Your 2026 Cleaning & Organizing Guide: Tips from a Pro

Feeling overwhelmed by the post-holiday mess or the general chaos of a busy Chicago life? You’re not alone. Between work, family, and the city’s hustle, keeping your space clean can feel like a second job. This guide is packed with real, actionable advice to help you reclaim your home and your peace of mind.

Start Small: The Power of Micro-Resolutions

Forget the pressure of massive New Year’s overhauls. The secret to lasting change is starting with tiny, manageable habits. Instead of vowing to clean your entire apartment in a day, commit to a two-minute task, like wiping down the kitchen counters each night. These “micro-resolutions” are sustainable and build momentum, making it easier to tackle bigger projects later. If building these habits feels daunting, remember that a professional home cleaning service can provide the reset you need to maintain.

Conquer Overwhelm by Breaking It Down

When a project feels too big—like reorganizing a basement or decluttering a closet—break it into single, simple tasks. Tell yourself you only need to assemble one shelf or sort through one box. Often, starting is the hardest part, and momentum will carry you forward. Put on a podcast or your favorite music to make the time enjoyable. If the project is still too much, that’s a perfect time to schedule a cleaning with a team that can handle the heavy lifting.

Win the Battle Against Pet Hair & Stains

For pet owners, fur and the occasional accident are just part of life. Here’s a three-part strategy to keep things under control:

• Vacuum Daily: This is non-negotiable. A quick daily pass with a good vacuum on rugs, upholstery, and floors prevents buildup. Consider a robot vacuum for daily maintenance between deeper cleans.
• The Laundry “Dryer Sandwich”: To remove pet hair from clothes, run them in the dryer for 10 minutes before washing. This traps hair in the lint filter. Wash as usual, then dry again.
• For Accidents: Use an enzyme-based cleaner designed for pet stains. These products break down the organic matter and odor at the source, which is crucial for thorough cleaning.

Keeping up with pets is a big job. For a truly fur-free home, sometimes you need deep cleaning help from pros who know all the tricks.

Banish Mold & Mildew for Good

Bathrooms and kitchens are prime spots for mold and mildew, especially in our humid Chicago summers. Prevention is your best weapon:

• Squeegee Your Shower: Taking one minute to squeegee walls and doors after every shower removes the water mold needs to grow.
• Ventilate: Run your bathroom fan during and for at least 20-30 minutes after showering.
• For Existing Mold: A gel-based mold remover can be highly effective on tile grout and silicone caulking. It clings to vertical surfaces, works without heavy scrubbing, and often peels away cleanly.

If mold has gotten out of hand, it’s safest to call in experts. A reliable Chicago cleaning company can assess and safely remediate the problem.

Appliance Care: Keep Your Washer & Dishwasher Fresh

Your appliances work hard for you. A little monthly maintenance keeps them running efficiently and odor-free.

For Front-Load Washing Machines:

• Always leave the door and detergent drawer open after use to dry out.
• Wipe the rubber gasket (the seal around the door) regularly with a dry cloth.
• Run a washing machine cleaner tablet through a hot “tub clean” cycle once a month.
• Check and clean the drain filter every few months (consult your manual).

For Your Dishwasher:

• Similarly, use a dishwasher cleaner monthly to dissolve grease and mineral buildup.
• Ensure food particles are cleared from the filter at the bottom.

Staying on top of this maintenance prevents bigger issues. If you’d rather leave it to the pros, you can easily book an appointment for a service that includes appliance detailing.

Smart Tools & Product Recommendations

Having the right tools makes any job easier. Based on extensive testing, here are some top picks for common cleaning challenges:

• For Floors (Tile & Stone): A high-quality steam cleaner is a powerful, chemical-free option for sanitizing and cutting through grime.
• For Grout & Stubborn Soap Scum: A melamine foam bath sponge (like a Magic Eraser Bath) can work wonders with just water. For tougher stains, a dedicated grout cleaner or a paste of baking soda and dish soap is effective.
• For Dusting: A slightly damp microfiber cloth is your best bet. For a static charge that grabs dust, try drying your microfiber cloths without dryer sheets.
• For Rust: On tools or fixtures, a product like CLR or a gentle scrub with fine steel wool can remove light rust.

Investing in good tools saves time and effort. But if you’d prefer not to invest at all, let a cleaning service near me like Jikas bring the professional-grade equipment to you.

Tackling Kid Clutter & Organizing Solutions

If your home is overrun with dolls, toys, or craft supplies, the key is simple, labeled systems. Use clear, stackable bins (like IKEA’s KUGIS series) so kids can see what’s inside. Involve them in labeling the bins with words or pictures. Regularly “prune” the collection together—donate items they’ve outgrown or are no longer interested in. This keeps the clutter from becoming overwhelming and makes cleanup a breeze.

