PROFESSIONAL CLEANERS WHO HAVE MADE IT BIG ON TIKTOK SHARE BEST ADVICE
WHEN I first learned that millions of people use TikTok to watch others clean bathrooms and sock drawers, I was incredulous. What are they going to hook us on next, watching paint dry? I decided to do a cleaningvideo deep dive to see why these snippets are so appealing.
What I found was that the people making them are the real deal: They’re professional cleaners and organisers who have on-the-job know-how and useful tips for saving time and money. I asked a few of them for some of their best advice. Here’s what they had to say: Auri Katariina Kananen (@aurikatariina,
4.1 million TikTok followers)
This 28-year-old from Tampere, Finland, started cleaning houses at 14 as part of her work duty for school. Now, she’s a manager of a cleaning company.
Avoid clutter distraction:
Kananen’s best advice is to clear the clutter, then clean. People get bogged down by rearranging and reminiscing – and then the cleaning doesn’t happen. She suggests putting clutter into a box or bag, then wiping all surfaces before returning everything to its place.
Stains require patience:
“Usually, people put their product on top of the stain, and then immediately start to scrub it,” Kananen says. She applies her solution, then waits five to 60 minutes, depending on the stain.
Oven-cleaning method:
Kananen says to apply oven cleaner to the walls of your oven, then put plastic wrap on top of it to keep the solution in place. Let that sit for at least an hour, then scrub with a heavy-duty scouring pad. For the window, use a glass scraper. Wipe everything away with a cloth.
Lisa Jacobs (@imagineitdone,
44500 TikTok followers)
After a career in beauty and fashion, Lisa Jacobs turned her passion for organising into a business with Imagine It Done, a New Yorkbased company whose TikTok cleaning and organising videos have attracted thousands of viewers.
Duvet-cover trick: Her mostwatched TikTok, with 1.2 million views, shows how to easily insert a duvet inner into its cover.
Lay the cover inside out on your bed, with the open end at the top. Place the inner on top of the cover, and make sure all corners and sides line up evenly. Starting at the bottom end of the bed, roll both the cover and the inner together toward the other side of the bed. Invert the
cover opening around both ends of the bundle, then close the cover. Unroll the bundle and fluff.
Caring for major appliances: Jacobs’s most popular cleaning videos focus on appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers. “People don’t know to clean the filters and other parts of their machines,” she says, “so when something goes wrong, they call a technician, who ends up charging a ton of money for something the owner could have taken care of.”
For washing machines, Jacobs suggests removing and cleaning the detergent compartment and checking for mildew.
The rubber gasket that seals the door in front-loading machines is where most of the mould and mildew collects, causing your machine and clothes to smell. Clean it regularly with a cloth.
Allison Nelson (@allisonscleanin,
1.1 million TikTok followers)
Denver-based Allison Nelson started cleaning houses her senior year of high school to earn extra money. Eleven years later, she has her own cleaning business.
Strategise for efficiency: Dust and vacuum before doing a deep clean. Nelson says this saves rags and cuts cleaning time in half. Another tip: Use your bath to soak items such as blinds, fridge shelves – anything that’s too big for the kitchen sink.
Homemade air freshener: Add about 3cm of fabric softener to a spray bottle, fill with water and a touch of rubbing alcohol. To make a deodoriser, add baking soda. Spray it on carpets, rugs, couches and beds.
◆ Mayhew, a Today show style expert and former magazine editor, is the author of