It's that time of year again when we look at corners of our homes we've somehow successfully ignored for eleven months and think, "Oh. Oh no."
Pesach cleaning is its own category - it's not just about making things look nice, it's about getting into every crevice, every corner, every place a Cheerio could theoretically have fallen and been forgotten. It's deep cleaning on a spiritual level.
If you're going to do it anyway, please use products that actually work so you're not scrubbing the same spot for twenty minutes with something that's basically scented water.
These are some of my ride-or-die products. They have earned their spot under my sink year after year. Some are old classics, some are things I discovered on cleaning TikTok at 1 am (no judgment, please, we've all been there), and all of them actually deliver.
The Heavy Hitters
If you've been on any corner of cleaning social media in the last few years, you've seen this unassuming pink paste, and I'm here to tell you that the hype is real. It tackles things I had genuinely given up on: baked-on stove grime in that one hard-to-reach area, mysterious discoloration on my white sink, that ring around the bathtub that seemed like it was just... part of the bathtub now... It's mildly abrasive but gentle enough that I've never scratched anything with it, and a little goes a very long way. For Pesach, I use it on stovetops, sinks, oven doors, and even the outside of my pots, if I'm doing a really deep clean. The only downside is that you have to rinse really thoroughly or you'll get a residue, but that's a small price to pay for what feels like actual magic.
Yes, I know... Bleach. We're not going to have a whole conversation about toxicity here. I have young kids, I keep it out of reach, I use it in a ventilated space, and I do what works. And what works is Soft Scrub with Bleach on my white bathtub, my grout, and my toilet bowl. It whitens, it disinfects, and it cuts through things that other "gentle" cleaners simply cannot touch.
Just remember to use gloves, and open a window.
This is the product professional chefs and restaurant workers have been using forever, and there's a good reason for that. Bar Keepers Friend is incredible on stainless steel: pots, pans, sinks, appliances. It removes rust, and hard water stains, as well as discoloration that builds up on your favorite pan over time until you just accept that it's brown now. (It doesn't have to be brown. Bar Keepers Friend will fix it.)
The powder is my go-to, but they also make a liquid version that's great for vertical surfaces. For Pesach prep, this is what makes your Pesach pots look brand new again after a year in storage.
Pro tip: you're supposed to rinse it off within a minute or two, so don't leave it sitting. Work quickly, rinse thoroughly, and watch your cookware look new again.
Hard water is the enemy of everything good and clean, and CLR is how you fight back. This stuff dissolves the crusty buildup around your faucets, the cloudy film on your shower doors, as well as that ring in your toilet bowl that scrubbing alone will never touch.
I use it on showerheads (just soak them in a bag of CLR and water for a few minutes), on faucets, on any chrome or porcelain that's been victimized by mineral deposits.
Fair warning: you absolutely cannot use this on natural stone, marble, or certain finishes - it will damage them. Please read the label.
But for that sparkling-clean-for-Yom-Tov feeling? Unbeatable.
If you have a glass or ceramic stovetop, this is one of the best ways to clean it. It's made specifically for glass cooktops and it removes burnt-on food, stains, and that cloudy residue that makes your stovetop look perpetually dirty.
Use it with a non-scratch pad or the included scraper for burnt-on spots. After a year of Shabbos cooking, your stovetop needs this.
Olive Oil for Stainless Steel
After you clean your stainless steel appliances, put a tiny bit of olive oil on a microfiber cloth and buff them. It makes them shine like new and helps resist fingerprints. A little goes a long way since you just want a light film, not a greasy mess. This also works on stainless steel sinks after you've cleaned them.
• • •
The Everyday Essentials (That Become Pesach MVPs)
I genuinely don't understand how these work, and I don't need to. What I know is that scuff marks on walls, mystery marks on doors, crayon, dried schmutz on highchairs, and that weird grime that accumulates on light switches - all gone.
Magic Erasers are made of melamine foam, which is basically a very fine abrasive, so you shouldn't use them on glossy or delicate surfaces. But for painted walls, baseboards, doors, cabinets, and anywhere kids have touched, these are essential. I buy the generic versions in bulk because they're functionally identical and way cheaper. Stock up before Pesach - you'll go through more than you think.
Okay, this one is a machine, not a product, but I'm including it because it changes people's lives. The Bissell Little Green is a portable carpet and upholstery cleaner- basically a small wet vac that sprays cleaning solution, scrubs, and sucks up the dirty water. It's incredible for couches, car seats (hello, the back seat situation), area rugs, dining chairs, anywhere that absorbs spills and crumbs and gradually becomes disgusting.
It's pulled colors out of my carpet that I didn't even know were in there. For Pesach, this is how I actually clean upholstered furniture and car interiors instead of just pretending I did.
Everyone knows Dawn is good for dishes, but it's also good for basically everything else.
Greasy stovetop? Dawn.
Grimy range hood filter (soak it in hot water with Dawn)? Done.
Greasy residue on top of your cabinets that you only notice once a year when you're cleaning for Pesach? Dawn and hot water.
