistness and texture. It's a nasty cycle, so swap out your hand towel every two days to put an end to it!

2. Bathroom towels

Clean: Every three or four uses

Despite only being used against your already clean body, towels need to be washed much more regularly than you may think.

Cleaning expert, Ralitsa Prodavova, has told  the Metro they really need to wash towels after three to four uses. "Every time you use your towel to scrub your body, dead skin cells cling to the material and linger there. If you get a musty smell when you bring the towel up to your nose, that's bacteria growing on the towel itself."

The expert continued as to why getting into a ritual of regularly washing towels is so important. "Because towels are often damp and warm, they're the perfect breeding ground for bugs and germs. It's why you should keep on top of the cleaning schedule."

Failing to wash your towels regularly enough could also cause skin irritation and breakouts.

Candice Brown, specialist skin aesthetician spoke of this risk to Metro, adding, "It's long been thought that drying your face with a dirty towel can lead to acne outbreaks, in the same way that not changing your pillow case regularly can have the same effect. When you dry your face, you leave tiny amounts of oil, dirt and make-up deritus on it."

She continued:, "The towel becomes laced with bacteria. And then, later that day, you smear it all back on your face the next time you dry it, transferring Bactria to your pores encouraging pimples and causing irritation."

So even if it means investing in an extra towel or two to swap over when you run your other ones through the wash, it's well worth it to make sure they stay nice and clean. Also make sure to wash at a high temperature to kill bacteria!

3. Tea towels

Clean: Every day We all know our tea towels aren't squeaky clean after cooking, but a new study has found that they could actually cause food poisoning!

Researchers from the University of Mauritius looked at 100 towels that were used repeatedly for a month. Tea towels that were used for multiple jobs were more likely to have bacteria such as E.coli on them.

In fact, 49 per cent of the towels had bacterial growth and 36.7 per cent grew coliform bacteria, a group that includes E.coli.

The majority of E.coli bacteria are harmless but some variants can cause serious food poisoning. Tea towels from meat-eating households had significantly higher cases of Coliform bacteria and staphylococcus being found.

Dr Susheela Biranjia-Hurdoyal, lead author of the study, warns, "Humid towels and multipurpose usage of kitchen towels should be discouraged. Bigger families with children and elderly members should be especially vigilant to hygiene in the kitchen."

You should aim to replace your tea towels every single day, or every time you cook. It could be a good idea to switch to using kitchen roll to dry your hands or clean up spills to minimise your risk of contamination. Food for thought indeed...

4. Cuddly toys

Clean: Once a week

Soft toys can act as a breeding ground for all sorts of bugs and bacteria. Although it might be tricky to prise the toy out of your child's hands, if they take it everywhere they go it's important to clean it once a week. Lots of soft toys can be put in the washing machine but check the label. If the toy is too fragile pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours, ideally overnight, to kill off any dust mites and bed bugs.

5. Kitchen sponge

Clean: Every day and replace once a week You might have thought your kitchen sponge can't be that dirty if it's used to clean all your pots and pans. However, after touching all those dirty kitchen counter-tops, crockery and chopping boards, as well as being left in dirty warm water, kitchen sponges can actually get pretty filthy. In fact, the very thing you use to wash up with is one of the dirtiest thing in your home!

According to Good Housekeeping expert Caroline Bloor, any cloths and sponges used to clean up in the kitchen should be thrown away and replaced every week. Not only that, they need a thorough clean rinse every day.

Most of us are probably guilty of letting our sponges live in the sink a little bit too long, but according to a study, sponges can contain up to 10 million bacteria per square inch. Just to put that in some context, that's actually dirtier than your toilet...

Researchers also found that cleaning your sponge in ineffective is getting rid of bacteria, so the best way to make sure you're not inviting unwanted diseases like food poisoning and cholera into your kitchen is to really replace your sponges once a week.

6. Underwear

We've all got a favourite pair that we become attached to, but how often should we really be replacing our pants? According to lingerie expert Maria Ryan, General Manager at DORINA UK, it's more often than most of us probably do...

Speaking to OK! Online, Maria said, "Women who wear more synthetic underwear (such as polyester, satin and lace), should change their pants every three to four months. They're not as breathable as other materials such as cotton and silk."

If you do stick to cotton underwear, she still recommends that you refresh your collection every six months, adding, "In general, every woman should consider replacing their underwear whenever they do a seasonal wardrobe make over, so around every six months."

7. Fabric lunch boxes

Clean: After every use 

A study has found that 73% of fabric lunchboxes contain harmful bacteria such as mould and enterococci. The research by e-cloth showed that lunchboxes are simply being brushed out for crumbs and excess food but not properly cleaned, which can lead to bacteria breeding that could cause itchy eyes, coughs, asthma or food poisoning.

When cleaning your little one's pack up, ensure you wash your own hands first and then give the box a good wipe down with white wine vinegar to disinfect it. You can even sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda and then leave it overnight to remove any odours.

8. Re-usable shopping bags

Clean: Every few uses

Tote bags and canvas bags used for groceries rarely see the inside of the washing machine, unless they've got horrible spills on them. However, Science Is Us reports that 99% of shopping bags contain coliform, or faecal matter, and E.coli.

Considering the fact that we put raw fruit and veg in them, and also meat and fish, having all of that bacteria swishing around in there is pretty unsettling. So, next time you've got a load of laundry, toss your canvas bag in there!

9. Tupperware

Ditch: Every three months

We use them everyday for packed lunches and dinner leftovers, but these plastic containers aren't meant to be with us all year round.

Apparently, Tupperware boxes harbour a lot of chemicals such as BPA, BPS and phthalates, according to Hassle.com. Luckily, they're not too pricey to replace!

10. Emery boards

Ditch: Every three uses Wooden or paper nail files are almost impossible to clean, and are meant to be thrown away frequently. Dr Andrew Wright told the Daily Mail that if an unclean board is used on a split or lifted nail, then an infection could occur. You should also avoid sharing them, as infections can spread between people.

So, chuck your file out every three uses, or buy a glass nail file as it's not porous and can be washed easily using very hot water.

11. Dish cloths

Ditch: Every week Yes, not even your dish cloth, which gets routinely covered in antibacterial spray, is safe.

When you drop your cloth by the sink after every use, it gives bacteria the chance to breed very quickly. A study revealed that 89% of dishcloths contain E.coli, which can sometimes be deadly to small children and elderly people.

12. Hair straighteners

Ditch: Every four years Maybe this will make you think twice before investing in some pricey tongs! GHD education manager Robert Kovacs told Mamamia that old straighteners can do even more damage to your hair.

"The condition of your hair may be affected. It can cause dry and split ends, and lack of shine," he said. "Like all electrical tools, how long they last depends on how often you use them but we would suggest no longer than four years."

13. Chopping board

Ditch: Every 12 months They're used so frequently for so many different types of food, including raw meat and fish, but hands up if you replace your chopping boards every year?! Us neither...

Apparently, wooden boards are the worst culprits for harbouring bacteria - studies have shown that they can host 200% more faecal bacteria than a toilet seat.

So, replace your boards once a year, especially if they've got food stains, deep crevices or cracks, which are lovely little hiding spots for nasty germs.

14. Wooden spoons

Ditch: Every five years Wood isn't the best material for keeping bacteria at bay, it seems! As it's more porous than metal or plastic, there are more nooks and crannies for germs to get in, multiply and hide from frequent washing.

Like wooden boards, wooden spoons carry an E.coli risk - and need to be replaced immediately if they become cracked. Also, if any part of them turns dark or softer, it could mean that the wood is rotting. Gross!

15. Razors

Ditch: Every five to seven uses Dermatologist Whitney Bowe told Refinery29 that as soon as a razor's been used a few times, it's already been exposed to bacteria - especially if you keep it in the shower!

According to Whitney, "leaving it in the wet, dewy shower will cause the blade to rust much faster, and will also leave it open to being exposed to bacteria much more. Any tugging or nicking of the skin should tell you it's time to toss it."

That means that those nasty little red bumps are a sign that your razor could be covered in bacteria. Why? Whenever you shave, you're making tiny cuts in your skin, which any bacteria lingering on your razor can enter and infect.

