#paper-towels

#paper-towels

According to a survey by Mattress Advisory, the average American swaps out their dirty sheets for fresh ones every 24 days, but sheets should be washed way more frequently - at least once a week.

Windex is an unexpected household cleaner that can degrease your kitchen and dissolve wallpaper glue and residue. The ammonia in Original Windex is a solvent that breaks down the adhesive properties of glue in wallpaper, allowing you to wipe it off the wall easily.

The results? They picked out 26 cleaning solutions, calling them their favorites. From tried-and-true staples to brand-new discoveries, see below for our top picks.

Cleaning pros say that this is a kitchen cleaning task you should do every one to three months to prevent a buildup of food splatters, grease, oil, and dust - all of which could damage the walls, cause foul odors, and attract pests like flies and roaches.

Change dishcloths at least once a week, as they are breeding grounds for bacteria, which thrive in the presence of food particles and in warm, moist environments. Every time you dry your hands with a kitchen towel or use it to dry dishes or wipe the counter, you're potentially spreading germs from one place to another.

Treated with an innovative antibacterial agent, the Odor Resist Sponge claims to keep odor-causing bacteria at bay for up to three weeks. It's also easier to clean than your standard sponge; clingy foods like cheese and eggs rinse effortlessly off its surface, so nothing gets lodged inside. Together, the easy-clean design and antibacterial treatment disrupt the grime-to-odor pipeline, so your sponge stays fresh (and stink-free) for longer.

The grout on my bathroom floor tile haunts me. It's one of those projects I never really have the time or the initiative to tackle, but I hate how dirty it's become. It's beyond the maintenance stage and in need of a really good cleaning. Luckily, I discovered a DIY grout cleaner using common household products that worked wonders in my bathroom.

When I was growing up, shampoo options were limited, and Johnson's Baby Shampoo was a household staple. It lathered well, smelled clean, and was gentle enough to use every day. At some point, my mom realized that same gentleness made it effective on clothes, too. She believed in the product so completely that I never questioned it - and eventually, I adopted the same habit in my own home.

Toilet paper, a product that is used for a few seconds before being disposed of forever, is typically made with trees, energy-intensive manufacturing processes and chemicals that can pollute the environment. Experts say more consumers are seeking toilet paper made from recycled content or sustainable materials, but it can be hard to know what to look for. Sustainable toilet paper often costs more, but can have significant environmental benefits.

When you lack the good fortune of having an in-unit washer and dryer like I do, you have to be extra judicious about how many times you wear clothes before tossing them in the hamper. Laundry piles up quickly, after all, and I refuse to go to the laundromat more often than necessary. The only issue with re-wearing clothing items is that they wrinkle - fast - and they don't always smell daisy-fresh, if you catch my drift.

My mom started using it to quickly mop up the few drops of water that get on the floor after you wash your hands or load dishes into the dishwasher. Instead of using a new one every time, she just keeps one there, then uses her foot to mop up the excess water. She doesn't even need to bend down!

But once food has carbonized and bonded to metal, the issue is mechanical, and you need something to physically break the residue apart. Eggshells are mostly composed of calcium carbonate, the same mineral found in chalk and limestone - you've probably encountered it in your toothpaste, too. When crushed into a powder, these shells become a mild abrasive, which can gently sand down the grime.

I'll be honest: Washing my actual pillows (not just the cases) used to be one of those chores I knew I should be doing, but rarely actually did. As long as my pillows were tucked inside clean pillowcases, I convinced myself they were fine. But that all changed after I came across this article on Apartment Therapy where three popular pillow-washing methods were put to the test.