28 Ways To Clean Things, Instead Of Replacing Them

Snag a box of these dishwasher-cleaning tablets before you start appliance window shopping.
Ink and stain remover, drill brush power scrubber and Affresh dishwasher cleaner.

Popular items from this list:

HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Prices and availability are subject to change.

1
Amazon
Revive all sorts of wood surfaces and furniture in your home with wood polish and conditioner
Enhances the natural beauty and depth of grain on finished and unfinished wood. For use on antiques, dining tables, kitchen cabinets, wood doors and trim, etc.

Promising review: "Very impressed so far. Just tried this stuff on one of our kitchen cabinets and it really did a nice job. The cabinets are 15-year-old cherry-stained hard work cabinets (oak, maybe?) and are scratched deeply in certain parts from the previous owner's dogs. Twenty minutes after applying this product and wiping it off, I can't complain at all about the results. It looks great in the picture, and even better in real life, where you are not focusing on staring at imperfections. In addition to helping tremendously with the blemishes, it also leaves a nice glossy shine on the cabinets, making them look clean and fresh (not over-the-top glossy and fake). For the minimal price, I can't complain at all. Finally, I used about a 1/3 of an ounce to do the 36" double base cabinets and the 36" wide drawer, so I believe the 16-ounce bottle will last quite a while." — Patrick Gallagher

2
Use a watermark-removing cloth
Saving a piece of furniture is well worth the (small) price tag.

Promising review: "Worked wonders! I spilled nail polish remover on my nightstand. This worked like magic! Just rub lightly with the cloth." — JMac

3
Degunk your most-used appliance with a fume-free oven cleaner
Promising review: "I have a seasonal home with an oven that I thought was so far gone that I'd have to replace it. I had to do a little scraping off the bottom with a spatula, but you can see how bad it was." — Jilly Bean

4
Spiff up just about anything you have around your house like car headlights, pots and pans, porcelain sinks and stove tops
To understand just how versatile this product is, check out this Bar Keepers Friend review.

Promising review (for the pics on the left): "I’ve been using this to clean up my truck. It works great on rust and scratched-up windows and foggy headlights." — C. Baker

Promising review (for the pics on the right): "With a little elbow grease and this product, your pots/pans will come back to life. This took me about eight minutes. Amazing results at a fair price." — Alyssa Hinojosa

5
Erase sticky messes you've resigned to living with thanks to a bit of Goo Gone
Seriously, a swipe of this stuff made the goo leftover from a magnet wipe away like magic — of course, after I'd ruined a manicure unsuccessfully scratching away at it.

Promising review: "I used this on my JBL LSR4236P Studio Monitors, and it worked very well. For some reason, JBL decided to put some kind of weird adhesive on the front of these monitors, which caught every piece of cat hair and dust that touched it over the years. Used this with some paper towels and a little elbow grease, and the adhesive came off quickly. The picture I added: (Left) After Goo Gone; (Right) Before Goo Gone." — Andrew
6
Skip buying a new shower surround by using a rust-removing spray that'll work wonders
Promising review: "Used it on our tubs, toilets, sinks, and shower. Compared it to the It Works Bathroom you can get at The Dollar Tree. It took one bottle of this stuff to achieve the same result as three bottles of the It Works. I will buy this again hands down. I tried the powder, which was good for scrubbing and soaking the tub, but the spray was fantastic for the shower and sink. Just spray, walk away for a few minutes, and wipe/rinse." — Carrie D

7
Turn back time with the help of water bottle-cleaning tablets
Promising review: "I wasn't sure if this was a gimmick or not. Turns out it works really well. I have four metal thermos-like containers that are used to keep tea warm every day. Over time, the tea stained the insides and was very difficult to remove. I added one of these tablets to the container, filled it with hot water, and let it sit for a few hours. When I came back to rinse it out, I was literally amazed at how clean it was. I think it looked cleaner than when they were new. I called my wife over to show her, and she was equally impressed. Awesome product!" — Robert A Moreno II
8
Scrub away hard-water marks and all kinds of nastiness with a toilet-dedicated pumice stone
Psst, this will work on porcelain sinks too! Just please buy a separate one for your sink. (Eek.)

