A maid service bodied a range of TikTok cleaning hacks that they claim do more harm than good as you are attempting to tackle dirt and grime in your home.
Imagine Maids is Chicago’s number-one cleaning service offering a range of services including house cleaning, Air BnB cleaning, office cleaning, and post-construction cleaning. In a recent press release, founder and CEO Melissa Caverly touched on the rise of TikTok hacks, and which ones not to believe.
Lemon and bicarbonate of soda
Because lemon and bicarbonate of soda are relatively cheap cleaning ingredients, they have quickly become the center of many cleaning hacks on TikTok. Unfortunately, because bicarb is alkaline and lemons are acidic, the two ingredients effectively cancel each other out when they begin to fizz on your dirty surface.
“One environmentally friendly alternative you could try instead is using an equal mix of water and vinegar. This can keep your worktops and kitchen shelving looking clean and fresh,” Melissa offered.
Mixing cleaning products
Though you might have mixed products together as a child to create various potions and concoctions, that pastime does not transfer well to adult cleaning. Imagine Maids said that the “more the merrier” attitude could actually be dangerous.
Some of the most dangerous chemicals can be made using common household products, meaning you could accidentally create batches of chlorine gas, chloroform, and even mustard gas. All are extremely hazardous to human health.
“Mixing chemical cleaning products is a huge no-no, as you could end up creating some seriously nasty mixtures,” Imagine Maids said. “Instead, natural cleaning ingredients to consider include white vinegar, thymol, and vegetable glycerin. These natural products will help you clean your home without the risk of poisoning yourself!”
Applying fabric softener to your walls
On TikTok, some content creators are mixing water and fabric softener to create a bespoke product for deep cleaning their walls. Though this might work at first, the solution leaves a sticky residue that eventually leads to considerably more build-up than before.
Melissa explained: “Don’t trust TikTok when it tells you to clean tufted upholstery with dish soap or put Fabuloso in your toilet tank. Proper advice from specialist websites will get you better results – protecting your home and household in the process.’”
