We’re dedicated to keeping up with and testing these new advancements in order to bring you the best of what’s on the shelves. This year, we studied nearly 200 new products, then tested the 100 we hoped would revolutionize home cleaning. Multiple editors used each product, comparing the contenders to each other, as well as to their previous cleaning routines. We also focused on common pain points, like homes with multiple flooring surfaces, pet shedding, and dirty dishes that inevitably reappear each day. Here, we present the 2021 lineup of our favorite cleaning products—and may they make your chores and daily life a little better!

Best Laundry Products

The past year we’ve had to reevaluate our laundry routines, especially upon seeing the aftermath of laundry stripping. We tested dozens of new products to find the laundry essentials that go beyond fresh and clean to decreasing waste, de-stinking workout gear, and removing stains from nearly anything. Buy It: Kind Laundry Detergent Sheets ($21 for 60 sheets, Kind Laundry) Buy It: Clorox Laundry Sanitizer ($6 for 42 ounces, Walmart) Buy It: HEX Performance Wet Dryer Sheets ($10 for 120, HEX Performance) Buy It: Ingredients Matter Laundry Soap Stain Stick ($10, Ingredients Matter)

Best Cleaning Products for Floors

Down and dirty no more, the task of cleaning your floors is now personalized for your surface and needs. These tough products tackle multiple surfaces, and, at least in the case of a few new robots, do the hard work for you. Buy It: Libman Heavy Duty Wonder Mop ($13, Libman) Buy It: Hoover ONEPWR Dust Chaser ($129 with battery, Walmart) Buy It: Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO U2 Pro ($250, EcoVacs)

Best Bathroom Cleaning Products

With so many different kinds of surfaces, the bathroom demands high-powered players. Whether you’re cleaning the toilet, sink, tub, or shower, there’s something for every surface in our list of the best bathroom cleaners. Buy It: 9 Elements Bathroom Cleaner ($15 for 18 ounces, 9 Elements) Buy It: Seventh Generation Zero Plastic Toilet Bowl Foaming Powder ($11, Grove Collaborative) Buy It: Scrubbing Bubbles Antibacterial Bathroom Flushable Wipes ($6 for 36, Target)

Best Cleaning Products for Pet Messes

According to Mintel America’s October 2020 Pet Owners Report, there are 2.3 million new pet owners since last year. And because foolproof cleanup can make puppy-love a little easier, you’ll want to expand your repertoire of tools to include these best cleaning picks. Buy It: Bounce Pet Hair and Lint Guard Mega Dryer Sheets ($13 for 150 sheets, Lowe’s) Buy It: Oakwood Urine Stain & Odor Remover ($16 for 8.5 ounces, Oakwood) Buy It: Aunt Fannie’s Carpet Refresher ($12 for 16 ounces, Aunt Fannie’s)

Best Surface Cleaners

It will likely come as no surprise that cleaning sprays and wipes were especially hot this year. These standouts were both effective and able to address common pain points, like waste-cutting packaging, portability, and extreme grease-cutting. Countertops, light switches, doorknobs, steering wheels: If you touch it, these will clean it. Before cleaning the surfaces in your home, don’t neglect to read the item’s label. Labels give helpful hints that make messes easier to clean, as well as time frames for how long a product should sit on a surface to sanitize, or whether you need to rinse disinfected surfaces before prepping food. Pay attention to the following terms when selecting a surface cleaner:

Clean: Removes dirt and grimeSanitize: Reduces germs to a safe levelDisinfect: Kills bacteria and viruses

Buy It: Grove All-Purpose Cleaning Concentrate ($7 for two-pack, 1 ounce each, Grove Collaborative) Buy It: Clean Republic Disinfectant & Sanitizer ($10 for 32 ounces, Clean Republic) Buy It: CLR Active Clear ($5 for 22 ounces, Lowe’s) Buy It: Babyganics Toy & Highchair Cleaner ($4 for 17 ounces, Bed Bath & Beyond) Buy It: Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray ($8 for 15 ounces, The Home Depot) Buy It: Pledge Granite & Marble Cleaner ($6 for 9.7 ounces, Pledge) Buy It: Good Green Cleaner Starter Kit ($43 for four reusable bottles with spray caps and four refill pods, Good Green Cleaner) Buy It: Clorox Compostable Cleaning Wipes ($7 for 75 wipes, Clorox) Buy It: Arm & Hammer Essentials Disinfecting Wipes ($5 for 80 wipes, Lowe’s) Buy It: Lysol To Go Wipes ($2 for 15 wipes, Lysol) Buy It: Windex Electronics Wipes ($6 for 25 wipes, Office Depot)

Best Cleaning Products for Dishes

With everyone eating at home, dirty dishes seem to multiply. So we set out to find products that are effective, but also make the dishwashing experience less of a chore (and maybe even a little fun). Buy It: OXO Soap Dispensing Sponge Holder ($22, OXO) Buy It: Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray ($5 for 16 ounces, Walmart) Buy It: Method Honeycrisp Apple Dish Soap ($5 for 18 ounces, Method Products) Buy It: Cascade Platinum + Oxi ($12 for 32, Walmart) Buy It: Dropps Swedish Dish Cloths ($16 for 3, Dropps)