Household Cleaning

Household cleaning covers the products that do the weekly scrub: all purpose and floor cleaners, degreasers for the hob and extractor, toilet blocks and plughole gels for the bathroom, soap pads for burnt pans, cloths and dusters, and disposable gloves to wear while you work. A kitchen that fries puris, tempers mustard seeds and simmers curries every day builds up a sticky film of oil on tiles and cupboard doors, and a degreaser lifts it far faster than washing up liquid on a sponge.

Choose by surface and by job. Diluted floor cleaner suits tiles, vinyl and laminate, while a spray degreaser goes on cookers, splashbacks and the tawa shelf. Steel wool soap pads clear burnt rice from a steel pan but will scratch non stick, so keep a microfibre cloth for glass, chrome and painted surfaces. Vinyl gloves come in sizes and protect hands from bleach and grease. Rodent glue traps belong to the same cupboard as the bleach: set them along walls and behind appliances, where mice and rats tend to run, and check them daily.

Store cleaning products high up, away from children and pets and well apart from food, and never mix bleach with other cleaners. Rinse and dry cloths after use so they do not sour. This page sits within personal care and household, next to laundry, toilet rolls, kitchen foil and wraps and candles and air fresheners.