Of course, if your razor is rusty or just isn't doing its job, it's long overdue a toss in the bin! You can extend the life of your blade by rinsing it properly after every use, and storing it somewhere dry like your bathroom cupboard or a windowsill.

16. Slippers

Clean: As often as possible and replace every six months After a long day at work, there's no better feeling than taking off your shoes and relaxing in a comfy pair of slippers. But have you ever thought about how long your favourite pair of slippers have been lying around the house?

According to a guide by Brightside, warm slippers are the perfect place to spread a nasty fungal infection. To avoid damaging your feet, those old slippers should be thrown away every six months... which we think is the perfect excuse to buy a comfy new pair!

We're also all a bit guilty of forgetting to throw our slippers in the washing machine every now and again. But make sure you wash your slippers properly and as often as possible to help reduce the chance of an infection.

17. Office mug

Clean: Every day When you're busy at work, washing your mug is probably the last thing on your mind. And let's face it, we're all a bit guilty of leaving our dirty mugs a little bit too long or just giving it a quick rinse before refilling it for the fifth time.

But not washing your mugs regularly can have seriously negative effects for your health. According to Charles Gerba, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, around 90% of office mugs contain dangerous germs. But it gets worse. Charles also said 20% of those dirty mugs also contain faecal bacteria. Gross.

While this sounds really disgusting, bacteria doesn't occur on personal items in the office because you're around so many people. Charles added that office cleaning methods are also to blame, as communal sponges and brushes are not changed often enough. And with so many people using them, it's only natural that these germs will spread quickly.

But to make your office mugs much safer, Charles recommended taking your mug home as often as you can, most likely every day, and give it a wash it in the dishwasher. If your kitchen doesn't have a dishwasher, wash it in the office yourself with hot water soap and a clean paper towel.

18. Plastic water bottles

Clean: Couple of times then throw away

Reusing that plastic water bottle might be the easiest way to stay hydrated, but according to scientists you should bin them as they're completely riddled with germs! Treadmillreviews told the Metro that drinking water from a bottle that's already been used is as bad for you as licking your toilet. Nice.

The amount of bacteria found on the average reused water bottle can actually be higher than what's on your loo, thanks to the lack of washing, sweat and build-up that's created with every use - and they also found that 60% of the types of germs found on your bottles could actually make you ill.

A recent Canadian study also found that in a sample of water bottles used by school children, almost two-thirds had levels of bacteria over the limit for drinking water.

The scientists from this research believe it's the little ridges found in water bottle that can help germs multiply, while regular use can lead to food poisoning-type illnesses. It's even thought that regularly washing your water bottle can do more harm than good. If washed at a hot temperature, it can break down the chemicals in the plastic that then goes into your water.

Professor of pharmacology, Scott Belcher from the University of Cincinnati, told the Sun, "Heating will certainly increase the rate at which chemicals can migrate from the plastic".

But we know it seems silly and expensive to keep buying bottles of water just to throw them away. Even though drinking from the same plastic bottle all the time can be harmful, reusing it a handful of times is nothing to worry about. If you want to keep using the same bottle, there are special reusable bottles you can buy that are dishwasher safe and keep away the germs.

19. Jeans

Clean: Every six months (if at all!) Okay, so this may be extreme, but David Hieatt, founder of Hiut denim, says that the key to keeping your jeans in tip top condition is to avoid washing them for at least six months - to allow the colour of the denim to become bespoke to those who wear them.

"All the creases you make, creases that are unique to you. The way you sit, the way you keep your phone in your pocket... you rub off the indigo in certain places; it's a colour thing rather than a fitting thing," he explains.

David, who is also the founder of the 'No Wash Club', says "Some place them in the freezer to freshen them up while others leave them out to air. It's worth the effort if you can put up with the smell."

And David's not alone in his no-washing advocacy - last year, the CEO of Levi's revealed he'd never washed his year-old jeans, and while this seems like an awfully long time we must admit to being guilty of leaving jeans for longer than the rest of our wardrobe.

Microbiologists even say that there's no harm in never washing your jeans from a health perspective. Apparently the main bacteria that goes on the material are skin micro-organisms, which aren't usually hazardous unless you're working in an environment that needs to be sterile, like a hospital.

According to jeans designer Donna Ida, washing jeans after every five wears is enough to preserve their colour and fibres. "Wash on the cold setting - that's cold as in zero, not 30c", she says.

20. Gym leggings

Clean: Every two wears If you thought it was okay to reuse your gym leggings a few times before putting them in the wash, then we're afraid we have some bad news.

According to experts, two wears is the maximum you can allow yourself until you have to succumb to the washing machine. Josh Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mt. Sinai Hospital, told Cosmopolitan that because leggings are so close to your skin, the oil and sweat produced during your workout makes it the perfect scenario for bacteria to thrive.

This means that not washing your gym leggings frequently could result in rashes, fungal infections and even vaginal yeast infections. Okay, okay, washing liquid at the ready!

However, the pros at Sweaty Betty added to the title that although they get dirty pretty fast, there's no need to wash your leggings at any higher than a 30 degree setting - better for your purse and the environment!

21. New clothes

Clean: Before you wear! They're straight out of the shop, so they must be clean, right? Wrong, according to Lana Hogue, a clothing manufacturing expert who says you should be washing any outfit you bring home from the stores before it gets its first wear - and it's not just because people have tried them on before you.

She explained to Elle, "You should absolutely wash clothes before you wear them. Especially anything that is right next to the skin or that you will sweat on. Almost every yarn or dyed fabric requires chemicals to make them, but unfortunately these can have nasty side effects when they come in contact with your skin.

"Most of the chemicals used in dyeing fabric and putting finishes on yarns that allow them to be processed through spinning equipment are known irritants' - so remember, off the rack doesn't mean ready to wear!"

22. Bras

Clean: Every two-three wears Good news for those of us with piles of laundry as high as the sky - our bras don't need to be washed after every wear.

Of course, if you've had a particularly sweaty afternoon then you might want to wash the odd bra after just one wear, but on average you don't need to wash them every day. This also keeps the shape nice, too, as over washing can quickly damage the elastic.

Kelly Dunmore, lingerie expert for Rigby & Peller, says, "The crease in your bust and the area under your arms are hot, sweaty environments. Cleaning after every two wears, possibly three, is ideal".

23. Tights

Clean: Every wear Come on, own up - have you ever recycled a pair of tights for a second-day wear? If you answered yes, here's why you shouldn't do it again! According to research, because tights are made from non-breathable material, they're an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, putting you at risk of urinary tracts infections and yeast infections.

Dr Radhika Rible of UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles told Everyday Health that tights can also increase foot sweating and contribute to fungal infections like athlete's foot - eek! Time to do a tights wash, we think...

24. Pyjamas

Clean: Every two wears A recent study found that many of us wear the same set of pyjamas for up to two weeks or more, and as we sweat a lot in our sleep, not washing your pjs regularly can lead to a nasty amount of bacteria.

"Sleeping with a hot water bottle in winter and thick pyjamas will only make you sweat more" says Kelly, lingerie expert for Rigby & Peller. We also lose dead skin cells in bed, and these can be left on your pyjamas - gross! To keep the grime at bay, wash your nightwear after every two wears, or at the very least, once a week.

25. Toothbrushes

Ditch: Every month This may seem a tad extreme (especially when we consider how long our own toothbrush might have been sitting in our toothbrush holder at home) but according to Dr Amer Saeed, clinical director of Garden Square Dental in West London, many people hang on to their toothbrushes way longer than the recommended 30 days.

"They usually wait until the bristles start to splay - which means the brush is less capable of removing plaque and may damage the gums. But dental experts recommend manual and electric brushes should be changed once a month if you suffer with bleeding gums and after three months in any case.

"Although you may not be able to see any damage - a combination of wear and tear and poor brush maintenance can cause a huge build up of bacteria which can lead to contamination of the gums and possible infection."

To give your toothbrush a daily clean after it's done its job on your teeth, run it under warm water and a bit of mouthwash.

26. Purse/Wallet

Clean: Once a week We bet you never considered that your purse needed a wash, especially once a week, but according to Hoover tests have shown that purses and wallets sometimes carry E.coli and other nasty germs (well, it's no wonder when you consider how often it's handled). Don't worry, we're not suggesting you throw your new purse in the washing machine and ruin it, alcohol-free baby wipes can be used on leather and you can hand wash cotton materials.

