The Cleaning Transformations People Keep Posting Again And Again

There’s a quiet moment that happens right after a deep clean. The noise in your head softens. The room looks lighter. You breathe differently. Maybe it’s the shine on a faucet that used to be dull.

Maybe it’s a bedroom floor you can finally see again. Whatever flips, it feels like proof that care still works.

We don’t always get that feeling on command. As kids, cleaning was a chore we dodged. As adults, it becomes a way to reclaim a little control.

Life gets heavy. Dishes stack up. Moods dip. Deadlines crowd the week. It’s easier to look away until looking away starts to feel worse. Then the smallest win starts a run.

A filter rinsed clear. A keyboard wiped back to white. A pathway cleared so kids can walk to school without weaving through trash.

Across the internet, people are posting their proudest before and afters. Not to brag, but to mark a turning point. You can see it in the details. Moss lifted from a gravestone so a name reads clean again.

A pool turned from swamp to summer. A bathroom that goes from “not today” to “this is mine.” It’s satisfying because it’s visible. It’s moving because it’s personal.

1. "Despite No Support From Cities, I Continue To Clean Up As Much Trash As I Can In The Bay Area"

pengweather

2. "Before And After Shots Of An Aquarium I Found Abandoned In An Apartment During Work"

DaWalkr

3. "Before And After Of Me Cleaning Up My Neglected Tank After Struggling With Depression"

OverlyBilledPlatypus

4. "I Did It Y’all. I Actually Did It"

First, after I got a bulk of the particulate out, I never backwashed my sand filter, so a lot of it got back into the pool. Spent a week (evenings after work), vacuuming up the same particulates over and over.

Second, I used a granular flocculant and vacuumed it back into the filter, rather than to waste. So I had to spend a week just letting it settle, vacuum to waste, refill, backwash, settle, repeat.

kylelee

5. "Found This Sad Telephone In A Defunct Cowbarn, Thought I'd Clean It Up"

Sentient_LaserDisc

6. Cleaned Up 60+ Year Old Teddy

This is Teddy, my elderly mother's childhood teddy bear. This sweet boy is at least 60 years old, and I was trusted to give him a little TLC. After washing him, brushing him, and making him some sparkly new eyes from resin, I think he's looking very handsome. He's so excited because he gets to use his new eyes to see my mom, the little girl who loved him, for the first time in decades.

AveragePinecone

7. "The Owner Had Depression And I Cleaned Her Home For Free"

CleanwithBarbie

8. "Inspiration & Transformation. Helped A Friend Manage Her Depression Room. I Am Immensely Proud Of Her And I Wanted To Share"

alovelychrist

9. "I've Been Cleaning My Mom's House Since She Passed Away"

This was my mom's house. She passed away in February, and her terrible sister, who never paid any bills, refused to leave and left us with a huge mess once she was evicted. I feel a lot of closure doing this because I always told my mom I was going to clean up her house, but she never let me because she was worried I'd throw something important away (she was a hoarder). I miss her a lot and I hope she's looking down on me with a "you did good, kid" attitude.

JenniferJackal

10. Thanksgiving Gift For A Young Girl. She Didn't See Her Home Yet

CleanwithBarbie

11. "Some Before/After Dopamine For You. A Heavily Used Yet Neglected Keyboard In My Family Home Cleaned With Isopropyl Alcohol And A Clean Rag, So Simple And Quick Yet So Effective"

mickmon

12. "I Cleaned Up This Vital Pathway So People Can Safely Get To School Or The Recreation Center"

pengweather

13. "Just Wanted To Say Thank You To Whomever Mentioned Cleaning Their Faucet Head. Used Normal White Vinegar From The Grocery Store""

PeakyCactus

14. Bar Keepers Friend Is Magic On Brass

ssh7201

15. "Buy New Expensive Speakers Or Spend Some Time Cleaning Off These Perfectly Good (If Unloved) Ones That Have Been Sat In My Dad's Garage For Years? (Before And After)"