Hi. Um, here we are. It’s 2026 and welcome to our first live of the year. As you know, we go live the first Monday of every month here at Clean MySpace. And I love doing live streams. So, I’m actually debating doing them more frequently this year. And I would love to know in the comments if you think that that is a good idea. I’d also love to know in the comments where you’re joining from. and you can tell me how you spent your holidays while everybody is sort of getting um themselves situated and let me remind you that you can also ask your cleaning questions. That’s the whole reason why we are here of course um is for me to answer your cleaning and organizing questions and to help you uh particularly now get set on the right foot for the year when it comes to cleaning and organizing and home efficiency and decluttering and all the rest. Um, oh, hello, Item Hazard. Hi, Katherine. And hi, Terry. Hi, Debbie. Hi, Squat. Squat Scout. Oh my god. Uh, my brain is still in Scrabble mode. I played a lot of Scrabble over the holidays. Um, while everybody is sort of logging in, I’ll just give you a little update on how I spent my holidays. And yes, oh, hi Amanda. Um, you can chat with me live if you want. There’s a link in the comments there and you can just click on that and it will share screens with us. Um, and a special shout out to Deb Pauly who became our member over the breaks uh over the break rather. We actually crossed the 100 member threshold here on YouTube which is really exciting and I so appreciate that. Um, members get special emojis that they can use. They also have special badges on Clean MySpace and it lets me and the other community members know um that you support the work that we do here and that means a lot. You know, I I really do appreciate that. Me and the team, it goes a long way. So, thank you. Um so, while everybody is joining up and throwing their cleaning questions in the chat, um I will tell you, uh my break was tiring but really fun and uh oh my gosh, I did a lot. Okay, so I went to British Columbia. I went to Vancouver for the first time in my life. I’m Canadian. I’m from Toronto. I’ve always wanted to go to Vancouver. I’ve never been. Um, it is so beautiful. It was raining. Um, but yeah, I loved it and I want to go back and I want to experience more. So, let me know if you’ve been there before. And I didn’t get a chance to eat sushi, which was kind of a bummer because it’s supposed to have amazing sushi. But yeah, it was beautiful. Uh, and then I went to uh, Portto Viarda and I got away in the sun. If you follow me on Instagram, Melissa Maker. Um, you will see some pictures that I shared from that trip. It was so nice to be in the sun. I so hate the winter. Uh, I see Jason joining us from Florida. Oh my gosh, do I wish I was there right now. Um, the weather is is not great outside today. It was quite the drive getting uh my daughter to school this morning. Um it was just an absolute blizzard. Um let’s see. I’m I love these pens. Um so Chad, my ex-husband, um we’re on very good terms and you know, we exchanged holiday gifts this year through Riley. Like we wanted her to get mom a gift from dad and her to get dad a gift from mom. So one of the gifts that they got me were these Lego pens. And if you know me, you know I love I love pens. I really love Muji pens and I love fine tip pens or really unique pens. Anyway, these are not unique in the sense that they are fine tipped, but they are unique in the sense that they go together and they’re fun colors and I just can’t put them down. Anyway, okay. So, that was that. And then I had Riley for the second half. Uh, New Year’s was very busy and crazy and the kids were nuts and my mom just uh the kids as in Riley and then my sister’s kids. We spend a lot of time together and then we just celebrated my mom’s 75th birthday which was yesterday. We had a big party for her um on Saturday night and I shared some pictures of that uh on Instagram. So anyway, woo, it’s been busy and here I am. And honestly, yeah, I did a lot of uh New York Times games, puzzles. I love Wordle and connections and crossplay and like rather than like scrolling on Instagram and doing that kind of stuff, I focused on doing a lot of that. It’s this good brain exercise. And the one big cleaning and decluttering project that I did was I cleaned out and reorganized my basement. I had those plastic stacking shelves that um I wanted to put down there so I could put Riley’s handme-downs and camp stuff and storage items and like just things from my move uh back in April that I hadn’t gotten to yet. I didn’t want to do it in the summer and then the fall came around and I was too busy. But winter break there was no excuse. So that job is done and perhaps I will share what that looks like in some upcoming videos. Okay, I’ve talked for a good six minutes straight now. Um, I want to get to some questions and answers, but before I do that, I just uh I want to mention that we put out a new video um on YouTube all about uh making some micro changes uh micro habits for 2026. I I find New Year’s resolutions so nauseating because everyone’s like gym dying and you know what? like no one sticks to it and then it’s like January 15th and you feel super depresso that you haven’t stuck with it. Instead, we came up with a concept this year where the team and I were like, “Okay, what is sticky? What can we really do and what brain science can we use to back that?” Oh, thank you so much for becoming a new member. Um, the res Oh my gosh, I wish I could pronounce that easily. the resum. I’m so sorry. I wish I could read that quickly. I can’t, but thank you for becoming a member and supporting us. I love that. Anyway, uh where was I now? The video. Uh and we have that link up for you. You can click on it and watch that video. The idea behind micro resolutions is we use brain science to figure out how people can implement these changes. Um I’ve shared sort of my top six there. What works for me isn’t necessarily going to work for you. But on Instagram, I’ve put together a 30-day micro resolution challenge. So, you can see a new one every single day. If you don’t like it and you think like, “Oh my god, Melissa, I hate that.” Skip it. But the next day, you might see one that you absolutely love. And you can also get a full um 30-day calendar so you can see what each of those micro challenges are. Um, and then you can also follow on Instagram and get access to um, each and every day where I explain the micro challenges. Okay, lots of talking. All right, let me scroll back up and get to your questions slashc comments. Um, Christina, uh, thank you for this great comment. You got our everything kit when they went on sale on Black Friday. Oh my gosh, our Black Friday sales