Home Cleaning Aids

Cleaning your home can be extremely tiring and difficult when living with myasthenia gravis (MG). This is true for me, even when I feel great.

What can people living with MG do to make this task less stressful on our minds and bodies? I'm going to tell you about some independent living aids and other tools we can use that may help. I hope you will share anything you have or do that helps you!

Electric scrubbing brushes

We all know what it takes to clean a shower or tub. If you have limited mobility, pain, or tire easily, it can become near impossible, if not impossible. There are an assortment of cleaning aids to assist.

One great product is an electric spin scrubber for the bathroom. It’s a scrubber for surfaces, such as the tub, tile, and floor. The motorized product may be cordless and have adjustable lengths and angles. Use the scrubber with the recommended detergent for more stubborn stains. These products are also available for manual use.

Separate motorized or manual brushes are available for cleaning grout, dishes, and small spaces. Some brushes have long and/or telescoping handles. The size and shape of the brushes can be varied. Some even have a triangular tip to get into corners or tighter places. Some brushes have a curved handle for comfort and ease in use.

Robotic vacuums

What’s better than a robot to clean your floors? The robotic vacuum has been around for a while now. It wasn't designed for people with physical challenges, but it does seem like it was.

While I don’t have one, our daughter does and she loves it. They have good suction and easily transition from carpet to the floor. They may not do as good a job as you would with your vacuum, but they pick up most of the dirt and pet hair.

A robotic vac can reduce the number of times you would need to vacuum. Most of them will return to their home base to recharge when the battery is low.

Mop accessories

When mopping, a solution to moving the bucket around all the time is to have a mop bucket cart or trolley. It is basically a bucket on wheels. You can also get them with a wringer. Of course, you can get a mop that has the mechanism on it that will wring the mop instead. Whichever suits you best is how I’d go.

Other cleaning tools

Some other miscellaneous cleaning tools that may help are:

Baseboard cleaner tools - They have an adjustable handle and have replaceable, retractable cleaning brushes. The pad can be used wet or dry and can be replaced or laundered for reuse.

Under appliance and furniture dusters - These will clean those pesky dust bunnies hiding in those not-so—easy places to get to. They have a microfiber cloth that can be removed and laundered. The head is slim, bendable and the pole is adjustable.

Dusters with handles - They are available in long or short lengths, adjustable and non-adjustable. They can save a lot of time and effort. Some, you can spray a product on the duster, others use static electricity to attract the dust.

When you go shopping for cleaning supplies, just look around and see what might work in your situation. You can also find a variety of products I mentioned online through a Google search or through Amazon.