Quick Room Cleaning Life Hacks All Students Should Know

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Living away from mum and dad has its own perks, no doubt.

But how to keep your room clean?

As a first year student, it’s hard to balance between school, social life and work. Hence, you couldn’t care less about the appearance of your room, especially with student accommodation, be it long or short term. And it’s not long before you realise mum might have had a point – keeping your room tidy and well organised isn’t easy.

Try these room cleaning hacks and learn how to get your place to its shipshape best.  

1. Kick Room Cleaning OFF – Vinegar Edition

When it comes to cleaning a college dorm, vinegar can help with groundwork. Rather than a salad dressing, white vinegar is a powerful and yet cheap cleaning solution you can use to keep that sloppy room squeaky clean.

The mild acid has multiple cleaning applications, such as:

  • Erase scrum and soap stains from a shower cabin or bathtub;
  • Wipe limescale marks out of mirrors and glass shower doors;
  • Remove mould and mildew from walls;
  • Clean burnt food off cookware;
  • Unclog showerhead – yes, even clogged units can be fixed via vinegar. Simply fill a plastic bag with the acid substance, tie it around your showerhead, and let it sit overnight;
  • Clean the microwave. – Microwaves are college students are a natural match. Affordable and easy to use, they grew as an essential piece of kitchen equipment, found in each and every student dorm. Convenient for everything from defrosting steaks to reheating leftovers, microwaves have seen it all. Want to scrub that tomato sauce explosion out of yours?

Here is a tried and tested trick from the deep cleaning professionals at Fantastic Cleaners to help steam clean a microwave with vinegar you can try right away:

  • Step #1: Fill a microwave-safe bowl halfway with water and 2 tbsp of white vinegar.
  • Step #2: Throw a small piece of wood in it – a simple toothpick if you want. Wood keeps water from boiling over.
  • Step #3: Tuck it in the microwave and nuke on high for 5 minutes. This steam producing process will loosen up dried-on gunk on the inside of the appliance. Once the timer goes off, wait for a couple of minutes for the water vapour to finish-up the rest. 
  • Step #4: To remove super-stubborn food messes, damp a kitchen sponge in the cleaning solution you made and wipe off microwave walls. 

A word of caution: Be careful since the liquid may still be hot.

2. Ward-off Carpet Stains with a DIY Solution

A giant red wine spot on the carpet still reminds you of the big party last week? Try out this easy-peasy carpet cleaning hack and get rid of stains with no hitch.

  • Step #1: Mix 1 tbsp of dishwashing soap, 1 tbsp of white vinegar, and a cup of warm water.
  • Step #2: Soak a clean white rag in the solution, then dab it on the affected area to dilute the wine.
  • Step #3: Blot the liquid as you go with another clean and dry rag. Absorb as much cleaning solution as you can from the carpet’s fibres.
  • Step #4: Rinse the stain with cold water. Grab a third clean rag, soaked in cold water, and press it onto the blemish.
  • Step #5: Go back to the “drying” towels and soak up moisture to the hilt. 

3. Deodorize Your Furniture

Here is a handy hint to tackle funky smell lurking in your couch or upholstered furnishing. 

  • Sprinkle a good amount of baking soda over the fabric and let it sit for at least half an hour. 
  • Here is where all the magic happens – the white powder absorbs any odours from the textile fibres and also helps light stains break up.
  • Next, suck up the soda with the hose attachment of your vacuum cleaner. Vila – enjoy ultra-fresh and redolent upholstery without any elbow grease.

Just a hint: A great time slot to refresh your textile furniture is during classes. That way, you give enough time for the soda to do its best and to banish that reeky smell from your room. 

4. Enjoy Streak-free Windows

Here is a cleaning hack two-for-one – not only it reveals grandmothers’ secret to squeaky-clean windows, but it also helps you declutter your college room.

  • Use those piled-up newspapers as a rag replacement to polish your windows. All you need is an old newspaper (find one with vegetable-based printing ink) and a glass cleaner. 
  • Spray the window down and gloss it with a bowl of a mashed-up paper. 
  • Begin with a circulant pattern to remove obstinate spots. 
  • Switch to horizontal and vertical strokes to dissipate the liquid along with the grime.

5. Remove Toilet Limescale with Coke

Coke is more than a tasty beverage many students love. Being mild acid, the carbonated soft drink is a powerful substance for coping with limescale marks in a toilet bowl. 

Proceed with the cleaning process. 

  • Measure one cup of Coke and pour it around the rim of the bowl. 
  • Make sure you give all the stains a good even coating of the fizzy drink. 
  • Use an old rag for hard-to-reach-stains. 
  • Soak it in Coke. 
  • Place it by hand over the smudged area. 
  • Let the pop sit for at least an hour so it can do its utmost and break down the limescale. 
  • Rinse away the loosen stains and leave you with an immaculate white toilet bowl. 

6. A Clutter-free Room for a Clutter-free Mind

“How did I manage to stick all that junk in my room?” – many students ask. 

Along with all must-have university essentials like medications and school supplies, freshmen often clog their accommodation with tons of useless stuff packed when moving in

What’s worse – clutter not only usurps a room but also hinders your productivity. To stay focused on homework with all that distractions around is next to impossible.

Here is how to keep your room (and mind) tidy for weeks on end. 

  • Find four empty bins, baskets, or clean trash bags, whatever’s on hand, and label them as listed:
  • To put away – for all items which crept out of their storage spaces. Your task here is to find and stow them back where they belong.
  • To donate or give away – designate for all items somebody may want or may be in need of. 
  • To recycle – for that useless, but a recyclable pile of junk. Do your bit for the environment and collect all components, suitable for reprocessing.
  • To throw away – for any items you no longer want or need – here is where all broken or damaged souvenirs go, along with those you haven’t even think of since last year.

Remember – it could make your heartbreak, but don’t think twice. Clutter happens when you save possessions just because you “might need” those someday. Unfortunately, those end up as piles of stuff. All you really need is a fresh and clutter-free home.

7. Share Cleaning Chores with Your Roommates

Student life would be much easier without constant disputes over cleaning chores. In this train of thoughts, the best way to keep your room clean and tidy is when you establish a housework routine. 

Talk to your roommates and allocate brush-up chores. To agree on a cleaning schedule, first, you have to determine which general tasks to include, and then, how often to perform those. 

Final clause – responsibility assignment.

To Conclude

Follow these simple cleaning hacks and never worry about tedious domestic chores again. Spend time on tasks that matter the most – university, family and friends.  

When it’s time to move out from your favourite student apartment, knotty cleaning issues often arise and find a way to chop from your security deposit. Whenever such a hardship occurs, ask for professional help.