13 Expert Ways To Make The MOST HATED Cleaning Jobs A Breeze

Let's face it, cleaning isn't always fun.

In fact, some cleaning tasks can be truly unbearable. Expert Home Tips want to help make such tasks a little less unpleasant for you.

While we can't offer to come and clean your houses for you, sadly, we are here to offer advice on how to tackle your most dreaded cleaning jobs. With a few clever techniques, cleaning doesn't have to be that bad at all.

Here are easy ways to tackle the 13 worst cleaning jobs.

1. How to change the vacuum bag easily

Our very own Expert Home Tips Editor, Colleen, said changing the vacuum bag was her worst cleaning job.

Colleen suffers from dust allergies, so this is obviously the main cause of her trouble. She added, however, that the mess caused also drives her crazy.

If changing the vacuum bag is your most-loathed cleaning task too, here are three tips to make it easier:

1. Check the bag regularly. If you leave this cleaning task until the bag is bursting, the job will be much messier. If the bag has begun to bulge, or if it's bulging all over, it needs replacing.
2. Take your vacuum outside! Try changing your hoover bag inside, and the mess will dirty up the surrounding area.
3. Be as gentle as possible. I know you probably want to get this dreaded cleaning task over and done with asap, but if you want to keep mess to a minimum, it's best to be gentle. Ease the hoover bag out rather than tugging and pulling to keep your home clean.

If you have a bagless vacuum, you can also empty it outside to reduce the amount of dust in your home. 

2. Cleaning the floors is one of the worst cleaning jobs

Hands up if you hate cleaning floors! I certainly do. As a surface that gets walked on repeatedly throughout the day, it definitely gets a hammering.

In order to make cleaning your floors a little easier, it's worth always abiding by the three following rules:

1. Clean up any spills asap to avoid tough stains.
2. Get down on your hands and knees quarterly and scrub at tiles and lino. It may seem like an unbearable cleaning task, but it will make regular floor cleaning so much easier.
3. Don't put it off! Floors should be mopped at least once a week to prevent a build-up of filth.

3. How to deep-clean your washing machine

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about cleaning a washing machine is that it even needs doing at all!

It can be a pretty intimidating cleaning task if you don't know where to start.

Luckily for you, Expert Home Tips' Collette wrote a whole blog post detailing how to clean your washing machine - check it out!

4. The simple way to clean your oven

When we asked you what your least favourite cleaning tasks were on Twitter, there was one thing that came up repeatedly - cleaning the oven.

It's a well-known fact that oven cleaning is an arduous task - so much so that people even pay to get their ovens cleaned by professionals!

There's honestly no need to pay for help. Colleen's guide, How to clean your oven the easy way, will get you cleaning like a pro in no time.

5. How to clean indoor plants

On to my worst cleaning task - cleaning indoor plants.

I have quite a bit of greenery adorning my home. While indoor plants look great, they get surprisingly dusty.

When I discovered you can clean indoor plants with a hairdryer, my whole cleaning routine became much more bearable!

Check out Colleen's article for more weird and wonderful ways to use your hairdryer around the home.

Don't forget to vacuum after dusting with this hack!

6. One of the worst cleaning tasks is the kitchen hood

It always surprises me how dirty my kitchen hood seems to get. If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen like me, these tips on how to clean your kitchen hood should come in handy.

• Wherever possible, wipe the kitchen hood over after each use using a soapy kitchen cloth.
• Use your favourite, grease-removing cleaning product on your kitchen hood during the weekly clean. Be sure to also wipe down the sides and any pull out sections of the hood.
• Deep clean your kitchen hood twice a year to maintain effectiveness. This involves taking out the filters, which are responsible for collecting grease. Learn how to do this correctly and safely at The Kitchn. It will help make regular cleaning a breeze!

7. Learn how to make drain-cleaning easier

Just the thought of cleaning the drain it is enough to make your skin crawl. Often covered in a layer of slime and hair, it's not the most pleasant task.

We all know that regular cleaning of our drains prevents a blockage in the long-run, but it's just so...gross.