27. Phones

Clean: Every day Scientists in America discovered 7,000 types of bacteria on 51 phone samples and although most are harmless, some are not. Laura Bowater explained to Mail Online why you should clean your phone everyday with an antibacterial wipe, "When you use your phone it heats up, providing the perfect conditions for bacteria to multiply."

Video of the Week

One of the worst things about winter is a muddy pram. You need to take your baby out, but it’s been raining and there’s mud everywhere, and you just know you’ll end up dragging it home with you.

But finally, there’s a solution to our muddy prams problem!

Laura Siârn Outhart took to the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK to share her genius idea to ensure that your carpets are never ruined by dirty wheels ever again.

She revealed that she uses cheap shower caps to place over the buggy wheels as protection from the dirt.

Sharing her photo, she wrote, ‘£1 shower caps bought from Poundland. Ideal for popping over your muddy wheels to catch the mud when it dries and flakes off. Saves your carpets and floors getting dirty.

‘You can actually buy wheel covers for this purpose but this is definitely a money saving idea and works so well and you can keep reusing over and over again.’

Read more: Tidy up every part of your home with these easy 55 cleaning hacks

The best bit is that these caps are reusable, and can be easily washed, so you can take them out with you whenever you need to. Who knew it was so easy to combat muddy prams?

Many mums were thrilled with Laura’s genius hack, with the post receiving 13,000 likes to date and over 4,000 comments.

Read more: Mum shares genius eco-friendly hack for washing your laundry for free

One wrote, ‘Good idea I need to do this ‘

Another agreed with Laura, adding, ‘I bought the Cinderella ones a couple of years ago from poundland to use on the wheels too. So useful when putting pram in car too 😊’

A third said, ‘Such a good idea wish I’d seen this when we still used prams 😂👌’

Shower caps are widely available and are usually very cheap. Laura got hers from Poundland, but they're available in places like Superdrug, Boots, Asda and Sainsbury's too for a similar price.

Recently, another mum shared a brilliant hack to help stop avocados from going brown. It’s so simple, anyone can do it! Once de-stoned, it’s easy to copy this avocado hack at home which will keep them fresher for longer.

Will you be picking up some shower caps for your pram? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook!

A thrifty mum has found a clever and environmentally friendly way to wash her clothes - using conkers.

Washing powder can be expensive, but not for mum-of-two Lucie Mann, 50, who never spends a penny on it.

Instead, she picks up conkers and using a special method, turns them into a soapy liquid.

This alternative way to wash her family's clothes has saved her at least £60 a year on cleaning detergents.

https://www.facebook.com/lucie.mann.18/posts/10156186911261557

Lucie, from the New Forest, cuts the nuts in half and uses a food blender to chop them up.

She recommends using up to 40g of conkers at a time, leaving the rest to store for up to a year without going mouldy. Around 40g will work for around four washes.

The conkers are then dried out, before being placed in boiling hot water for 30 minutes.

The liquid is then sieved into another jar and the process is repeated twice again.

Lucie told The Sun: "I’ve spent no money on washing my clothes all year.

"I was probably spending £5 a month before because I stopped using fabric conditioner years ago.

"I would tend to buy what was the largest amount for the least amount of money."

She says the conker detergent produces a scent which "doesn't have the artificial smell" like a usual washing powder.

Lucie  added: “I have a mucky eight-year-old and it works well for him and the clothes don’t have any artificial smell which is nice.

“But if you have tough stains on white things, it might struggle a bit more.”

Lucie, her partner David Green, 53, and their two children James, 8, and Robert, 16, are also planting horse chestnut trees.

They hope to plant at least 30-40 this year.

Another mum Ashley Baxter shared her own hack for getting stains out of white washing, with a bargain product costing just £2.

For even more tips to get every room in your home sparkling, check out our 55 cleaning hacks.

And, don't miss Mrs Hinch's cleaning tips and top product recommendations.

Do you have any unusual cleaning tips or hacks? Head over to our Facebook page and let us know.

If you’re a part of the Hinch army, you’ll be familiar with some of her go-to products such as Zoflora Disinfectant and Minky cleaning pads.

So you’ll be pleased to know that Aldi are currently selling these top picks at very reasonable prices, with shoppers spotting the Minky cloth on sale for just £2.49. The antibacterial cleaning pad is ideal for cleaning counters, or for cleaning pots and pans.

You can also grab various fragrances of Zoflora - Mrs Hinch's favourite! - including a limited edition honeysuckle and jasmine one that we’re sure smells amazing. They’re currently available for £1.99 each, so why not get one in every available scent?

The Hinch approved products were spotted by users on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook page, where shoppers are always sharing bargain buys across the country.

Read more: Mrs Hinch cleaning tips you’ll definitely want to copy at home

Zoflora kills 99.9% of bacteria and eliminates unwanted odours, and you can use the disinfectant pretty much anywhere. It’s suitable for kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms and even a nursery. However, it's advised to be careful with the product, as it can be dangerous for use around kids and pets.

The Hinch approved product even comes in seasonal scents, so are ideal if you want your home to smell like your favourite seasons. Examples include Winter Spice and Warm Cinnamon for the colder months.

Mrs Hinch, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, frequently shares cleaning tips and tricks with over 2 million Instagram followers. As a result, her favourite products are often quick to fly off the shelves.

The ‘cleanfluencer’ recently gave birth to her first son, Ronnie Hinchliffe, so followers have been able to get a glimpse of the adorable newborn alongside all her usual cleaning-related content.

She also has her own book ‘Hinch Yourself Happy’, which is a go-to for any Hincher wanting to use Sophie’s tips and tricks on a regular basis.

Read more: You can buy Mrs Hinch’s cleaning book for just £5 at B&M

If you want to stock up on Mrs Hinch's fave products, head to your local Aldi Specialbuys aisle soon, because they won't be around forever - and they sell out fast!

Both products are only available in-store, so you’ll have to go to Aldi in person if you want to get them.

We all know that any surface can become a prime breeding ground for bacteria, from bathroom floors to kitchen worktops and everything in between.

And with this in mind, donning a pair of rubber gloves and deep-cleaning our homes is a core part of many people’s routine.

But while the inside of our homes may be spic and span, a new test has revealed that we may be neglecting another bacteria-filled zone we use every day – the family car.

Conducted by car care brand Simoniz the test put a car owned by a dad-of-four under the microscope and found levels of bacteria that were 23 times higher than that found on the handrail on a public bus – eww!

The driver’s seat of the above mentioned car was also found to have six times as much bacteria as that found on a kettle handle in an office kitchen, and twice as much as that found on a TV remote.

Alongside the driver’s seat, the dashboard control centre in a number of other cars was also checked for bacteria levels and compared to items we’d expect to be less than super clean such as a toilet flush handle.

Overall the study – which comes as Simoniz launches a nationwide competition to find the UK’s messiest car – revealed that cars owned by parents and pet owners had high levels of bacteria lurking on the driver’s seat.

It also found that 40 per cent of cars tested contained the same levels of bacterial infection as a toilet flush handle, while 20 per cent contained double.

The experiment also looked at levels of yeast contained in the sample of cars, which can cause potential allergic reactions in the skin, eye, throat and lungs.

It found that in 60 per cent of cars, yeast levels were higher than those found on a bus handrail.

On the results, Hygiene expert Luke Rutterford said: ‘The results of the experiment although pretty disturbing, are not entirely surprising, particularly when it comes to high levels of bacteria found in the car.

‘Areas in the car, such as the gear stick, control centre and steering wheel are high frequency touch points, and become an area of continuous bacterial contamination. This is more so when drivers eat and drink in the car, which can allow general debris to become a breeding ground of bacteria, that is then spread around the car where germs can be left to linger for long periods of time.’

Before adding: ‘We wouldn’t expect to eat and drink at the kitchen table and not at least wipe down the table and clean away the crumbs, but we seem to have an entirely different set of standards when sat in a vehicle.

