BillyKnowsBest

The Best Barbecue Grill Cleaner: GrillStone

Last summer I discovered Grill Wipes, a great way to clean and grease your grill at the same time.  This summer, I discovered GrillStone.  While Grill Wipes are great for light cleaning, they don't address hard-core caked-on baked-on gunk.  That's where GrillStone excells. GrillStone cleans faster, easier and better than wire brushes and scouring pads, without clogging, on hot or cold grills.  Better still, they are non-toxic and made from 85% recycled glass!  I found mine at Home Depot, but you can order online (and on sale!) at Kmart.com.

The Best Way to Remove Odors from Clothes: WIN High Performance Sport Detergent

If you exercise daily but do laundry less frequently, you've experienced the problem:  Sweaty workout clothes that putrefy in the laundry basket, and don't smell clean coming out of the washer.  The solution: WIN High Performance Sport Detergent.  Used at all Olympic Training Centers, WIN is scientifically formulated to inhibit growth of odor causing bacteria while outperforming traditional detergents in removing embedded sweat and odors from workout clothes. It's more effective than adding an oxygen bleach like OxyClean to your laundry, and even more so if you soak your particularly noxious clothes with it before washing. Find WIN at a retailer near you, or buy a 16-load bottle of WIN for $8.49 at drugstore.com or in a 4-pack from amazon.com.

The Best Stainless Steel Cleaners: 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner, Homax Magic Complete Stainless Steel

Stainless steel kitchens have been all the rage now for years.  But stainless isn't  stainfree. The distinction is minor, until you've lived with a stainless steel refrigerator, kitchen counters or range hood.  They're magnets for water spots, streaks and finger prints, and if you care about keeping them shiny and new looking, you'll need to invest in a stainless-steel cleaner. 

These two are the best: 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish  and Homax Magic Complete Stainless Steel.  If you're looking for a greener way to clean stainless steel, try water and a microfiber cloth.

Buy Magic Complete Stainless Steel at Amazon.com for $8-10.
Buy 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner at Officedepot.com for $13.39.

The Best Dishwasher Detergent: FInish Electrasol

Consumer Reports rates Cascade higher, but in my experience, Finish Powerball 3-in-1 Tabs (formerly Electrasol) work best for thoroughly cleaning dishes without clouding or etching glasses.  Neither of us have tested the new Finish Quantum --  it hasn't arrived yet in my local local stores or online, but you can print out a coupon for it and check it out as soon as it arrives.  Whatever dishwasher detergent you use, here are a few tips for better cleaning performance:

• You don't need to pre-rinse your dishes.  Enzyme-based cleaners like Finish dissolve the food residue, and you'll save lots of effort, time and water by not rinsing (or washing, as my balabusta grandmother used to do) the dishes before they go in the dishwasher.
• Load the dishes with the dirty side facing inward towards the jets. 
• Run the hot water in your sink until it gets hot before starting your dishwasher.  That way, the cold water sitting in your hot water pipes will go down the drain instead of filling your your dishwasher.  This will greatly improve your dishwasher's cleaning performance.
• Never, ever, ever use regular dishwashing liquid in your dishwasher.  The sudsing action can cause flooding and damage to the machine.
• Open your dishwasher soon after the cycle completes to let out some steam and speed drying.

The Best Pet Hair Remover: Scotch Fur Fighter

So, those of us with pets know how difficult it can sometimes be to get rid of pet hair.  Those brainy folks behind the Post-it note have come up with their latest triumph of science: The Fur Fighter Hair remover.  Using disposable sheets with thousands of tinyrubber fingers, it remove stubborn hair that vacuums and lint rollers can leave behind.  And the easy grip handle is designed with an angled tip to get between couch cushions and into furniture corners.  Although the refill sheets are a little pricey, you can save by vacuuming or using a lint roller first, then picking up the rest with the Fur Fighter.  Buy the starter kit for $8.79 at drugstore.com.

