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15 cleaning products that do the dirty work for you — and they're under $25
Cleaning is a necessary evil, especially when spring is on the horizon. But all that scrubbing doesn't have to be totally exhausting. Plenty of products on the market are designed to make the job easier and quicker — and we've rounded up some real winners. From a nearly hands-off microwave cleaner to a set of mop slippers that'll wipe up your floors while you walk (!), these little lifesavers will spare you from having to do most of the dirty work yourself. Plus, each and every item on this list costs less than $25, so you can be on your way to a cleaner home and a happier wallet.
It might resemble an electric toothbrush, but you'll want to use this little gizmo for busting away messes in the tiny corners and crevices of your home. We're taking bathroom tile grout, fridge gaskets, around faucets — anything you don't feel like cleaning by hand, since it scrubs a whopping 60 times per second!
"The Rubbermaid Power Scrubber is amazing!" exclaimed an impressed user. "Not only does it get the water stains out of the tile grout, but it’s small enough to get into the crevices of the shower door and side panels. Black gunk I had never even seen was streaming down, with very little effort from me. Best of all, no pain in my hands from my carpal tunnel syndrome." (Psst: I'm also a fan — check out my full Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber review!)
That caked-on tomato sauce coating the walls of your microwave isn't going to clean itself, but luckily, this little Mama is up to the task. Just fill her with vinegar and water (and lemon juice for a clean scent), pop her in and heat for 5-8 minutes. The vents in her hair will release a mist that'll soften and release the buildup so you'll be able to easily wipe it away.
One brave customer put Mama to the real test: cleaning a microwave that had been neglected for years. The verdict? "Angry Mama is amazing!" they exclaimed. "I just tried this for the first time on my dad's microwave. As you can imagine a bachelor microwave to look like, it was messy. I did exactly as directed and it was an easy clean afterward! This is a life-changer for us! It has been years since his microwave had been cleaned and I was able to wipe the stuck-on food right off."
There's no need to try cleaning out the crumbs between every key on your laptop with spray and a cloth — this slimy yet satisfying gel will do the trick! Stick it anywhere that could use a good dusting — your car's cup holders, console, air conditioning vents — and it'll effortlessly pull up all of that debris. You can even rinse it off and reuse it.
“I used this to clean out the little holes on my iPhone 13,” shared a ColorCoral convert. “Before I used it, people kept telling me they could barely hear me, and the voice-to-text and audio assistant could never understand what I was saying. I used this product for about three to five minutes, and I didn't expect much from it. To my surprise, it cleared up pretty much all the problems I was having. ... I can't recommend this product enough. It worked way better than I could ever ask for.”
Dishwasher starting to stink? The solution could be as easy as popping one of these bad boys into the detergent tray and running a normal wash cycle. Not only will it fill the appliance with a fresh, lemony scent, it'll also help remove limescale and mineral buildup.
"I recently moved to a home where I’m sure the dishwasher had never been cleaned," wrote a satisfied user. "We have hard water and the buildup was bananas. I spent a long time using vinegar and baking soda trying to clean the buildup. Then I found these. No elbow grease required, and what a difference!"
And for your washing machine, these tablets will take care of those musty odors and residue that have accumulated over time so your clothes aren't being 'cleaned' in a dirty appliance. Just place one inside, run a normal or heavy cycle with hot water and simply wipe away any leftover buildup.
"This stuff really works!" gushed a wowed reviewer. "I used it as directed and my washing machine is actually clean. All that nasty gunk under the door gasket? Gone with absolutely no effort! Love it!"
Mopping is the worst, but rather than hauling out a big water bucket and schlepping it around your house, you can slide into these very fashionable slippers. Jokes aside, they'll wipe up spills and other messes while you walk around taking care of other household tasks — just toss 'em in the washing machine when you're done.
"Super neat idea!" said a happy cleaner. "Cute and easy way to dust your floors with absolutely no effort! Just walk around the house lazing, and you're done!"
There's a reason this No. 1 bestselling carpet cleaner has 'instant' in its name. You simply spray some onto the spot you're trying to remove — whether it's a pet stain, ink, blood, coffee — and it'll get to work in a jiffy. It even works on many old stains, no rinsing or vacuuming required.
"Love this!" exclaimed an excited reviewer. "Got red pizza sauce all over my white couch today (note to self: don’t eat pizza on a white couch around a hyper puppy) and used this and the stain was immediately gone. No scrubbing. No fuss. Love this product."
No matter how furiously you scrub away at that mold on your grout, chances are the results are never worth the elbow grease. You'll probably have better luck by squeezing some of this over the stains and letting it sit for at least 7-8 hours. When you come back, a lot of that gunk will have been lifted, making it a breeze to rinse away.
"Where has this been all my life?" pondered one fan. "I tried so many different cleaners and brushes to clean the mold that would grow in the corners of my tub. I was ready to dig the caulk out and start over. I applied a layer of this, left it overnight and rinsed clean the next morning. All of the mold was gone and it required zero scrubbing! I will definitely reorder this to keep my caulk and grout clean."
You can probably tell from the name alone just how hands-off this shower cleaner is! All you do is attach the sprayer head, spritz over your shower once a week, leave for 8-12 hours and rinse with warm water. It'll target soap scum, hard water stains and calcium buildup, and even has a pleasant vanilla scent.
"This stuff is a lifesaver," wrote a relieved parent. "Life is tremendously busy with kids, and cleaning the shower is at the bottom of the list. I bought this due to pure frustration and disgust of my shower, and it has turned it around in a weekend. You literally spray it and forget it, and just with that little effort, I have a clean shower! Also great for glass doors. It cleaned everything!"
