Ask a House Cleaner, Door Room Cleaning Supplies, Savvy Cleaner

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies

Dorm room cleaning supplies are on the minds of college students. What do you need to keep your life in order? Today on Ask a House Cleaner we get cleaning advice on the best dorm room cleaning supplies.

Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru covers vacuum cleaners, and the best mop to use. Common dorm room cleaning supplies will help you clean up roommate messes. You’ll learn tips on dishwashing soap and the no scratch scrub sponge. We discuss cleansers like Ajax, Comet, Bon-Ami, and Bar Keepers Friend. Cleaning gunk, grease, and sticky stuff are easy with paper towels.

Being a savvy cleaner will upgrade your living space while at school.

Today’s show sponsor is https://HouseCleaning360.com

HouseCleaning360 is a business referral network for house cleaners and maids and housekeepers.

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Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.

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Question: Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies

Now, today’s question comes from a college kid who’s getting ready to go to school. And wants to know “What kind of cleaning supplies do I need for my dorm?”

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Answer: Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies

I love this question because this suggests to me that you live in a clean space right now. And you want to take that on with you as you go on to college.

Now the good news about living in a dorm is many of the kids that you’re going to be rooming with, don’t feel the same way.

Business tool resources for house cleaners, maids and janitors

Capitalize on Your Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies

And so, if you come from a cleaning background this is an awesome opportunity for you to start your own little cleaning business. And agree that you are going to keep all the common areas clean in exchange for a little bit of money.

It can be $10 per person per week or something like that. That is affordable to the kids that you’re living with. But then you keep the kitchen and the bathroom, and the hallways and the entryway clean. Which you’re most likely going to do anyway if you’re asking this question.

So, you might as well make a little bit of money from it, right?

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What Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies Do You Need?

You’re going to need a vacuum of some sort. And my suggestion is, don’t take your mother’s Dyson from home. Because while she loves you and she wants you to have the best. After a couple weeks, she will regret that decision and she will miss it.

So, there are cheap vacuums under $50 bucks that you can get online and have shipped right to your dorm.

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies - Bissell Bagless VacuumDorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Vacuum

Here’s one I recommend from Bissell. And it’s got strong suction power and it has an easy to un attach hose, with an attachment on it. So that you can get the cobwebs out of the corners of the rooms, the floors, the ceiling and the walls.
You can also use the hose for the baseboards and those interior six-panel doors. Those crevices are easy to clean with the vacuum hose and attachment.

This vacuum is also easy to empty. You just push the button and all the hair and junk empties from the bottom. 

This vacuum is intuitive, it’s inexpensive and it’s a great value for the money.

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Powder Cleanser Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies, Powder Cleansers for basins with drains

Next, you’ll need some kind of powder cleanser. And it doesn’t matter what kind of cleanser you use. It could be Ajax, Bon-Ami, Bar Keepers Friend. It could be Comet.

You’re going to use cleanser on any basin where the water goes down the drain.

So, that could be the inside of your bathtub or showers. It could be the toilet. It could be bathroom sinks or kitchen sink.

If water goes down the drain, then you’re going to use the cleanser on the inside of that basin to keep it clean.

Okay, so what else do you need?

 Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies include liquid dish soapDorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Liquid Dish Soap

You’re going to need some kind of dish washing soap.
This is just for washing dishes by hand. And also for other chores. This is great for cleaning gunk or a grease that gets left in the kitchen sink. It’s also great for cleaning other house hold items that are sticky or have residue on them.

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies – No Scratch Scrub Sponges Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies - No Scratch Scrub Sponge

And then there are some no scratch scrub sponges created by Scotch-Brite. And I’m a huge fan of them. They come in yellow and green and they come in blue. (They also have a variety of other colors but these are the common colors.)

And they sell them at Costco so you can get a big bin of them if you like.
They are one side sponge and the other side scrubby -for extra scrubbing power.

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies - Paper TowelsDorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Paper Towels

Now, how are you going to wipe things up on a day-to-day basis?

My suggestion would be paper towels. And that’s just because they are disposable. And lots of messes happen in college dorms, and so you can clean that up and dispose of it and you’re done.

