Hewes Family Fun

There are tons of videos and posts online across multiple platforms about multi-use cleaners for your home, or why one singular ingredient is better than others. Everyone knows that one person in their life who swears by vinegar.

I know a lot of people like to clean with vinegar, and some people swear by Fabuloso or Pine-Sol.

Having lived in the same house for 11 years, I have realized that there are some things that just need a specific type of product to clean.

And here are my favorite “niche” cleaners, or tools that really get the job done, and aren’t terribly expensive.

Drain fly remover. The way our house is set up, fruit flies and drain flies come in, but they never go out. So I recently discovered drain fly remover, and it has been an absolute game changer. It’s also good for fruit flies and house flies.  The best part is, it is safe to use in a garbage disposal.

Pumice stones . These are great for hard water or calcium buildup. We live in a place that has very hard water, and the hard water stains our toilets. These pumice stones are easy to use and are very inexpensive. You can get them at Dollar tree/Family Dollar, Walmart, and even on Amazon. No additional cleaner is needed; you just scrub at the hard water stains in your toilet with the pus stone, and it basically just exfoliates the stain/buildup right off.

Dishwasher cleaner . You would think something full of hot water and detergent would be clean, right? Wrong. Your dishwasher also has a filter/trap that collects all of the food particles that are blasted off of the dishes. Using a dishwasher cleaner is pretty easy. You just clean your filter, add the dishwasher filter, and run on an empty cycle.

In a similar vein, use a washing machine cleaner. I use this kind once a month.

The other ways that I keep my washing machine nice and clean are pretty simple: when you are not using the washing machine, keep the lid up. This only works if you have a top loader; if you have a front-loading washing machine, it can be difficult sometimes to keep the door all the way open, depending on where your washer is stored in your house. If you can keep it cracked open just a little bit. If it’s a space concern, it will keep your washing machine fresh and mold-free. The other thing I like to do is I like to take a cloth about once a week and wipe down the top of the washing machine, including the gasket that is around the top of the drum. It can get a little funky sometimes.