I used anti-bacterial wipes and cotton buds, including the large bass speaker (not pictured). It probably only took 30 minutes for the whole thing.

hlypaddon

16. Used The Overnight Vinegar Hack To Clean A Decade’s Worth Of Scaling On The Shower Chain

I saw this vinegar hack on Instagram and thought I’d give it a try. You basically pour distilled white vinegar into a small ziplock, submerge the affected area, and tie it with a rubber band overnight. Then I used a scrub daddy and wiped off excess stuff in the morning, and voila.

blue-lilacs

17. The Wonders (And Horrors) Of Laundry Stripping

For the last two years, I’ve been living in a place with awful water, a grimy old machine, and roommates who used way too much detergent. I washed my sheets weekly, sometimes more, and they just became more and more disgusting. I was seriously considering throwing them out because the pillowcases had the consistency of waxed fabric, and I could not get the smell out of them.

Well, I am now living in a place with a tub and excellent water, so as a last-ditch effort, I tried stripping them. I did about six hours in the tub, doing a thorough hand wash every hour, wrung ‘em, washed ‘em, dried ‘em, and I’m glad they’re clean, but I’m also absolutely disgusted by it. I have slept on these nasty sheets for two years. They look and feel brand new.

mishyfishy135

18. Cleaning Up The Front Garden

reddit.com

19. Before And After, 24 Hour Emergency Veterinary Clinic

Chewza

20. "My New House I’m Renting Had A Tile Mat And We Discovered What’s Underneath…. Before And After"

Absolutely nasty! It smelled horrible, and after lifting it back up and starting to clean, everyone in my house ended up sick! It was 100% mold.

Ringwormdongtip

21. Vinyl Fence Cleaned. Before And After. Used Armor All Car Wash (Had A Leaking Bottle) And A Rectangular Broom

Consistent-Youth9231

22. "Just A Simple Before And After. I Cleaned This Bathroom In Under 4-5 Hours. I Used Bleach, Cif, The Barkeeper's Friends, And Pine-Sole"

CleanwithBarbie

23. "Cleaned My Friend's Hoarder House"

I moved into the downstairs of this house two years ago and worked like hell to make it livable. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the shed, bedrooms, or bathrooms before I cleaned them. As for the rooms upstairs, they've been filled with junk again, aside from the kitchen. And if you're wondering why I'd ever move in here... poverty. I have to live very cheaply so I can finish school. This was the only option I had at the time.

Prosthetic_Eye

24. Aunt’s Kitchen Sink: Comet, Sit, Scrub, Then Bleach Worked

I put Comet and then Saran Wrap on top and let it sit for 30 minutes before I started scrubbing. I think the Saran Wrap worked a lot.

ashholethewizzoh

25. "Just “Rebooted” Our Pool After A Bad Experience With Our Last Pool Service Company"

We bought our house with this pool/spa a few years ago. As this was our first pool, we hired a pool service company. During one visit, the pool company owner said he was getting overwhelmed and might not make it out every week until he was able to hire someone new.

Then, a few months ago, he messaged us that we owed him for several open invoices. I countered that we hadn’t seen him in weeks. I asked for pics of the work he’d done and got no response. By this time, it’s late March and we’re coming out of our (mild) winter season. We had run the pool heater for a week for visitors and then started having an algae problem. I texted him photos of the pool, but no response.

