I review household cleaners for a living – these 7 are the ones I swear by

After this rechargeable electric cleaning brush claimed the top spot in the GHI tests, I had to try it out for myself. I’m rarely impressed by innovative cleaning tools, but I can confirm that this brush is worth the hype.

In less than a minute, it removed what seemed like a permanent layer of limescale from my sink, plus it left my grout looking pristine and gave my hob a newfound shine. It even removed burnt residue from the floor of my oven, although that naturally needed more scrubbing.

The attachments make it a versatile design, with uses all over the home. And once you’re finished cleaning, you can just remove the attachment and pop it in the upper rack of the dishwasher to restore it.

Since I started using Scrub Mommy (a newer addition to the Scrub Daddy range), I can’t stop! I was sceptical at first that it would tear easily with the eyes and mouth cut into the sponge, but after months of use, I’m happy to report it’s still holding together with no damage in sight. In fact, the eyes and mouth help you as you clean, providing extra grip.

You might think it’s disgusting to keep using the same sponge month after month, but because it’s dishwasher safe, it’s easy to restore and refresh each week. Compared to Scrub Daddy, Scrub Mommy also comes with a scrubber side, which makes it great for scrubbing burnt residue from pots and pans, too.

When I swapped out my squeegee for a window vacuum, I was not expecting the latter to have much of a chance. For me, a squeegee is quicker, easier and cheaper. But I underestimated the GHI’s winning window vacuum.

On my mirrors and windows, this Kärcher window vacuum was much less messy and more controlled compared to the squeegee (no pools of water dripping on to my floors). It was also faster across a larger space and left no streaks or droplets behind in a single sweep. The squeegee still comes in use in the shower, but otherwise, the window vacuum is the way to go.

I’m all for natural cleaners and avoiding harsh chemicals when cleaning my home, but as much as I love vinegar, I hate the smell it leaves behind! It takes a couple of hours for my bathroom to stop smelling like a fish and chips shop.

That’s why I was so pleased with the results when using citric acid for the first time. It has similar acidic properties to vinegar but without the harsh smell following you around. I diluted it to create a surface cleaner and used it all over my home. It was brilliant at removing limescale from the sink and left a glossy sheen behind. Plus, it was great at descaling my appliances as well as restoring my cloudy glassware in the dishwasher.

When put to the test, the GHI gave it a solid 82/100, so you know it’s worth taking advantage of.

If there’s one chore I hate above all others, it’s mopping the hard floors. With a regular mop and bucket, it’s a slow and boring process as you gradually work your way around the room, trying not to scratch the floors in the process and reusing the same filthy water.

But when I tried out this hard floor cleaner, I couldn’t get over how easy it was to use. You fill the tank, switch it on and it lets you vacuum AND mop at the same time – or just vacuum only if you want to give your area rugs a once-over. The suction power was impressive (it picked up a lot of hair even though I vacuumed recently), and it glided over my bathroom tiles seamlessly, leaving it spotless with no streaks in sight and drying in as little as a couple of minutes. I also love the edge feature on the brush, which helps to reach against the wall.

The GHI has tested the predecessor of this model, giving it a respectful score of 94/100. It will be interesting to see how this upgrade compares.

Those who own pets will know the frustration of shedding season and the hairs that get left behind. The carpet’s edge is particularly frustrating for me; the vacuum can’t reach down here, so I’d have to tease pet hair free by hand, which is painfully slow.

That’s why I love this tool. It’s shaped in such a way that you can reach around the edge of the carpet to quickly pull hairs free. With the bristled rubber design, the static helps to collect hairs as you brush, too. Once you’ve disposed of the hairs, just rinse it under the tap to clean it. It can be used on your upholstery and pet beds, too.

We had a panic in the testing lab when a colleague accidentally spilled a full bowl of soup all over the fabric sofa in the break room. Thankfully, we had a Vax spot cleaner to hand to pick up the mess. It vacuumed up the residue in seconds and the fabric wasn’t sodden from the process.

I recommend one of the top scorers from our spot cleaners test. The Vax SpotWash Home Duo Spot Cleaner showed a brilliant performance on upholstery and hard floors, applying the cleaning solution and vacuuming everything back up at the press of a trigger. These machines come to the rescue more than you’d realise, especially if you regularly deal with spills and stains.