Image Credit: Marisa Vitale

6 Common Cleaning Tips That Are Actually Dead Wrong

By CAROLINE BIGGS

Believe it or not, a lot of the housekeeping tips you hear could be totally bogus.

Image Credit: Marisa Vitale

And even though they’re popular, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re potentially bad morsels of information.

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman

We rounded up a few of the worst cleaning tips that are unfortunately widely accepted as indisputable truths.

Image Credit: Sarah Crowley

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman

Don’t clean wooden furniture with tea. It works like a dye and can seriously alter your natural wood surfaces.

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Don’t douse fresh carpet stains with water or cleaner. Try blotting and then lightly spritzing the stain instead.

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Don’t polish silver with toothpaste. It’s way more abrasive than standard silver polishes, so save it for sporadic cleaning.

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Don’t use vinegar to clean stone surfaces. All that acidity is likely to cause etch marks and other stubborn stains.

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Don’t dust off furniture with a fresh dryer sheet. They’re saturated with greasy softeners and can stain soft surfaces and upholsteries.

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Image Credit: Joe Lingeman

Don’t use bleach on rust stains. Its oxidizing agents accelerate the spread of rust, meaning you’ll be creating more work for yourself.

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