were nuts at Makers Clean. We are um kind of almost out of inventory. So that’s like an internal thing that we’re working through right now. But yeah, Black Friday/Cyber Monday slash Boxing Day blah blah blah blah blah. Very busy. Our dishwasher quit over Christmas break. So we’ve been drying our dishes with the waffle weave towels. First of all, my condolences. I actually dealt with this during co I want to say it was like April or May of 2020 where my dishwasher just decided that it was time to retire and it was like not a cool life choice for that dishwasher especially given the time. Um awful timing and like layer co layer having my 18-month-old daughter home layer the dishwasher breaking it was so stressful. So, when I read this comment, I viscerally feel your pain and I am so glad that Makers Clean can be like a tiny part of your temporary solution and bring you like a little bit of joy during that dark time. Um, I really hope the dishwasher uh issue gets solved for you quickly. I know what kind of a bottleneck that can create. All right, next up we have um a comment about the grout cleaner that I recommend from Alen and it’s this one right here. I wanted to talk about these today. Actually, um, three active products I want to talk about. And I realize when I hold it up, it looks backwards, but this is the active mold stain remover. You can use this on your washing machine um, seal, which is what you see right here. You can also use this on tiles and grout uh, and cocking around the house, anywhere that you see kind of mold. And I’m not kidding. Like the only thing I would recommend is using PPE like gloves and maybe a mask when you’re using it. Ventilate well cuz it is bleachbased unlike conrobium which has no odor. But my god, like my god. And what’s really cool about this is it’s kind of like you know that kids glue that used to use like the white glue and you sort of let it dry and then you can kind of peel it off. That’s exactly how this gel works. So, it’s sticky, which is good because it doesn’t slip off or slide anywhere. You kind of apply it where you want it to go. You let it dry, you peel it off, and Bob’s your uncle. It’s very easy to use. Um, I’m going to get a link in the comments up for this for you as well because it’s it’s not only a good like problem solver, but even if you notice it sort of coming up somewhere, like just catch it before it grows. So, there’s a little area in my shower. I’m pretty diligent about using a squeegee in my shower every day because I don’t want to deal with mold. Um, but there is a little corner like under the tile and I’ve noticed it. And what I what I’m going to be doing is putting some of this there. It’s only a few little black dots, but I’m just not interested in seeing where this grows. So, there’s that. And then for my washing machine gasket, it looks brand new. And that’s because I always leave the door open and I wipe it pretty regularly and I clean my washing machine. I want to get into washing machine and dishwasher cleaning in a minute, but let me get to some more of these comments. Okay. Um, all right. So, we have this question here. Anything I would change about my book? Anything I disagree with now? Um, you know, I wrote that book in 2017. Actually, I wrote it in 2016 and it was published in 2017. That is 10 years ago. Oh my god. Yeah. So, there are definitely some things that I would change in there. Um, one that I can think of right off the hop would be um my recommendation for sponges. You know, I really like Scotchbrite sponges, but I think that we’ve had some better innovations come out lately, including the Makers Clean scrub cloth, um, and more washable scrub cloths. I think to be honest I think what I’ve noticed is more people prefer like a non scratch scrub pad instead of those cellulose sponges like the soft spongy texture if you will. They just like the scrubby pad. Um but the sponge itself I think we just need to get rid of the sponge itself personally. So that’s one thing off the hop that I would mention. But, you know, I’d have to go through the book um and make a review and sort of think that one through. But very honestly, um I stand by the majority of what I said in that book. Um I think the reason I wrote that book and I feel so confident about it is because I didn’t over complicate things in it and I wasn’t like so specific about products and tools that I would need tons of updating. really the only thing that’s coming to mind right now are the sponges. I just wanted to make that book a simple resource and I know people still use it today. And if you didn’t know I had a book, I do. It’s called Clean My Space. Should come as absolutely no surprise. Um and it’s available on Amazon. Um all right, Scout Inquirer wants to know the best way to remove dog hair from clothes, laundry, and rugs. Thank you for answering my question. Let’s have a little chat about dog hair or cat hair. First and foremost, vacuuming is going to save your bacon on this one, okay? Or your vegan bacon, depending if you’re a vegan or not. Um, the reason is is because the hair is inevitable. Like, just think about us. We shed our hair, it’s going to fall on the floor, and there’s nothing else we can do about it besides vacuum. So, if you don’t have a daily vacuuming routine, that’s something you might want to think about. You also might want to think about a robot vacuum. I don’t love these for every uh you know your heavyduty cleaning, but I love these for everyday. We have one um at home. It’s Dreamy D R E A M E. If someone on my team wants to get a link up for you, they can do that. And I believe the one I have is called the S40. So, it’s it mops and vacuums. Um and that’s really helpful. Uh Riley, my daughter, has named it Jeffrey. And I don’t know why, but we call it Jeffrey. I think him at this point. I think it’s a him. Jeffrey. Um, and she likes to scream at Jeffrey when he’s working. So, I think it’s hilarious. Um, but I still believe in having a really strong vacuum. So, the one that I have is the um the Dyson V16 piston. That’s the one that I use. Um, I’ve really taken a liking of Shark products lately as well because I think their innovation is really great. They’re really starting to catch up. So, if you want something at a better price point than a Dyson, um, you can look at Shark. They have some really great options, too. Okay. So, vacuuming daily, that’s number one. And that goes for rugs, upholstery, uh, hard floor surfaces, corners, whatever, because the hair is always going to get swept up. For your clothes, you’re going to do what I call the dryer sandwich. All of your clothes are going to go into the dryer first. If you’re someone that uses dryer sheets, uh you can use a dryer sheet in the dryer