I've used it to pretreat laundry stains, clean makeup brushes, and wash outdoor furniture. This powerwash formula is my preference - it's so easy to spray and use and very effective.
• • •
The Social Media Finds
This one went viral on TikTok and it deserves every bit of the hype.
It's a foaming spray specifically made for walls - you spray it on, the foam clings (doesn't drip down), and you wipe it off after a few minutes.
Fingerprints, scuff marks, mystery smudges, that line of grime at kid-height that you've been pretending not to see are all gone.
It works on painted walls, baseboards, doors, even ceilings if you're ambitious. For Pesach, when you're looking at walls you haven't really looked at in a year and realizing they're... not ok, this is the move.
Fair warning: it has a strong smell, so ventilate. But your walls will look freshly painted without actually having to paint them. Around $5 a can at Home Depot or Amazon.
The Power Paste is a clay-based cleaning paste that you use with the Scrub Daddy sponge. You just wet the sponge, swirl it in the paste, and it foams up into this incredibly effective cleaner.
It's amazing on oven doors (that glass! finally clean!), stovetops, pots with baked-on residue, and basically any surface that needs serious scrubbing without scratching. Non-toxic, no harsh fumes, and it works. I use this on my oven door before Pesach every year now and it's genuinely satisfying.
This is basically goo that you press into crevices and it picks up dust and crumbs.
It's perfect for car vents (please go look at your car vents right now, I'll wait), keyboards, the gaps around your stove knobs, cup holders, air vents, anywhere that crumbs hide and a cloth can't reach. For Pesach cleaning the car, this stuff is so good. It picks up all the crumbs hiding in the seat crevices and console gaps.
Fair warning: it gets gross fast and you'll need to replace it. Kids also think it's fun, which means they might actually help clean the car. Maybe.
This is a little plastic figure that you fill with vinegar and water, put in the microwave, and run for a few minutes. The steam loosens all the baked-on splatter inside the microwave and then you just wipe it out.
Is it gimmicky? Yes. Does it work? Also yes. But after a year of reheating soup and cholent, my microwave needs all the help it can get. The steam does the work so you don't have to scrub.
Speaking of not wanting to scrub, these brush attachments that go on your power drill have been all over cleaning social media, and they're legitimately useful.
You attach them to a regular drill and use them to scrub tile, grout, bathtubs, shower floors - anywhere that would normally require you to get on your hands and knees and scrub until your arm falls off. The drill does the work for you.
There are different brush sizes for different surfaces. For Pesach cleaning bathrooms and tile floors, this is a serious time saver. 35
This is a sponge-like duster that you wet, wring out, and use to dust. It grabs dust and holds onto it instead of just pushing it around.
Great for blinds, baseboards, lampshades, electronics, and any surface where regular dusting just moves the dust somewhere else.
This makes quick work of all those surfaces you've been ignoring.
This one is less well-known but it's a miracle worker on shower doors.
Spray it on, wait a few minutes, rinse off. There's no scrubbing involved. It dissolves soap scum and hard water buildup in a way that vinegar and dish soap just can't match. I
f your shower doors are cloudy, and you've tried everything else, try this.
• • •
The Secret Weapons That Are Essential
Old Toothbrushes
I keep a collection of old toothbrushes specifically for cleaning. They're perfect for grout, for the crevices around faucet handles, for the edges of stovetops, for anywhere a sponge can't reach.
Small, precise, and free (since you're replacing your toothbrush regularly anyway, right?).
For Pesach, these are essential for getting into all those tiny spaces around stove knobs, sink fixtures, and appliance edges.
For the truly small spaces: the tracks of your sliding doors, oven door hinges, the edges of your refrigerator shelves, nothing beats a toothpick. I keep a box in my cleaning supplies specifically for this purpose. Wooden skewers work for slightly larger crevices. It's oddly satisfying to see what comes out.
Or use these metal picks if you don't want to go through tens of wooden ones.
For toilet bowl rings that nothing else will touch - not even CLR, not even Soft Scrub - a pumice stone will physically scrub them off.
You have to use it wet (keeps it from scratching the porcelain), but it works when literally nothing else will.
Honestly, half of Pesach cleaning is just trying to stick the vacuum cleaner into places it can't naturally fit. A good crevice attachment for your vacuum, the long skinny one, is essential for couch cushions, car seats, drawer corners, and all the other places food has mysteriously migrated to over the year.
• • •
More Tools and Hacks Worth Knowing
This is one of those long, skinny, flexible brushes (usually around 30 inches) that's designed to clean out your dryer lint trap and the coils behind your refrigerator. You know how your dryer takes forever to dry clothes? It's probably because there's lint buildup in places the regular lint trap doesn't reach.
And your fridge? If the coils are covered in dust (they are), it's working harder than it needs to. These brushes are like $10 on Amazon, and they're genuinely useful- not just for the appliances but also for getting under heavy furniture you can't move, behind radiators, and other impossible-to-reach spots.
Parchment Paper on Top of Cabinets and Fridge
Line the tops of your upper cabinets and refrigerator with parchment paper or wax paper. All that greasy dust that accumulates up there will land on the paper.