The algae problem had gotten really bad, and it had been 3 years since we’d changed the water. We decided to drain the entire pool, acid wash it, and start over with new water and chemicals. After several weeks, our pool is finally back in the kind of shape it should be, and we’re happy to be able to start using it this weekend. We’re working with a new company that services a dozen neighbors’ pools, and they came highly recommended.

nightstalker30

26. "Magic Eraser, And Cleaning Your Shoes Is Way Cheaper Than Buying New Shoes. This Took Minutes Of Work To Clean Off Years Of Grime"

dietolive6

27. "I Just Want To Show Off My Oven"

reddit.com

28. "On Christmas, I Returned To A Place I Had Cleaned Up A Year Ago. Nature Has Reclaimed Back Its Land. This Is A Successful Cleanup I Will Cherish Forever"

pengweather

29. Before And After

NAPPER_

30. "The Result Of Cleaning My 2-Year Depression Room. I’m 5 Months Sober, And I’ve Gotten My Motivation Back. It Feels So Good To Live In A Clean Space"

Certain-Intention594

31. Before And After Floor Sanding

junkybutt

32. Today’s Project At The Painting Warehouse (Barkeeper’s Friend, A Magic Eraser, And A Pumice Stone)

DJ_clam_hammock

33. "Here are some before and after pics of my pool. Quick rundown: I had an algae bloom, so I took a water sample to get tested to balance things before treating it."

Took the water to a place, and they told me the alkalinity and pH were way off. $300 or so down the drain. So, I bought $12 test strips and started adjusting the water myself. It took about 5 gallons of muriatic acid to lower the alkalinity to acceptable levels and get the pH right. I then aerated the water with the return, vacuumed to waste, and dumped almost a foot of water with algae. After refilling, I retested everything, and it was good. Now it's back to normal and looking pristine.

lupitaswartz

34. ard Water Buildup (Before And After)

I started with CLR, which didn’t do much. I tried Dawn Power Wash, soap pads, magic erasers. Nothing was working. So I pulled an illegal maneuver. I covered the metal parts with rags and spot tested with Clorox toilet bowl cleaner (the lime and rust one in a black bottle).

I put some on a rag and applied it to the bottom first. Let it sit for a while, and then scrub the hell out of it with a ton of magic erasers.

lordfromthegoldshore

35. "My Vanity Is Usable Now. Kicking Depression Out Of The House"

peanutbutterand_ely

36. "Satisfying Before And After I Did At Work A Few Weeks Ago. I Enjoy Cable Management"

K00KzSUX

37. "I Was Told To Post This. About 3 Days' Work"

Porkchop85

38. "My Result"

I couldn't find the tag on it but the fabric didn't feel like a specialty fabric so I hand-washed it in almost cold water with the best thing you can find in a mexican household, ZOTE. After I hand scrubbed it I threw it in the wash on delicate cycle with cold water and a tiny amount of detergent. Then I put it to dry on the delicate setting with the temp on lowest low.

Hushiemommie

39. "Before And After Of My Bathroom. I Used Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer, I Let It Sit For About 6 Minutes, Then Went At It With One Of Those Scrub Daddy Sponges"

I have been dealing with pretty bad depression and lack of motivation for a while now, and my bathroom got really, really gross, but I recently started antidepressants, and I cleaned it today, and I’m really proud of how it turned out.

ostrich-party-

40. From Trash To Treasure Under 2 Days

This person have a bad depression, and clean home can help her to feel better. Our brain is literally blocking us to do things like taking care of ourselves or the environment. This is how bad can be a depression episode.

CleanwithBarbie

41. "I Finally Tackled My Depression Room… And So Can You"

I struggle with caring for myself & my space, especially when school / work picks up and all I want to do is rot after a busy day. I also HATE cleaning, I never find it fulfilling or cathartic and it’s so overwhelming.

If you feel similarly, here’s how I did it:

1. Do NOT expect to do it all in one day! Accept & get comfortable with the idea it could take you a few days of chipping away.

2. Get the floor clear first. Throw trash away, put clothes in a laundry basket (or 3), anything you need to find a home for put in a bin or on your bed temporarily.

3. If you find yourself losing steam, do NOT give in immediately. Take care of one more large task (ie. Put folded clothes away, take out the trash, organize your desk) and THEN put a pin it.

4. Anytime you leave the room, start a task and leave it half done. That way, when you return, you have no choice but to finish it.

5. There is NO one definition of ‘clean’ - what’s clean to me is certainly not clean to my mother. Get to a point where you feel comfortable & cozy existing in your space… if you don’t look around and feel overwhelmed / shameful / need to take immediate action, then it’s done!

