News — Cleaning

For years designer Sarah Stacey’s clients dried their clothes in the Panama sun. So when their jobs brought them back to the U.S., to Austin (he’s a professor at the University of Texas; she works for the CDC), they weren’t totally willing to give up their tried-and-true system for machine-only laundering. “They air-dry almost everything,” says Stacey. The couple tasked the pro with designing a space for them off their garage that met their specific needs. Cue the most clever laundry room drawers we’ve ever seen. Stacey custom-designed an open cabinet that has a series of plastic-mesh panels inside for...

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. You’d think that cleaning would be the most difficult—and important—task for a dishwasher. It turns out, maybe not. “Drying is harder than cleaning because dishes and glasses have areas that trap water, and that water doesn’t evaporate,” says Larry Ciufo, who oversees Consumer Reports’ dishwasher tests. “Also, as the dishwasher cools, water droplets from all that humid air form on the dishwasher’s interior and on the dishes.” To test how well a dishwasher dries, we place plastic sippy cups on the top rack and run a normal cycle. Plastic is...

And when choosing the best towels, there are a lot of factors to consider.  Are you more concerned with softness or durability?  Do you want oversized towels or towels that won’t take up a lot of room while drying on the back of your door?  Do you need to match the towel’s color to your decor or would you prefer an all-white collection of hotel-style towels?  Which material will feel best on your skin, absorb water the fastest, and last you the longest? Typically, cheaper towels are made from run-of-the-mill cotton, while the most absorbent bath towels are made from...

If no one in the house is sick, there’s no need to go crazy. Depending on the size of your household and how often everyone goes in and out, every other day or two to three times a week should be adequate for cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting highly-touched surfaces. If someone in your house is ill, it’s recommended to keep them isolated and to clean surfaces and surroundings daily. Before you get cleaning, remember to check the labels on your disinfectants. ‘Sanitising’ significantly reduces the number of germs and can take a fraction of the time of disinfecting, which kills...

If no one in the house is sick, there’s no need to go crazy. Depending on the size of your household and how often everyone goes in and out, every other day or two to three times a week should be adequate for cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting highly-touched surfaces. If someone in your house is ill, it’s recommended to keep them isolated and to clean surfaces and surroundings daily. Before you get cleaning, remember to check the labels on your disinfectants. ‘Sanitising’ significantly reduces the number of germs and can take a fraction of the time of disinfecting, which kills...