Promising review: "We rented a home, and the toilets were disgusting. Someone suggested a pumice stone, and let me tell you — it was amazing!! The picture is after just five minutes with the stone. I tried bleach, every toilet bowl cleaner available, and countless hours of scrubbing to no avail...but this stone worked instantly! I will be buying several more!! The stone does dissolve when scrubbing, so you need a couple. I was able to do almost two toilets that looked awful completely with one stone!!" — CristaCross

9
Wash your makeup brushes with a reviewer-loved makeup brush cleanser
Promising review: "This cleanser is great! It fully removes all makeup from the brushes without leaving them feeling beat up (I'm not the most gentle when it comes to cleaning brushes). I use a thick foundation that soaks heavily into the bristles, but this removed it all. At first I thought it was a bit thin, but after using it, a little bit goes a long way. It has a nice lather, but very nicely and easily rinses out." — Kryssy

10
A silver polish to bring some family heirlooms back to life
Promising review: "I was able to clean up a tea set given to my grandfather 40 years ago. This stuff worked amazingly!" — Kristi Lane

11
Or a container of silver-polishing wipes to make every night a fancy tea party
Package includes 20 saturated wipes.

Promising review: "It was so satisfying to watch the tarnish wipe right off! I'm no silver snob/don't know a lot about taking care of it, so I'm not sure if this product is the best for your high-end silver, but for me it definitely does the trick! It took me three to four wipes for the pitcher and two for the cream and sugar bowls. It looks like I probably used a third of the container. (Though the wipes were still very saturated, they had so much black/tarnish, I would start a new rag. I'm not sure if it's recommended to just keep using it even when it gets all ruddy?) So this might not be the most reasonable option if you have a large amount of silver." — Lauren
12
Amazon
Scrub away dirt and debris with this ultrasonic jewelry cleaner
Gently removes dirt, dust, and grime from jewelry, eyeglasses, and watches in five preset cleaning cycles without damaging them.

Promising review: "I just used this, and I am IN LOVE!! I paired it with the Blitz jewelry cleaner. My rings were gross from lotion, sunscreen, hand soap, sweat etc. I don't have time to run to my jeweler to get them professionally cleaned. This does the trick, and same exact results! In three minutes" — Rebecca Morea
13
And try a cleaning pen that'll gently revive the look of your jewels
Promising review: "I worked several years in a fine jewelry store that sold this product. We used the Dazzle Stik from time to time to add a quick shine to merchandise that was just tried on, and on days our jeweler was not there to professionally clean items. I was always impressed with the instant shine the diamond stick provided. The brush tip is very helpful for getting under the stones and in the setting where gunk builds up, reducing that brilliant shine. I recently got engaged and immediately purchased a Diamond Dazzle stick of my own. It's the perfect way to quickly give my ring some shine before leaving the house. You simply brush, rinse, dry, and go. I don't feel this product replaces the need to professionally clean your jewelry every now and then, but it does help with the maintenance of that new shiny sparkle." — Amazon customer
14
Gag with delight once you run this jetted tub cleaner through your system
Promising review: "OK, so I am somewhat of a clean freak, and I run bleach through the jets prob twice a month on top of my daily weekly cleaning. And I was skeptical about how this product could get it any cleaner than I thought it was. Well I am here to tell you this pic is after the second cleaning with this cleaner!!!! I am a believer and would highly recommend this product to anyone with a jetted tub!!" — Momof2greatboys
15
Tackle all kinds of nasty-looking appliances and even your grill with a drill brush cleaning kit
Includes three brushes that'll attached to a standard handheld drill.

Promising review: "I’m in love with this. I manage many apartment properties, and finding people to do the cleaning has been tricky business, so I end up having to get in and clean these horrendous filth pods tenants lived in and left me to deal with when they move out. The ovens and stove tops are usually the worst, and I absolutely hate cleaning. I came across this drill attachment set, and let me tell you, it helped me tremendously! I still had to get in with a putty knife on some of them, but it really cut down my elbow-grease time. If it wasn’t for this drill attachment, I think my arms would have just fallen off trying to clean it as good as I did! My only con would be that it doesn’t have any extension of any sort, so I really had my drill all up in that oven, but well worth it." — alicia haats
16
Transform your bathtub with a mold and mildew removal gel
Promising review: "Wow! After YEARS of elbow grease and zero results, I tried this stuff before giving up and stripping the old caulking from the top of my shower. I’m so glad that I did too! I mean, look at these results! Granted, it was on for about eight hours instead of six because I forgot about it, but the black mold/mildew just rinsed away — no scrubbing at all! STOKED! Super easy to use too!" — Nice marmot!
17
Clear out your dryer's lint trap of debris with a special brush
Also, built-up lint is a fire hazard! Make it a part of your weekly cleaning routine.

