Spring Cleaning Essential Tools & Helpers

Allison Weeks
3 days ago
8 min read

Essential cleaning tool #1, Brooms and Brushes

Brooms are likely one of the first cleaning tools. They made their appearance in households as early as 4000 BC when ancient Mesopotamians would bind together twigs and spices for a handheld sweeping tool. The Shakers are credited with inventing the flat broom in the late 1700’s and by the mid-1800s brooms were being made in factories then sold door-to-door to homemakers eager to use this helpful tool in their cleaning routines.

Today, you can buy a basic corn broom at most hardware stores for around $10. Gone are the days of binding together twigs for all your sweeping needs. Now there’s a specialty broom or brush for just about every job. But you don’t need to supply yourself with all the brooms and brushes. Here are a few guidelines for what to look for in a broom and which ones you should use for common cleaning tasks.

A traditional stiff corn broom is an excellent and inexpensive tool for most any sweeping job, especially sweeping surfaces like sidewalks, brick and sturdy tile floors, even rough carpets and mats. Do not use this coarse broom on delicate rugs or surfaces that scratch easily like wood floors. Instead choose a softer broom made of fine natural or synthetic fibers.
A broom with an angled head is ideal for sweeping kitchens and bathrooms because it can easily reach into corners and under cabinets.
A push broom with a large head of short stiff bristles is perfect for sweeping large open spaces such as garages, sidewalks and driveways.

Brushes, the broom’s smaller siblings, come in all shapes, sizes and materials. A sturdy hand-held scrub brush is helpful for most cleaning jobs. Look for one with stiff bristles and an ergonomic design that will allow you to use it comfortably for an entire cleaning job. Grout brushes are specially designed with small narrow angled heads of stiff bristles to really get into grout lines. An old toothbrush will work in a pinch, but generally the bristles are not stiff enough to really scrub the grout. Bonus, a grout brush can serve double duty in cleaning the narrow lines of window sill tracks.

A toilet brush is a standard reusable tool for cleaning toilets. However, I highly recommend a toilet cleaning wand with disposable pads. I find that the pads clean better than a brush and they are more sanitary. A toilet brush has to be kept clean and dry or else it becomes a bacteria factory…and your bathroom doesn’t need any more help producing bacteria.

Essential Cleaning Tool #2, The Mop

Archeological evidence suggests that the first mops were used by ancient Egyptians to clean their floors. Likely just a stick with some rags or plant fibers attached. They weren’t fancy, but they were a type of mop. The sailor’s swab was a necessary tool for ships the world over as early as the 1400s. Made of thick rope attached to a stick, sailors used them to swab the the ships decking. More modern string mops began to take shape in the late 1800’s. Along with inventions for mop holders and wringers, the mop became a truly useful modern tool for homemakers.

Today, you can choose from a traditional string mop made of cotton or microfibers with built-in wringer or none, sponge mop, flat mops and steam mops. My personal favorite is a steam mop. It cleans tile and other sealed floors beautifully with very little water, no cleaning solution required, and the cleaning pads or head covers are washable and reusable. You should never put anything but water in your steam mop reservoir, but I like to put a couple of drops of lavender essential oil in the mop head cover before putting it on. It gives a really nice smell and a bit of antibacterial power to the steam.

For cleaning wood floors, I recommend a flat mop with a reusable microfiber pad. Bona makes one specifically for hardwood with the cleaning solution sprayer built into the handle. A flat mop with microfiber pad is also a handy tool for wiping down walls, windows and tall mirrored surfaces.

Essential Cleaning Tool #3, The Vacuum Cleaner

Early homemakers had but one choice for cleaning carpets and rugs. They could sweep up some of the larger debris, but for dust and settled in dirt, the only option was to take the rug outside, hang it up on a line or over a fence and beat the dirt out with wicker or metal carpet beaters. It was time consuming and labor intensive. In the late 19th century, mechanical carpet sweepers were invented, and by the mid-twentieth century, portable powered vacuum cleaners were used in most homes to keep carpets and rugs free of dust and dirt.

Today, homemakers can choose from canister, upright, bagless, stick, corded, cordless and robot vacuum cleaners. Believe it or not you can still buy mechanical carpet sweepers if you would like an option for cleaning hard carpeted areas, sturdy rugs and hard floors using only manpower rather than electricity. These will not do a great job however of removing fine dust and particles.

Consider your space and your health needs when choosing a vacuum. Cordless stick vacuums are great for going anywhere in the house for a quick vacuum but the battery will only go for so long before it needs a recharge. There’s nothing more de-motivating than getting half-way through a cleaning job when the vacuum dies. Also, those batteries don’t last forever and replacements can be costly. Keep that in mind when shopping for vacuums.

A bagged vacuum will catch a lot more dust and allergens than a bagless, something to consider if you or a family member suffers from allergies. I won’t speak to robot vacuums as I’ve never owned one and for the purposes of spring cleaning, I feel like you still need a human operated vacuum cleaner.

