A handy shaving cream trick and 7 other cleaning hacks you've literally never heard of.

Cleaning. It's not everyone's favourite hobby, but it is, sadly, a fact of life for most. The good news, though, is that a few good cleaning hacks can transform your entire routine. Enter: #cleantok, a corner of TikTok that has become a mecca for clean freaks and busy parents looking to make their lives just that little bit more efficient.

Chantel Mila (aka @mama_mila_) has become the undisputed queen of all things domestic bliss thanks to her TikTok account, which offers up handy tips on cleaning, styling and organising. With around 1.4 million followers it's safe to say her tips and home advice have helped transformed the way people keep their lives organised. Because hey, the less time you have to spend scrubbing ovens, the more time you have to do... literally anything else on your to-do list.

Across the years, Mila has dropped some incredibly handy cleaning hacks, and let us tell you — these are ~top tier~. Here are favourite standout cleaning hacks that will save you time. And quite possibly your sanity.

Line the tops of shelves with paper.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

The places in our home that are the hardest to get to are the pesky spots that get the least attention during our cleaning sprees. Making life a little bit easier for yourself by lining shelves with newspaper or baking paper to avoid dust settling on the surface. When you're ready for a spruce-up, simply remove the newspaper, recycle and voilà!

Use a dishwashing tablet to clean the oven.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

If the buildup of grime in your clean oven keeps you up at night, same. It's one of the appliances we use the most so it makes sense that it gets grubby over time, but it's hard graft getting the oven back in tip-top shape. But this hack makes cleaning that bad boy so much easier: grab a dishwasher tablet, pop it on a wet spohnge and buff over the oven surfaces. Quick, easy, clean.

Try baby oil to buff stainless steel.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

Stainless steel appliances look sleek and modern... when they've been cleaned. But you'll really notice those fingerprints and smudges when they've been missing some TLC. Well, baby oil will be your MVP. The miracle cure-all to your baby's skin woes, baby oil is actually an incredibly effective cleaning tool that will buff out any smudges on your stainless steel with a simple cloth and some elbow grease. 

"But I don't have a stainless steel fridge!" we hear you cry. But we bet you have a kitchen sink... Give it a crack there.

Attack rust with lemon and baking soda.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

The annoying thing about those sleek stainless steel small appliances (hello knives, kettles, etc), is they can develop rust. Which isn't cute. But a combo of lemon and baking soda will do the trick — just mix the two together and give your stainless steel babies a scrub to get them sparkling again.

Use denture tablets to get your clothes srsly white.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

Getting stains out of white clothes is a constant battle many of us know too well. And now, thanks to Mila's genius tips, we have a solution: denture tablets. 

Yeah, sure, they're *technically* designed to clean false teeth, and contain a combination of cleaning agents and a bubbling/effervescent action that helps lift grime, stains and bacteria. But they also happen to have the same effect on... other things. Like (grubby) white clothes. Simply soak two tablets in water with your stained white clothing to get rid of marks.

Watch: Chantel Mila's top 10 cleaning hacks.

Video via TikTok/@mama_mila_.

Shaving cream to remove makeup.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

Speaking of white clothes getting grubby... let's talk about makeup stains. And how annoying they are to get out of light colours. Or, how annoying it used to be — try grabbing a can of shaving cream, suggests Mila, and apply it to the stain before buffing it out with a brush to remove any unwanted marks.

Dishwashing liquid to blitz oil stains.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

Oil is another substance that doesn't seem to budge no matter how many times you wash your clothing. Why? Because oil repels water, we guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

And while oil spots might not be as obvious as dirt and makeup, they're still just as annoying. But they can be fixed, according to Mila. Grab some dishwashing liquid and baking soda, combine them over the oil stain and bam — remove it once and for all.

Baking soda to remove odours.

Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

Do you ever find that your shower or bath mat just can't seem to shake that 'wet dog' smell no matter how nice your laundry liquid smells? Get rid of that stinky odour by pouring baking soda over the mat before popping it in the wash. 

What clever cleaning hacks do you have up your sleeve? Share in the comments below!

Feature Image: TikTok/@mama_mila_

We want to hear from you! Help us shape what you read, watch & listen to on Mamamia. Share your thoughts in the below survey. PLUS as a token of our appreciation…you’ll go in the running to win a $100 gift voucher!

TAKE SURVEY ➤