The seven time-saving cleaning gadgets the experts use

Spring is in full swing and summer isn’t far away. But if you haven’t had a chance to do your spring clean yet, you’re not too late. We asked the experts to recommend the best cleaning gadgets – the bargains, worthwhile splurges and serious time-savers.

Electric scrubbing brush

If Laura Mountford, a cleaning content creator with over one million followers and author of Live, Laugh, Love, Laundry: A calming guide to keeping your clothes clean – and you happy, could only have one cleaning gadget it’d be a rechargeable scrubbing brush. More specifically, the Scrub Master Electric Spin Scrubber, which retails at £29.99.

In fact, she thinks it’s so good she has two – one for her kitchen and one for the bathroom. “A rechargeable electric brush makes cleaning so much faster and has multiple attachments [eight to be specific] so it can be used all around your home so no more endless scrubbing.

“It has a removable long handle so you can clean up high or down low without bending or stretching. It makes it great if you have mobility issues, or just don’t want cleaning to feel like working out at the gym.”

The electric scrubbing brush is Mountford’s go-to gadget

Handheld steam cleaner

The most versatile, great-value gadget on Mountford’s favourites list is the Beldray 10-in-1 Handheld Steam Cleaner, on Amazon for £39.50. It’s marketed as refreshing surfaces, tiles, mirrors and windows but she uses it to remove the grease from the oven, hard to reach areas in the toilet and grime from the tap. Don’t worry, she has one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom.

Due to the high temperatures of steam cleaners, they can sanitise areas from bacteria and viruses without the use of chemicals. You’d generally use them over scrubbers for hard-to-reach areas or when a deep clean is needed to lift dirt.

Mountford’s top tip is to add Lenor to ironing water and use the cleaner to refresh clothes instead of ironing. It also removes creases from bedding and is a great way to clean a headboard or refresh the fabric on the sofa and curtains. “It can be used all around your home to clean hygienically without the need for chemicals.”

Anna Louisa, a home and cleaning content creator and author of The 5 Minute Clean Routine, also recommends a steam cleaner, but her one of choice is the Karcher Steam Cleaner SC1 Easyfix, retailing at £92. “It’s so versatile with many attachments and can be used for so many areas around the house to clean and break down stubborn build up.” Using water alone, Louisa uses her Karcher on upholstery, sinks, clothes, worktops, hobs, the shower, fridge, oven, toilets and floor.

Window vac

Foggy, sopping windows, with a side of mould, must be in the top few most annoying things in the house to clean. Condensation keeps coming back, the water can drop to the windowsill, then there might be some rotting.

Both Mountford and Louisa have a solution, in the form of the Karcher Window Vac, £59.99. It’s been one of Mountford’s favourites since her brother bought it for her as a birthday present a few years ago.

The experts use their window vacs on other surfaces in the house too (Photo: Simone Schneider/Karcher)

“It’s brilliant for removing condensation from the inside of your windows or inside a campervan therefore reducing mould growth,” she says. She scrubs the surface with soapy water and then uses the Vac to suck up the liquid residue, which leaves a “satisfying streak-free shine”.

But it’s not just windows the Vac can work for. Mountford uses her Karcher for her shower screen, mirrors and induction hob.

Louisa uses it for the same, plus countertops, spillages and, of course, windows. “This has gone viral on TikTok and Instagram for good reason. It sucks up liquid so dries surfaces after they’ve been cleaned without leaving any smears.”

Hydrosteam floor cleaner

Retailing at an original price of £399, Mountford says her Bissell Crosswave Hydrosteam floor cleaner is an investment gadget that’s worth the price tag, especially for someone with pets. It has a vacuum, mop, drying and steam function.

Mountford says it will “honestly make cleaning your floors so much faster especially if you are like me with two dogs, have a large tiled floor area and feel like you are constantly vacuuming and mopping.” Beware, she says, the dirt it lifts is very humbling.

The hydrosteam floor cleaner is worth the price tag, according to one expert

Flash dust magnet

For only £3 for this starter kit and four refills, it’s the cheapest gadget on the list. Recommended by Kate Mather, a home organisation and decluttering expert, who says “this clever little tool is a game changer.”

She uses it on blinds, skirting boards and ledges that usually get ignored. “It attracts dust like a magnet and locks it in so there’s no more waving particles floating around. You just swipe and switch the pad when it’s done. It’s not just a cleaning tool, it’s a life simplifier.”

Sonic Scrubber

Louisa has been a huge fan of the sonic scrubber since 2020, and recently upgraded to a chargeable version recently launched for £34.95. “This is one of the OG [original] cleaning tools! It’s perfect for scrubbing smaller areas such as grout, taps, washing machine drawer, dishwasher and oven seals,” she says.

Patio attachment for the jet washer

If you already have a jet washer, there’s one attachment that you need, according to Mountford. She uses the Karcher T-Racer T 5 surface cleaner, retailing at £90.49. It sweeps over her tiles giving them a deeper clean with less spray back. “Nothing is more satisfying than jet washing the patio for the first time in spring.”