Promising review: "This is exactly the same type as the one used by the appliance repairman who repaired my dryer last week; easy to use inside the dryer filter holder as well as the outside vent." —ab

18
Amazon
De-funk those favorite flats of yours with some charcoal inserts
Promising review: "I have a pair of minimalist sneakers that just reeked during this past summer. They were starting to make my entire hallway smell. So I gave these a try. I continued wearing the sneakers daily and put these in them each night. It took a few days before the odor started to go away, but after about a week the sneakers were much fresher. I'm still using them, and they are still working just fine. Just leave them in the sun for a day if they start to smell." — Joshua
19
Add a hard-water booster to your dishwasher to finally get your Pyrex bowls to shine
Promising review: "We have ridiculously hard water. The Culligan guy who tested it was surprised it doesn’t come out of the faucet as a solid. My dishes, especially my Pyrex bowls and casserole dishes, were almost white from the buildup. Nothing ever seemed clean. I tried this, and it’s an absolute miracle. My dishes are clean again. See the comparison in the picture — bowl on the left is 'clean'; it was washed without the Finish booster. The bowl on the right was washed with. I’m totally not kidding — it completely does what it says!" — CB

20
And toss some cleaning tablets in your dishwasher to help make that appliance work so much better
Promising review: "Moved into a new house and thought the dishwasher was broken. We avoided using it for SEVERAL MONTHS while we saved for a new one. Called a repair service, described what was wrong, and they suggested using Affresh first. After two uses, the dishwasher was good as new — never replaced it. Thank you!" — Mojito

21
Amazon
Give some washing machine tablets a go
Designed to penetrate, dissolve, and remove odor-causing residue. Tablet dissolves slowly, lasting throughout the entire wash cycle and breaking up residue better than bleach. Safe to use with front-load washing machines, top- load washing machines, and high-efficiency (HE) and conventional washers. Recommended for monthly use.

Promising review: "This is really the only HE washer cleaner I buy. It leaves my washer with that fresh smell — not that it stinks — and clean after each use. How do I know it's clean? I can see some the residual gunk on the inner wall of the washer drum when the cleaning is done. I just have to wipe it off of course. Using other brands, I can't even tell if the appliance has really been cleaned or not." — AES
22
Revive most anything around your home with Magic Erasers
Promising review: "I bought this because my AirPods case got stained from the pockets of my black scrubs. I saw online that people have used Mr. Clean Magic Erasers safely and efficiently to clean it off. And no lies were detected. LOOK AT THIS 😭. Looks almost brand new." — Daneal

23
Save basically anything you've spilled vino on with a red-wine stain remover
Promising review: "This stuff is magic! Works in seconds! I highly, highly recommend." — Diane Harper

24
Try an under-the-radar solution with serious stain-removing prowess
It can remove oil, grease, ink, grass, and blood stains for all my vampires out there. Psst, a few months ago I recommended this to a friend who fell in a puddle of motor oil on a sidewalk and then accidentally wiped it on her camel coat. It got the stains out!

Promising review: "This stuff is so amazing. I'm a witness. My 2-year-old baby wrote all over my white leather couch. I tried multiple things and nothing worked but Grandma's Secret Spot Remover. I love this stuff." — L. Nix

25
Save yourself some dollars and trouble with a headlight restoration kit
Promising review: "I probably bought the product without reading much into it. The important thing to know is that you need to buy sandpaper separately. I wet-sanded with 400, then 1,000, then 2,500 and skipped the compound/polish step to achieve the results you see in the images." — Amazon customer

26
A four-way cleaning brush for suede
It has four sides: one to clean heavier scuff marks and stains, one to gently clean fine suede and light scuff marks, one to clean rounded corners, and one to clean hard-to-reach crevices and grooves.

Promising review: "I was really sad when I thought my bucks were at the end of their road, because I had always heard that suede couldn't be cleaned. With this brush and a little elbow grease, my bucks are looking great again! I didn't use any water or cleaner; I just kept wiping the brush off on my jeans to keep the brush clean, then hit the shoe again with a clean surface. It even brightened the leather up a bit." — Roberto
27
Or bring those kicks back to life with a powerful shoe cleaner
Promising review: "I have had my Nike Roshe runs for about a year now, and I don't go easy on them. I play sports and run in the dirt with them all the time, but I also like to wear them for fashion purposes. Pink Miracle helped restore my daily shoes to look like I just bought them — now I can wear them for even longer. Very pleased with Pink Miracle. I will buy it again when I run out of my bottle." — Romario
28
Erase all sorts of pen accidents with this ink remover
Promising review: "Amodex took ink out of my expensive scrubs. A pen leaked in my pocket and made a thick glob of ink stain on the scrub jacket and a little on the pants. After using the Amodex and washing in cold water, there is no evidence of a stain, and the fabric looks exactly how it looked before the stain. There was no damage or discoloration of the fabric. Thank you, Amodex. This product just saved me the $75 that it would have cost to replace the scrubs." — Michelle hammer

Before You Go

An internet-famous hair treatment that contains a blend of proteins, collagen and ceramides

24 Hair Products That Are Basically Bottles Of Pure Magic

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN SHOPPING