Have you ever seen a cleaning hack online and thought, “Does that actually work?” I put six of the strangest cleaning hacks from around the internet to the test to find out which ones are worth your time and which you should skip. Here’s the verdict on each.
⭐️Quick Answer: Which Cleaning Hacks Actually Work? – Out of the six hacks tested, three are worth using and three are not. The spoon-on-a-strainer trick, sunscreen for removing permanent marker, and a wet tennis ball for scuff marks all earned a “use it.” Meanwhile, the wet sock for dusting baseboards, the melted-toothbrush scrubber, and the lemon-and-toothpaste washing machine cleaner all got a “lose it.” Read on for how each one performed.
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Wet Sock for Dusting Baseboards: Lose It
The idea here is to wet a sock, wring it out, slip it on your foot, and use it to dust your baseboards as you walk by. It’s easily one of the most creative hacks I’ve ever come across, but it has some real drawbacks in practice.
For starters, putting a wet sock on is genuinely difficult, and the feeling of wet socks is the worst. There’s also the concern that any splinters on your baseboards could end up in your foot, which would not be fun. Did it work? Sure, it’s a damp material, so it pulled up some dust just like any damp towel would. But between all the awkward steps and how impractical it is, this one isn’t quick or worth it. Verdict: lose it.
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Spoon on a Strainer to Rinse Soap: Use It
Strainers are a huge pain to rinse, since soap loves to cling in all those little holes. This hack uses nothing more than a simple spoon. Get your strainer soapy, place a spoon on top of it, turn on the water, and move it around a bit.
The result was genuinely impressive, rinsing the soap out fast in a way that would normally take much longer. I love a good cleaning hack that uses something you already have in your kitchen, and this one delivers. Verdict: use it, highly recommended.
Sunscreen to Remove Permanent Marker: Use It
This one sounds too strange to work. The idea is that Sharpie ink dries with a binder that glues the pigment to a surface, and the oils in sunscreen break that binder down, so instead of fighting the stain you’re removing what holds it in place. It’s said to work on leather and on walls, unless you have flat paint.
I tested it on a leather belt first, drawing a line with a Sharpie and letting it dry completely, then spraying on a generic sunscreen. Almost immediately the marker started lifting from the surface. A quick scrub with a toothbrush and a wipe with a towel, and it was completely gone, which is wild for permanent marker. It worked on a dried Sharpie mark on the wall too, taking a bit more sunscreen and scrubbing since paint is porous, but it lifted beautifully. Verdict: use it.
💡One tip: sunscreen can leave a sticky residue behind, so afterward go over the area with a damp towel and a little dish soap to remove any film so it won’t attract dirt over time.
Melted Toothbrush Scrubber: Lose It
This hack has you cut the head off a toothbrush, melt it, and reattach it at a different angle to create a “scrubber.” Right away, this felt like a lot of extra steps to accomplish something a toothbrush already does.
To be fair, once it was assembled it did work reasonably well on a window track, and I’m a big believer in keeping old toothbrushes in your cleaning kit for getting into nooks and crannies. But that’s exactly the point: a regular toothbrush would have worked the same way without all the cutting and melting. Verdict: lose it.
Wet Tennis Ball for Scuff Marks: Use It
This one has you wet a tennis ball and use it to buff scuff marks off your walls. It’s unique, but it works better than I expected. Running a wet tennis ball over a mark on the wall lifted it right off, though it does leave a few fuzzies behind.
As a janitor over the years, I’ve used tennis balls on floors to remove scuff marks, often cut open and placed on a stick, so I know the material works. I’d just never thought to use one on walls. If you have a tennis ball lying around and some scuffs to tackle, give this a try. Verdict: use it.
Lemon and Toothpaste in the Washing Machine: Lose It
The claim is that cutting a lemon in half, adding toothpaste, and tossing it in your washing machine will freshen it up and remove odors. I can tell you for a fact this one doesn’t work.
Yes, lemons have a little citric acid and toothpaste has some mild abrasive qualities, but the small amounts involved just aren’t enough to do any meaningful cleaning in a washing machine. What’s really doing the work is the hot water in the cycle. Instead, buy a washing machine cleaning tablet, which is packed with far more citric acid, or grab a bag of citric acid on its own. Either will clean your machine ten times better. Verdict: lose it.
The Takeaway
Testing these out proved that some viral cleaning hacks are absolutely worth adding to your routine, while others are just extra steps dressed up as clever. The spoon, sunscreen, and tennis ball tricks all earned a permanent spot in my kit. If you want more tips like these delivered every week, my free newsletter, Clean Freak Weekly, is packed with cleaning tips, tricks, and hacks to make cleaning easier and a little more fun.
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