Now, lots of dorms do not have a washing machine and dryer. And so, I’m going to encourage you to stay away from things like microfiber cloths. Although they hold a lot of dust, you still have to wash them. And you don’t want to wash those with your regular school clothing anyway.

So, my suggestion would be to use paper towels and then discard them. Bam! You’re done.

Use the paper towels for cleaning the toilets, mirrors and other quick messes.

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Glass CleanerDorm Room Cleaning Supplies, Glass Cleaner

You’re also going to need some glass cleaner. And the glass cleaner is for your bathroom mirrors, your bedroom mirrors, and the shower door if it’s glass.

NOTE: You can make your own cleaning supplies. But I recommend over the counter store products for college dorm rooms. If other people use your cleaning chemicals – the label will alert them what they are using. 

In the event of improper use, the warning label will tell them where to find help. Who to call, or what to do.

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies, Swiffer DusterDorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Swiffer Duster

And then maybe you’ll want a Swiffer Duster. The Swiffer Duster is a little, handheld duster that has a disposable head on it. And after you’ve clean the entire dorm you can just pop that head off and toss it.
And then you’re not storing that dust.

The disposable heads are not cheap. They’re about $10 bucks for 10 in a box if you buy them in bulk.

So anyway, you’re going to have a duster. You’re going to have some glass cleaner. You’re going to have some cleanser, and some dish soap, a scrubby sponge, a vacuum and what else do you need? How about a mop of some sort?

Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Mop Dorm Room Cleaning Supplies - Self-Twist Mop

And the mop will just be if you have hardwood floors. Or you have ceramic tile or you have linoleum or vinyl flooring. You will mop whatever flooring doesn’t have carpet.

You’ll mop it whenever it’s dirty, and this will usually be two or three times a week. 

Just because of the nature of college kids, and their friends coming in and out of the dorms. There’s going to be a lot of stuff tracked in on your flooring. Especially during bad weather.  And there’s going to be a lot of sticky stuff. I don’t know why, but with college kids, there’s a lot of sticky stuff, spilled sodas, that kind of thing.

So now that we’re talking about sticky stuff, there is a rule that you yourself will want to encourage.

Dorm Room Cleaning SuppliesDorm Room Cleaning Supplies – Garbage Bags

It’s okay if you eat in your dorm room, but when you leave, (every time you leave your dorm room) take that garbage with you.

Whether it’s drinks, pizza boxes, potato chip bags or candy bar wrappers. It doesn’t matter what you ate. Take that with you,
because you don’t want any residue and any crumbs and any of that stuff left in your room.

Because that will attract rats, and mice, and ants, and little bugs.

So, every time you leave your dorm room, take all the garbage with you.

Keeping Your Dorm Room Clean Is A Good Beginning

Alright, so having said that there are a lot of things that you will learn as you keep your dorm room clean.

This is a chance to prove to yourself and your parents that you’re ready to move out into the real world and have a home of your own.

The cleanliness habits you create at school will serve you for the rest of your life. 
I’m super excited for you as you set of on this new adventure.

Good luck, and until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.

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Resources For This Episode:

Bissell Powerforce Compact Bagless Vacuum, 1520 – http://amzn.to/2hwRHhd

Bar Keepers Friend® Cleanser & Polish –  http://amzn.to/2vsdw7j

Ajax Cleaner – Powder cleanser with bleach – http://amzn.to/2v8zJ7T

Comet Cleanser with Bleach – http://amzn.to/2vrOYva

Bon Ami Polish and Cleanser Powder – http://amzn.to/2wgYEX9

Dawn Dish Soap – http://amzn.to/2uuuqO5

No Scratch Scrub Sponges – http://amzn.to/2v91SMf

Bounty Paper Towels – http://amzn.to/2utXy8k

Glass Cleaner – http://amzn.to/2hxd55V

Swiffer Duster 360 – http://amzn.to/2fhsgiR

Rubbermaid Self-Wringing Ratchet Twist Mop with Blended Yarn Head –
http://amzn.to/2fi7bVF

Heavy Duty 13 Gallon Trash Bags – http://amzn.to/2vsKjsY

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