for this 10 minutes. And what this is going to help to do is trap pet hair before you put it in the wash because once your clothes are wet, hair gets sticky. Then you’re going to transfer. You’re going to throw out that um dryer sheet if you used it. You’re going to transfer your clothes from the dryer to the washer. You’re going to wash as usual. Then you’re going to dry again. And you can throw a dryer sheet in there as well if you so choose. You want to make sure that you’re emptying your dryer filter uh regularly, but that is going to help reduce the pet hair. Those are the answers. The third thing I will say is to change your furnace filter regularly because if your HVAC system is not being properly maintained, your air is going to struggle um to circulate properly and it’s just going to cause issues with dust and pet hair and dander and that kind of thing. Okay, long answer. Classic Melissa Maker, but there you go. Okay. Um, let’s get this question up from Terrier. Okay, this is a really good question and I think it is extremely appropriate for where we are right now. Wondering how I can stay motivated to start organizing. I’m overwhelmed at the start and also how I can stay on task and focused. First of all, you sound like the perfect candidate for um for our micro resolutions video. So, please please watch that video. Um, I think it’s really honestly very hard to get started if this is your mindset. I have been there. Um, I mentioned earlier that I did that one project where I reorganized my basement and let me tell you, it required motivating literally every cell in my body to do that job. I did not want to do that job on my winter break when I could be playing crossword. I did not want to do that. Um, but I had to work really hard. For me, that’s a hump that I struggled to get over too. So, first I told myself I just had to assemble the shelves. That was it. I didn’t have to declutter. I didn’t have to take anything out. It was one job because if I looked at what was required in decluttering my basement, it was like getting rid of the clutter, pulling all the stuff out from this area, organizing or assembling the shelves, putting the shelves back, taking the shoe rack, putting that somewhere, taking the D and it just like one thing became 20 things and it snowballed really quickly, which is totally seasonally appropriate. But instead, what I did was I just started with that one task, just assemble the shelves. I had my podcasts going. I had a lot of podcasts to catch up on. So, I had those going, which is like my brain candy, my joy. So, I was listening to some podcasts, getting myself going. Riley was busy upstairs on her whatever she was doing. And I did that and then I was like, well, since I’m down here and I’m already sweating and my podcasts are playing, I might as well dot dot dot. And then I started another task. Then I decluttered the the area beside the furnace. Like it just started to happen organically. And normally I don’t love getting off track or derailed with projects, but that is the one time I think it’s okay, which is when you get derailed and you want to just keep decluttering. Just keep going until the feeling stops. And then my best friend came over. huge distraction because her washing machine broke during the break and she needed to do a load of laundry and I mean that was hugely distracting. I just wanted to sit and chat with her but after she left I told myself just go back downstairs and finish the job and that’s what I did. So sometimes when you feel overwhelmed um that’s what you need to do. You just need to take the job, break it into smaller chunks, start with one, do something for your brain that really brings you joy so that the sucky part of the job doesn’t take over your mind and just keep focused. Um, and if you can’t get it done that day, just pick another day to pick one little job and and get back on the road. So, I hope that helps. And yes, please go check out the micro resolutions video. um super small starts and really um easy things to commit to and they only take like one or two minutes. Um and also check out our Instagram account where um where we’ve got the whole 30-day program, okay? Um which is nice and easy and free and doable and all the rest. Okay. Um let’s see. I have a question here um from Katherine. Oh, never mind. Okay, here’s another question. What floor steamer would you recommend? I’m starting a cleaning business. Okay, so I want to make sure that you’re using the floor uh steamer on appropriate surfaces, and that would just be tile and natural stone. Um the steam cleaner brand that I really like is Duprey, D U P R A Y. They have a system called Neat. Um, if my team can get a link to that, that would be great and we can send that over to you or put that in the links. Um, to me, that’s a great tool uh for floors. You can also use it on other surfaces around the house. Um, you know, for cleaning ovens or greasy overhead exhausts or glass shower doors, disinfecting surfaces. Like, there’s tons of great uses for it. Um, and I think it’ll do you well. And Dup Prey is a really, really solid brand. So, you can’t go wrong with that one. Uh, okay. Katherine says, “Hey, the smell of my washing machine. It’s front load. I try to clean it, but it doesn’t smell nice.” Okay, so great segue. Thank you, Katherine. Another reminder, um, Active sells this box. It is a one-year supply of washing machine cleaner. Now, to be honest, I think it’s aggressive. They include 24 tablets. Doesn’t this a little bit look like a box of chocolates? A little bit. kind of treats. Um, but they are not. Um, 24 tablets feels a little aggressive to me. Um, but it really does depend on how frequently you do laundry and how dirty your your machine gets. Okay? Like if you’re a mechanic or a gardener or someone who’s like does really dirty jobs, your washing machine is going to look a lot worse than mine who works from home and has a seven-year-old, right? Like, so think about that, too. Actually, Active just came out with a new pet uh like a washing machine cleaner for homes with pets. So, we can get a link up to that as well. If you don’t have this at home, like honestly, they have a washing machine cleaner and a dishwasher cleaner. These two boxes, I have them at home. I go through them. Schedule in your calendar at the first of the month. Clean your washing machine. Clean your dishwasher. All you need to do is make sure it’s empty. You open up the little package. You throw in the tablet in the drum. You hit tub clean. You walk away. I did this yesterday. My dishwasher is running as we speak. Um, these are really easy things to do. And maintaining your machines goes a long way, Katherine. Part of the reason why your machine smells, front