Four things cover almost everything: washing-up liquid, white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and a bleach or disinfectant. Specialist sprays are mostly those four with fragrance and a higher price.
- Washing-up liquid for grease anywhere in the house.
- White vinegar for limescale, glass and hard water marks, but never on stone.
- Bicarbonate of soda for mild abrasion, odour absorption and burnt pans.
- Bleach or a proper disinfectant for germs, used at the stated contact time.
- Add a microfibre cloth, which does more of the work than most people expect.
Buy them in the largest size you have room for, because the unit price on cleaning products falls steeply with pack size.
Never mix any of them. Bleach with an acid, which includes vinegar and most limescale removers, releases chlorine gas at ordinary domestic concentrations.
Most branded cleaners are a dilute version of one of these actives, plus a surfactant, a fragrance and a colour. You are mostly buying the bottle, the dilution and the marketing.
Tipking is general household information, not professional advice. Test anything on a hidden patch first. Full disclaimer.