A good vacuum will not only clean floors, but can be used to remove dust and debris from just about any surface; window coverings, upholstery, shelves, lamp shades and ceiling vents, to name a few. So be sure to look for one that has a detachable hose with versatile attachments like a narrow wand for tight spaces and an upholstery brush for soft furnishings.

Other Tools

A good broom, a handheld stiff brush, a mop and a vacuum cleaner are the main tools you will need for regular and seasonal cleaning. But there are a few other necessities that will make your job much easier.

something to dust surfaces
something to wipe down surfaces
something to clean windows
a good pair of rubber gloves
a step ladder
your choice of cleaning solutions

Dusting furniture, light fixtures and other surfaces can be tedious and messy. Make your job easier with a tool that doesn’t just push the dust around but actually collects it-a microfiber duster is a great option whether disposable or reusable, or use a lint free cloth with some dusting spray. My go-to dusting cloth…a cotton cloth diaper. It’s very soft, lint free and you can buy a pack of 10 for just a few dollars. I use it with an all purpose dusting spray like Pledge. Always spray the cloth, not the surface.

For wet cleaning of counters and other surfaces, I love a good microfiber cloth. I keep a stack of gray ones in the kitchen and white ones in each bathroom…white because I can bleach them.

To clean windows and glass, use a microfiber cloth with glass spray either homemade or store bought. For seasonal window cleaning you will want a squeegee and a bucket, both items that come in handy for cleaning cars as well as windows.

Get yourself a few pair of long arm rubber cleaning gloves. Your hands and skin will thank you.

A lightweight narrow foldable step ladder is, in my opinion, an essential household tool, especially for seasonal cleaning. You’ll be tackling spaces you don’t normally touch---hard to reach, high up, awkward spaces. Please do not trust yourself to some rickety old kitchen chair. Go to Walmart and get a $30 featherweight, 4-step, aluminum ladder. These take up very little space. They easily fit beside a fridge, in a closet or under a bed and will allow you to safely clean all of those hard to reach spaces, not to mention change light bulbs or hang curtains without teetering on the edge of the back of the sofa while doing so…yes, I speak from experience.

Now, you need to decide what type of cleaning solutions you want to use. I am crunchy-adjacent on a lot of things, but cleaning supplies is not really one of them. I use diluted Pine Sol for cleaning bathroom counters and the outside of the toilet, Soft Scrub for the shower, Windex for glass, Bar Keepers Friend for my stainless steel sink, and bleach as needed. You do you. Many people are very sensitive to cleaning products, so figure out what works for you and your home. But look for products that actually do the job you need them to do. Use the right product for the right application.

Many Hands Make Light Work

Now that we’ve covered all the tools and supplies, let’s talk about helpers. How can you elicit help from family members? When is it time to call in the professionals? What are a few little personal tips that will help you make the most of your seasonal cleaning experience?

Help from Family Members

I highly recommend you make a plan for seasonal cleaning with your family schedule in mind and with the input and help of all able-bodied household workers; your husband, your teenagers, older elementary kids and any other adults living in the home.

Hold a family meeting, start a group chat, whatever works for you to discuss your seasonal cleaning goals, decide who is going to tackle which job, and set expectations and a timeline for each job.

Calling in the Professionals

When is it time to get professional help for big seasonal cleaning jobs? I can’t answer that for you. However, I can offer a couple of guidelines.

If you cannot perform the task effectively and or safely on your own. Window washing is a great example of this. Depending on your house, it may be quite dangerous to try and clean the outside of windows on upper floors. Chimney cleaning is another seasonal job best left to professionals, in my opinion. It requires special equipment and safe practices again because you may be facing a climb onto the roof to access a blocked chimney. Also, a professional will give you peace of mind that the chimney is clean and clear of all debris and soot so that when you use it you won’t burn your house down.
When the benefits outweigh the costs. Do a time over money analysis and be realistic with what you can accomplish. Are you facing an unusually busy spring season? Maybe the cost of hiring some help to tackle the big jobs will be worth the time you save. What is more valuable in this current season, the time or the money? If your budget has no room for extra time-saving help, consider bartering with a friend. She comes to help you with a big job this season and you go help her next season. Or trade her help for something else valuable you can give her, like fresh eggs from your chickens for a month. Be creative.

4 Tips to Help Yourself Embrace & Enjoy Seasonal Cleaning

Slow Down: Remember, seasonal cleaning is a marathon not a sprint. Set yourself a reasonable schedule, chipping away at the tasks a little at a time rather than becoming overwhelmed at trying to do everything in a day or two. As you approach each task, try not to be in a big hurry. Set aside an adequate amount of time for the task and enter in with purpose to every part of it.
Engage Your Senses: Use cleaning solutions that smell nice. Choose tools that are pleasing to the eye and comfortable to the touch. Tune your ear to the sounds of the broom swishing back and forth, the suds sloshing in the bucket. Play music to set the tempo of your work.
Engage Your Mind: Listen to a book or podcast, preferably something just for fun. Reserve that new fiction book you’ve been dying to read for this time of seasonal cleaning. The fact that you get to listen to a few chapters will motivate you to show up for and complete each job.
Be Organized: Have a plan, have the supplies you need, and have the time you need.