loads are always going to be more likely to have that smell. So, we have to work really hard to make sure that they don’t get smelly. Keeping the drum clean is one of the first steps, and you can do this monthly maintenance. The next thing is to always leave the machine door open when it’s not in use. And then I don’t have one on my desk, but take a a microfiber cloth and just wipe the inside of the gasket, okay? Because if moisture is sitting there, it’s more likely to turn into mold or mildew and get smelly. Uh, number three is to leave your detergent drawer open as well. Um, the majority of people’s homes who I go into, and this is like friends and family, not even like anything else, they have uh moldy detergent drawers and that leads to odors. Like, nobody wants that. So, you can pull that out and you can clean it. By the way, I should mention if your gasket is dirty and moldy and smelly, you’re going to want to pick this up. Um, same thing with your detergent tray, you’re going to want to pick this up. This is not expensive and this is going to fight that. this is going to solve that problem. Um, now if it’s really problematic and it’s not going away, you can replace the gasket. Um, that’s a little bit more of an involved job. You might need to make a service call. The other other thing to do is to make sure that your filter is clean. We have a video on that. Um, how to clean your um, washing machine filter. It’s like a little door about the size of your cell phone. Um, located generally below the drum. Um, what you’re going to do is pop the tab off, have a bowl or a bucket ready. There’s a little hose that you’re going to uncoil. Just pop off the top of the plug uh of the hose. Drain it into the bucket. Remove the filter itself. It’s like a twist thing. Rinse it. Put it back. Recoil uh cap and recoil the hose. Pop the lid back on. The whole thing literally takes 90 seconds. Okay. Uh anyway, lots of information there, but you know, the more information, information is power. And there you go. I like to give details. Okay. Best way to clean dog pee off wood floors. My client leaves it every week for me. Honestly, this is a conversation I would have with your client. Um cuz you know, in my cleaning business, the rule is we don’t clean up pet stains. Like we’re not we’re that’s not what we do. we don’t clean up pet stains cuz that’s like more of a specialty job and frankly that’s gross and they should be doing that um and not you. So I don’t love that. The two products that I swear by are angry orange. Uh someone in my team, can you get a link up for that? Angry orange. Um it’s a an enzymebased pet stain remover. It was initially designed to clean horse stables. And if you’ve ever been to a farm or petting zoo, you’re aware of that odor. Um, and that’s the whole reason why these people came up with uh the product in the first place to deal with that smell. So, it can for sure deal with dog urine. I used to use it when Molly lived with me. Now, by the way, Molly, my cat who’s 16 plus, uh, lives with my ex-husband. So, um, I use that with uh cleaning up her stains, too. The next one is Rocco and Roxy. It’s also a pet stain uh remover product. It’s enzyme based, also a very powerful enzyme and Active actually has a a pet enzyme uh product as well. So, you can you can have a look at that. Uh Hola 6164 says 32year made here self-employed and shark rocks. I’m glad to hear that. Um, you know, it’s always nice to, uh, you know, get feedback from the ground, boots on the ground. And I’ll say this, when I started in the cleaning business back in 2006, I did not think that Shark vacuums were good. Honestly, they broke. They did not have um a long lifespan. They like their technology was not there. Um, and that’s why I said like I really am starting to uh favor Shark big time because I think that their technology has really improved and they’re doing some great things in the space um at a really affordable price. So, yeah, I love that you said that. Uh, okay. Uh, Christina, is Concrobium safe for tile and grout in the shower? We get that pink slime, but also dark color tiny spots, especially in the grout. Yes. So, first of all, you’re totally normal. I have this in my shower, too, by the way. Although, it is quite a bit managed because I squeegee and I’m I’m really particular about that stuff. But yes, conrobium is 100% safe. Um, as long as it’s not natural stone, you have to double check um the instructions for natural stone just to make sure that conrobium is safe. And actually, it’ll just have on the product packaging where it is and is not safe to use. So, always refer to that. That being said, I have used Concrobium bathrooms. It works very well and it is indeed safe. The difference between Concrobium and the active product is that active is bleach based. Concrobium is not. Concrobium is low VOC or no VOC. This got the VOCC. Okay? So, just keep that in mind. Um, and it’s up to you. Honestly, I did not want to use a product that was bleach based for many years, but I tested it and it worked really well. I understand why everyone loves it. Um, so it’s a personal choice, but yes, it conroium in short will be totally fine for you. Um, you also want to know about the CLR free and clear brilliant bath or would I go for keeping Bob? Question. Would CLR free and clear brilliant bath be your go-to for keeping the tiles and grout clean? Yeah. So, listen, there are so many different um products that you can do that you can use to keep your shower and tiles clean. Number one, like before we even talk about product, Christina is squeegee and ventilation. Because squeegee, if you do that and you remove all water from glass and tiles and the floor after you shower, you are just not going to have hard water stains. You’re not going to have soap scum. And you’re not going to have mold and mildew. It just completely eliminates that. Do I want to stand in my shower and squeegee? No. But it takes me under a minute. And my shower now has more surface than my shower did in my old house. But I take my squeegee, I zip, I go around my shower, I do it, I crouch down, I do the little ledge cuz that’s where the pink stuff grows. And then I do the floor. And the whole thing takes me a minute. And And like my shower is just never gross. Um, in terms of product, I think the CLR Brilliant Bath is great. Magic Eraser is great. I did an experiment last year where I let my bathroom I went without squeegee for 6 weeks. My bathroom shower got really gross. Uh, and then I used the Magic Eraser bath sponge, like just with water and the sponge, and it obliterated everything, including that pink stuff. So, um, I thought that that was a great product. Um, and really like, you know, you can you can sort of pick and