Whether it's an apartment or a mansion, the majority of us are looking for better ways to clean our homes. Even the most thorough cleaners have trouble getting dirt and dust from the back of bookcases, under the couch, or behind the fridge. However, several homeowners and renters alike swear by an unusual power tool to help: a leaf blower.

It may seem counterintuitive at first, since it could spread dust and debris, but many people use a leaf blower as a first sweep to loosen hidden dirt and push it out into the open for their vacuums to finish off. Plenty of videos on social media praise and promote this little cleaning hack.

Many people on Reddit vouch for this technique:

“I thought I did a great job cleaning, but I was disgusted by how much I didn't get! SO much dust, enough dog and cat hair to make a kitten, a missing charging cable, a few tissues, AND a gift card for $50 that I lost over a year ago!”

“It got dust out of my speakers and from inside machines! It caused me to dust and vacuum things that sometimes get neglected. (door frames, curtains, doorstops) I know there is still dust in places I don't see, but now there is so much LESS of it!”

“I use a leaf blower for all my Lego stuff—it's a game changer. Definitely recommend.”

“I did this a few months ago to get to the coils on my fridge…Yikes! So much dust came out it was all over the kitchen. I will say that it didn't get everything but it got way more than any other method I've tried.”

“My house is open concept. I'm thinking of opening the back door and just starting from the front and blowing it out the back!”

Several others shared ideas inspired by using leaf blowers to clean indoors:

“I use my leaf blower for clearing light snow off my car. Saves me from scratching the paint with a snow brush.”

“I was thinking about running my air purifier on max while doing this. To catch as much air borne dust as possible before it settles again.”

“It works great for the interior of your car, too. Open all the doors and blow from one side to the other. Then blow the other side just like you did the first time. It's great for getting stuff out from under your car seats and places you can't really reach with a vacuum.”

The trash cans were critcal#cleantok#cleaning#clean#carclean#carcleaning#cardetailing#leafblower#leafblowing#leafblowingcar

“We also use a leaf blower to clean our box fans we use every night. They get so gross.”

“I saw a hair salon using a hairdryer to dust the products on the shelves.”

“Pro tip: most shop vacs have a 'blow' feature. So if you don't have a leaf blower or just have a gas one, borrow a shop vac. Just make sure the shop vac can is EMPTY first. And maybe just remove the filter, if it's dirty.”

If you want to give this a try, many people who clean with leaf blowers offer the same basic guidance. First, make sure you use an electric leaf blower, since gasoline-powered versions can stink up the house and release fumes that are dangerous to inhale. Second, depending on the power setting, you'll want to turn on a fan and open a door to help move any lingering dust particles out of your home. Lastly, depending on where you blow the dust, you may need to wipe it off your walls, especially if a neglected area releases a lot of debris.

Have fun cleaning!

"What's for dinner?" has been asked by kids for millennia, probably, and the most common answers depend on both where and at what time in history it was asked. In ancient times, people were limited to what they could hunt or gather. Medieval recipes look different than what people ate in the 19th century. And what our grandparents ate when they were children was different from what our kids eat today.

Obviously, people couldn't DoorDash Chipotle in the '70s, but when someone on Reddit asked people born before 1970 what they ate for dinner most weeks, there were some standard meals a lot of Americans clearly ate regularly growing up. Lots of meatloaf and beef stroganoff. Pork chops and chop suey. Convenient assistance from Shake n' Bake, Hamburger Helper and TV dinners. Canned fruits and veggies. So much Jell-O.

Here are some of the most popular responses:

"Overcooked pork chop, minute rice, canned green beans, canned fruit cocktail

Spaghetti with ground beef and sauce made from a packet (Durkee?)

Pot roast (whatever cut of meat was on sale) cooked with Lipton onion soup mix. Frozen peas. Canned peaches.

Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and canned green beans. Canned pears

Shake n bake chicken and scalloped potatoes from a box. Canned fruit of some kind.

On awesome days Chef Boyardee pizza mix from a box.

I liked LaChoy chop suey.

Always with a jug of milk on the table."

Meatloaf was a staple dinner.Photo credit: Canva

"So I think many of our moms went to the same home ec classes. Our house also had on rotation:

Goulash: It wasn’t what I have come to understand is Hungarian Goulash, but ground beef/spices/tomatoes.

Chicken Diane: Way overcooked chicken with rosemary, thyme and other seasonings.

Meatloaf: Yes, ketchup on top.

And the ever-present rice. Dad bought an aluminum rice cooker from his time in Japan and we had rice (he added soy sauce on top) 3x per week. The other side was baked potatoes.

The big treat!!!??? Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza from a tube on Friday once per month. Mom had a round aluminum baking pan and make dough, spread the included sauce on the dough, add the Parmesan Cheese (in the included packet). That was the biggest treat - and in all honesty I would go back to that day cause I miss my mom. Best pizza ever."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Hamburger patty or braised round steak, green salad, canned vegetable (peas, beans, corn, beets). Occasionally a baked potato. Sometimes my mom would toss chicken in a flour/seasoning mix and bake it and we'd have oven fried chicken--maybe once every couple of weeks. We got beef from a cousin so it was cheap, and chicken was expensive.

Mom also made spaghetti with ground beef, and beef stew with the tougher cuts of the cow. Oh--and liver--God how I hated liver night.

We always had cheap grocery store 'ice milk' in the freezer for dessert."

Spaghetti is still a classic.Photo credit: Canva

"Sunday - Spaghetti/macaroni and homemade spaghetti sauce and a salad.

Monday - Roast chicken, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Tuesday - Pork chops, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Wednesday - Spaghetti/macaroni and homemade spaghetti sauce and a salad.

Thursday - Rump or sirloin steak, a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a veg.

Friday - breaded and fried fish (ugh--haddock, halibut, or cod if the latter was on sale), a side (potatoes, Rice-a-Roni), and a........

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