SHAVING money off your shopping bills is one of the easiest ways to cut costs as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
And cleaning your home can become an expensive habit if you’re duped into buying expensive branded cleaning products every month.
Ann Russell’s cleaning tips on TikTok have attracted an audience of 1.4million people
With energy bills set hit £3,549 for the typical household and inflation at 10.1% it’s always worth assessing where you can cut costs to help keep more of your hard-earned cash.
From cutting your laundry costs to replacing an array of branded cleaning products with cheaper alternative – we explain how you can save over £600 a year on your cleaning costs.
HOAR spoke to Ann Russell, a self-described “middle class English old bag” and self-employed cleaner for decades who’s recently found fame on TikTok.
Affectionately named “The TikTok Auntie” by some of her 1.4million follows, Ann films hundreds of video clips every month to help answer your most pressing cleaning questions.
Ann’s recent fame has forced her in to writing a book, How to Clean Everything, in the hope of educating the masses on how easy it can be to keep your house spick and span.
Ann shares her top cleaning tips and tricks to help you save you hundreds on your bills every year.
Cut laundry costs by £385 a year
We all want to get great results when washing our clothes but laundry products are expensive.
However, Ann said that swapping the brand names for discount products will still get you excellent results.
Ann said: “Persil’s non bio detergent works out at around 14p per wash, but Lidls non bio detergent is half the price at 6p per load.
“If you do four loads a week that can save you nearly
£125 a year.”
And there’s further savings to be made. Ann said you can half the amount of detergent you use in every wash and add in a spoonful of soda crystals to save another £60 a year.
She said: “The soda crystals soften the water and acts as a mild degreaser helping make a smaller amount of detergent go further and saving you another £60 a year.”
Cutting your washing temperatures will also save you hundreds every year.
Consumer group Which? has previously determined that cutting the temperature of your wash from 40 to 20 degrees reduces running costs by an average of 62%.
Ann said: “Modern detergents are designed to work well at very low temperatures. Swap your 40 degree wash for a 20 degree cycle.
“And if you’re worried about stubborn marks then just dilute a little bit of laundry liquid in water and rub into the marks before washing.”
Ann also recommends scrapping the use of laundry softener and scent beads and she said if you want your clothes to come out smelling fresh “buy a nice perfume instead.”
Tumble dryers are an expensive gamble and with the new energy price cap in mind they could cost you over £400 a year to use three times a week.
Instead, Ann recommends investing in a clothes airer. She said: “A good tip to dry an airing rack of stuff is to position an ordinary cooling fan towards it; it keeps the damp air moving away quickly and costs substantially less than using a dryer.
Cut cleaning products costs by £127 a year
A typical household can spend over £127 a year on a whole array of different cleaning products.
From furniture polish, window cleaner, kitchen sprays to bathroom cleaners and wipes – stocking up on these supplies can become an expensive habit.
For wooden furniture Ann recommends a diluted solution of vinegar. You cam get five litres worth for only £6.68 on Amazon and this will see you through for well over a year.
Ann says warm soapy water will be enough to get your windows, floors and work surfaces sparkling.
And you can get five litres worth for £10.45 online.
She said: “Rather than using glass spray, wash your windows and mirrors with hot soapy water and use a squeegee to really make them sparkle with no smears.”
Ann recommends that you don’t waste cash on multi-purpose wipes.
She said: “Honestly? Just don’t. However, if you absolutely MUST burn money, then make absolutely certain you put them in the bin not down the loo, otherwise you will get a huge bill from a plumber.”
Cut vacuuming costs by £100’s a year
Vacuuming is about to get more expensive from October when the new price cap comes into play.
It’ll cost you £31.29 a year to use an average 800w corded machine from October.
And while cordless vacuums may seem cheaper they still set you back £23.05 if you were to use one for over an hour every week over the next year.
Ann said: “Cordless models are fine for a small place with hard floors, but are reliant on the battery, tend to be small and lightweight, and rarely cope with serious dirt well.
“With this in mind you could end up using them more than if you were to have a corded vacuum cleaner.”
Cordless vacuum cleaners are also often stored on charging docks, so once your device is charged up, make sure you switch it off at the socket to stop it wasting more energy than it needs.
If you’ve got an old bagged vacuum cleaner and are looking to upgrade, you could save £20 a year by switching to a bagless device.
How to Clean Everything by Ann Russell is available now (Headline Home, £12.99)
So it’s important to weigh up the costs and assess which appliance suits your households best.
We’ve listed the 14 best cordless vacuum cleaners available for every budget.