Make cleaning the drain less unpleasant by following these three tips:

1. Wear gloves, always. I always recommend wearing gloves during cleaning as they really help to protect the skin. With drain cleaning, it's more about not having to make skin contact with nasty things like gunk and hair.
2.  Use a baby bottle brush to remove hair and scrub the sides of the drain. Again, this will remove the need to actually get down and dirty yourself - let the brush do the dirty work for you!
3. Flush your drain with boiling water. To make sure your drain is really spick and span, boil a kettle and pour the water down the drain in three instalments.

Need more help? Find out how to get hair out of drains in our handy guide. 

8. How to clean ceiling fan blades

We don't often need ceiling fans in the UK, but when the heat does strike, you'll be glad to have them.

The key to making this dreaded cleaning job easier is height. You want to get above the fan, so consider using ladders.

Now, onto the clever part. Spritz the inside of an old pillowcase with a 750ml water mixed with 2tbsp distilled white vinegar. Next, place the pillowcase over each ceiling fan blade, and pull it back to remove and trap dust inside.

Nifty, huh?

9. How to decrumb the toaster

Love toast, but loathe toaster maintenance? Crumbs are so messy, it's no wonder decrumbing the toaster is one of the worst cleaning jobs.

You can make this cleaning task much easier by using...the bin. Bring the bin over to your toaster and take off the lid before you begin. Begin by unplugging the toaster - we don't want any accidents!

Gently remove the crumb trays and immediately empty them into the bin, then place into the sink for washing. Next, lift up the toaster and turn it upside down over the bin, shaking it slightly to unblock crumbs. Wash the crumb trays, dry with paper towel, and replace.

Easy!

10. How to clean the grill using...an onion!

I recently wrote an article all about foods that make surprisingly excellent cleaning products. Included was a cleaning tip that involves using an onion to scrub your grill.

This is a surprisingly easy, effective and cheap way to remove grease and grime from the grill and get it looking good again. Go check it out!

11. Cleaning the shower has never been easier

There are lots of ways you could clean your shower, but our favourite way to tackle this cleaning task? Lemon, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.

Lemon is a wonderful limescale remover - perfect for chrome fittings in your shower. Simply rub it over, and leave the juices to work their magic for half an hour or so.

Next, mix up this amazing, all-natural, all-purpose cleaner that uses salt and bicarbonate of soda and scrub over wet tiles - they will come up super smooth and clean in no time at all.

12. Cleaning tips for the kitchen bin

Think of all the nastiness that ends up inside kitchen bins: leftovers, empty packages, dirty serviettes - it's hardly a surprise cleaning the bin is one of the worst household tasks.

I have two main tips to make bin cleaning easier:

1. Invest in quality bags. These will be much stronger, prevent rips and therefore nasty leakages into the bin itself.
2. If possible, take the bin outside. It's a BIG job, and needs a BIG space. Fill with few kettles of boiling water, topped up with cold water and a dash of washing up liquid. Swirl around the bin so the water covers all areas, then leave to sit for half an hour. Empty the water into an outside drain, pull on your rubber gloves and wipe over and remaining dirt - although there really shouldn't be much.

13. How to clean your fridge quickly & easily

Cleaning the fridge can go one of two ways: if you keep an untidy fridge, it's going to be pretty unpleasant. If you keep it organised and tidy in general, however, it'll be a breeze.

The best way to make cleaning the fridge easier is to never let it get too bad. Check for gone-off food regularly and throw it out immediately. Similarly, if you spill sauce inside, be sure to wipe it quickly - dried stains are much more difficult to remove.

When you decide your fridge needs cleaning, pencil it in for the end of the week when it should be relatively empty. Begin by removing the entire content of your fridge, placing food to one side and shelves and drawers to another.

Wipe the inside of the fridge down using soapy water and thoroughly clean and dry shelves and drawers before replacing them. You can then go ahead and replace food.

If you're looking for a super easy hack, why not add some shelf liners to your fridge? You can pull each liner out and give it a quick wipe before replacing.

Phew, I'm glad those horrible cleaning jobs are out of the way. What's your most-dreaded cleaning task?