And if you have a jetted tub, we're willing to bet you aren't cleaning the filth out of those jets nearly enough (yes, they need regular maintenance). Luckily, it couldn't be easier to do — fill your tub with hot water, pour a quarter of this bottle in, run the jets for 15 minutes, drain and wipe clean. You'll literally be saying, 'Oh, Yuk!' once you see how much nastiness you've been bathing in all this time.
"I had used other products that claimed to clean jacuzzi tub jets, but none compare to this product, which produced amazing results!" raved a happy shopper. "It was very easy to use and clean-up was a breeze! It does leave a ring around the tub, but by following [the] directions on the bottle, with a quick wipe with a clean paper towel, my tub now glistens and smells great! I highly recommend this product to anyone who has a bathtub with jets — you will be very, very pleased."
Let's face it — red wine, as delicious as it is, is a real pain to clean. Well, it was until this nifty spray came along. Formulated without bleach or phosphates, Wine Away helps lift those crimson stains (as well as coffee, sauce, ink, blood and more) in just 1-5 minutes. Your only job is to blot the stain until it disappears and wipe away any residue with a damp rag.
"This product is amazing!" wrote a Wine Away enthusiast. "My boyfriend spilled a glass of wine (he gets animated when he talks) on my carpet and I didn’t know how I was going to get it out. My cats have knocked over bottles of wine onto my carpet before and I used baking soda to get that out, but it was such a long process of scrubbing and scrubbing again. I simply sprayed this Wine Away stain remover onto my carpet, blotted it five minutes later and it was gone!"
Is there anyone who actually likes cleaning their toilet? Anyone? Bueller? That's what we thought. With this nifty tool, you'll probably be able to get away with doing the task a lot less. It's a little dispenser that stamps gel cleaner onto the interior side of the bowl so it can freshen up your toilet with every flush. Each stamp lasts for about 12 days and helps keep limescale, hard water stains and icky odors at bay. Who knew cleaning a toilet could actually be ... fun?
"These are an easy way to help my bathroom smell fresh and clean," shared a longtime buyer. "They also do a pretty good job of reducing how often I need to scrub the toilet bowl. I've been using them for years!"
Water bottles and tumblers are some of the most annoying things to clean; you have to stick your hand down into a narrow opening, and even after a copious amount of scrubbing, those coffee stains usually don't budge. Don't make it harder than it has to be. With Bottle Bright, you fill your vessel with warm water, pop in a tablet, let it fizz up for 15-30 minutes, empty and rinse! That dirty travel mug you thought was a goner will look shinier than you ever thought possible.
"I use my thermos for tea every day," wrote a satisfied sipper. "Needless to say, the inside gets quite colored with tea residue over years of use. ... I was blown away by how effective the tablets were. ... I left it to sit overnight (though it may not have been necessary). In the morning, the thermos was sparkling clean with no scrubbing. ... No tea residue, no weird smells from the chemicals, just clean. This was the easiest cleaning job I have ever done and almost wish I had more scummy mugs to use this with, it's so satisfying."
Keurigs are super convenient when it comes to getting your caffeine fix, fast — but did you know you're supposed to clean them out on the reg? It's not as scary as it sounds. These pods go into the machine just like K-Cups, and then all you do is brew one cycle, remove the pod and brew with just water to flush everything out. When you see how gross the resulting water is due to the prehistoric coffee grounds just sitting in there, you'll be glad you bought these.
"These K-Cup cleaners are so easy to use, it only took around five minutes to clean a filthy Keurig coffee maker," said a fan. "My coffee now tastes like it did when my Keurig was brand new. I'm buying these from now on."
Thought going to town with a Magic Eraser was the only way to get rid of those scuff marks on your walls? Think again! This nearly zero-effort spray can lift everything from fingerprints and crayon messes to ink and food stains in no time — just spray and wipe. It's safe to use on painted surfaces, baseboards, doors and trim.
And while these final three items aren't cleaning products per se, they deserve honorable mention for proactively keeping messes from occurring!
Anyone who's ever had to clean a crusty oven knows how impossible it can be. Our advice? Keep spills from happening in the first place with these nonstick oven liners. They're heat-safe, BPA- and PFOA-free, and you can cut them to fit your appliance. Now, food will spill onto the mats rather than your oven, which are far easier to rinse clean.
"This is so great!" wrote a pleased user. "Keeps my oven clean with no effort on my part. The days of scrubbing gunk off the bottom of the oven are gone. Even with a self-cleaning oven, there is no need to use this feature with the oven liner."
The most genius ideas are often the simplest, as is the case with these No. 1 bestselling stove gap covers. Place them over the openings between your range and counters, and they'll prevent crumbs and other debris from getting trapped down there.
"TikTok made me buy it," admitted one happy shopper. "Pulled out the oven to find a horror story ... got that all cleaned up ... then put these lil' things in. They blend so well, it just looks like something that should have been installed from the beginning. No more crumbs/liquids/grease getting down the sides of the oven. Once you start seeing how much is there for you to wipe up, you realize just how much was falling in between!"
Unless you're really good about cleaning regularly, those shelves in your fridge can easily become coated in a sticky film that gets worse the longer it sits. Instead of dealing with that, line your shelves with these nonstick mats, which are an absolute breeze to clean once they get mucked up. Not only will they act as a protective barrier between your fridge and food spills, they'll also keep the items inside from slipping around.
"My family's infamous for spilling food/drink in the fridge and not cleaning it up," wrote one impressed customer. "By the time I get to the spills, I need a Brillo pad to clean it up. These liners are easy to install and do the job of catching spills. Easy cleanup."
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The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