‘The take home message here is to get your car clean and then keep it clean. It’s a good idea to keep a hand sanitiser in the car at all times, to ensure your hands are fresh and you’re keeping germs to a minimum.’

They're the habits that plenty of us have, from nail biting to scrolling through Facebook while we 'relieve' ourselves, but could they be putting our good health in danger?

We've rounded up the daily dirty habits that are the worst for us, and it might just be enough to put you off doing them for good...

Wearing your shoes indoors

Brace yourself for possibly the grossest fact yet, because a recent study has shown that there are an estimated 421,000 bacteria on our shoes.

The research, conducted by the University of Arizona, showed that these bugs can include E.coli, which can play havoc with your digestive system, Serratia ficaria, which causes respiratory infections, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, associated with urinary tract infections.

'We walk through things like bird droppings, dog waste and germs on public restroom floors, all of which are sources for E coli,' expert Kelly Reynolds said of the findings.

'The unique thing about the shoe environment is that other things you walk on like leaves and debris, can serve as food for the bacteria and help them grow' - and if that doesn't make you think twice about wearing them inside, we don't know what will...

Not cleaning your sink enough

You use it to clean your dishes - but how often do you actually clean the kitchen sink? Rune Sovndahl, co-founder and CEO of Fantastic Services, warned the Daily Mail that your sink is often one of the grimiest places in your home, and is the perfect place for bacteria to thrive.

'Most people don't think to clean it as often as they should. Letting germs fester in your sink could lead to you and your family getting sick as they spread onto any of the items that you put in there,' he says.

'Use mild soap and warm water to clean your sink with a fresh sponge each time you finish washing your dishes' - and whilst you're at it, give your dishwasher a scrub, as Rune points out that this is another of the most neglected areas.

Taking your phone to the toilet

Bad news if you like to browse your social media accounts while 'spending a penny', because experts have revealed you could actually be putting yourself in danger.

Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., a professor of environmental health, told BuzzFeed that scrolling through your newsfeed while you're on the toilet isn't exactly good for you.

She explains: 'When you flush the toilet, water with faeces and urine sprays about six feet in every direction.

'And the aerosols increase with every flush, so if it's a public bathroom, there is dirty toilet water coating literally everything - especially the toilet paper dispenser, because it's right next to the toilet bowl.'

This essentially means there is a very fine coating of urine and poo on everything in our bathrooms.

Now, we don't know about you but we're seriously questioning where to put our toothbrushes now - because, well, our bathroom isn't long enough to leave them over six feet away from the toilet. And now we have a lot more respect for those tiny (previously laughed at) plastic toothbrush head covers.

Getting germs from urine and faeces on your phone can potentially be very harmful. E coli bacteria is found in poo which can cause food poisoning symptoms such as abdominal cramps and diarrhoea.

Then there's the small matter of holding your phone to your face routinely, sleeping with it close by and keeping it in your warm pockets so the bacteria can just breed.

We think we might just leave our phone outside of the bathroom door next time we need to go.

Choosing bar soap over liquid

We know, we're as shocked as you are - who would have thought that using soap could be a 'dirty' habit? But new guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) actually recommend using liquid soap and tepid water for your handwashing needs.

Bar soap, on the other hand, has been known to harbour bacteria on its surface, and when multiple people use the same product, you run the risk of it spreading. Deputy executive of NICE, Professor Gillian Long, explains: 'There are two reasons why we reference liquid soap, rather than bars of soap. Partly it's that all of the evidence we have is about the role of liquid soap. But also it is because intuitively when you see a bar of soap collecting dirt, you don't need a microscope to know that it's not the most hygienic approach.'

Of course, it's probably better to use bar soap than not wash your hands at all, but still, we think we'll be making the switch to a pumpable product pretty sharpish...

Using the self-service checkout

Self-service machines can be a godsend when we don't feel like talking to another human being, or when the queues at the regular checkouts are just too long.

However, if you think about it, those touchscreens get used by a lot of people... and they most likely rarely get cleaned properly, other than being wiped down every so often. In fact, Science of Us reports that 50% of public touchscreens contain faecal matter. So, next time you use a cashpoint or the robot checkout, definitely give your hands a decent wash afterwards!

Touching the handle of the office kettle

Most people make a beeline for the kettle or coffee pot as soon as they walk into the office, meaning whatever they've been touching beforehand ends up all over the handle.

All the bacteria from public transport poles and money can mean that your kettle's handle can become one of the 50% that contain coliform bacteria, or faecal matter, according to the same Science Is Us survey. Either clean the handle regularly, or wash your hands thoroughly after using.

Pressing lift buttons

And that's not the only office hazard to watch out for! The ground floor button is the most commonly pressed thing in the lift, as everyone uses it to exit their building. Science of Us reports that parainfluenza, the virus that is to blame for cold-like symptoms, likes to hang out on this button the most. Get your antibacterial gel ready!

Filling your car with petrol

A petrol pump might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about dirty habits, but just imagine how many other drivers have had their hands all over them.

The company Busbud did a study to find out just out how many germs are lingering at petrol stations, and the answer isn't pretty. The results revealed that petrol pumps have more than 11,000 bacteria than a toilet seat.

The study said: 'When we looked at bacteria levels based on colony-forming units (CFU) - the number of viable bacteria cells - on items commonly thought of as dirty, petrol pumps and buttons were the absolute filthiest'.

If that's not gross enough, the buttons on the machine contain 15,000 more germs than your loo. Apparently, as petrol stations are in use pretty much 24-7, it's almost impossible to clean them. But still, we know that filling up your car is pretty essential, so try using a paper towel to grab the handle and washing your hands with anti-bacterial soap afterwards, to reduce bacteria.

Using a loofah

It might seem like you're making yourself cleaner with this handy shower scrubber, but loofahs are actually really gross.

Because of their shape and amount of holes, they're the perfect place for bacteria to breed, as well as building up a nasty collection of your dead skin cells. The warm, damp environment of the shower helps bacteria grow, so let it dry on a windowsill or anywhere else.

If you have a cut anywhere, scrubbing it with a dirty loofah can push bacteria in, possibly creating an infection!

If you can't bear to part with your scrubber, then make sure to chuck it out every two months for plastic ones, and every month for natural ones made from the luffa plant.

Owning a handbag...

German researchers found that over 10,000 different bacteria are in every few square centimetres of the average woman's handbag - with food scraps, animal urine and rubbish all being main offenders for causing the breeding ground. That lovely fact means they're dirtier than your average toilet seat!

Our hands are also partially to blame for transferring any bacteria we pick up during the day into the depths of our bags. Maybe we'll stick to pockets from now on?

Popping a spot

We know, it's pretty tempting, it's just sitting there staring boldly back at you from your very own face - but popping that spot will do more harm than good.

You see, zits are packed full of pus and white blood cells. Squeezing them will result in you pushing the bacteria further down into your skin, causing further infection and sometimes even scarring. Plus, once you're finished picking away at your face your hands will be covered in spot-spreading bacteria. Not. Good.

Biting your nails

Handily (see what we did there?) located to pick up bacteria, your nails could be hiding a whole smorgasbord of disgusting delights.

Bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli thrive in the tight, warm space between your fingers and nails and then as you nibble away they make their way into your mouth. Delicious, right?

As you bite your nails, the bacteria easily transfers into your mouth and the rest of your body, where they may lead to infections, vomiting and diarrhea. The most common culprits for causing nail-biting bacteria? Changing nappies, bad bathroom hygiene and handling raw meat.

Putting your handbag on your work surfaces

If you think about it, this one makes perfect sense.

Our handbags are put down all the time, beside our desk at work, on the floor at home or on public transport, and even beside the loo in public cubicles. Alarm bells ringing yet? They should be.

Lots of us then go home to pop our bag on the work top which then transfers any bacteria to the area where you prepare food. A US study found that the average handbag contained 10,000 bacteria per square inch and a third were contaminated with faecal bacteria.

Leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor

A study by Dr Ackerley from the University of Arizona found towels to be a hot house for, you guessed it, bacteria.

'If you have a heated towel rail or radiator, then that's the place for your wet towel,' says Dr Ackerley.

'If a used towel stays wet and warm on the floor, then bacteria and fungi will grow and the towel will become smelly.'

