Tiktok Cleaning Hacks Debunked.
We’re no stranger to household cleaning hacks, but with TikTok now becoming the go-to place for all kinds of hacks we’ve taken a look into the most popular on the platform. With almost 16 million UK users alone in 2023, TikTok is a growing resource of information and with the average UK adult spending approximately 55 minutes every day on the platform, that’s a lot of scrolling.
We’ve also teamed up with Colin Swift, Zanussi’s own in-house product manager for care & accessories, to get his thoughts on the top cleaning hacks currently circulating on TikTok to discover – do these cleaning hacks do more harm than good?
The most popular cleaning TikTok hashtags
Many pieces of content on TikTok, like other social media sites are categorised by hashtags, making content easier to find for other users and helping to group different types of videos together. From ovens to washing machines, fridges, and showers, if it can be cleaned, you can bet there will be a video reel on there somewhere.
#CleanTok is currently dominating the TikTok platform with 65.2 billion global views as of February 2023, followed by #cleaninghacks with 51.6 billion views.
#cleaningmotivation takes third place, with almost 4 billion views, while #cleaningtips and #satisfyingcleans follow closely with 2.7 billion and 2.6 billion views respectively.
Looking at the most popular kitchen cleaning hashtags, unsurprisingly #kitchencleaning comes out on top with over 500 million views, followed by #howtoclean with over 350 million views.
Looking at the specific appliances, the oven is the most popular appliance, with #ovencleaning having over 250 million views across TikTok. #washingmachineclean closely follows with 200 million, while #fridgecleaning has over 150 million views.
The most popular cleaning TikTok videos
To determine the most popular kitchen cleaning videos on TikTok, we looked at the number of views, shares and percentages of likes to views for each video.
From this ranking, boiling lemon juice or white vinegar in water, in the kettle, came out on top to rid the inside of a kettle from limescale. The lemon juice video in particular received the highest number of likes out of any other video on the list, with this being 136,500.
This is followed by mixing baking soda, dish soap, and water into a paste to sue for cleaning the oven of grease and stains. This video amassed the greatest number of shares out of the top 10 list, totalling 6,374 shares across TikTok.
Colin Swift stated that: “None of these TikTok cleaning hacks pose any immediate threat or danger to the user or the appliances in question.
“I do recommend that the user takes appropriate caution though when following these cleaning hacks ensuring protective clothing such as gloves are worn to prevent any skin irritation or scalding.”
Watch now: expert approved TikTok cleaning hacks
We selected the highest ranking TikTok for each kitchen appliance and showed them to appliance expert, Colin Swift, to get his opinion on each of the cleaning hacks.
You can check out his full commentary and watch each of the TikTok videos for yourself below.
TikTok 1 – Hob (Purdyandfigg)
“This hack actually works really well. Most households will have both white vinegar and baking soda in the cupboards to spare, so this is a great use of them.
“One thing to make sure is that when you come to clean off the mixture, make sure you get it all off, and do not be tempted to reach for a bleach spray to finish off. Bleach should absolutely not be mixed with white vinegar.”
TikTok 1 – Hob (Purdyandfigg)
TikTok 2 – Oven (Cleanwithcourtney)
“I’ve never thought of using the bath before but that is actually genius as trying to get oven racks to fit in a sink can be a challenge. Dishwasher tables can be picked up relatively cheaply and designed to thoroughly clean items and leave them with a lasting shine.
“An important thing to make sure when cleaning out the oven is to wear protective gloves. Oven cleaning sprays and pastes often have quite strong chemicals in them so it’s always best to try and avoid it getting on your skin.”
TikTok 2 – Oven (Cleanwithcourtney)
TikTok 3 – Fridge (Kami.larae)
“Vinegar is a great choice for helping to clean out a fridge. The acid helps to break down any food grease and grime and it’s also a food-safe cleaner. Vinegar also helps to neutralize any bad smells that can come out from the fridge.
“One of the best methods for this is to add some to a small washcloth in a shallow bowl and place this in the back portion of the fridge for at least 24 hours. If you have any vanilla extract, like in the video, then this can also be added to dilute the vinegar scent.”
TikTok 3 – Fridge (Kami.larae)
TikTok 4 – Kettle (lucykalice)
“Lemon juice along with vinegar is great at removing limescale, of course lemon juice leaves a far nicer aroma afterwards. A thing to remember with this hack is to thoroughly wash the kettle afterwards, unless you fancy a hint of lemon in your next cup of tea.
“I always try to descale my kettle at least once every two months as not only does this keep the appliance clean, but it also improves its efficiency to boil thereby reducing its running costs.”
TikTok 4 – Kettle (lucykalice)
TikTok 5 – Microwave (Briannajcoleman)
“Like we’ve previously mentioned, lemon juice and vinegar really are the go-to products for kitchen cleaning. By mixing these into a liquid, in a microwave safe bowl, and heating, this creates a dense steam that will flood the inside of the microwave breaking up any grime and killing all of the bad odours.
“In this case, lemon juice and vinegar will certainly freshen up any microwave, however if the appliance is quite dirty or has a lot of food build-up, a stronger method may have to be used such a spray mixture and damp cloth.”
TikTok 5 – Microwave (Briannajcoleman)
TikTok 6 – Washing Machine (Purdyandfigg)
“Using bicarbonate of soda is great way to clean the insides of a washing machine as it gently scrubs the interior workings of the appliance helping to combat any mouldy smells or soap build-up. While baking soda can be used to brighten up clothed in the wash, I would recommend using the appliances shorter rinse cycle to give it a good clean before adding in any laundry.
“As for the filter, a lot of people do not realise that a washing machine even has one, so this is crucial to continuously check and keep clean to avoid any blockages.”
TikTok 6 – Washing Machine (Purdyandfigg)
Think it's time for a Clean?
Has all of that inspired you to give your appliances a cleaning overhaul? Zanussi’s appliance cleaning centre has everything you could possibly need to make your appliances sparkle and perform to their absolute best every time. Unsure where to start? You can check out Zanussi’s support centre for handy cleaning guides on each appliance.
Methodology
Zanussi searched through UK TikTok using hashtags surrounding kitchen cleaning hacks to create a seed list of different appliances. In order to determine the most popular kitchen cleaning videos, we looked at the number of views, shares and percentages of likes to views for each video to create a measurable ranking factor for all videos.
