About TryCleaningHacks
Real people. Hands-on testing. Practical cleaning advice you can trust.
Our Story
TryCleaningHacks was founded by Sarah Mitchell in 2025 after nearly a decade working as a professional house cleaner in the greater Chicago area. During those years Sarah cleaned hundreds of homes and discovered that most cleaning advice online was either vague, product-heavy, or just plain wrong, the kind of tips that sounded clever but didn't hold up when she actually tried them on stubborn grease, soap scum, or set-in stains.
She started writing down what actually worked, specific methods, exact proportions, surface-by-surface notes, and began sharing them with clients. The response was overwhelming. That notebook became TryCleaningHacks: a library of genuinely tested guides built around everyday ingredients like baking soda, white vinegar, dish soap, and hydrogen peroxide.
Today the site covers more than 46 in-depth cleaning guides across 14 categories, with new content added every week. Every guide goes through our testing and editorial review process before it goes live.
Meet the Team
Sarah Mitchell, Founder & Lead Writer
Sarah spent 9 years as a professional house cleaner before founding TryCleaningHacks. She has personally tested every method published on the site, from removing hard water stains from chrome to deep-cleaning oven racks without commercial fumes. She focuses on what works in real homes, not laboratory conditions.
James Park, Contributing Writer
James is a home improvement writer with six years of experience covering DIY maintenance, household chemistry, and product testing. He contributes in-depth guides on appliance care, floor cleaning, and pest prevention, bringing a research-first approach that complements Sarah's hands-on testing.
Olivia Torres, Safety & Editorial Reviewer
Olivia reviews every guide for chemical safety, ingredient compatibility, and surface suitability before it is published. Her background is in occupational health and consumer product safety, and she ensures that every safety note on the site is specific, accurate, and genuinely useful, not just boilerplate disclaimer language.
Our Mission
We believe everyone deserves a clean, comfortable home, regardless of budget, experience, or how busy life gets. Our mission is to publish cleaning advice that is practical, safety-conscious, and grounded in real testing. We do not publish a method unless we have personally verified it works and is safe to use.
We also commit to being honest when something doesn't work. If a popular hack is ineffective or potentially dangerous on certain surfaces, we say so clearly, even if it means going against widely shared advice.
How We Research and Test
Every guide on TryCleaningHacks goes through the following process:
- Topic selection, we identify real cleaning problems that homeowners search for the most, focusing on questions where existing answers online are incomplete or misleading.
- Hands-on testing, each method is physically tested on the relevant surface type before being written up. We note what works, what doesn't, and under what conditions.
- Safety review, Olivia reviews all chemical interactions, ventilation requirements, and surface compatibility warnings before publication.
- Step-by-step writing, we write guides with exact quantities, dwell times, and tool specifications so the instructions can actually be followed without guessing.
- Ongoing updates, if a method is found to cause problems on specific surface types or with certain product formulations, we update the guide promptly.
For a full description of our editorial standards, see our Editorial Policy.
Who This Is For
Whether you're a busy parent looking for 5-minute quick wins, a first-time renter tackling move-out cleaning, someone dealing with a stubborn stain, or a homeowner who wants a reliable deep-clean routine, TryCleaningHacks is written for you. All content is free, clearly organized, and works equally well on phone and desktop.
Get in Touch
Have a cleaning question, a guide suggestion, or feedback about something we got wrong? We read every message. Reach us through our Contact page or email support@trycleaninghacks.com. We typically respond within 24 to 48 hours.
By the numbers
526+
Individual cleaning techniques
46+
In-depth cleaning guides
14
Categories covered
Free
Always, no paywalls ever