The one thing you need to do before cleaning that means much less scrubbing
Cleaning things like the oven can involve a lot of scrubbing and still not get results if you don't get one thing right.
Professional cleaner Brandon Pleshek has explained in a TikTok video the problem with simply spraying and then wiping straight away.
It's something he's seen cleaners-in-training do instead of giving the cleaning product they're using a chance to break down buildup.
Watch the video above.
Janitor Brandon Pleshek urged people to wait after applying cleaning product on a surface. Getty
"Let the cleaners (products) do the work," he said.
"One area cleaners really need their time to do their job is cleaning your oven or really anything greasy because grease is just so hard to break down, but time can really help those degreasers cut through that.
"So for instance if you spray your oven now with oven cleaner, give it a quick scrub and wipe down, again because you're trying to be fast and efficient – I get it, that's what I do too but it's just not going to do as good a job.
"The grease is not going to be emulsified and broken down so you can easily rinse it away, and you're just going to have to scrub so much longer, you're going to use way more cleaner too because you gotta keep spraying it."
The janitor explained that you'll have to keep repeating the scrubbing, wiping and rinsing process over and over again to get results.
But if you leave the oven cleaner on for 30 minutes, or even an hour, and then wipe it you'll find the grime comes off much easier, without having to repeat the process multiple times.
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To find out how long each product needs to dwell on a surface before wiping, scrubbing or rinsing away, you simply need to read the instructions on the product.
This isn't just important for degreasers, it's also important for disinfectants because the dwell time is needed to effectively kill germs.
The amount of time a cleaning solution needs to sit on a surface before wiping differs between products. Getty
There are other important details too, like whether the surface should be wet or must be rinsed afterwards. These things differ between cleaning products, even when they're designed for the same task so it's important to read every time.
You also need to check if there is a maximum time a product can remain on a surface, as some cleaning products can cause damage if you go beyond the recommended dwell time.
"So make sure you read the labels and as I always say... the label is law," Pleshek said.
The American cleaner previously appeared on Today Extra where he told hosts David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys that he is fine cleaning almost everything, except one substance.
"I've cleaned pretty much all the gross things. The one thing I will say, and most stuff doesn't phase me but I've never been good with blood, ever since I was a little kid. It always gets me queasy, I've even passed out a few times so that's usually something I leave to other types of cleaners, so I can't touch that," he said.
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