The Internet Made Me Buy It: I tried this viral $20 cleaning hack from TikTok — and it actually works

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Everyone has different coping styles during quarantine. While some people have been eating or drinking more due to stress, I’ve been cleaning and shopping. Sometimes, when I’m feeling adventurous, I like to combine the two and shop for cleaning supplies.

Recently, I spent a rainy Victoria Day long weekend tackling some home projects and intermittently breaking for TikTok. That’s right - during quarantine I’ve broken my strict no TikTok ban and hopped on the bandwagon to see what the app had to offer besides dancing videos.

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As I’ve written previously, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a dark corner of TikTok that catered to my love of cleaning. It turns out there are millions of videos dedicated to cleaning hacks (possibly even more that are improperly tagged) that have tips and tricks and product reviews that cater directly to the part of me that needs things to be clean, clean, clean in order to feel less anxious.

I came across a TikTok video by lifestyle blogger Noel Jett of Jett Set Farmhouse giving a demonstration of the battery-operated Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber. The video, which was less than a minute long, Jett cleaning her baseboards with the handy accessory and racked up nearly a million views and more than 60,000 likes.

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After a deep dive into the world of upholstery cleaners and learning how to strip towels and sheets, I made an Amazon purchase of the following: the Little Green Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner by Bissell and the Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber.

While the Little Green has yet to arrive due to delays, Amazon promptly delivered my Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber within four days - and I decided to put it to the test.

What is it?

The Reveal Power Scrubber is essentially a powerful, oversized, battery-operated toothbrush designed to tackle tasks like cleaning grout, kitchen and bathroom fixtures, as well as hard-to-clean, awkward spaces like window frames and even hub caps.

Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber

SHOP IT: Amazon, $20

Although designating a tooth brush for cleaning isn’t a new idea, the Rubbermaid Power Scrubber delivers 60 scrubs per second and works two faster than manual scrubbing and only costs $20. Each of the Power Scrubbers come with 4 AA batteries to deliver 6 volts of power, and can be used with interchangeable attachments: the large multi-purpose brush (recommended for sinks and stoves), the multi-purpose brush (for fixtures and tight spaces) and the grout brush with a pointed tip for grout and corners.

First impressions

The first thing I noticed was the size of the Power Scrubber; it was much larger and sturdier than I had anticipated.

It arrived with the 1/2 inch multi-purpose brush attachment and the 4 AA batteries as advertised, so I set out to see if it was going to take some of the grunt work out of my cleaning.

In March, my boyfriend and I purchased a new home and have now that stores like Home Depot are finally open, we’re finally starting to tackle our painting projects. Despite an initial deep clean when we moved in there were areas, like baseboards which needed some extra TLC before we started painting.

I applied some multi-purpose cleaner to my kitchen baseboards, grabbed a cloth and my Power Scrubber and set to work. The Power Scrubber is much louder than an automatic toothbrush, but it’s pretty darn powerful. I really liked how the multi-purpose brush was able to get into some of the grooves of the baseboards easily without having to apply much pressure to the brush. After wiping the boards down with a towel, it wasn’t that they were any more clean than they would be had I just been scrubbing by hand - but they were clean much faster had I put some muscle into it myself.

What others are saying

I wasn’t alone in my fascination with the Rubbermaid Power Scrubber. On TikTok, the video’s comment section was filled with users (mostly female) writing that they’ve been using and are loving the handy cleaning gadget as much as me.

On Amazon, the Rubbermaid Power Scrubber has a solid 4.4 star rating from more than 800 customer reviews.

“This product is a must for cleaning grout of the shower,” one Amazon shopper wrote. “I should have taken a set of before-and-after pictures to prove it... I worried that the power not strong enough to clean the grout of my shower as it is very tough, but when I did the cleaning with this tool it surprised me. It’s powerful, saved me time and effort on cleaning the shower, after cleaning it looks new and cleaned all the tough grout.”

“Great product for cleaning those 'hard to reach' places. Have used toothbrushes, nail brushes, denture brushes in the past, but this is much better,” another shopper wrote. “Not a bad weight, easy in the hand. Cleaned up around my top mount sink, faucet deck, auto cup holders, window tracks, etc. Highly recommend this product. Bristle head is stiff enough (but not too stiff) to scrub household (and outdoor) items and I have to do less work.”

Verdict

I really enjoy using my Rubbermaid Power Scrubber because it cuts down on cleaning time and doesn’t require any elbow grease on my part. For $20, it’s a handy gadget to add to your cleaning arsenal and can replace any smaller brushes or old tooth brushes you may use on hard to reach areas.

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I would have liked if all three of the attachment heads had come as a set, rather than sold separately for $7 CAD each. If you’re buying the Scrubber for yourself for a specific job, definitely order the other attachments at the same time so it arrives together (mine corner cleaner is already on order).

I think this would be a practical gift for anyone who is moving or buying their first house (practical, not necessarily the most fun) or perfect for anyone who owns a cleaning business or may have arthritis in their hands which makes manual scrubbing difficult or painful.

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