Fungi doesn't sound like something we want to be drying ourselves with and Dr Ackerley has further advice for any towel sharers out there, saying, 'If you share towels (which isn't advised) then any infection on the towel - such as athlete's foot - can transfer from one member of the family to another. Wash towels above 60 C to kill micro-organisms.' There you go, you've been warned!

Most of us are particular about making sure that we keep our homes clean - but how often you should be cleaning household appliances?

The nation’s recent fascination with Instagram cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch, who recently announced her new book, has reiterated that, whether it’s regular upkeep or a sporadic once-over, we all like to keep our houses sparkly clean.

But what most of us don’t think about are the nooks and crannies we tend to overlook as we desperately try to keep on top of the housework.

Cleaning hacks for every part of your home

Thankfully, a professional cleaner has highlighted those most commonly forgotten spots in the house.

‘Many of these things that you would assume people would be doing, they are not,’ Rita Dossis, owner of Australian professional cleaning service Maid in Melbourne, told Australian property website Domain.

‘Sometimes they look at the bigger picture and don’t notice the little things that need doing.’

According to Rita, the most forgotten places in the house when it comes to cleaning are door and cupboard handles, light switches, the shower and the microwave.

Handles and switches are some of the most-touched surfaces in the house, so should be cleaned regularly to get rid of any germs that have built up.

Rita suggests wiping them with a damp cloth to get rid of any dirt.

How often should you wash your bedding

When it comes to your shower, Rita says that it’s actually one of the most neglected parts of the home because people presume that it cleans itself.

‘Clean this at least fortnightly,’ she says, ‘it keeps mould at bay and is much more pleasant to step into a clean shower.

‘We had a client who thought his shower glass was opaque,’ she added, ‘after we cleaned it [spending over one hour on it] he called us to say he had not realised the glass was clear.’

And as for your microwave? Rita says it couldn’t be easier to give it a quick cleanse.

‘Get a small bowl, put about one cup of water in it with maybe ½ cup white vinegar and then put on high for 4-5 minutes,’ she said. ‘Leave it for about 10-15 minutes, then open the door and wipe it out.’

How often you should be cleaning household appliances

The business owner even revealed how often you should be washing household appliances and surfaces:

• Sink: Daily
• Worktops: Daily
• Floor: Daily (minimum once a week)
• Appliance surfaces: Once a week (including fridge doors, toaster and coffee maker)
• Drain: Monthly (with baking soda and table salt)
• Splashback: Monthly
• Cutting boards: Monthly
• Fridge coils: Every three to six months
• Oven racks: Every three to six months (minimum once a year)

Think it might be time for a spring clean!

Instagram star Mrs Hinch's debut book 'Hinch Yourself Happy' was released last month, and you can now grab a copy at bargain store B&M.

It was such a success during its release that Mrs Hinch's debut book 'Hinch Yourself Happy topped Amazon’s Bestseller list in only eight hours.

Fans can’t get enough of Mrs Hinch's cleaning hacks, it seems…

As well as being filled with all sorts of tips and tricks, the book features her story, and how she found herself with over 2 million followers on Instagram.

Many wanted to know how the 29-year-old went from being Sophie Hinchliffe, to Mrs Hinch so quickly.

Her followers tune in every day to watch her clean her home, often with affectionate nicknames for all the products.

In fact, many of Mrs Hinch’s favourites can be found on offer at B&M.

Credit: Amazon

Shoppers can pick up Elbow Grease Washing-Up Liquid for just 89p, making scrubbing plates both economical and easy.

You can also grab a 60 pack of Leather Wipes for £1; perfect for making your furniture squeaky clean.

For those of you with wood flooring like Mrs Hinch, Stardrops 1L Wood Floor Cleaner is only £1.

Their White Vinegar is available for 99p too, which is great for laundry stain removal and glass and surface cleaning.

One of her favourite disinfectant brands Zoflora is also on sale, at £3.99 for the regular and £1.99 for Zoflora Summer. This multi-room cleaner is excellent at keeping things clean and hygienic.

Mrs Hinch is currently expecting her first baby, and recently returned home after a 10 day stay in hospital.

We can’t wait to see updates featuring the newborn that she revealed to be a boy in a recent Instagram post.

We’re sure many of her fans will appreciate cleaning hacks for motherhood, as a newborn baby is both time consuming and messy!

If her best-selling book is anything to go by, she’ll be on hand to motivate mums everywhere.

A mum has shared her little-known hack for ridding washing machines from mould in a matter of minutes, using only a £3.50 spray from Asda.

It is probably one of the worst household chores (other than cleaning the toilet) – but your washing machine mouldy seal can now be cleaned in just 30 minutes with a must-have product from supermarket Asda.

The £3.50 Dettol Antibacterial Mould & Mildew Remover spray can save you hours of scrubbing away at your washing machine's rubber seal – and we can’t wait to try this hack ourselves.

The mum shared her tip on the Facebook group Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips, revealing this life-saving cleaning tip.

She said she ‘didn't realise how much mould rubber collects, if you forget to clean it regularly' – which most of us do.

Encouraged by cleaning queen Mrs Hinch, the woman wrote: ‘Hinched my washing machine last night... super happy with the result!’

The woman admits with just a few sprays of the Dettol spray, that is currently being sold in Ada for £3.50, the mould quickly disappeared, without the need of scrubbing.

The mum advises to leave the spray on the rubber seal for thirty minutes and let it work wonders.

Then, after the spray has worked its magic, put your machine on an empty rinse or spin to get rid of the grimy mould.

The Mould & Mildew Remover Detoll spray can also be used to remove stubborn mould quickly from all around your house, including window sills, kitchen floors and blinds.

In fact, the mum used handy spray to clean her shower curtains which were ridden in mould.

READ MORE: Tidy up every part of your home with these easy 55 cleaning hacks

She said: ‘I went to change them but thought I'd try this before.. my shower curtain now looks brand new and all my tile grout is sparkling white!’

Other Mrs Hinch hack fans responded to the mum’s post. One wrote: ‘Wow you got it that clean without scrubbing??’

The spray is being sold in Asda for just £3.50, but you better be quick if you want to beat you fellow Hinchers to this handy cleaning trick.

Time for a spring clean? Now there's no excuse not to get Hinching...

If you’re a member of the Hinch army, you’ll know all about Zoflora. The budget disinfectant, which comes in 17 varieties, was invented 90 years ago, but thanks to Sophie Hinchcliffe (better known as Mrs Hinch) and her legendary cleaning tips, it’s more popular than ever!

Earlier this month Mrs Hinch’s first book, Hinch Yourself Happy, became the second fastest-selling non-fiction title of all time, beating autobiographies by Alex Ferguson and Michelle Obama.

And if you happen to be one of the 160,000 people who snapped it up – or you’re one of Sophie’s 2.3 million Instagram followers – we reckon you’ll be pretty excited to hear that you can pick up a bottle of her favourite cleaning product for under £1!

A 120ml bottle of Zoflora costs about £1.30 from most supermarkets, but Poundstretcher have slashed their prices from an already affordable £1 to an almost unbelievable 90p. They’re stocking it in a choice of five scents: bouquet, hyacinth, orchid, springtime and Mrs Hinch’s all-time favourite, lavender.

Mrs Hinch dilutes a capful of Zoflora with water in a leftover spray bottle to use as a multi-purpose home cleaner. Last year, she shared a picture of her collection of more than 20 bottles of the disinfectant with her followers on Instagram, writing: ‘Oh dear! I definitely have issues @lovezoflora #zoflora #zofloraaddict’.

Zoflora says the disinfectant is a multi-room, multi-use product that will kill 99.9% of bacteria while transforming your home with beautiful fragrance. And members of Sophie’s Hinch army reckon Zoflora is unbeatable when it comes to getting rid of nasty smells, freshening up laundry and disinfecting sinks and drains.

The brand recently launched their latest Limited Edition fragrance, Hello Spring! And Instagram fans are loving it. ‘This scent smells amazing. You must continue it forever!!!!’ wrote one person.

‘This one is the best,’ another agreed. ‘Please make this permanent,’ another echoed. Time for a spring clean? We reckon there’s never been a better time to get Hinching.

These 55 easy cleaning hacks will totally transform your home...

