The Curator: The 2026 viral cleaning products that are actually worth the hype

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Every year, cleaning product companies do their best to innovate and excite us consumers, and with social media we get to see a flurry of cleaning product review videos online and ask ourselves, ‘is that really as good as it seems?’ Because lots of these look great on camera and fail in real life. So, before you spend our hard earned money on cleaning products and tools that aren’t worth the hype, let me tell you what actually is worth it that got hyped up this year, and why.

Laundry Detergent Without the Struggle and Mess

Liquid and powder laundry detergent are messy to pour and can be complex to dose. Almost everyone uses more than they need, which means wasted product and residue left behind on your clothes. And even though laundry detergent pods are designed to make dosing easier, people will sometimes complain that detergent pods don’t break down (they do! You just need to add them to the drum first).

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Tide evo fixes all of that. It’s an amazing innovation and way more than just a laundry detergent strip. It’s a dry, pre-measured detergent tile that is made to work in cold water. To the empty drum, add one tile for a small or medium load, two for a large one. It also comes in a recyclable cardboard box which makes it easy to stack and frees up storage space in a small laundry room.

The Laundry Scent Everyone Is Talking About

I’ve said this before, I am not a scented-laundry person. It took a lot for me to finally cave and try Downy Unstopables Unlimited No. 26. This is a laundry additive to add scent and scent alone, it doesn’t help with stains or detergent performance. It doesn’t deal with bad odours, it is simply a sort of laundry perfume that’s been created by luxury perfumers. And while I resisted trying it for a very long time, when I finally did, I got the hype. It’s absolutely heavenly! I add a tablespoon or two into the washing machine drum before clothes are added, run the clothing through and then enjoy the beautiful scent left behind. While there are several ‘Unlimited’ scents that Downy has come out with, this is the one that has people raving. It’s described as having a blend of rose, honey nectar and oakmoss, it’s not overpowering and you can dose however much or little you like.

Wrinkles Gone, No Ironing Board Required

S if getting dressed wasn’t stressful enough each morning, you find the garment you want only to see it’s got wrinkles all over it. Now you’re rushing for time and need it wrinkle-free in 5 and don’t feel like taming the shriek of the ironing board. Can you trust a steamer to help in this situation? Most handheld steamers need your other hand to pull the fabric tight, which puts that hand right next to the steam and still doesn’t get the fabric taut enough to release the creases. It is in moments like this where we ask ourselves why humans don’t have a third hand and then pick a black shirt we’ve worn a hundred times already.

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Enter the viral Neakasa Magic 1 Vacuum Steamer, which solves both problems. It heats up in about 30 seconds, and built-in suction (read: vacuum action!) grips the fabric flat against the plate, so you steam one-handed, right on the hanger. Use distilled water to keep it running well. It’s compact, so it’s great for travel, too.

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The Two-Minute Floor Cleanup

It seems to me – a cleaning expert – that a new vacuum is coming out approximately every 14 minutes. But how many of them really do anything different? The biggest areas for improvement I still see with vacuums is increased performance (battery life, suction, weight) and convenience (lightweight, robotic) or simplicity to use.

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I tried the much-anticipated Dyson PencilVac Fluffycones, which is Dyson’s slimmest vacuum. It weighs 1.8 kg and lives on a small dock with a magnetic lock, so grabbing it for a quick pass and loading it back up for a charge is nearly effortless. It can go forwards and back, side to side and zips around hard floors with grace and ease – sort of like skates on freshly Zambonied ice (how’s that for a Canadian take on things!). The filter uses Dyson’s Piston technology and compresses dirt into the dirt container, so it can hold much more and requires less emptying. Lights on the head show dust you can’t otherwise see, and the cone-shaped brush bars don’t tangle with long hair.

Stains Out Before They Set

You can’t plan for a stain, and yet, there they are at the worst possible time in the worst possible place. Coffee on the couch, wine on the rug.

The Shark StainForce Cordless Spot & Stain Cleaner is cordless, weighs under 3 lbs and lives in its own caddy, so it’s easy to store away and easy to grab the moment something spills. This allows you to suction up the liquid spill, use a special formulated stain remover on the stain, agitate it with the brush on the end of the tool, and then suction the stain and stain remover out. It works on carpets, rugs, upholstery and car seats. Keep in mind that this is for fabric only, not hard surfaces or leather.

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When I look at a ‘viral’ cleaning product, all I care about is whether or not it makes our lives easier or better when it comes to cleaning. And I can say this, each of these products is most definitely makes the job easier (or smell better!).

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