Top 10 Green Cleaning Tips From the Pros

by Stephanie Watson

February 3, 2026

Originally posted Sept 2021; Updated Jan 2026

When a Two Bettys cleaner hits a space, not only do they want to leave it fresh and clean — they also want to be efficient and make sure the products they use are easy on the environment. This means using the right products, tools, and techniques for every job.

Here, you’ll find our cleaners’ top 10 green cleaning tips to help you maintain a cleaner, healthier home in between professional cleans. 

1. Microfiber Cloths Are Our Friends

Ditch the paper towels and disposable Swiffer dusters and embrace microfiber cloths! Simply spritz a little plant-based cleaner on your microfiber cloth and effectively remove dirt, dust, and grime from surfaces.

The thousands of plush fibers in a microfiber cloth grab waaay more dirt, grime, and bacteria than paper towels do. Plus, these reusable cloths do a solid for both the environment and your wallet. After a quick trip through the washing machine, they’re ready to go again! 

While microfiber cloths are not the perfect eco-solution, they certainly beat the disposables, and are a solid option while we wait for 100% bamboo microfiber cloths to become more widely available.

Also, be on the lookout for other microfiber cleaning tools, such as microfiber sponges and mop heads, for a better clean with less waste.

2. Vacuums: They’re Not Just for Floors Anymore

Crumbs on your kitchen countertop? Hair in the tub, shower, or bathroom sink? Before you go in with your microfiber cloth and cleaner, first bring out the vacuum.

When cleaning surfaces like the kitchen counter, stovetop, or bathroom sink, first use your vacuum’s soft brush attachment to remove loose grit and bigger particles from surfaces. This makes the wipe-down that follows a lot easier. (Just make sure to only use the vacuum on dry surfaces so you don’t end up with moisture in your vacuum.)

While you’ve got your vacuum out, give it a little TLC and keep it in good working order for years to come:

• Wash any removable filters with soap and water, letting them dry completely before replacing
• Inspect hoses for cracks or clogs
• Clear the brush roll of any pet fur or hair that has wrapped around the bristles

3. Spray, Wait 5 Minutes, Then Wipe

Cleaning products often need time to do their best work. In fact, many sanitizing and virus-killing cleaning products require a dwell time of 5-10 minutes in order to ensure optimum effectiveness. 

So instead of spraying a surface and immediately wiping it with a microfiber cloth, give the solution a few minutes to soak in (and do some of your work for you). When you come back with a cloth, you’ll spend less elbow grease swiping away the mess.

4. If You Get It Wet, Get It Dry

This is one of our favorite cleaning secrets. And it’s an easy one to implement.

“If you get it wet, get it dry” is a rule of thumb our cleaning team uses to make sure they thoroughly dry each surface after cleaning it. Wiping down a porcelain sink or toilet with a dry towel after cleaning removes any debris or hair that’s left behind, giving your surface a professional-looking finish. Plus, dry surfaces are harder for dirt to stick to, so they’ll stay clean longer. 

And if you want sparkling glass, thoroughly drying mirrors and glass immediately after washing helps prevent streaks! 

5. Work From the Top Down; Left to Right

Make sure you don’t miss a spot by always cleaning your space from the top down, and from left to right. 

Working from the top down lets gravity take on some of the work for you, preventing dust and debris from spilling onto areas you’ve already cleaned. And working from left to right in a circle around a room helps ensure you get every area that needs cleaning.

6. Put Old Credit Cards & Toothbrushes to Work

Instead of tossing an old toothbrush or cutting up expired credit cards or used gift cards, give them a second life as cleaning tools!

Sanitize your old toothbrushes and keep them around to clean hard-to-reach spots, like the grime that collects around faucets or in shower tile grout, or the grease and dirt that accumulates on the ledges of kitchen cabinets.

And those old credit cards or gift cards? They can make great scraping tools! Use them to scrape dried or gummy messes off surfaces, such as encrusted food, candle wax, toothpaste blobs, and more. Take care of the bulk of the mess with the card, then go in with a damp cloth to finish the job. 

Don’t have an expired card right now? Grab an inexpensive scraping tool from the paint section of your local hardware store for an excellent alternative.

7. Give Wood Surfaces Some Love

While you may not give your wood surfaces a second thought in your day-to-day life, when you’re getting your space ready for guests or doing a deep-clean, polishing your wood furniture and trim can really make your space shine.

After you give wooden surfaces a good ol’ wipe-down, condition them with wood polish. This not only makes furniture and trim look great, it also helps repel dust. 

8. Clean With the Grain

Go with the grain (and not just for your morning toast!). Whether you’re mopping your hardwood floor or polishing stainless steel appliances, make sure to always clean with the grain of the surface, not against it. This will help reduce streaking and give your surfaces an extra gleam.

9. Banish Stubborn Stains the Non-Toxic Way

For stubborn stains on grout or porcelain, try using an oxygen bleach (like OxyClean) in place of a typical toxic chlorine bleach. Simply dissolve some oxy bleach in water (see the product itself for usage instructions), spread the mixture on the stain, let it sit for a few minutes, then wash off. 

This simple, nontoxic solution can lift many stains you thought were there for good!

10. Got Pet Hair? Your Shower Squeegee Can Do Double Duty

Did you know you can use the squeegee from your bathroom shower to remove pet hair from furniture? It’s true! The rubber on the squeegee will loosen the fur from the fibers of your upholstery, making it easier to vacuum off … no fancy attachments needed!

You can use the same method on any spot your pet frequents in your home, from cat trees and dog beds to everyone’s favorite recliner.

Keep Your Home Clean the Two Bettys Way

We hope these green cleaning tips help you see that, in most cases, green cleaning methods are not that different from traditional ones, and you don’t have to rely on harsh chemicals or fragrances to make your home feel clean. Using good quality, naturally-derived cleaners, microfiber cloths, and a little elbow grease is more than enough to handle most household cleaning tasks

Stumped about how to clean a certain space or object? Send us your cleaning questions (“What’s the best way to spruce up dirty deck chairs?”, “How can I clean my filthy garage floor?”, etc) via Instagram. We might even feature your question (and the exciting answer!) in a future blog post.

And if you’re ready to hand off more of your household cleaning tasks to a pro, our team is here for you! Get your instant quote here.