6. MOST IMPORTANTLY - DO NOT LET GUILT / SHAME DETER YOU! Ignoring the problem only contributes further to it. It’s ok if you don’t know where to start. Start with the smallest task, take care of it, and keep going with the momentum. It’s ok if you need a break. It’s ok if you leave a load of laundry in over night and take care of it tomorrow. The important thing is it GETS DONE!

rubabyy

42. The Pink Stuff Is A Miracle Worker

I've finally had enough of living in a borderline hoarder's house, so I took matters into my own hands and got a spray bottle of the pink stuff plus some paper towels since there was just a lot of general gunk to be wiped off and some multipurpose cloths and it's the cleanest I've ever seen this sink! I don't feel comfortable showing people I know this, so here I am! All the lurking I've done has helped.

Indication_Adorable

43. "I've Developed A Passion For Cleaning Road And Council Signs In Northern Ireland. They Never Get Cleaned Because Of Spending Cuts"

WasabiMadman

44. "Cleaning My Depression Flat After Months Of Being In A Bad Place"

MShankly

45. "This Was The Biggest Cleaning. I Helped Her For Free"

CleanwithBarbie

46. "I Did It! How To Clean Brunt/Polymerized Oil Off Ceramic Coated Frying Pan"

Supplies: Dish soap, water, sea salt (or table salt), baking soda, scrub daddy.

Time: 1h soak, 20m scrub.

tunecha

47. "Cleaned Some Door Handles That Haven’t Been Cleaned Since Approx 1992"

My mum passed away a few years ago, and I haven’t had the mental capacity to deal with her flat. Something inside me changed over the last year or so, and I’m finally tackling some of the deepest cleans I’ve had to do. Originally, I was going to replace them as it felt easier. But I decided that they had a hidden charm beneath the years of grime.

Took me around 10 hours to do 8 handles. Lots of cocktail sticks, sponges, barkeeper's friend, wipes, a cleaning toothbrush, and some serious elbow grease.

BlondeWanderer

48. Finally Cleaned The Master Bathroom

thatpilatesprincess

49. "Before And After Of An Illegal Dumping Site I Cleaned Up"

pengweather

50. "Visiting My Grandparents"

I just left my grandparents today and wanted to show an update on my progress. Regrettably it’s not as perfect as I wanted, the caulk is irreversibly damaged, as well as the shower doors remain streaky (although mold-free now). I used Zep Mold and Mildew for almost all surfaces and a pumice scouring stick of all things for the bottom of the shower floor. Also a few magic erasers for all the cracks in between the tiling.

alrightsoi

51. Mom Bedroom/Sewing Room

My Mom and I haven’t had the best relationship in the past, but in 2020, I got extremely sick, and she moved in with me and slowly helped me get my house and life back together. She's terrible at prioritizing herself and has always had low self-esteem and not felt good enough. I had left a job in early July and had 2, 3 weeks free. I helped clean out everything.

She's so happy with it, and I’m hoping it’s a way to help her get back on her feet, out of a depression, and help her feel peaceful.

Kaite0405

52. "Friendly Reminder To Clean Your Dishwasher Filter (Yes, That's A Thing)"

letsgobrooksy

53. "Please Stop Using Swiffer Mop/ Other Pre-Made Mop Solutions"

I get frequent floor restoration cleanings. It’s always at a home that’s been using Swiffer Wet Jet, Mr. Clean, Fabuloso, etc.

What I use for a standard cleaning on every floor: a self-wringing flat mop, a clean water bucket, and a dirty water bucket. In the clean water bucket, I have a couple of gallons of warm water, two to three drops of Dawn dish soap for the grease, and two drops of Mrs. Meyers' Honeysuckle dish soap for the scent. You don't need a lot of soup. Suds are bad! When mopping the floors, the mop should be damp, not soaking wet. Wring that sucker out! When dirty, wring into a separate dirty water bucket so that your mop water stays clean longer.

