With spring in full swing, now is the best time to get started on your cleaning and decluttering checklist. Even though it can take a lot of work, cleaning eliminates germs and bacteria from the surfaces that you interact with (trust us, your phone needs a good cleaning). What’s more, studies have shown that cleaning may help manage stress, decrease your anxiety and even make you feel more accomplished.
Even if you’ve deep cleaned your home a thousand times before, there are always new tips and better tricks to learn. With the help of Carolyn Forte, the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab Executive Director, who has been testing and reviewing cleaning products with the brand for over 40 years now, you can pick up the absolute best advice that will make your spring-cleaning experience easy, effective and dare we say it, enjoyable.
JOIN GH+ NOW
In Good Housekeeping‘s new Ultimate Cleaning Guide, available only to GH+ members, Carolyn shares her favorite cleaning supplies, techniques and exclusive secrets that she has tested over the years. Not sure what vacuum works best on your hardwood floors? Have a huge stain from an unfortunate red wine accident? Wondering how often you should be cleaning your electronics? Not even sure where to start? This exclusive digital guide has all the answers and more.
To give you a preview of what to expect, here’s one of Carolyn’s top tips:
How do I remove old stains from carpet?
Reappearing stains happen when you’ve erased the stain from the surface of a carpet but failed to deal with the portion of the stain that’s trapped or hidden down below. So before you toss the evidence of that red wine-stained rug or cover up that coffee-stained corner, try these simple steps:
- Spritz a cloth with carpet cleaner, then work the carpet cleaner into the base of fibers — with your fingers if you need to — rinse well and blot.
- Fold a sheet of paper towel into quarters and place it on top of the area.
- Weigh it down with a heavy pot or vase and leave it overnight. Any leftover stain will be absorbed by the paper towel.
- When it’s dry, toss the dirty towel and fluff the tufts.
Ready to get access to all of Carolyn’s cleaning knowledge? Sign up to be a GH+ member. When you sign up, you will receive access to this guide, as well as past exclusive GH+ guides, like our 14-Day Declutter Challenge and our 7-Day Meat-Free Meal Plan. In addition to these bonus guides and challenges, GH+ members also receive unlimited access to digital content, special money-saving deals and discounts, the chance to be a product tester, a one-year magazine subscription, and so much more!