choose. Like I know there are DIY solutions that I talk about that I really love like baking soda dish soap combos or um vinegar and dish soap in a spray bottle. Like all of that works really well, too. Um, but you can save a lot if you just squeegee. So, hope that helps. And ventilate. So, I ventilate for at least 2 hours now. I do um while I’m showering and I have an automatic timer fan, so I just hit two hours when I go in for the shower and then that’s it. Okay. Uh let’s see. Jetsetter Jason. Oh, hey J. Wow, you do look like a jetsetter. Look at that thumbnail. I don’t know where you are, but it looks fun. All right. I love the makaker mop and the deep clean pad. The everyday pad is for dusting. Not so much. Any thoughts on a dusting pad? More like the dusting mitt. Also, I got your robe for Boxing Week and I’m so excited. Oh my god. Okay, by the way, our robe, such a sleeper product. Like, not enough people talk about this robe. It is incredible. Um, better than any spa robe I have ever used. Um, I absolutely love it. And it’s funny cuz we we ran a special for it during um, Black Friday, Cyber Monday for $67.67. 67 anyone? Yeah. Um, but anyway, the the robe is so good. It’s absorbent. It doesn’t get smelly. It’s got a big thick waffle weave. It’s so comfortable. If you have a hot tub, if you, you know, get in and out of the shower, if you have a sauna at home, I’m jealous. Um, but even, you know, when you’re standing around and like doing your hair and makeup or whatever, like, or just roaming around the house, this robe is the best robe. Like, I love going to the spa. And I was just like, I want to make a better robe than any of these. Mission accomplished. Okay. The everyday pad for dusting, not so much. Any thoughts on a dusting pad? More like the dusting mitt. Okay, Jason, let me explain to you why we did what we did. That mitt um is really good for buffing and really good for dusting, but it’s not the best for picking up small debris. It can push a lot of it away, but it doesn’t pick it up. So, the reason I don’t love heads with that texture, and if you if you want to imagine what I’m talking about, I don’t know if anyone on my team has a visual that they can pull up during this stream of one of our dusting mitts. If not, just imagine like Cookie Monster or Snuffalophagus, like really like thick matted fur, but microfiber. Okay. Um, it’s they’re like fingers and they just kind of get into spaces and they push dust or they’re really good at absorbing and buffing. So, really great for cars, really great for like if you have spindles on a staircase and you want to kind of get in between there, really good for that. But in terms of picking up fine pieces of dust, that is not where that product shines. And that’s why the finer pad, like the finer finish on um or the finer fibers on the everyday pad, is great for mopping and for dusting. If you don’t love it, Jason, try spritzing it lightly with water, okay? cuz that can sort of help it magnetize. The other thing you can do is when you’re drying it, put it in the dryer, but don’t use a dryer ball. Let it get a little bit staticky. Oof. Oof. It like supercharges microfiber. It’s a little trick. Um anyway, I hope that helps and I hope you’re jeting somewhere fabulous. Um and just know that your friend in Toronto is jealous. Thanks for your great question. Uh, okay. Katherine, this question speaks to me on a visceral level. Your question about kids stuff. My daughter is obsessed with dolls and doll clothing. I’m going crazy with so much. How do I organize? Might not be something anyone can suggest like reborn dolls, etc. Okay. Um, I don’t I don’t understand the second half of the question about might not be something anyone can suggest like reborn dolls. I don’t know what that part means, but I will say dolls and doll clothing. Um, like just find an organizing solution. IKEA is great for coming up with organizing solutions. So, I have um little boxes from IKEA and I think they’re called Kougis. Give me one sec. Yeah. Oh my god. Coug. K U G I S. Okay, I am obsessed with these boxes. I use them to organize my entire uh linen closet, medicine closet, utility stuff, nail polish. Everything in my bathroom is organized in cougas boxes. Um, these would be really great for doll clothing. They come in different sizes, so you can get super small and super large. You can mix and match colors. You can um mix and match sizes. They’re all stackable. So, look up K U G I S. Honestly, wish I came up with this system. Also, IKEA pricing. Not expensive at all. Um, then I would get a label maker. Shout out to my brother label maker. I just looked over at it like it can hear me. No, it can’t. Um, but shout out to my brother label maker. Um, we can also get a link up for one of those. Um, label. If if you’re going by doll or by size or by clothing item, come up with a labeling system with your daughter and just make up the labels. Use the boxes. The other thing you need to do is prune the stuff regularly. Like my daughter is not so into dolls. Um but when she was briefly, like there would always be like a high heel here, you know, a skirt there, like everything was sort of out of order all the time. And especially for things in pairs like socks or shoes or whatever, like if you lose one, just throw out the other. That again, that’s just my take on it, like my haunt take. Um, and also check in regularly if there are any dolls that she’s over and she doesn’t want to look at anymore. There you go. Um, oh, Jason, uh, Jetet or Jason says the Neat Plus is worth it. Um, so he’s referring to the steam cleaner that we were talking about earlier. Um, you can get the neat and oh my god, why is the brand name of the steam cleaner escaping my mind right now help? Um, I was just looking at it, but anyway, we all remember that. That is what we call a junior senior moment. I’m 43. Um, and I cannot remember the brand name of the I can see it. Duprey that. Thank you. Thanks, Brain. Um, Duprey Neat. Uh, plus is the specific one that Jason likes. Uh it’s more expensive. I think it’s maybe two to three times the price, but yeah, if you’re going into um cleaning professional, you might want to look into that. Okay. Um let us see. Active products. I use several of them. Yeah. Uh great to hear. And again, the like these are the one like people are crazy about these. The active mold stain remover. I’ve got links for these that you guys can check out. And then the washing machine cleaner that comes with 24. and the dishwasher cleaner, which is running as we speak. Um, like again, these are monthly easy maintenance things to do and these should be things that we’re all doing at this point. So, if you’re not already doing it, please get in there. Um, all right. Let me