What I use for a deep cleaning/ restoration on tile floors: Hand and knees scrubbing, a bristle brush, and hydrogen peroxide.

What I use for deep cleaning/ restoring hardwood floors: this is the only pre-made mop solution I’ll use, and I only suggest this once every year for hardwood floors if mopped properly throughout the year after. I use Murphy Oil wood floor soap in a bucket of warm water, I only use half a cap full. Not a lot! A scrub brush and knee scrubbing. Again, clean water and a dirty water bucket. To rinse the bristle brush.

shelbystroodle

54. "My Friend Struggles With Depression. I Offered To Clean His House For Him. Here Is His Bathroom. This Took Me About 12 Hours To Fully Clean"

For the floors, I just used a generic floor cleaner and did multiple rounds of mopping.

Toilet- scrubbing bubbles mega shower foamer on the outside, Clorox lime and rust toilet cleaner for the inside

Shower- this was a lot of trial and error. What worked the best was Bar Keeper’s Friend and scrubbing with a stiff scrub brush.

Inside the sink cabinet, I used Dawn Power wash and a scrub brush.

Baseboards and walls were all cleaned with Dawn Powerwash and a scrub mommy. For some of the tougher stains, I gently used a magic eraser to get them off.

Kioddon

55. "Cuisineart Pan With 10 Years Of Build Up - Before And After I Used The Pink Stuff"

_take_me_away

56. "Been Using My Great Grandfather's Razor For A While Now. Decided To Clean And Polish It This Morning. Most Frugal Way To Shave. Blades Are Dirt Cheap! Before/After"

joeyisnotmyname

57. "Before And After. I Don’t Use Actual Silver Polish, I Prefer The Aluminium Foil, Baking Soda And Hot Water Method, And A Gentle Rub Afterwards With A Polishing Cloth"

kingboo94

58. "Before And After Spilling Dark Soy Sauce All Over My Couch And Floor The Day Before I Move Out"

I used brute force (blotting) and cold water, and paper towels on the couch. Clorox spray on the floor. I couldn't find baking soda in the store, as I was worried about whether there would be a smell, but after all the blotting, there was no smell. 

reddit.com

59. "Refinished My Slate Floors"

1. Vacuum floor

2. Strip off existing sealant with AcryliStrip. Working in small sections, I poured a dilution of AcryliStrip on the floor, smooshed it around with a large sponge to ensure an even coating, then let it sit for 5 minutes. After the timer was up, I scrubbed with stainless steel brushes, paying close attention to the grout. Then I mopped up the resulting slurry with a mop and/or rags before rinsing with clean water. Some sections required a few repeats of this process.

3. Vacuum again (dogs) and clean floor with steam mop

4. Once dry, I recolored the grout using Mapei’s UltraCare Grout Refresh in color Timberwolf. I used a 3/8 inch angled paintbrush to paint this into every line. Fairly straightforward, but slow going.

5. After 24 hours, I was ready to re-seal. Another vacuum. Again working in sections, I applied Miracle Sealants’ 511 Impregnator Sealer with microfiber pad. After letting it sit for 5 min, I wiped off the excess with a clean microfiber.

senor-mango

60. Cleaning Gravestones

I enjoy cleaning gravestones in my local cemetery and love the before and after photos. I do have permission to clean before anyone gets their panties in a wad. Hope you enjoy the photos. 

Dismaldreamer1993

Maybe that’s the real reason these before and afters land so hard. They prove that care is practical. Visible. Contagious. You don’t need a full weekend or a cart of products. Five minutes on a drawer. One filter rinse. A single pass with warm water and a rag. The rest can wait.

If you’ve got a small win, share it. If you’re stuck, borrow a trick, set a timer, and tackle one square foot. We’ll cheer you on. And if someone you love is buried under mess, offer a hand, not judgment. Pass this along to anyone who needs a nudge today.