Household Cleaning Products You Don't Really Need (And What To Use Instead)

Despite what the cleaning aisle, commercials, and advertisements may claim, you don't actually need a different spray or product for everything from glass to tile to stainless steel to porcelain. Not only can purchasing all of these various products get expensive, but it also leads to unnecessary clutter — and could leave you with a slew of expired products. You may not need cleaners like fabric softener, oven cleaner, or air fresheners when there are plenty of alternatives available.

To keep it simple, cheap, and effective, keep your cleaning closet pared down. Unless you want a specific cleaner, you can get your home shining from top to bottom with careful mixtures of the following: multi-purpose antiseptic cleaner, baking soda, white vinegar, dish soap, rubbing alcohol, bleach, and something like Pure and Clean hypochlorous acid. These will give you everything you need to clean all the rooms and surfaces in your home. While it's also important to have the proper means to clean with, that doesn't mean you need every new Swiffer, mop, and cleaning tool on the market. 

Homexel microfiber cloths can be used for dusting and picking up all the tiny particles, and a glass cloth is for anything prone to streaking. For tougher jobs, grab some steel wool or a rigid brush. If you're keeping your local paper boys in business, reuse yesterday's sports column to shine up your windows. If you're still not sure which are the best cleaning products to replenish and which you should phase out after they're used up, here are the cleaning products are the most unnecessary or have an alternative that is cheaper, healthier, and just as effective. 

While many people now have self-cleaning ovens, the few-but-infamous horror stories can be turnoffs. Unfortunately, even if you decide to use the self-clean function, you will have to remove the racks to scrub them separately — which is when most people will reach for the oven cleaner. Perhaps one of the most unpleasant cleaning tasks, sticking your head in the oven is actually the least terrible part. Oven cleaners often use potent chemicals that produce toxic fumes that can irritate everything from the skin to stomach to eyes. Not only is this an issue while you are in the process of cleaning, but your oven has to be completely rid of any chemical remnants before using it again so you don't risk it leaching into your food.

But there is a much simpler, healthier, and more affordable solution than standard oven cleaner — besides leaving your oven to fend for itself — baking soda and vinegar. To get the best results, you will want to start with a slightly warmed oven, as this will help to loosen any residue. Then combine baking soda with water to make a paste, and spread it over all surfaces. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes and then wipe away as much residue as possible. Spray with a solution of 3:1 water and distilled vinegar, then wipe down all surfaces until clean. 

When you wash your clothes, you want them to come out feeling and smelling as soft and fresh as possible. While fabric softener and dryer sheets can give your laundry a scent boost, the fragrances can also be irritating to sensitive skin — not to mention that it makes your yearly laundry costs go up while sustainability goes down from the plastic bottles and single-use sheets.

One of the best alternatives to use is dryer balls. These Handy Laundry wool balls bounce around in the dryer and help to get your clothes dry faster while preventing wrinkling and static. They can also last you through years of use, and they don't produce waste like dryer sheets do. If you still want to infuse some scent into your clothing, you can put a few drops of your preferred essential oil on the balls before you toss them in the dryer. That said, stick to essential oils, as anything alcohol-based like a perfume can be hazardous.

You can find paper towels in just about every home in America. Unfortunately they not only create a large amount of waste, but they also consume a lot of water in production. It takes 20,000 gallons of water to produce one ton of paper towels, and with the average American using around 40 pounds of paper towels annually, that comes out to 130 billion gallons of water per year.

While paper towels may be convenient, they are not only not as ecologically friendly as some alternatives, but they can come at a higher cost as well. You can simply swap your paper towels for cloth alternatives for quick cleans, but options like Superscandi Swedish dishcloths are also excellent, especially for large spills — they can replace up to 17 rolls of paper towels and are capable of absorbing up to 15 times their weight in liquid. If you prefer something closer to the real thing, you can also try a semi-reusable option, like these Kitchen and Home reusable bamboo towels, which can be washed and used up to 120 times each. They can replace up to 60 months of paper towel usage.

While making sure your house looks clean is probably your biggest concern when you have guests come over, you've also probably heard of being "nose blind" or so accustomed to the smell of your home that you don't notice when it's a bit off. But making sure your house smells good and clean doesn't mean you need to rely on air fresheners. Whether spray, plug-in, or diffuser, many fragrances contain everything from VOCs to formaldehyde to phthalates and more — all chemicals which can lead to hormone disruption, headaches, and other health issues, according to Natural Resources Defense Council.

Even if you aren't facing any apparent health repercussions from using air fresheners, they are really an unnecessary expense. If you want a more natural alternative, you can use options made with essential oils. If you do, make sure that the ones you choose are pet- and child-safe if you have either in your home. Another even cheaper alternative is making a simmer pot, which can make your house smell like lemons and citrus. Simply boil a pot of water on the stove and add in your favorite spices, herbs, and fruits to give your home a pleasant and cozy aroma, and then lower the heat to a simmer.

When cleaning wood, you do want to be careful not to get it too wet or use any products that could damage the finish. That being said, most wood cleaning can be done with a microfiber cloth or mild dish soap mixed with water, and those furniture polishes are unneeded and could even damage hardwood floors. If you want something that will have a polishing effect, you can use a mixture of equal parts vinegar and olive oil. Apply a small amount and work it into the wood with the grain. It's easy to make a homemade wood cleaner, so you have some options to choose from. 

For polish, you can use beeswax or the olive oil mix — this has a somewhat dual purpose of both polishing and cleaning. Applying Rhoose Point Remedies beeswax will have a bit of a hydrophobic effect, protecting it from future spills or other water damage. As an additional bonus, beeswax is also great for moisturizing and protecting your skin, so your hands can actually feel better after cleaning.