The Best Clothing Steamer for Travel and Home: Jiffy Esteam

Back when I lived in a Beverly Hills mansion, I had a full-size professional clothes steamer in my laundry room (along with some vintage 1950s soap boxes I bought off ebay).  It seemed like a great idea, but rarely got used.  And only someone living in a really big house has room for a standing steamer.  A travel steamer is more practical, not just because you can keep it in the bathroom or bedroom and quickly deploy it to steam out a garment, but you can also travel with it, and have it at the ready to steam out the suitcase wrinkling.  The Jiffy Esteam is the most powerful hand steamer available, with a 600-watt heating element, a 3-minute warm up time, and 15 minutes of steaming on one fill up.  It uses tap water, and requires no maintenance.  Buy it for $49 with free ground shipping from AllBrands.com.

The Best Duster: Swiffer

In general, I'm not a big fan of disposable cleaning products -- they're expensive, add to the cleaning cupboard clutter, and not great for the environment.  In general, I prefer microfiber cloths and rags.  But the Swiffer Duster is an exception. (Don't confuse it with the Swiffer Sweeper , which I don't recommend -- try the Bona Floor Cleaner instead.)  The duster's fluffy fibers catch and trap dust like nothing else.  No dust flying around and redepositing itself on another surface. No sprays, no wiping, no lifting things to dust around them. Just super-quick, super-easy, super-clean.  The Swiffer website offers $1 off any starter kit, and a money-back satisfaction guarantee.  But I guarantee you won't need the latter.  Look for it in the cleaning section of your local supermarket/hardware superstore/warehouse store/drugstore.  Usage note: Be sure to fluff the refill according to the instructions when you put it on the wand.

The Best Toilet Bowl Cleaner:Natrics

First there was Seventh Generation, a leader in green philosophy and marketing, but not so much in cleaning technology.  Then came Method, which kicked up the cleaning quotient a little, and the style quotient a lot. Now the big guns, like Clorox Green Works and Arm & Hammer Essentials are jumping on green cleaning product bandwagon, but my favorite little-known brand Natrics still trumps most of them.  They only make a few products, but they make 'em really well. Natrics Toilet Bowl Cleaner has a thick, clingy plant-based formula that cleans really well without bleach, ammonia or petroleum-based cleaners. It's pet and family-safe. (I don't know about your kids, but my dogs prefer the commode to their water bowl most of the time.)  It has an angled lid for easy under-the-rim application, leaves a clean fresh scent, and costs less than Green Works. Buy it for $3.69 (with free shipping on $50 orders) from Drugstore.com.

The Best Laundry Softener/Fragrance: Good Home Co. Pure Grass

My mother has many talents and strengths, but cooking and cleaning aren't among them.  Still, she tries, and appreciates a good laundry product as much as anyone.  She fell in love with the Good Home Co. Pure Grass Laundry Fragrance, but could not bring herself to pay the steep price ($25).  Yes, if you compare it to Downy or Snuggle it's mighty expensive, but on a per-wash basis, it's an affordable luxury, and it is natural, biodegradable and not animal tested.  So she got it for Mother's Day... because the mother of the son who knows best, deserves the best.  Skip the 32oz glass bottle, and go for the  64oz "refill."  And get free shipping when you order it from drugstore.com/beauty.com , where you can shop both stores with a combined checkout.  Other fragrances include Lavender, Paris Rain, Beach Days and Italian Citrus, but Pure Grass is our favorite.

The Best Way to Wash Delicates: Woolite Evercare Wash Bag

I don't mind hand washing delicate clothes.  But I hate hand rinsing.  You shouldn't really wring delicates, and without wringing, I always feel like I'm not getting all of the dirt and detergent out.  But put your delicates in a washing machine, and you risk snagging them  - on the machine itself, or on the snaps, zippers and Velcro of other clothes.  My solution: A mesh wash bag.  Fill it loosely with your sweaters, swimsuits, etc. and toss them in the washer with your regular load.  Simple, easy and efficient.  On sale this week at drugstore.com for $2.99.