Best Home Cleaning Tools: Insider Secrets

Our Top Picks for Professional Grade Cleaning

Ever find yourself in a place like Home Depot or Target wondering what the truly best home cleaning tools are? Because let’s be honest, the choices can be exhaustive and all home cleaning tools are most definitely not made equally!

Good news! Today, we’re going to open up our storage shed and show you each and every one of the home cleaning tools we own and why we decided on them.

My name is Kent Davis, and I am the owner of Dallas Sunrise Maids. We are a family-owned home cleaning business based in Plano, Texas and we’ve run the gamut over the years, trying to decide on what tools to use to clean homes. Here’s our list!

 

Powerful Vacuums For Every Surface

Sanitaire SC3683B Commercial Canister Vac

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Ah, the vacuum. This canister vac is hands down one of our most versatile home cleaning tools. Why? Note the extensions! 

Honestly, though, this little vacuum is an absolute workhorse, and believe me, we’ve tried out quite a few brands. Here’s why we’ve chosen this one to use in every single one of our homes.

Why We Love It

  • Durability and Build Quality: The SC3683B is actually a commercial vac, making it more durable and long-lasting compared to many residential models which clunk out after too many house cleans.
  • Powerful Suction: Known for its strong suction power, this vacuum effectively picks up dirt, debris, and fine particles from various surfaces, which is essential in commercial settings. Legos? Gone, baby, gone. Of course, we try to avoid those, but those little tiny ones that no one likes to step on…this vac gets them!
  • Lightweight and Portable: Despite its powerful performance, the SC3683B is lightweight and easy to maneuver, making it ideal for cleaning large areas without wearing out our cleaners…because cleaning is hard work! Plus, it’s easy to transport between locations.

 

The Ultimate Upright Vacuum

Riccar RSLAC 

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Oh boy! If we had a third member of our two-person home cleaning teams, this Riccar RSLAC would be it! In fact, this HEPA-filtered, upright, and commercial-grade vacuum is hands down one of the best-made vacuums in the business. It’s like an extension of our bodies and is such an amazing tool for cleaning homes that without it, we’d be at a loss.

And once again, all vacuums are most definitely not created equally. There are a few brands sold in places like Walmart that will work for a while but then clunk out after one too many shaggy carpets. Not this bad boy!

Why is it an essential home cleaning tool?

  • Super Lightweight: The Riccar RSLAC is known for its incredibly lightweight build, making it easy to maneuver and carry. From big homes to small apartments, this blue beauty is easy to carry upstairs and nimble enough to get between the sofa and a wobbly coffee table.
  • Exceptional Filtration System: The filtration system effectively captures dust, allergens, and fine particles, improving indoor air quality for that freshly cleaned smell we like to deliver.
  • Strong Suction with Tandem Air Technology: This vacuum sucks! Really though 🙂 And that’s the idea! Riccar’s Tandem Air technology does a fab job on carpets to hard floors and beyond.

 

Your Compact Cleaning Companion

2 Foot Step Stool

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The 2-foot step stool is an essential home cleaning tool! The brand doesn’t matter, but we like 2 steps vs. 3 steps or more. This particular size makes it easy to carry around and store in a car when we are moving from home to home.

Why is it such an important home cleaning tool to have in your arsenal?

Well, if you don’t have the extension mentioned below, and even if you do, this 2-foot step stool is a heck of a lot easier than trying to balance on a chair or using a precarious ladder, which can be overkill.

Not to mention, getting just a few steps higher helps you reach those tough-to-reach areas like cobwebs, air vents, as well as ceiling fans, and ceiling fan lights.

Because remember, dust hides everywhere! And having this particular home cleaning tool in your toolkit means a much more thorough and dust-free home.

 

The Secret to Spotless Floors

Microfiber Mop

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So here at Dallas Sunrise Maids, we use a dry mop process, which is why the microfiber mop is the bee’s knees for getting those floors looking fabulous. And that is why we decided to add it to our home cleaning tool list!

Don’t get me wrong, these Swiffer-type mops are useful, but not the end-all-be-all when it comes to getting floors clean. We actually always vacuum the floors first before we use this mop.

And then, depending on the surface, we’ll spray the floor itself or we’ll spray a clean, dry microfiber towel attached to the end of this mop with one of the cleaning supplies mentioned below.

 

Reaching New Heights: Essential Cleaning Tools

16-foot Extension and Ceiling Fan & Cobweb Duster

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Ladies and gentlemen, your one-two punch for dusty ceiling fans, pesky cobwebs, and those hard-to-reach air vents! We appreciate the weight of the Unger brand extension. And to be honest, there are tons of these home cleaning tools out there, but we like this one because it’s not overkill in terms of how far it extends.

The extension itself is a lightweight home cleaning tool that’s light enough to wiggle around but sturdy enough to get leverage in those hard-to-reach spots.

And OMG, this brush is an essential item for cleaning fans. Without it, we’d be lost! We appreciate the Unger brand for both the extension and the brush.

The Versatile Cleaning MVP

Microfiber Towels

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If you ever hire us to come over and clean your home, rest assured you’ll see your two-person cleaning teams arriving with a stack of fresh and clean microfiber towels.

Not going to lie, we kind of nerd out on microfiber towels, especially considering they are probably one of the most used home cleaning tools in our arsenal.

Choosing The Right Microfiber Towels
  • Fiber Density (GSM): Higher GSM towels are thicker, softer, and more absorbent, while lower GSM towels are thinner and better for light tasks. Different brands offer varying GSM levels, impacting performance.
  • Blend Composition: The ratio of polyester to polyamide varies by brand. Towels with a higher percentage of polyamide are softer, more absorbent, and better at trapping dirt.
  • Durability and Longevity: Higher-end brands typically produce more durable towels that maintain their effectiveness over many washes, while cheaper options may wear out more quickly.

Plan on spending around $10.00 for a 24-pack. We’ve found that microfiber towels usually need to be replaced if being used and washed constantly, and will usually last for between 2-3 weeks in a daily recurring house cleaning service rotation. For home usage, they can last longer, but it’s nice to purchase a few dozen at a time to circulate and extend their life.

 

Powering Through Large Spaces

Extension Cord

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Yeah, yeah, a boring old extension cord. It’s an essential home cleaning tool, mostly for those handy-dandy vacuums earlier on in our list. And mostly for muy grande houses! 

Riccar and Sanitaire make great vacuums, but those cords only stretch but so far 🙂

A good extension cord means you don’t necessarily have to get out of your vacuuming flow state to unplug when you are moving from room to room. We’ve found 25′ is the magic distance. Not too heavy, and not too long so your cord is snaking around the home while you are cleaning.

Creating Your Cleaning Arsenal

Essential Combinations to Invest in for a Cleaner Home


So there you have it! Now that you’ve got the inside scoop on the best home cleaning tools used by the pros, it’s time to elevate your cleaning routine. These are the tried-and-true tools that help us keep homes in Plano looking their best day in and day out.

Investing in quality cleaning tools doesn’t just make the job easier—it ensures that your home stays cleaner, for longer. Whether you’re tackling the job yourself or calling in the pros, like our Plano team at Dallas Sunrise Maids, having the right tools in your arsenal makes all the difference.

Thanks for taking a peek into our home cleaning toolkit. We hope this helps you on your quest for a spotless home. At Dallas Sunrise Maids, we’re not just passionate about clean homes; we’re obsessed with delivering that ‘just-cleaned’ feeling every single time. Life gets busy, and sometimes you need a helping hand, give us a call for a free estimate today!

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Mother and young daughter playing on couch that had cleaning service with Dallas Sunrise Maids in Plano, TX

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