Mrs Hinch shares how she washes her favourite Minky cleaning pad and more

Getting the cleaning done effectively and efficiently is always important, and it’s probably never been more on our minds than during 2020. But for a thoroughly – and not just cosmetically – clean home, it’s crucial that the cloths and sponges you use, especially when cleaning a kitchen, are themselves clean. 

You can grab the best products from your supplies cupboard, and employ the top hacks (all to be found recommended here on Real Homes, naturally), but if the items you use for doing the cleaning are themselves not hygienic? Well, you’re just spreading the nasties round. 

As in all things cleaning, we like to check out the recommendations of Instagram superstar Mrs Hinch. The cleanfluencer neglects no aspect of home hygiene – and that includes keeping her kit just so.  Sophie Hinchcliffe recently shared a great hack for how to clean her favourite Minky Cleaning Pad, sponges and other cloths on her Instagram Stories, and she’s given us other top tactics, too.

You can check out Mrs Hinch’s cloth and sponge cleaning tips below and be sure you’re cleaning hygienically. And, if you need more advice on keeping your home germ-free, visit our cleaning hub.

How to wash a Minky cleaning pad and sponges like Mrs Hinch

1. Mrs Hinch often gets asked how she cleans her cloths after she’s done the chores, and her latest tactic is, she recently revealed, to use washing-up liquid. Not just any old washing-up liquid, though. She’s been won over by Fairy Antibacterial. The cleaning guru uses a solution in the sink to give cloths and sponges a good soak.

2. Members of the Hinch Army know that one of Sophie’s favourites is the M Cloth Anti-Bacterial Cleaning Pad, known as Minky. The dual-sided cloth has a scrubbing side for stains and marks, and a microfibre side to tackle grease and grime, and is designed for both washing up and wiping down. 

But once these tasks are completed how does the cleaning guru get the pad clean? The answer, she previously revealed, is Ace for Whites, a laundry bleach that she showed gets the stains out. If you’re following in Sophie’s footsteps, leave the cleaning pad to soak in Ace for Whites in a plastic bowl, and don’t forget to rinse it thoroughly in cold water afterwards. Wear gloves as well to protect your hands from the bleach.

3. Another strategy the queen of clean employs to get cloths, sponges and more (we’re talking Minky, Spontex Thick Moppet sponge Pinky, and Pledge Fluffy Duster Dave) hygienic once more? Zoflora is the go-to of all her favourite cleaning products. Put a capful of the disinfectant per 400ml of warm water into your sink, add the used items, soak – you could do this overnight – then squeeze out the water, and air dry. Easy.