IF there’s one person who knows how to clean on a budget, it’s Lynsey Crombie.
With the cost of living crisis hitting everyone hard, This Morning’s 'Queen of Clean' has been busy finding ways to save cash while keeping your house spotless.
And it turns out there are tons of products hiding in your cupboards that help banish tough stains – from toothpaste to bicarbonate of soda.
Here Lynsey shares her purse-friendly top tips.
Own brands just as good
Buying big name brands can feel like the safe option when it comes to cleaning products.
But Lynsey urges people to shop around and try cheaper supermarket own-brand products, which she insists are usually comparable.
She says: “You can buy an own-brand Multi Purpose Cleaner and the performance is still going to be just as good.
“So when you go down that aisle, make sure that you look for the bargains – usually on the bottom shelf.
“You can buy disinfectant for around 20p, which is just as good as a leading disinfecting brand!”
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Banish odours
6Lynsey is big believer in making your own cleaning products at home from stuff that's in your kitchen cupboards.
One of her favourite products is bicarbonate of soda, which she uses to banish odours and stains.
She suggests making a DIY air freshener by mixing the bicarb with some warm water and adding a few drops of your favourite essential oils for the fragrance, before giving it a good shake.
Lynsey explains: “Bicarbonate of soda acts as a deodoriser. When you're spraying it on your cushions or just directly into the air, you're going to be breaking down any odours that it detects, and then the essential oils you're using are going to give you that nice fresh fragrance.”
If your fridge is starting to smell a bit, Lynsey suggests popping an egg cup size of bicarbonate of soda into the back of it to keep smelly odours at bay.
She adds: “This time of year, trainers are starting to really stink. Sprinkle some bicarb into your shoes to eat those odours up, instead of buying expensive odour-eaters.”
Natural whitener
For tough stains, or to brighten up white school shirts, Lynsey recommends putting a big scoop of bicarb into your washing machine with your usual laundry detergent.
“I've just cleaned my husband's white trainers using it and they've come up beautifully white,” she adds.
Washing up liquid – not just for dishes
Another of Lynsey’s favourite products is good old-fashioned washing up liquid.
She says: “You can wash your bath with it, wash your shower screen with it, wash your car, floors, the list goes on.
“And, as we all know, you can get a cheap bottle of washing up liquid for 60p.
“It’s so versatile. It's one product that will clean almost every surface in my house.”
Tackle limescale
Another staple item for Lynsey is white vinegar which she often uses to get rid of limescale around the house.
She explains: “If you've got limescale on the edge of your taps, what I would do is get a piece of kitchen roll drenched in white vinegar, so it's all wet and sloppy, and just literally tie it around the bottom of your tap and it will stick there.
“Leave it there for about 20 minutes and the limescale will fall away really easily.
“It's the same with any sort of grout in your bathroom or kitchen. It's a great trick.”
Lynsey also uses citric acid to get rid of limescale – especially in the toilet.
To banish brown colour from the bowl, Lynsey recommends pouring half a box down the bowl and leaving it overnight.
She adds: “With a toilet, bleach tends to mask the stains and will turn it white, but in a couple of weeks’ time, the limescale will come back with a vengeance.
“To actually get rid of it you need to use citric acid. You can also use it in your coffee machine and washing machine to tackle limescale.”
Life gives you lemons
Cleaning the oven is probably one of the worst jobs around the house.
To blast the grease off hers, Lynsey uses her steam cleaner for her floor on handheld mode.
If you don’t have one of those to hand, she recommends using a lemon.
She says: “Mix a bit of lemon juice with washing up liquid or bicarbonate of soda and put it all over the area.
"Leave it to work for about 20 minutes and then just simply rinse away.”
She also recommends Astonish's Oven and Grill Paste Cleaner for the inside.
Turn grass stains pearly white
Another household item you can use to get rid of stains is toothpaste – even the cheapest one will work, provided it's white.
“I use it on my kids' clothes to remove grass stains,” Lynsey says.
You can also use it to freshen up your bathroom tiles.
She says: “Get a toothbrush and scrub the toothpaste into your tile grout.
"Leave it on for about 15 minutes and then just rinse it. Your tile grout will be bright white when it comes up.”
Close shave
Lynsey’s final household product to use instead of stain remover is shaving foam.
She says: “It’s an amazing stain remover on carpets!
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“I dropped my mascara on the carpet the other day – it was a new bottle and it literally went everywhere and I really panicked.
“But I put some shaving foam on it, and it came out instantly!”
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