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The GH team’s favourite cleaning songs and top tips
Grab your dustpan, fetch the mop and get the (cleaning) party started! Here’s what the GH team loves, loathes and dances to while dusting…
Cleaning is certainly something we've certainly become experts in through these months of lockdown. We all have our favourite chores and the ones we can't stand, but having the right gadgets, using expert tips that really work, and finding the right motivational music, all help get the jobs done! Here the GH team share the secrets of their own regimes...
Hatful of Rain by Del Amitri
GABY HUDDART Editor-in-Chief, Good Housekeeping
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Hatful of Rain by Del Amitri. Best track for getting a job done is Roll To Me – you’ll get done with the vacuuming or dusting super-fast!
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Emptying the dishwasher - so lovely to see everything back in its place and the dishwasher empty!
LEAST LIKED JOB Changing the beds - utterly exhausting wrestling duvets into their covers!
BEST CLEANING TIP Tumble drying is terrible for the planet, but if you air-dry towels (which tends to leave them stiff), you can sling them into the dryer for just 5 minutes to get soft and fluffy towels again.
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET My hand-held vacuum cleaner, a Dyson, for sucking up crumbs in the kitchen. I’m a demon with it!
Uprising by Muse
ELAINE GRIFFITHS Special Projects Editor
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Uprising by Muse – great rhythm for cleaning windows.
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB I love decluttering… although I now have six books on the subject ‘cluttering’ up the bookshelf. Oops!
LEAST LIKED JOB Cleaning the bin.
BEST CLEANING TIP Set yourself a Spring Cleaning challenge - get rid of one item on 1st of month, two on 2nd and so on...
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET My extendable microfibre duster – great for reaching the tops of doors and all those other places Alex Polizzi The Hotel Inspector would check!
Controversy by Prince
TERRY BARBROOK GH Executive Editor
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Controversy by Prince - or anything by Prince.
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Polishing mirrors. So satisfying!
LEAST LIKED JOB Cleaning pans - life’s too short.
BEST CLEANING TIP Cleaning a microwave with some lemon slices.
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET My Venetian blind cleaner brush has changed my life.
Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush
SIMON SWIFT GH Executive Editor (Digital)
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, or anything by Kate Bush.
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Vacuuming.
LEAST LIKED JOB Emptying and cleaning the fridge
BEST CLEANING TIP Stick newspaper at the bottom of the kitchen scraps caddy to absorb gunk
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET Does a dishwasher count?
I Want To Break Free by Queen
CAROLINE BLOOR GHI Consumer Affairs Director
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY I Want To Break Free by Queen - I like to clean with a sense of irony.
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Cleaning my phone screen – so satisfying!
LEAST LIKED JOB Anything pet-related – cat hairs get everywhere and cleaning the cat litter tray is a low point.
BEST CLEANING TIP Wear the rubber gloves, dip your hands into hot soapy water, brush over sofas to gather pet hair, plunge back into the water and watch the hairs float away.
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET Rubber gloves.
Tiny Dancer by Elton John
JO FINNEY, GH Senior Consumer Editor
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Tiny Dancer by Elton John.
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Putting the washing on.
LEAST LIKED JOB Taking the rubbish out.
BEST CLEANING TIP Kitchen towels soaked in vinegar wrapped around taps to get rid of limescale.
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET My Dyson cordless vac.
Rocketman by Elton John
KATIE MORTRAM, GHI Appliance & Household Testing Manager
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Rocketman by Elton John.
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Vacuuming – love seeing a freshly vacuumed carpet free of fluff!
LEAST LIKED JOB Cleaning the hob.
BEST CLEANING TIP White distilled vinegar to descale the kettle .
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET My Aircraft Powerglide - it buffs and mops the floor in one.
The sound of silence!
MEIKE BECK, GH Cookery Director
FAVOURITE TRACK TO DO HOUSEWORK BY Controversially, I don’t like to listen to music while cleaning....
FAVOURITE CLEANING JOB Cleaning the stove and wiping the kitchen surfaces - pleasing! Can’t sit down for supper until both are done.
LEAST LIKED JOB Sorting millions of socks from the clothes horse after I've done the laundry.
BEST CLEANING TIP If a simple soak is not enough to clean a roasting tin, I’ll fill with warm water, pop in a dishwasher tablet and leave overnight. The job will be super easy the following day.
FAVOURITE CLEANING GADGET Microfibre cloths, to accompany my manic surface wiping!
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