Ivylad discovered this one by accident. We have a ceramic top stove with flat burners. You clean such a stove top with Softscrub or Cerama Brite or some similar mild cleanser.
Anyway, he squirted on the Softscrub, wiped the top of the stove, then got distracted by a ringing phone. By the time he got back to the stove, the goop had dried.
In wiping it off, he found the top of the stove was now as shiny as it had been on the showroom floor. So now, we let the Softscrub dry before we wipe it off.
Anyone else have cleaning tips they would like to share?
Employ someone else to do it. 
Dow Bathroom Cleaner (scrubbing bubbles), is great for cleaning the inside of the microwave. It clings to the sides without going inside the vent holes. Also for easy removal of dried stuff from the microwave where something exploded, a bowl of water microwaved until it boils, then left for an hour to soften the dried bits.
Got semen stains? If you’re not saving them as a trophy or evidence, dampen the area and shake on meat tenderizer. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then wash.
That tenderizing stuff works great on bloodstains as well. 
Hairspray is fabulous for removing ballpoint pen ink from fabric.
When our kids were little, I always wanted to use the snowblower just to clear a path 
And walls!
When your interior plastic shower liner gets all soap-scummy, just toss it in the washing machine with some CLR (follow the instructions on the bottle for cleaning the washing machine, but run the first cycle with the liner and the 2nd cycle empty). Voila, nice clean shower liner and nice, clean washing machine.
If you have something that’s only lightly wrinkled and doesn’t necessarily need a heavy pressing (like a man’s cotton shirt would), just toss it in the dryer with a damp washcloth and tumble/steam the wrinkles out. Add a touch of liquid fabric softener to the damp washcloth to freshen the item up, if you’d like.
If you have a pot or pan with lots of dried or stuck on gunk from whatever you’ve cooked, fill it with water, add a little dish soap and put it on a burner on medium and let the hard stuff loosen while you wash the rest of the dishes/load the dishwasher. By the time you’re done with everything else, the pan will be super easy to clean.
Running the microwave for a couple of minutes with a dish of soapy water in it will loosen stuck on gunk from the inside, too, making cleanup much easier, as well.
To freshen a kitchen sponge, run it through the dishwasher with the next load of dishes.
Run all the computer clean-up stuff (defrag, virus scans, etc.) while cleaning the house so you won’t be tempted to be online when you should be scrubbing something else. (Yeah, I just finished all the cleanup stuff. And yeah, I’m looking me directly in the eye.)
Is it me or does the use of ‘semen stains’ and ‘meat tenderizer’ in the same post seem redundant? 
“Cleaning”? What is this “cleaning” you speak of?
“There’s no real need to do housework - after four years it doesn’t get any worse.” ~ Quentin Crisp
I keep a spray bottle in the shower, filled with a mixture of 1:1 bleach and water. I spray it over the tile whenever I see splotches of mildew. Cheaper than Clean Shower, and works just as well.
My all purpose cleaning solution is 1:1 lemon-scented ammonia and water. Again, cheaper than other cleaners, and works just as well.
My all purpose cleaner would be a spray bottle of water. Works on most messes if you give it time to soak in.
For those nasty toilet stains, turn the water supply off, empty the bowl as much as possible, and give it a quick squirt of hydrochloric acid.
(1) Merry Maids
(2) Endust. Endust electronic–used it to clean my computer screen around Xmas. Haven’t dusted it since. No accumulated buildup! After a couple of weeks I went over things other than the screen with Endust electronic. This was in a house where after one day you could write your name and date on the screen with your fingernail.
Since that worked I also replaced the Pledge with regular Endust. A similar result. My gosh, something that actually works! Dusted the piano two weeks ago in anticipation of company, and–this stuff somehow actually repels dust!
(I live near busy streets in dry, dusty Denver.)
And for identical reasons, might I just add. Body fluids have certain proteins. Cow bodies, human bodies, whatever. How do you tenderize meat? By breaking down the protein chains that are interconnected in the flesh.
The same protein chains in blood and semen. Use meat tenderizer, you break down said proteins, wash, rinse.
As for cleaning tips? Scrub till it shines, baby.
Cartooniverse
Discovered by accident: Any brand of “soap scum remover” type spray cleaner will clean the living daylights out of your diamond rings. Regular jewelry cleaner doesn’t do a whole lot to dissolve that sticky soap residue, even if you brush the rings. Soak your rings for a few minutes in soap scum remover and rinse, and voila!
Weiman’s “Cook Top” cleaner for smooth cooktops is the world’s best silver polish.
And it doesn’t “pit” your silver like TarnX can.
To clean a thermal coffee carafe, put a tablespoon of Cascade powder in with about a cup of water. Put the lid on tightly, shake a few seconds, rinse thoroughly.
If your sink disposal stinks, cut a fresh lemon into chunks and stuff it down the disposer, run the cold water in and run the disposal for a minute.
Waitress trick to clean glass coffee pots: fill the pot with about a cup of water, throw in a double handful of ice cubes and a half cup of salt. “Swirl” the pot and rinse thoroughly.
Cooked-on stuff stuck to the stovetop and/or sticky spots on the countertop: Wet a sponge with a solution of 50% white vinegar and 50% water. Microwave the sponge for 30 seconds and set it on top of the sticky spot for a minute or two.
Microwave cleaning: put a bowl of water with a drop or two of vanilla extract in the oven and run it for five minutes on high. Wipe clean with a paper towel. It’s easy to clean and it smells good in there, too.
Also, while I am thinking of it: If you have coolers, thermoses and other plastic thingies that are stored closed, dampen a paper towel with vanilla extract and put the towel in before closing the item up. It keeps your whatever-it-is from getting that icky stale plasticky smell.
My tip on cleaning is for people who don’t like to clean - keep all your cleaning supplies where you need them. Keep all the stuff you need for a good bathroom cleaning in each bathroom that needs cleaning - if you’re like me, if you have to go get something, you’re likely to be distracted by the time you get it, or just say “Forget it.”
I use the cheap window washer fluid for cars to clean my glass instead of windex.
I always dust AFTER I vacuum because I have this theory that the vacuum is really in-efficient and stirs up a cloud of crapola.
This is my best tip: Bitch and moan until people start cleaning up after themselves.