When it's time to clean, you just throw away the paper and put down new. This is a "work smarter, not harder" move for next year, but if you're cleaning up there anyway for Pesach, might as well set yourself up for success.
Kitchen Tongs + Old Socks for Blinds
Wrap old socks around kitchen tongs, secure them with rubber bands, and use them to clean both sides of blinds at once. It sounds ridiculous to be honest, but works incredibly well.
You can also just put a sock on your hand and run your fingers along each slat, it's weirdly satisfying and much faster than trying to dust blinds with a cloth.
Microfiber Cloth on a Broom for Baseboards
Wrap a damp microfiber cloth, or a dryer sheet around the head of a Swiffer or regular broom, secure it with rubber bands, and use it to wipe down baseboards without getting on your hands and knees. Your back will thank you and the dryer sheet will magically reduce dust for the future.
If you're using a cloth, spray it with an all-purpose cleaner first for extra cleaning power.
Dishwasher for More Than Dishes
Your dishwasher can clean so much more than dishes: plastic toys (top rack), vent covers, light switch plates, stove knob covers, range hood filters (use a degreaser first for these), and the small removable refrigerator shelves and drawers. Load up everything removable and let the machine do the work while you tackle something else.
Steam Mop on Walls
If you have a steam mop, you can use it on painted walls to lift grime without chemicals. The steam does the heavy lifting.
Just be careful with flat/matte paint finishes -test in an inconspicuous spot first. Some people also use a regular spin mop on walls (the kind with the bucket that wrings out) with diluted cleaner.
If you don't have a full steam mop, a handheld steamer (like this one) is incredibly useful for Pesach cleaning. Use it on grout, tile, faucets, around toilets, anywhere grime builds up.
The steam sanitizes without chemicals and loosens buildup so you can wipe it away. It also comes with attachments for getting into crevices. For bathroom deep cleaning, this is amazing, especially on grout that's been neglected all year.
One of those extendable dusters with a bendable head is essential for ceiling fans, high corners, tops of door frames, and light fixtures you can't reach.
Do these FIRST before you clean anything else, dust falls down, so you want to work top to bottom.
The bendable head ones are better than the straight ones because you can angle them to actually get on top of fan blades.
Pillowcase for Ceiling Fan Blades
Speaking of ceiling fans: slide an old pillowcase over each blade, then pull it off slowly. All the dust stays inside the pillowcase instead of falling all over your floor and furniture. This is one of those hacks that seems too simple to work, but it's actually genius.
Use a mesh laundry bag (the kind you use for delicates) to wash small items in the dishwasher or washing machine - things like silicone baby spoons, small Tupperware lids, bottle nipples, or anything tiny that would fall through the racks or get lost.
This is perfect for all those random small parts you're suddenly deep cleaning.
Overnight Oven Cleaner Method
For a really crusty oven, spray it down with oven cleaner at night, close the door, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, the baked-on grime wipes off so much easier.
Yes, oven cleaner smells terrible, so pen windows and do it when you can leave the kitchen.
Baking Soda Paste for Oven Racks
For oven racks, make a paste of baking soda and water, coat the racks, let them sit for a few hours (or overnight in the bathtub lined with old towels), then scrub and rinse.
Coffee Grounds for Fridge Odors
After you've deep cleaned your fridge, put a small bowl of dried coffee grounds inside to absorb any lingering odors. Works better than baking soda in my experience, and you were going to throw out those grounds anyway.
This is basically a paint marker for grout.
After you've cleaned your grout as well as you can, the grout pen covers any remaining stains and discoloration. It's not magic and it's not permanent, but for making your bathroom floor look like new for Yom Tov without regrouting? It works.
Just make sure the grout is clean and completely dry before you use it, and let it cure for at least 24 hours before getting it wet. You can get them in white, gray, black — whatever matches your grout.
Please remember though, that there is no need to do this for Pesach. This is only if you want to.
Toothbrush Holder Cleaning
While you're at it: dump out your toothbrush holder and soak it in hot soapy water with a splash of white vinegar. The bottom of that thing is disgusting. Same goes for soap dishes and anything else in your bathroom that sits in its own gunk.
• • •
A Note on "Natural" Cleaners
I use vinegar and baking soda for some things. Vinegar is great for cutting through grease and as a rinse aid in the dishwasher, baking soda works as a gentle abrasive and deodorizer. But for the level of deep cleaning we're doing before Pesach? I need the real stuff.
That said, you know your home, your kids, your risk tolerance. These are just my choices.
The Bottom Line
Pesach cleaning is a lot. It just is. But having products that actually work and that cut your scrubbing time in half, and that make impossible stains possible... makes the whole endeavor significantly easier.
That said, there is no halachic requirement to clean like this at all. You have to do the basics - everything else is up to you, your energy level and what your schedule allows.
Put on a podcast or shiur, and try not to think about the fact that the kids will immediately make a mess in the car on the way to the Chol Hamoed rides.
B'hatzlacha. We've got this.