Unless you're one of a very rare, tidy breed (hey, Monica Gellar!), having to tidy up nobody's favourite task. These 55 cleaning hacks, however, will make tidying up that little bit less painful.

The scrubbing, the mopping, the wiping, the polishing - the list often seems endless and, more often than not, pointless, as all of your hard work gets ruined by piles of muddy trainers and splodges of spaghetti sauce in a matter of minutes.

Sadly, it's pretty unhygienic to give up on cleaning altogether, but there are loads of cleaning hacks to make your cleaning routine quicker, easier and cheaper, and most of them can be tried today!

Here are 54 cleaning hacks for every area of your home. You'll never look at vinegar in the same away again...

Cleaning hacks for tidying up the laundry room

1. Clean your iron by running it over a piece of paper or foil covered with salt when it's hot (but no steam).

2. Revive your towels with half a cup of vinegar mixed with hot water (don't use washing powder) and then second wash them with half a cup of baking soda and hot water (again, with no washing powder).

3. Apply shaving foam to remove foundation stains from white clothes - rinse once with cold water, then repeat the process with cold to get rid of the mark.

4. Use chalk to absorb the oil from grease stains, and then wash as normal.

5. Add a tennis ball or two to the dryer and your towels will dry faster and come out fluffier.

6. Squeeze a solution of lemon juice and water onto yellow sweat stains - they should disappear in the wash!

Read more: Apparently you've been washing up wrong your whole life

7. Spray dirty clothes with white vinegar and air outside to get one more wear out of them - the vinegar neutralises the smell.

8. Have two laundry hampers - one for whites, one for darks - to save time sorting when you're ready to put a load on.

9. Dampen shirts slightly with a spritz of water before you iron - it'll make it easier to get the creases out.

Cleaning hacks for tidying up the living room

10. Coffee filters are useful for cleaning TV screens and computer monitors.

11. Lint rollers are handy for removing dust from lamps

12. Crafting with the kids and spilled glitter everywhere? Use play dough to roll over the glitter and pick up the excess.

13. Use a clean toothbrush to remove dirt between the keys of your keyboard.

14. Get scratches out of leather sofas and arm chairs by buffing in a bit of furniture polish.

15. Sprinkle baking soda onto a fabric sofa and then vacuum to get rid of odours.

16. Drag a squeegee across your carpet to remove pet hair.

17. A mixture of olive oil and vinegar removes scratches from wooden furniture. Use half a cup of each.

18. Furniture polish isn't just for wood; it also makes steel items like lamps look shinier.

19. Fold a duster around a pair of kitchen tongs and secure with elastic bands. Hey presto, a super simple way to clean blinds.

20. Pull your books to the very front of the shelves - it looks neater and stops dust building up in the gap in front of them.

Cleaning hacks for tidying up the kitchen

21. Take a dishwasher tablet and dip half of it in water, careful not to soak the table too much. Rub it over the grime on the inside of your oven door to watch the burnt on dirt come loose.

22. Keep stainless steel shiny by polishing it with cream of tartar.

23. Use aluminium foil and soap to scrub burnt-on residue from crockery

24. Microwave your sponges for two minutes in the microwave and it will sanitise them.

25. Pop your hob rings in a plastic ziplock bag and cover with plain ammonia, leave to set in the sink and rinse off in the morning for a clean up.

26. Clean your blender by adding a squirt of soap and some warm water, and then blitzing.

Read more: Mrs Hinch's best cleaning tips that you'll definitely want to copy at home

27. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 cup water and microwave for 5 minutes - you will now be able to easily wipe out any mess inside the machine.

28. Save a burnt pan with a layer of baking soda. Fill with water, bring to the boil of the hob, and once cool, the burnt-on food should lift.

29. Deep clean oven racks by putting them in your bathtub, spraying with vinegar, sprinkling with baking soda and leaving for 10 minutes. Wipe, rinse, and they should be good as new.

30. Get crumbs out of the hard-to-reach areas in your toaster using a small pastry brush.

31. Use a lemon to get rid of hardwater stains on your taps or sink.

32. Remove rust from utensils by soaking them in lemon juice.

33. Line the shelves of your fridge with clingfilm, and replace regularly to pick up spills and residue.

Cleaning hacks for tidying up the bathroom

34. Degunk your shower by filling a plastic bag with white vinegar and using an elastic band to secure it to the showerhead. After an hour of soaking, the residue should wipe away.

35. Keep a dishwand filled with detergent in the shower to make it easier for everyone to wipe it down after use.

36. Fix a grimy toilet by pouring in a (small) bottle of cheap cola and leaving to soak. Flush, scrub and you should be good to go.

37. Pour a cup of vinegar followed by a cup of baking soda down a drain to unclog it.

38. Use newspaper to clean glass surfaces like mirrors for a streak-free finish.

39. Always leave a little bleach in the bottom of the toilet brush holder to sanitise it after use.

40. Add a couple of tennis balls to the dryer when washing towels and they'll come out softer and fluffier.

Cleaning hacks for tidying up the bedroom

41. A microfiber cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol can remove nail varnish stains from your carpet.

42. Use a pillowcase to clean the dust from a ceiling fan. If you put the blade inside the pillowcase and wipe, none of the dust will fall on the floor, creating more mess.

43. Sprinkle your mattress with a solution of baking soda and essential oil, and then hoover, to freshen it up.

44. Fold your bedding into the corresponding pillowcase and never waste time searching for a matching set again.

45. Fill a spray bottle with water and a little fabric softener. Spray onto your duvet cover and then pull straight to remove wrinkles.

46. Remove dust from unburnt candles using a pair of old tights.

47. Always using your laptop in bed? Lift dirt from between keyboard keys with the sticky end of a Post-It note.

48. Make the bed every morning without fail - it'll make the mess in the rest of the room look out of place, meaning you're more inclined to pick that up too.

Cleaning hack for tidying up the rest of the house

49. Put plastic toys in the dishwasher to give them a deep clean.

50. Hang a shoe rack on the back of a tall cupboard door and use it to store spray bottles and other cleaning products.

51. Drape a duster over the end of the broom to remove cobwebs from high-up corners.

52. Dip an earbud in vinegar and run it around your window tracks to remove built-up dirt.

53. Use a cloth soaked in white vinegar to remove sticky labels from new items.

54. Magic Erasers will get rid of stubborn scuffs on your skirting boards.

55. Put a few drops of your favourite essential oil on a fabric napkin and hang it behind the radiator to make your home smell clean and inviting.

People are praising this surprising cleaning hack that gets rid of unwanted smells.

Several people have shared photos online of an unusual cleaning hack, which apparently gets rid of the urine smell in a bathroom for good, with many claiming it's the best thing that they've ever tried for casting away unwelcome odours.

This slightly odd trick however involves covering your bathroom floor in shaving cream. Yes, really.

This clever cleaning idea has been widely reported since it was recently shared on the Facebook group, Mums Who Clean.

The trick has gone down a storm, with many people saying it works better than any product they've used before, as the chemicals are believed to destroy the urine rather than just temporarily cover the smell.

Read more: Mumsnet users shocked by woman's controversial bathroom cleaning hack

Outside of the closed Facebook group, other mums have also been sharing their positive results after trying the genius cleaning hack.

One mum shared: 'Just found this awesome hack! Definitely saving for future with these boys!'

