Cleaning the dishes, doing the laundry, vacuuming your floors. It feels like as soon as you're done tackling these jobs, you have to do them all over again. So it's no surprise that we're all looking for ways to get our household chores done as quickly as possible. However, while there's plenty of advice out there about getting through the cleaning quicker, not everything you read is to be believed.

We're all aware of the rise of misinformation on the internet — almost half of British social media users have shared news that was false or exaggerated, according to a study by Loughborough University. You may think that cleaning tips are exempt from this, but we've encountered advice online that doesn't really work, and sometimes even makes a bigger mess.

From social media fables to old wives tales, we asked our experts to share common cleaning tips that are actually doing more harm than good, so that you can avoid wasting your time.

DON'T: pour water on carpet stains

It’s easy to panic and douse the area with cold water (or worse still, hot water) – but don't. Over-saturating the stain can damage the carpet fibres and excess moisture can leak through to the rug pad and flooring, where it can get trapped.

What to do instead:

Be patient and blot carefully to lift stains. Lightly spritz with a little sparkling or soda water to rinse (followed by more blotting with a clean paper towel or cloth), and then apply a specialised cleaner, such as Dr Beckmann's Carpet Stain Destroyer.

cleaning tips that could be doing more harm than good
pinstock//Getty Images

DON'T: put salt on a red wine stain

Chucking salt on a stain may look like it’s working, as you'll see the red pigment from the wine being absorbed by the salt.

But, in fact, this isn’t good news for your carpet as it can set the stain. The salt can also be quite abrasive and damage the carpet, and it’s difficult to get all the grains out. The result? The salt that remains stiffens the carpet pile and becomes a dirt magnet.

What to do instead:

If you’ve accidentally doused the carpet with red wine, it's much better to dab the mark with sparkling water, then use a product like Wine No More! Stain Remover Spray.

DON'T: clean a coffee machine with bleach

It's just not a great idea to run this harsh chemical through the coffee machine, and you definitely wouldn't want any residue to end up in your morning mug! The same applies to using distilled white vinegar in many coffee machines to descale them, as this can degrade some of the parts inside the machine over time.

What to do instead:

A specialist cleaner, such as CleanEspresso Espresso Machine Cleaning Tablets, or a specialist descaling product like the Lakeland Coffee Maker Descaler, are better alternatives. Check whether the manufacturer of your coffee machine recommends a specific cleaning or descaling product before you use anything in it as you don't want to invalidate the warranty on a new machine.

DON'T: use vinegar to clean everything

This natural cleaner solves a lot of household problems, but it isn't a cure-all.

Vinegar can etch natural stone, such as marble countertops or tiles, it can damage the inside of an iron and it's unlikely to do the trick on certain stubborn stains.

What to do instead:

Vinegar is great for cleaning windows and getting rid of limescale (but shouldn't be used on gold taps). Use a specialist stone cleaner such as HG Natural Stone Worktop Cleaner on natural stone worktops instead.

cleaning tips that could be doing more harm than good
Geo-grafika//Getty Images

DON'T: spray window cleaner on your computer screen

Window cleaners with ammonia or alcohol can strip anti-reflective coatings from computer and TV screens and can lead to other sorts of permanent damage to screens.

What to do instead:

Use a dedicated LCD or plasma screen cleaner with no alcohol. Spray the cleaner on to a microfibre cloth and then gently buff the screen.

DON'T: tackle sticky spots with nail polish remover

If you try to lift adhesive residue (from, say, a sticker on your new refrigerator) with this bathroom staple, you could discolour the surface of the appliance (and potentially void its warranty).

What to do instead:

Try using baby oil or mineral oil to fight the stickiness. Or the experts at the GHI rate De-Solv-it Sticky Stuff Remover.

DON'T: apply bleach to rust stains

Rust stains are difficult to tackle, but using bleach could make the problem worse.

What to do instead:

This is one of those times when using vinegar or lemon juice could be a good idea, depending on the composition of the surface that's stained. Let it sit for a bit and scrub with a stiff brush.

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