Home Cleaning Kit: The Essential Cleaning Products You Need
A basic home cleaning kit needs fewer products than most people think: a multi-surface cleaner, a degreaser, a bathroom cleaner, a floor cleaner and dish products, plus a good mop and a few microfibre cloths. With those, you can clean every room in the house properly, free up cupboard space and stop buying sprays that do the same job twice.
Here is the short list, what to use where, a simple weekly routine and the things you can safely leave off your shopping list.
The essential cleaning products: a short list
Whether you are setting up a first home, moving house or simply clearing out an overcrowded cupboard, these are the products that earn their place:
- Multi-surface cleaner for worktops, tables, cupboard doors, appliances and most sealed surfaces. It will be your most-used bottle.
- Degreaser for the hob, extractor hood and the tiles behind the cooker, where grease has been heated and baked on.
- Bathroom cleaner with anti-limescale action for taps, shower screens, basins and tiles.
- Floor cleaner, ideally one that needs no rinsing, so mopping is one step instead of two.
- Dish products: washing-up liquid for hand washing, and a detergent for the dishwasher if you have one.
Then the tools, which matter just as much as the liquids:
- A mop that wrings well and leaves no lint, plus a bucket
- Microfibre cloths for surfaces, ideally in two colours so bathroom cloths never visit the kitchen
- An absorbent cloth for glass and steel, so you don’t need a separate glass spray
- A dustpan and brush or a vacuum, a small scrubbing brush and a pair of rubber gloves
That is the whole kit. Everything else in the cleaning aisle is either a variation on these products or a specialist item you may need once a year.
What cleaning products do I need for each room?
Use this table as a quick reference. One product per job, and the right tool to go with it:
| Room or area | Product | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen surfaces | Multi-surface cleaner | PU Micro Premium cloth |
| Hob, extractor, splashback | Degreaser | Microfibre cloth and a small brush |
| Sink and dishes | Dish soap or dishwasher detergent | Brush or sponge |
| Bathroom | Bathroom cleaner | Cloth, plus a dry cloth for chrome |
| Glass, mirrors, stainless steel | Water, or a light mist of multi-surface cleaner | Damp SwiftDry PVA + microfibre cloth |
| Floors | Floor cleaner (no rinse) | PU Micro Premium Mop |
| Living room and bedrooms | Multi-surface cleaner | PU Micro Premium cloth |
In the Puritte range, those roles are covered by the multi-surface cleaner (98% ingredients of natural origin, lime-lemon scent), the natural degreaser, the bathroom cleaner (90% ingredients of natural origin, fresh mint scent, anti-limescale action) and the natural floor cleaner (95% ingredients of natural origin, cotton scent, no rinsing needed), with the PU Micro Premium Mop and our microfibre cloths as tools. The PU Micro Premium cloths come in a pack of four, two turquoise and two lilac, which makes colour-coding kitchen and bathroom easy.
A simple weekly cleaning routine
A kit only helps if you use it in a rhythm you can keep. This routine spreads the work so that no single day feels like a chore:
- Every day: wipe kitchen worktops and the hob after cooking, and give the bathroom basin a quick wipe.
- Twice a week: sweep or vacuum high-traffic floors such as the kitchen and hallway, and empty the bins.
- Once a week, kitchen: degreaser on the hob, splashback and extractor front; wipe cupboard handles and the fridge door.
- Once a week, bathroom: bathroom cleaner on taps, shower screen, basin and tiles, then dry chrome and glass.
- Once a week, floors: sweep first, then mop with the floor cleaner, working back towards the door.
- Once a week, tools: machine wash cloths and the mop head together, without fabric softener and away from cotton towels.
- Once a month: extractor filter, inside the fridge, skirting boards and door frames.
If you are short of time, protect the daily wipes and the weekly floors. They make the biggest visible difference, and they stop dirt building up into a job that needs stronger measures.
How to save space and money with a smaller kit
The cleaning aisle is designed to sell you a separate bottle for every surface. Most homes can happily skip:
- Separate sprays for the kitchen, the living room and “wood”, when one multi-surface cleaner covers sealed surfaces
- A dedicated glass cleaner, if you use a damp PVA + microfibre cloth
- Disposable wipes and most kitchen roll, which washable cloths replace
- Air fresheners bought to cover the smell of harsh cleaners; lightly scented formulas fade on their own
- Several mops and endless sponge refills, when one good mop head is washed and reused
Money also leaks away through overdosing. Measuring the dose on the label makes every bottle last longer and leaves less residue, so surfaces stay clean for longer too. Good tools pay for themselves in the same way: the PU Micro Premium cloths are rated for up to 80 washes on their label, which replaces a lot of disposable kitchen roll.
How to store your home cleaning kit
Keep everything together in one caddy or on one shelf, out of reach of children: the bottles, cloths folded by colour, gloves and a brush. Store the mop dry and hanging rather than sitting in a closed bucket, where it will start to smell. If you have the space, keep a second multi-surface spray in the bathroom. The easiest product to use is the one already within reach.
Where to buy your home cleaning kit
If you live in mainland Spain, our Black Friday Home Pack brings together the core of a floors-and-surfaces kit: two PU Micro Premium Mops, the natural floor cleaner and the multi-surface cleaner for €39.99 (RRP €51.96), with free delivery in 24–48 working hours. The offer runs until 1 December 2026 at 23:59 and is sold by LimpialoTodo.com, our official distributor. The mop is also available on its own for €9.99 (RRP €15.99) during the same period.
Outside mainland Spain the offer does not apply. To build your kit wherever you live, see where to buy Puritte.
Frequently asked questions
What cleaning products do I really need?
Five products cover most homes: a multi-surface cleaner, a degreaser, a bathroom cleaner with anti-limescale action, a floor cleaner and dish products for washing up or the dishwasher. Add a mop, a bucket, a few microfibre cloths and an absorbent cloth for glass. Anything beyond that is usually a specialist product you will only use occasionally.
What should be in a basic cleaning kit for a first home?
Start with a multi-surface spray, washing-up liquid, a bathroom cleaner and a floor cleaner, plus a mop, a bucket, microfibre cloths, rubber gloves and a dustpan and brush or a vacuum. Add a degreaser once you cook regularly, and dishwasher detergent if you have a machine. It is a short list that cleans every room properly.
Do I need a separate glass cleaner?
Not necessarily. A damp PVA + microfibre cloth, such as our SwiftDry cloths, leaves glass, mirrors and stainless steel without marks using just water. For greasy fingerprints, a light mist of multi-surface cleaner followed by the damp cloth is usually enough. That saves one bottle in the cupboard and one product on your shopping list.
How often should I clean each room?
A realistic rhythm is a daily wipe of kitchen worktops and the hob, a weekly clean of the bathroom and floors, and a monthly session for extractor filters, skirting boards and the inside of the fridge. Busy homes with children or pets may need to mop high-traffic areas more often. Little and often is easier than an exhausting deep clean.
How can I save money on cleaning products?
Buy fewer, multi-purpose products, measure the dose instead of pouring freely, and swap disposable wipes and kitchen roll for washable microfibre cloths. Wash cloths and mop heads without fabric softener so they keep working. Overdosing is the biggest hidden cost: it empties bottles faster and leaves residue that makes surfaces get dirty sooner.