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155537231051076&set=basw.AbqDs4GfWryIkhI5-KSe0AmsEIiJuXT8Kf98OJPXgHkEe8ssWGNQVRd0GVVXThLEkVVzLsJJ3us3T_cVUsc58kSCw3m5wlXIgAJM6vAlKpdHCp3TDfHRrFb5hdXHPLS0apIXe96iJg6QR3pZUXwG48TA3rt6_DG3Fxt4I6RARad5KA.1901888073220349.550952185334721.10155537231051076.990844434426911.1340344886077557.1351715041561200.625546144476498.1614555888574187.1298524846924132&type=1&opaqueCursor=Abqz1o3-Lc04xmI8HO1eUr6HrleguXKNfINWi55GXwnPaqNyiaTos3U-JWPzeemR4FPfbcJ2yVURj6ocnZLSBYaVFrsFYjTJuyKHpXKDRkbEeY7Ko3MSbiycve8dDlPkfLxKekhLLGnzie7hrx_xH04JHVQjZt-UpqpqYXPxqLfQCxb11SGMoAxKtTldvUFW-XCgLlHdbCo6zhRStpV-IB4iOFWhut48P7hAYjUBRuOj_464Xi7tdXDBIiiVvIFTWtlph81x2i8tpzHLbSA6qeBYkF-Y6h_bYeFslYsYzzVBcpwymz43dkMVO6t2dXTWFCTP1oUI66qK6i1vHQHR6Q4A5dw5OqsMKldFu8V34KBY7Jxbkr7F72MA_WyKdz7OvEbVW8Mq0JuT92t9DebI0jBN0GANODSgRgfM-Ic3cOG_2fXuq-3kbMHas8KAM8CJhbeBAHSrJBFwCITtOwsMGnR1zENF30w4j6aTFU_b1VjFsanG2P_aNcXgFUqYA-eUd8gjZG0a1V-eHUXUjViPOo5bfEC-yPGjJ9fX5nrc5voH-Loj4QHPn_f0j2RdWsfbxfIgD3rl0JoOqqsnDyRnl-zelEKBB0yY1DGktY0aFTjhnLm_Y6xspOnYIMsAcOxBmHJkTyIiwIg9itAEyVAADkrJcno-5-7vXUmfXRFWajFaXLeaK3iz_RbzpGuIi10YNkg4sGR67mVxWhYNeAlYfJZh&theater

'Foam shaving cream removes the smell of urine from your bathroom floor and toilet trim'

Many people have since commented underneath the post to share their excitement to try out the new cleaning hack within their own homes, with one person writing:

'Definitely worth a try with 3 boys!!!! Thanks'

Another user expressed their regret that they're only hearing about such a cleaning trick now: 'who knew. Would have been a lifesaver when all the boys were little'

And one woman who has tried and tested the cleaning idea endorsed it with this comment: 'fabulous and natural and better for our environment. Not to mention cheaper!'

Read more: Mum reveals GENIUS (and super cheap) hack that keeps her sofa sparkling clean

This bizarre cleaning trick is the latest of many cleaning hacks that have gone viral after being shared on social media in recent months, with one mother revealing in December that she swears by denture cleaner (!?) to keep her sofa in good nick.

Do you have a genius cleaning hack you'd like to share? Head over to our Facebook page and let us know!

A new study has found that soap dispensers in pubic toilets could be hiding deadly bacteria inside.

The scientific research, which was conducted by Dr Charles Gerba at the University of Arizona, came to this conclusion after testing the inside of  soap dispensers from 296 different food establishments across Arizona, New Jersey and Ohio.

The professor and germ specialist found of these soap dispensers tested, that 15 per cent contained harmful bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant E. coli and salmonella.

Additionally discovered by the team was klebsiella oxytoca, a superbug that attacks the skin and flesh. In some circumstances this latter bacteria can also be deadly.

These findings suggest that liquid soap cannot necessarily safeguard against dangerous bacteria, despite the fact it is a cleaning, antimicrobial agent.

The risk is allegedly higher when using refillable bulk-soap dispensers, as seen commonly in fast food restaurants and grocery shops, as they may be less frequently cleaned.

These soap dispensers have been deemed a 'public health concern' by Dr Gerba, who has warned that by providing an environment for bacteria to grow, their use could lead to non-foodbourne disease outbreaks.

Read more: Mumsnet users shocked by woman's controversial bathroom cleaning hack

The American professor stated that although these larger soap dispensers are cheaper for food establishments to purchase in bulk, the danger of harmful bacteria entering them is greater. He said: 'These water-low solid formulations may be less expensive to manufacture, but they are more likely to be contaminated.

‘Fast food and grocery stores are more likely to be contaminated than convenience stores; this may be because in the former, there is less maintenance and management oversight in the bathrooms, whereas convenience stores typically have small bathrooms that are cleaned frequently.'

The germ expert also suggested that cleaning public soap dispensers in between refilling might not even make much of a difference to the presence of germs: ‘Cleaning in between soap refills might not prevent recontamination, and difficult to clean biofilms (cluster or germs) may develop.'

And that's not all - apparently bacteria risk could also be present in at-home soap dispensers!?

So what can we do to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria within our own homes?

Read more: The hidden health danger in your washing machine you need to know about

Ralitsa Prodanova, a cleaning expert with Fantastic Services, spoke to Metro to share their advice: 'If you’re refilling a dispenser in your kitchen or bathroom, it should be cleaned meticulously each and every time to stop the growth of bacteria either inside it or on it.'

Prodovoa also warned against adding water to the bottle when you're running out of soap: 'Using a soap formulation which is diluted can also result in the anti-bacterial agents being ineffective.'

So make sure you wash the soap dispensers within your home regularly and with care.

And next time you're in a public bathroom, maybe think twice about using the soap if it's coming out from a bulk dispenser?

Eek!

Brits across the country are going crazy for Mrs Hinch.

The Instagram star, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, has become an Internet sensation for offering cheap, easy and convenient cleaning tips through her Instagram and Twitter pages.

And her feed showing her sparkling and squeaky-clean home has become addictive to nearly two million followers, with fans doing anything they can to get hold of the social media sensation’s favourite products.

Well we have some good news for all you Mrs Hinch lovers out there, you can now get her favourite cleaning cloths at an everyday supermarket – and they come in cheaper than they do on Amazon.

Leading supermarket Morrisons is now selling Mrs Hinch’s favourite Minky cleaning cloths and they cost only £2.50 each.

Due to their rising popularity the in-demand cloths can sell for up to £18.99 each and are often sold out.

The popular cloths are also sold out on the Minky website and in other supermarkets, so Morrisons are giving you a chance to get your hands on them.

But there is a catch.

So that everyone has got a chance to nab them before they sell out again, the supermarket is selling them in-store only, rather than online, and customers are limited to buying only one cloth each.

‘The Hinch Army have told us they love this cleaning cloth,’ said Stephanie Milner, from Morrisons, ‘so we have decided to bring it back to our cleaning shelves.’

This news comes just after Mrs Hinch’s favourite gloves came over to one UK shop only last week.

And if you can’t get enough of Mrs Hinch, the 28-year-old, who recently shocked fans with her 10-year transformation photo, is even releasing a book with her top cleaning tips.

Taking to her Instagram and Twitter pages to reveal the exciting news, the Essex-based hairdresser wrote: 'My Hinchers.. I’m not sure if you would have had a chance to watch my story yet.. but if not.. Surprise’.

‘I can’t even believe it! I never dreamed that I’d have my own book one day Hinchers, and here it is!

My book releases on the 4th April 2019 but is available for preorder now’.

A mum has shared an amazing cleaning trick to make your white washing bright again and it costs just over £2!

With Mrs Hinch’s cleaning tips continuing to take the nation by storm, it’s no wonder more and more people are sharing their hacks online.

From using misceller water to restore your suede shoes, to the hack that will make your trainers look brand new, there are so many useful tips floating around and we can’t get enough!

The latest cleaning tip is one for all the mums who constantly battle to get stains out of their kid’s white polo tops.

Taking to Facebook, one helpful mum shared her impressive before and after photos and admitted she was a little embarrassed to post her tip online.

She explained: ‘Ok so I’m slightly embarrassed to post this but!! As little kids explore, spill foods, paints etc, I seen a tip on Mrs Hinch page about Milton sterilizer fluid, (Mrs H hasn’t done this I tried it after seeing on a fan page it takes stains out 😂 ) knowing I had some sitting though ah I’ll give it a bash [because] this one top is very discoloured [not] gonna loose anything!!’

She continued: ‘Well this is the result!!! I’m about to go do all her shirts and white tops now 😂😂 maybe even do Zak’s while I’m at it!! Pretty impressed with this! Although it hasn’t taken the permanent marker off it’ll be fine under a dress 👍🏻’.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2409135512437114&set=a.220679664616054&type=3&theater

If you were wondering where you can pick up a bottle of the miracle working Milton sterilising fluid you can find it in most places including Sainsbury’s, Boots, B&M, Asda, Amazon and Tesco.