see. What will that mold remover work around the clear cocking and under mail kitchen sink? Yeah, it should work on any cocking. Um, so you can give that a try for sure. Um, let’s see here. What’s the best bet for a very cloudy shower glass door? I’m thinking the vinegar and dish soap combo, but anything I could try with less odor? Yeah, actually the magic eraser bath. So, specifically, you want to look for the box that says magic eraser bath. That is going to be great for you. Um, just use a glove. It has like a very light scent. Foam up the sponge. start working in like an S pattern or circular motion and rinse and buff dry. I think you will be very impressed. Um, okay. Let’s see here. Many tips have been used and excellent, but as far as I know, you haven’t talked that much about rust or rusty tools. Yeah, I can solve that problem for you. Easy. Um, super fine steel wool is a great way to go. So, um, what you can do is you can take your tool, glove up, uh, get yourself some super fine steel wool, a little bit of water, um, and just scrub, and that should help remove the, uh, rust. The other thing you can use is CLR, um, which is designed to remove rust. So, uh, you can either get like the liquid itself or you can get it in a trigger spray format, um, or a foam format if you prefer. Um, and then you would just follow the package instructions. Two very effective methods. One’s going to use chemicals to do it, and one’s just going to use manual force. Um, and by the way, CLR for many years really freaked me out, but it’s an EPA safer choice certified product. Um, and as long as you’re taking proper precautions, you’re going to be okay. Um, all right. Let’s see here. What else do we have? Oh, yeah. good advice about registering your warranty for Shark. Whether it’s Shark or Dup Pre or Dyson or Apple, like whatever products you’re buying, just register the warranty. It is very worth it. Um, all right. Let’s see here. Oh, Jason, you said your thumbnail was in Scotland, but you actually live in New York. And then we have someone watching from Dubai. Oh, I’d love to go to Dubai. Um, oh, Alen, you got the robe for your husband’s birthday for $67. That’s so funny. Um, all right, let’s see. Get it done, Niagara. What for whitening? An already tough to clean shower that won’t make the place stink of vinegar. I use an auto scrubber, but I still need something that can whiten smell sensitive. Okay. So, if you don’t want it to smell of vinegar, um CLR Brilliant Bath is, in my opinion, like it’s a great product. Um and that would really help um with whitening if you’re dealing with grout. And honestly, if you don’t uh mind trying not using the auto scrubber, you can give the Magic Eraser Bath a try. It is really impressive. Um, I can’t say that enough. And hopefully my team has a a link up for the magic eraser bath product as well. Um, but yeah, it’s awesome. Uh, oh, that’s very nice. Two years ago, I bought makers special full package cloths, gifted my two kids. They are still used every day. You know, honestly, this is a story that my team and I hear every single day. Like, we get love letters, fan mail, whatever. like any friend or family member who I know who has my products like they will talk about them at my mom’s birthday it was being talked about when I go out and like in a larger friend group like sometimes the husband will be like oh my god we love your like it’s just the products are amazing um if you’re not already a makers fan maker makers clean customer you got to check the products out there’s a lot of stuff that’s available for sale on Amazon and cheaper and Costco and Canadian Tire if you’re in Canada or Target or wherever. But like, you know, quality matters. And the whole reason we went into this business is because there wasn’t professionalgrade cleaning tools available for the consumer market. And we don’t have Amazon budgets and we’re not in all the big stores and all that stuff, but we are available online. We’re a small business, Canadian run, female, da da da da. And our products are freaking amazing. So, go check out Makers Clean. Uh, okay. Let us see. Bissell. Um, you want to know about Bissell? Uh, in terms of like quality, I think Bissell’s steam cleaning products are good like for the floor um and upholstery. I think they really are sort of the leaders in that space for now. In terms of their vacuums, I I still really feel like I mean they’re they’re good, don’t get me wrong, but I still feel like if I were looking at a shelf and it was like Shark or Bissell, I would go for a Shark. Um, I have a granite hearth that is stained. How can I clean it? Um, to get rid of a stain on granite, you’re going to have to call in a a stone restoration company. There really is no DIY solution. Uh I wish there were and I’m so sorry. Um make sure that your granite is sealed. And this is a PSA. Uh if you do not have your granite, your marble, your quartz, your natural stone, travertine, slate, go on and on and on. Sealed. Please add that to your to-do list and get it done. Okay. Um let’s see here. Um, okay. I think we already covered this question. So, I want to cover LA1930. I run baking soda and 10% vinegar in my dishwasher and washer. So, here’s the thing with that. I don’t love that solution. And I’m going to tell you why. Mixing baking soda and vinegar together is not ideal because generally they neutralize one another. And 10% vinegar is a very strong acid and might be a little too strong for some of the rubber components that you have on the seals or gaskets in your appliances. Okay. So that is why honest to goodness the better solution is getting um something that is like purpose-built because it has the right amount of citric acid in it to get the job done without damaging any of the components. Um, okay. Uh, sorry. Okay. So, get it done. Aiagra is saying your shoulders won’t go for the magic eraser. You need something that can scrub for me. Okay. So, you’re going to use the auto scrubber and then you’re going to use CLR brilliant bath. That’s going to solve the problem for you. Um, oh, and then Rune International wants to go, “How know, how is my shoulder? Am I back to cleaning with both hands again?” Yeah. So, I dislocated my shoulder in 2020. In October 2020, a day I would really like to not relive. It was awful and it really hurts. And it looks like Get it done, Niagara. You’re in the same situation as me. You have an unstable shoulder that dislocates. Yeah. Um I I have sort of hyper mobility in my shoulders. So, you know, that was just I had like an injury when I was young. I always dealt with um uh with with Oh my god, what’s it called? When it pops out. Um, again, junior senior moment. Um, but anyway, my shoulder would like slightly pop out and then pop