Cleaning a home requires quite a bit of different cleaning supplies and materials. Not only are you required to know what cleans what, but you have different brands and formulas to consider when purchasing products. You might or might not have your favorites, but when it comes down to it, how well do you know your cleaning supplies?

It is very easy to misuse cleaning products, and people have run into costly repairs for simply trying to clean their home with the wrong cleaning agent for a particular surface or material. Not to mention, you want to know how effective cleaning products are prior to using as well.

Some cleaning agents are more harmful than others when it comes to coming into contact with skin and the likes. It is very important to know what is in the products you use for this purpose, and, of course, read the directions and warning labels. Additionally, you should know to keep the cleaning products you use away from young children, as you don’t want them accidentally accessing them.

Knowing more about your cleaning products also has to do with what other agents you use for the cleaning process. There will always be directions for use on the back of the container. It also helps to ensure that customer reviews echo the experience the manufacturer states as well as the experience you want to have.

For example, everyone knows not to apply bleach as a cleaning agent to anything you don’t want discolored. Furthermore, bleach and other cleaning products can also get on your clothing and nearby surfaces. Many people have certain clothing items they will wear when cleaning with certain chemicals.

You also want to make sure you keep your cleaning products away from any food items. This makes for much more careful cleaning in the kitchen. Speaking of your kitchen, how many cleaning products do you have underneath the sink? Are they stored in another location as well?

Perhaps in order to get to know your cleaning products better, it’s time to take inventory of them. Are there any that aren’t being used? There might even be some that have passed expiration if you’re not used to cleaning out from underneath the sink and getting rid of supplies.

One great thing you can do to get to know the cleaning supplies you use better is to get yourself a caddy. What you would do is put the supplies that you commonly use in the caddy, and of course this makes for easier transport of more than one cleaning agent when you’re going from room to room throughout the house on cleaning day.

In order to protect your skin while cleaning and get more into what you’re doing, use gloves. Latex gloves are inexpensive, and they are very helpful when it comes to using harsher cleaning agents, especially when dealing with the bathroom and kitchen areas.

Keeping things clean and organized on a daily basis will help you spend less on cleaning supplies in the long run. Have you ever let the house go, and next thing you know you need every heavy duty cleaner out there? And, don’t forget how many new cloths, sponges and other materials you might have to purchase afterward.

Microfiber cloths are very popular these days. These cloths trap dirt and help to shine up those surfaces. Color coding your cloths for cleaning is important. As a general idea, you don’t want to end up washing the dishes with the rag that cleaned the bathroom toilet bowl. While this is an extreme case and likely to be prevented by using different types of rags, it’s an extreme example of avoiding cross contamination.

Steel wool pads are an essential tool for hard-to-clean surfaces. If you haven’t found these in your cleaning supplies while taking inventory, then you want a couple for sure.

Be careful what you use for furniture polish, as people have made costly mistakes with these types of polishes before. And, one more good rule of thumb is to get to know a good all-purpose cleaner. There is a cleaning agent for this and for that, and so on and so forth. You’ll end up with more cleaning supplies than you know what to do with. There are some great all-purpose cleaners that can simplify the process and make things much easier.