Despite all the complicated cleaning products out there, sometimes, the best cleaning solution is the simplest one. For example, we all know the woes of trying to clean a dirty, greasy kitchen when no matter what you try, you can’t quite get rid of that oily residue. In situations like these, when your go-to scrubs and sprays just aren’t doing the trick, look to your shower for an answer.

Shampoo is the secret ingredient for a one-stop cleaning cure. The same ingredients that target dirt and oils in your hair can easily be redirected to lift difficult grease around the home. Just take a squirt of shampoo, lather it up, and use it to scrub away tricky messes.

What Kind Of Shampoo Works Best

In a pinch, any shampoo that you’ve got should do the trick—if it can clean your hair, it can clean a handful of other things, as well. However, chemist Alexis Rochester recommends keeping baby shampoo on hand for household cleaning. Baby shampoo is color and fragrance free, so you won’t have to worry about it leaving behind any discoloration or out-of-place odors.

“Baby shampoo contains gentle ingredients formulated for baby’s skin and not to sting the eyes, this makes it perfect for many other household uses,” Rochester explains. “The surfactants found in baby shampoo are usually amphoteric surfactants, a more gentle and less foaming surfactant compared to regular shampoos.”

Regardless of what kind of shampoo you choose, after cleaning with it, you may never go back to some of your usual cleaning products. Here’s how to cleanse your home with a handy bottle of shampoo. 

Tackle Kitchen Grease

Grease build-ups in the kitchen are all too common. Squeeze a drop of shampoo onto a damp cloth or towel to wipe away greasy cooking debris from whatever surface was hit, including the counter, stovetop, or backsplash. 

Scrub The Sink

Shampoo’s grease-tackling prowess isn’t limited to kitchen grease stains. Use shampoo as a bathroom cleaner too. This product can be particularly helpful for a sink or vanity where oily substances like stray toothpaste or makeup need cleaning. 

Make Chrome Shine

Once you scrub your sink with some shampoo, take the suds to your faucet. Shampoo is particularly adept at cleaning chrome faucets and other chrome finishings where grease, streaks, and fingerprints are just waiting to be erased. 

De-Fog Mirrors

Before getting in the shower and using shampoo on your hair, use shampoo to prevent your bathroom mirror from fogging up from the shower’s humidity. Simply use a towel, paper towel, or cloth to rub some shampoo on the mirror, then wipe it clean with a fresh towel to stop fogging its tracks.

Clean Brushes

Hair brushes and makeup brushes alike can become caked with greasy debris. SImilar to how you wash oily hair or skin, the brushes that frequently come into contact with your hair and skin need to be washed as well. Rochester recommends baby shampoo to get your hair and makeup brushes grease-free and without any additives that may irritate sensitive face skin. 

Mop Tile Floors

In a pinch, shampoo can be substituted for floor cleaner. While it’s not very well suited for wood, shampoo will do just the trick for cleaning ceramic or linoleum tiled floors. Mix the shampoo with water like you would your usual cleaning solution, and mop away any grease or dirt clinging to your floors.

Remove Stains From Fabric

If your carpets or upholstered furniture are attacked by something greasy, leaving a horrible, oily stain, shampoo is on standby to help you out. And we’re not talking about carpet shampoo—that’s a different thing altogether. Regular old hair shampoo can be used to fight stains before they set in and become permanent. Be sure to mix your shampoo with water and use a soft brush for delicate fabrics.

Buff Leather

With just a bit of shampoo and some elbow grease, your leather shoes can look like you just paid a visit to a professional shoe-shine. The same goes for leather jackets, accessories, and even furniture.