back back in. Subluxation. Uh, and then in 2020, it fully dislocated. It was so painful. I had to do about a year of physio to recover it. And now I’m just kind of careful, but like I know where and when I have to be careful. But yeah, I can full I have full mobility back. I’m fine. And I didn’t need surgery. Um, okie do. What about black mold on the cocking in the shower? Any suggestions? Again, I want to bring it back to this product. Um, the active seal and grout mold stain remover. This is going to solve that for you. Um, glove up, wear a mask. You can also use conrobium if you prefer something that’s not going to use uh any um VOCC’s or bleach. Um, Lea, you say Melissa, and I’m just going to send you back a heart and a party emoji. Hi, nice to see you. Um, Sunderbing, have I tried the Tineco floor machine? No, I haven’t. Um, I sorry to say, but like I don’t know. I think Tineco is like I don’t know. I don’t know, guys. I don’t know if I’m if I feel fully prepared to share my opinion publicly about Tineco. Um, so I’m going to just save it for now, but I will give you a little taste. I think there is a lot of payment for a lot of opinions. And is that okay? Um, how to remove mold the safest way that doesn’t require extreme scrubbing if possible. Uh, okay. So, if you’re talking about like mold and grout or uh rubber gaskets, I love this. If you’re talking about mold that’s like in a room, on a wall, in a rug, uh, then we have a bit of a problem here and we’re going to have to bring in professionals. Mold is not something you want to mess around with. If you have it, you want to get it dealt with professionally, properly, and swiftly. Um, I will always be the first person who will tell you, you can DIY this. You can handle this on your own. Um, but I’m also going to be the first person to tell you when you have to bring in a pro. I wish it wasn’t expensive. I wish it wasn’t something I had to suggest, but it is. So, yeah, I think you got to you got to do it that way. Okay. Um, all right. Best way to clean wood floors with aluminum oxide finish. Each individual wood slat is sealed, but some areas. I don’t know what an aluminum oxide finish is. Can you give me a little bit more information about that and I’ll see if I can answer you. Um, okay. And then we got a little I’ll wait for your response, Angela, if you’re around. And then I got a comment saying, “Just noticed you trying to clean the oven with your left hand in the video from last week.” Uh, yeah, I might have been doing that. You know, sometimes, I know this is going to sound crazy, but sometimes depending on where my camera is or my camera person is, if I use my right hand, which is my dominant hand, they can’t get a good angle. So, sometimes I have to clean with my left hand, even though it’s not ideal for me. Um, and that is strictly because of camera angles. In fact, there are times where I will clean something and I don’t love the way I’m doing it and it’s not the way I would normally do it per se, but I have to do it because the camera couldn’t see it the way that I would normally do it. Anyway, uh, okay. L says, “My time my time co is my only vacuum. No washing. Bought it during co for 700 bucks Canadian at the time.” Listen, if it works for you, that’s great and I’m happy to hear that. I um Yeah. I’m I’m going to just reserve my comments because I feel like if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all. Um it’s just it’s just like a little teeny tiny opinion that I have. Um but anyway, if you like it, I’m I’m very happy to hear that. Um okay, so I while I’m waiting for Angela if she’s able to get back to me, I’m just going to remind you of a few things. Um our email newsletter is called The Dirty Dish. We put it out once a week. We have tons of great information in there um that can really just get you motivated, answer some cleaning questions you might have, and it also includes some really great products um as well. So, if you want to check that out, go ahead and check that out. Um Makers Clean is where we sell all of our products that I talked about today, including our dusting mitt, our Makers Clean mop, our amazing luxury bathrobe. Jet Setter Jason just said our towels are also the best. I want to be able to offer them to my Airbnb guests. Um, would you ever offer them in navy or gray? No sweat. If not, honestly, Jason, I’d worry that they’d steal them. They’re so good. Um, I don’t think we’re going to come out in with other colors for them cuz they are really expensive and you have to come out with like a minimum order of x amount of pieces. And like I said, we’re a small business. So, if we get to the point where we can scale and offer different colors in those towels, we will. But for right now, it’s just that dark gray. we feel it’s like mostly neutral. Um, so Makers Clean is where you can go to find all that great stuff. Um, we also of course are running our 30-day micro resolution cleaning challenge. You can see the whole thing on Instagram, clean myspace. If you want to see me and all my sarcastic kind of dorky posts that have nothing to do with cleaning and just me living my life, um, being kind of like a divorced mom that has, you know, a bit of a weird sense of humor, you can find me at Melissa Maker. Um, and what else do I want to tell you? Oh, yeah. You can become a member and support us. And our members like mean so much to us right here on YouTube. So, yeah. And it’s not expensive. It’s just like a teeny tiny little thing. And, um, yeah, you get special emojis and icons and stuff like that. Uh, okay. Angela, you say from what I understand, it’s just a clear top coat finish on the top slats, but I guess not every cleaner is good for it. Yeah. So, best thing you can do in that case is to go with a purpose-built product, in which case I would recommend Bona. I really like Bona um for hardwood floor cleaning if you’re looking for a specific product. Uh Army Chef, any new podcast or products coming out for Makers Clean? Yeah, we’re currently um talking about that. If you have any requests, feel free to drop it in the comments. Like, if there’s anything that you think um we should look into, we’d love to hear about it. Um, okie do. I think, um, at this point I am going to wrap it on up because we are just about at the hour point and I want to make sure you can get back to your day. Um, but I really appreciate you spending the last almost hour with me this first Monday of 2026. Um, I hope your year is off to a great start. I hope you had a really wonderful holiday season. Um, and I wish you nothing but health and happiness and success and all the good things in uh, 2026. Make sure that you um, tune in for our next live stream and I will see you then or sooner. Have a good one.