I’ve been a cleaner for 30 years – these are the 10 products I swear by

Rebecca Jones, 60, began her career as a commercial cleaner for local businesses just outside Liverpool when she was 30, and looking for a job that she could fit around childcare. She is now self-employed and primarily handles deep cleans at the end of tenancies, which often take a full day.

There are very few cleaning products she hasn’t tried, but there are two surprising things you won’t find in her kit – bleach and disinfectant wipes. She explains: “Early on in my career, I spilled some bleach and ruined a carpet. Now, I prefer to use products that wouldn’t cause damage if there was an accident. And while many of my clients were obsessed with anti-bacterial wipes during the pandemic, they are expensive and wasteful. You get a much better result with a multipurpose cleaner and a cloth”.

Best vacuum

I know cleaners who prefer more expensive vacuums, but the Henry is a classic for a reason. It has fantastic filters, sucks up pet hair incredibly quickly, and it’s great at cleaning up fine dust. It has a combi floor head suitable for carpets and hard floors, and a hard floor tool for cleaning floorboards and laminate.

It is a little on the heavy side at 8kg, but the vacuum runs around your floors on caster wheels, so you don’t particularly feel the weight. The weight does make it tricky on stairs, so you may want to use a cordless, handheld vacuum for those, like this Shark one I have in my kit.

Henry is the go-to hoover for Rebecca, although she recommends a Shark for the stairs

Best mop and bucket

This spin mop system may be pricey, but it comes with a handle that lets you extend or shorten it, and a pedal-powered spinning bucket that lets you control how damp you want the mop head. The microfibre mop is light and easily manoeuvrable, with machine-washable heads.

Unlike many mop buckets, the dual-chamber bucket keeps clean and dirty water completely separate. This means you’re only ever cleaning your home with clean water, and the 6L water tank ensures you’ll have enough to clean the whole home in one go.

Although it’s pricey, the mop has functions to make cleaning easier – and ensures you aren’t mopping with dirty water

Best glass cleaner

I love this because it works effortlessly across windows, mirrors, and other surfaces. It removes fingerprints and make-up stains quickly and easily, leaving glass noticeably clearer. Even with minimal buffing, it doesn’t smudge or streak. This means I can clean quickly, something that I appreciate. I used to prefer a homemade glass cleaning solution, which was a 50/50 water and vinegar mix, but some clients complained about the smell. This cleaner is unscented, which is a bonus.

Best multipurpose cleaner

HG glass cleaner is unscented and removes grime quickly while Method pink grapefruit works well and smells nice

Method products are great because they combine effective cleaning with some of the best scents on the market. The pink grapefruit is my go-to for kitchens and general surfaces. I used to get headaches from using powerful bleach-based products, but haven’t had any issues since I moved to Method.

It’s plant-based and cruelty-free, and works great on grease, sinks and taps, kitchen work surfaces, cooker tops, sealed wood surfaces, draining boards, hobs, bins, vinyl and sealed laminated floors and linoleum.

Best toilet brush

I didn’t think the bog-standard (pardon the pun) toilet brush could be improved on, but this one with grey silicone “fingers” is much better, because unlike a regular toilet brush, nothing gets stuck in the bristles. It also dries quickly, so there’s less odour.

It has a comfortable grip handle and is slightly bigger than a traditional toilet brush to get around the bend. The removable bottom of the holder is a great idea, as if there are any drips from the brush, the bottom can be removed and emptied to prevent the brush from sitting in a pool of stale water.

The silicone bristles on this toilet brush mean nothing gets stuck in and it dries more quickly

Best mould and mildew remover

Whether you’ve got mould on plastered walls, tiles, bathroom seals, grout, windows or outdoor furniture, just spray this on, wait 10 minutes and simply wipe it away. I often spray it before I do other jobs, giving it time to work.

One of the reasons it’s so potent is that it contains powerful chemicals to help kill the mould for good. However, they are also dangerous, so ensure you patch test surfaces, ventilate the area well, and wear gloves and old clothes.

Best cloths

I used to really rate microfibre cloths, but recently, I have been put off by the amount of fluff and fibres they shed. These bamboo ones are a great alternative, which offer a streak-free finish no matter what you’re cleaning. They last for months before you need to replace them! And even then, they’re fully compostable.

No fluff nor fibres shed from these bamboo cloths, which are compostable

Best stain remover

Made from melamine foam, these magic sponges act like extremely fine sandpaper to lift dirt, stains, and scuffs from hard surfaces using only water. They are ideal for removing marks on walls, soap scum, and grime without chemicals. Simply add water and use them wherever needed. It’s that easy! But don’t rub too hard, or you may lift a bit too much paint with the stain.

Best-kept secret

This wonder product is good for more than just steel

This used to be an industry secret, but thanks to social media, everyone seems to know about this wonder product. At home, I use this to polish my stainless-steel dishwasher, fridge, and cookware, but over the years, I’ve found countless other uses for it. It’s also what I use to scour sinks, as it polishes the steel and also removes dried-on or built-up residue.

It’s great for cleaning the bath and the stainless fixtures, too. I hate scrubbing a bath, and after letting it sit for a few minutes, the soap scum wipes right off.

Best carpet cleaner

In my opinion, every home should have a bottle of this stuff in their cleaning cupboard because it really is a miracle worker – especially if you don’t have the space to store a carpet cleaning machine. This stain remover makes quick work of all kinds of stains from a carpet, including red wine, chocolate, and tea – and there’s a pet stain and odour remover that’s great for any little accidents that may occur.