What works, on what, why — and whether it is safe.
CleaningHQ explains the chemistry behind cleaning, records where every claim came from, and refuses to guess. When we have not established whether something is safe, we say so — because “we have no record of a problem” and “this is fine” are not the same statement, and treating them as one is how people ruin worktops and hurt themselves.
The advisor asks what the item is, what is wrong with it and what it is made from — then reasons across everything CleaningHQ knows about all three.
Three things you have probably been told that are wrong
“Oxygen bleach is the wool-safe bleach”
The wool industry body advises against both kinds.
Does not work
“Never use soap on cast iron”
The manufacturer says the opposite, and explains why the rule outlived its soap.
Does not work
“Natural cleaning products are gentler”
The UK regulator lists that belief among the myths it exists to correct.
Does not work
Explore
Things to clean
Ovens, kettles, stoves, sinks — and the parts of them that need different treatment.
Stains & problems
Grease, limescale, soot, rust, mould, wine. What each one actually is.
Materials & surfaces
Marble, stainless steel, wool, grout, cast iron. Most safety rules live here.
Laundry & fabrics
Care labels, fibres, and why the bleach question comes before the temperature one.
Cleaning agents
What each one does, and which surfaces it ruins.
Methods
Soaking, abrasion, descaling, rinsing — and why the order matters.
The science
Surfactants, pH, chelation, oxidation, corrosion, contact time.
Chemical safety
What must never be mixed, and what to do if it already has been.
Hacks & claims
Traditional and viral techniques, assessed rather than repeated.
When the obvious answer is wrong
Where the treatment that removes the problem would destroy the surface.
Never mix cleaning products
Use one, rinse thoroughly, then use the other. Most serious domestic chemical injuries happen to people who did not think they were mixing anything — because one product was not rinsed away before the next went on.
What must never be combined, and what to do if it already has
How much CleaningHQ currently knows
This is an early catalogue and these numbers are small. They are published because a product that asks you to trust its evidence should be willing to tell you how much evidence it has — including the last figure, which is the one most sites would omit.
- Records
- 291
- Hacks assessed
- 84
- Sources
- 116
- Sources actually read
- 106
- Hazards recorded
- 5
- Questions we cannot yet answer
- 302
“Sources actually read” counts the ones where a person has opened the document and read the specific passage being relied on, as opposed to confirming the work exists. The gap between those two numbers is the honest state of any evidence-based product, and most never show it.
How CleaningHQ works · Why we refuse to guess · Every source, and whether it was read
The questions most sites skip
Limescale dissolves in acid. Marble also dissolves in acid — they are the same compound, which is why the descaler that clears one destroys the other. There is no clever chemical answer, and a page that recommends vinegar for a marble shower has simply not asked what the shower is made of.
What acid does to marble · every case like it we have recorded