Top 5 Cleaning Myths You NEED to Stop Believing

It seems that today more than ever we are bombarded with different so called "hacks" that help create some form of short cut for even the simplest of things. Cleaning being one of the most popular out there! Whether you are clicking on a random article on the front page of Yahoo, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter you name it it's on there. Now, most of these are meant to be for a "that's pretty cool I might give that a try!" type of response and I'm sure we've all tried at least one of these so-called hacks at one point in time.

Read on as today I will be putting on my fancy "myth buster" hat to debunk some of these outrageous myths on cleaning that could be doing you more of a disservice than actually helping. Because who wants to live by taking short cuts in life am I right?

Vinegar is an Effective and Appropriate Cleaner for All Surfaces

This one is a popular one that I have been seeing float around the internet and this is a huge NO! While vinegar may be able to help with certain tasks like removing grime on certain surfaces, it is not appropriate for everything. It can cause damage or corrosion to metal, glass or even certain ceramic and stone surfaces due to the acidic acid in the vinegar. It can strip the wax on the wax floors and even unseal tile grout over time. Pete He, PhD, the chief scientist and co-founder of Dirty Labs also notes that the EPA does not recognize vinegar as an antimicrobial agent for sanitization or disinfecting.

Using Newspaper to Clean Windows and Mirrors

Another NO! This myth used to have some validity to it as newspapers used to be made with thicker paper than what they're made with today. The thinner newspapers today will quickly deteriorate when they are wet and leave spots on your glass mirrors or windows. As if we all want to see last week's headlines on the window when we want to take that much needed break from work and stare out the window wishing we were outside instead of inside.

Baking Soda to Remove Odors From Carpets

Don't hold your breathe on this one if you think baking soda can help you out with this. Yes, it seems like it comes in handy a lot for us all and has many uses but not for this. And yes, even myself included have done this before so guilty as charged but it's a lazy way out. While it can absorb unwanted odors, it does not attack the main source of the odor and only masks the smell for a brief period. Just get your carpets cleaned once a year people!

Bleach Cleans Everything

I know this one may anger a lot of people but the truth must come out and you can always count on me to have all of your backs! Yes, on its own it can be good for spot stain removal but still needs some sort of surfactant to lift the actual dirt out. And check this out, according to Caroline from Winc, bleach "degrades the layers of a surface, making them more susceptible to bleach resistant superbugs which breed when bleach is overused or used as a sole cleaning agent". I am just going to leave that one there for all of you. Just use disinfectants that are less harmful.

Using Coca-Cola to Clean Your Toilets

As with just about every single myth listed above including this one it may seem like an interesting cost-effective idea, it may not be the smartest. The sugar contained in the soda is actually very harmful as it attracts more bacteria. You vinegar folks this may be your moment as a good alternative to this with your toilet bowl is actually vinegar!

Any of you out there have any other fun cleaning myths that have been debunked? Or just myths in general? Please provide in the comments below and let us know!