Can I make a confession? As much as I love having things clean, I don’t love the task of cleaning. My motivation is the end result. That is why I look for methods that are quick, easy and most of all: effective.

Over the years I have tried and tested the following cleaning methods and found they have worked with surprising success.

Boiling hot water for sugar: There is nothing worse than burnt sugar on pots and pans. I made the mistake once of not using protective aluminum foil when cooking something, and I paid the price. Luckily, the internet came to my rescue and provided this tip that really does work. Check out the video I made to demonstrate. Never under estimate the power of really hot water. Just use caution not to burn yourself.

WD-40 for soap scum: I don’t remember where I read this tip, but unbelievably, it does work. Our master bath shower has a challenge with really bad soap scum. Probably because we use a bar soap that doesn’t have a lot of sulfur or other chemicals. It’s really just soap. What a concept!