Clarifying exactly how to do the trick at home, Ashley explained you mix one part Milton with three parts water in a large mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and let it soak for two hours. Then simple wash as normal with your white washing.

The most has received over 10,000 likes and has been shared 15,000 times on Facebook as users praise the amazing results.

One person wrote: ‘😱 I’ll be trying this ❤️ thanks Ashley xxx’.

Another said: ‘Oh wow will need to try this’.

A third added: ‘I’ve thrown out loads of girls’ school shirts for being like this... might have to try this in future xx’.

Other people shared their tips too with one person revealing they use it on their shower curtains!

https://www.facebook.com/bonnie.wraight.5/posts/10213679238040673

Another mum also posted her before and after pictures and the results are very impressive.

Will you be trying this clever cleaning hack for yourself? We’d love to hear how you get on! Head over to our Facebook page to share pictures of your results and any other cleaning tips you have…

A mum's suggestion for cleaning her toilet brush has been branded 'disgusting' and 'gross' by other parents.

The woman, who spoke of being sick of throwing away plastic, came up with the idea in an attempt to reuse her toilet brush.

Her suggestion, however, of putting it in the dishwasher, caused some serious controversy, as many people were shocked that she would even consider doing such a thing.

Cleaner reveals forgotten dirty parts of the home – and how often you should be cleaning your appliances

Writing on Mumsnet, the woman shared her potential idea: 'Would it be absolutely disgusting to put loo brushes in the dishwasher on their own, on hot setting, followed by a hot wash on empty??!!!'

And the controversial question sparked a passionate response from fellow parents.

One person replied: 'Jesus Christ, why??? Why would you need your loo brush to be that clean when it just gets used to clean a loo? Why would you risk contaminating your food area for it? I can't fathom what your thinking is here?!'

And this person got right down to the point with their comment: 'That is disgusting.'

The hidden health danger in your washing machine you need to know about

One woman was a little bit more diplomatic about the whole thing, and even offered the mum an alternative idea:

'Yes I agree about the reusing thing, as much as possible. But putting loo brushes in the dishwasher is gross and not very efficient as you would be using a huge amount of water. Bucket of hot water is a good idea!'

15 ways to reduce plastic waste

Another user disregarded the woman's dishwasher idea, favouring the use of bleach instead:

'It shouldn't be necessary. Every morning when I clean the bathroom, I put bleach down the loo and scrub round it, then leave the brush in the loo soaking while I clean the rest of the bathroom. I'm sure the bleach leaves the brush fresh and clean.'

What is your opinion on this mum's contentious cleaning hack? Head over to our Facebook page to share your thoughts!

Homemakers across the country have been going mad for Mrs Hinch’s cleaning tips.

The Instagram sensation, whose real name is Sophie Hinchliffe, has gained over 1.5 million followers for her practical and clever home cleaning tips that can be easily copied at home.

Recently the social media star, who in December announced that she will be releasing a book, revealed another one of her favourite cleaning products – and it comes in at less than the price of your morning latte.

The social media influencer uploaded an Instagram post revealing her favourite gloves to use when she does the cleaning that keeps her gorgeous house so sparkling.

Want to hear about the latest supermarket products and offers? Join our dedicated Facebook group

‘Hello my Hinchers!!’ she captioned a photo of her shiny clean kitchen sink. ‘I don’t know about you but the shine on a sink makes my day - I could check out peoples sinks and cupboards all day mate .. (worrying)!

‘Anyway,’ she continued, ‘As you may have noticed on my Stories I now use these specific Gregory gloves every time I Hinch! I was sent them to try but now I am genuinely in love with the things! They’re called the Killeen Grippaz! Do many of my Hinchers own these? I could be late to the party 🤣

‘BUT @killeen_iewho are the parents of these babies also have lots of other hinching products they sell! So show them some love, check them out and if you also use these Gregory gloves let me know your thoughts on them and I hope you’ve all had a wonderful day!

‘Ps: Have you been Hinching much?’ added the mum-to-be, who just announced her pregnancy back in December, ‘I can’t stop, I think I’m nesting 🙊 ATB 🙊 #killeeners ❤’

Previously you could only get the reliable gloves in Ireland, where they are available in Tesco stores for only €3 (approxoimately £2.70) at Tesco.

But now our favourite cleaning sensation's go-to gloves have now come to the UK!

Finally we can get our hands into these Grippaz so we can make our houses as sparkly as Mrs Hinch's.

The gloves are available to buy in Home Bargains stores across the country for only £2.49 for a packet of four pairs or £4.99 for a 10-pack.

So get down to your local branch asap before the long-awaited gloves fly off the shelves!

Morrisons have started selling Mrs Hinch's favourite 'Minky' cleaning cloths, and shoppers have already started going wild for the product.

The 'Minky' cleaning cloths' popularity is all down to Sophie Hinchliffe, also known as Mrs Hinch - the self-proclaimed cleaning addict who became viral after she started sharing her tips and trickon social media.

Sophie, who recently revealed she's pregnant, now has 1.5 million followers on Instagram, and there's even Facebook groups dedicated to Hinchers (the followers) and 'Hinching' - the act of cleaning and organising a room or a house.

She will also be launching a book this year, containing all of her top cleaning tips.

Due to the viral craze, Minkys - which are the same cleaning clothes Mrs Hinch also uses - now sell for up to £20 on eBay, and prices start at £11.86 on Amazon.

Mrs Hinch's best cleaning tips and her favourite cleaning products REVEALED

But thanks to Morrisons, you can now get the famous cloths for just £2.50 - a bargain compared to what they usually cost on eBay.

The official product description reads: 'The M Cloth Anti-Bacterial Cleaning Pad is dual sided for effective powerful scrubbing, making light work of all cleaning and washing up tasks.'

https://www.facebook.com/couponmumuk/photos/a.615618898511250/2517645958308525/?type=3&theater

The find was originally shared on the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK, and was then posted on their Facebook page.

However, judging by the reactions on the post, it's unlikely they'll stay on sale for long.

One excited user wrote: 'I don’t believe this 😂 tempted to get in my car now'.

Another commented: 'I'm going in 10 mins I'll get you one if no one has swiped them all 😂💃💃'.

While another revealed that they were all already gone by the time they got to their local store: 'Been to work today to try and get us some but there was none left 😩😩😩'.

Will you be going down to Morrisons to get the cloths? Have you used them before or do you think it's an overhyped product? Head over to our Facebook page and let us know your thoughts!

This handy cleaning hack may surprise you.

Cleaning up after dinner is a fairly dull but habitual routine for us all, and we all have our own way of getting through it.

But, if you're lucky enough to have a dishwasher, you might be surprised to learn that something most of us do, to give this clever device a helping hand, is actually stopping it from doing its job properly.

Apparently, you shouldn't be rinsing your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher,

Yes, that's right.

Although it's okay to scrape off food scraps before you load your plate into the dishwasher, Carolyn Forte, the director of the Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute, has revealed that rinsing them can prevent your dishwasher from cleaning them effectively

As it turns out, your bowls, plates and cutlery need to be dirty in order for the dishwasher detergent to do it's job correctly.

Dishwasher detergent manufacturers such as Cascade have been on a mission to discourage customers from rinsing their dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.

They explained: 'Enzymes in Cascade detergent are designed to attach themselves to food particles. Without food, the enzymes have nothing to latch onto.'

So basically if your dishes are too clean, then that detergent isn't going to work.

If you're conscious of being as environmentally friendly as possible, then you may also want to stop rinsing now, because a consumer report has revealed that pre-rinsing can actually waste up to 6,000 gallons of water per year - eek!

The energy efficient dishwashers that we use today save far more water than hand washing does, so maybe we should just leave it up to them.

This might all seem like a lot of information to take in, because it was a shock for us too, but there is one occasion where pre-rinsing is still acceptable. This is when you're not going to run the dishwasher immediately after loading, because the longer the dishes sit there the harder it will be for the detergent to work its magic on them.

Also just one more fact to let it all sink in for you - using an energy efficient dishwasher instead of scrubbing by hand can save you 230 hours per year.

Can you believe it, we've never heard so many good excuses to stop cleaning up?!

If you want to save the environment and free up some of your own time, stop pre-rinsing now!