7 ways to make your cleaning products last longer

Home organization and cleaning experts know many ways to make cleaning products last longer. The trick is adopting these strategies for the next deep clean.

Focus on the highest-trafficked areas

When you're worried about germs, it can be second nature to want to scrub every last square inch of your space. But Mary Gagliardi, also known as "Dr. Laundry," the in-house specialist and cleaning expert for Clorox, says it's better to limit your cleaning regimen to high-trafficked areas if you're trying to conserve your products. 

Limit your prep space

You might adore your partner for their ability to whip up culinary masterpieces. But if he or she is a messy sous chef, it's time to cut down on counter space. Brian Sansoni, vice president of communication for the American Cleaning Institute, says limit your meal-prep surface so you don't need as much product to clean.

Think before you clean

Georgia Dixon, a cleaning expert for Grove Collective, says there are ways to multitask our cleaning efforts to reduce waste. Before you dip your mop in the mop bucket, use the cleaning solution and a rag to wipe down surfaces like handrails or windowsills. When you fill your sink to do dishes, she says to use the fresh sudsy water and a cloth to wipe down your counters, stovetops and fridge.

"Use microfiber cloths, rags or even old T-shirts across multiple rooms for dusting or cleaning," Dixon says. "Unlike paper towels or wipes, these can be laundered along with your regular household laundry and used indefinitely." 

Let cleaning products sit

Regardless of which cleaning products you use, it's important to not rush the process. While you might be pinched for time, Kauffman says most of us don't allow products to sit long enough, causing us to use more. Gagliardi explains that most EPA-registered disinfectants or sanitizers will recommend the appropriate "setting time."

Spray the surface, not the cloth

According to Gagliardi, a cloth can soak up some of the solution and cause you to use the incorrect amount to disinfect. This doesn't mean you need to saturate the area you're sprucing up, just be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions. "The important thing is that the right amount of a product is applied to a surface so that the surface stays visibly wet for a specified period of time," she says. 

Utilize multi-use products

Get creative with your cleaning products. Just because you're running low on disinfectant wipes, that doesn't mean you're out of effective cleaning supplies. Generally, Gagliardi recommends a cleaner with a label that reads: "Kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria." This signals it's a disinfectant, which is the only type of cleaner approved by the EPA to kill coronavirus germs on hard surfaces.

Take advantage of all-purpose cleaners

Decluttering expert and author Kathi Lipp says most of us designate specific products for various rooms. This spray cleaner for the bathroom, that one for the kitchen and so on. But many of the solutions are meant to be multifunctional. "You may just be using it for surface cleaning, but the label tells you that it is also a degreaser, a spot cleaner for fabric and even a carpet cleaner," she explains. "It's time to discover the power you already have sitting in that bottle and all the ways that 'multipurpose' is really true."