What Is Your Favorite Cleaning Product and Why?

Here, readers share under-the-sink staples guaranteed to give you the advantage in your next grunge match.

I wait tables at an Italian restaurant and have long relied on OxiClean to rid my white uniform of wine, sauce, salad dressing, and soda stains. I recently discovered that this product also gets baby, ahem, leakage out of the carpet. I had to put it to work when my newborn’s 3 A.M. diaper change didn’t go quite as planned. I did my best Billy Mays impression, and thankfully it was a success.
Annie Green 
Fruitport, Michigan

When my son was born, in 1988, I used 20 Mule Team Borax to clean his cloth diapers. It left them soft and white and didn’t irritate his sensitive skin. After he was potty-trained, I forgot about this multipurpose product—until about two years ago, when I decided to make my home as eco-friendly as possible. I now use Borax in every room. I really appreciate that it’s green. I feel safe exposing my kids and pets to it.
Julianne F. Tutko
Memphis, Tennessee

White vinegar, of course! It’s a natural cleaner. When I was a salesperson at a carpet store, we told customers to apply it to spills because it doesn’t harm the fibers. It also works well on laminate floors, wood, tile, and vinyl.
Wendy Ormsby
West Jordan, Utah

Fabuloso. Many people haven’t heard of this amazing all-purpose cleaner, which I think of as my secret weapon. I use it everywhere, from the toilet to countertops. Its scent is fresh and clean without being medicinal or harsh, and it pleasantly perfumes the air for days.
Gayle Israel
Fairfield, Connecticut

Last fall, after I moved into my new home, my mom gave me a pink Fuzzy Wuzzy duster. It was so funny looking that I thought it was a gag gift, but this little gem really does the job. I also use it to wipe down my counters and capture crumbs on my kitchen floor.
Megan Leonard
Omaha, Nebraska

For fruit stains—like the ones from avocado that my one-year-old constantly mashes into her white T-shirts—lemon juice is my go-to fix. You just soak the area in the juice, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse and repeat until the stain is gone.
Katie Murray
Minneapolis, Minnesota