This $13 brush might be the most useful appliance maintenance tool I own

It doesn't have to be overly complicated when it comes to the types of tools you need to keep your home running as well as it can. Sure, you can choose a combo vacuum and mop that does multiple tasks to cut down on the number of machines you need. But you can also rely on simple tools to get the job done.

When it comes to keeping your home clean, there are all kinds of devices for both indoors and outdoors that you can rely on. Handheld steamers, robot vacuums, or hedge trimmers all serve specific purposes and can all be incredibly useful. But they can also cost you a decent amount of money. For something as simple as $13, you can get multiple tools that do the nitty-gritty jobs in your home.

Appliance brushes are so useful

These are for hard-to-reach areas

If you're like me and you use a sponge to do most of your kitchen cleaning after dinner, that's totally understandable. I prefer something like the Scrub Daddy that has good size and coverage for all kinds of pots and pans. However, because of its size, it can be hard to use to get into close spaces.

For example, our blender is used almost daily for a variety of reasons. Protein shakes, sauces, or homemade hummus are just some of the common purposes we fire up the blender. While it's great to use, the blades themselves aren't easily removable, so you need to clean around them while they are inside the container.

Using a sponge for this type of cleaning job is not ideal. It's hard to get underneath the blades and get out any dried food that may have become stuck there. That's where appliance brushes can come into play. The ones that I prefer are the OXO Good Grips Kitchen Appliance Cleaning Set.

This cleaning set is a 4-in-1 set that is meant for cleaning all kinds of appliances. You can use it all over the kitchen, which is why I find this tool so versatile.

This gets into the nitty-gritty

This works where other instruments have failed

What I really like about having multiple appliance brushes is that I can use them for different purposes. There are bristles, scraper heads, chisels, and more to clean the small crevices of your machines. I personally love using these brushes all over the kitchen.

The loop brush head can wrap around the blades of a blender or scrub near the edgers of the dishwasher, making it my most used part of the appliance brush. I've used a number of OXO products before, such as a salad spinner or a toilet brush, and this is one that I keep coming back to the most.

There is a considerate hook between the two brushes that connects them together, so I'm able to store them as one piece on a sink. They aren't extremely long, which makes them easier to keep track of as well.

I have an air fryer that is small and can be difficult to get inside to get all the grease out of the grooves of the bottom of the bucket. The angled chisel head finds it way into the groove and cleans the air fryer out easily. This is also a good idea if you need to clean some grout and want a safe head that won't scratch the surface.

There isn't an appliance I haven't used this on in my kitchen

It's soft yet sturdy

We use our food processor plenty to mix up oats and nuts for granola and chop foods up into small miniscule pieces for mixing. There are multiple parts of the processor that need to be separated and cleaned.

When making something like nut butter, it can be hard to get into all the areas that need to be cleaned with larger sponges or cleaning tools. But this appliance brush set has multiple heads that can reach.

I've used it to clean my microwave, dishwasher, coffee machine, air fryer, blender, food processor, and so much more. One of the best reasons to use the plastic scraper head is for the small grooves in a waffle maker. That can be impossible to get into with a sponge and you don't want to use a metal scraper as it will hurt the non-stick coating.

To be able to have something as intricate and versatile that doesn't cost much at all in my kitchen is a steal. I haven't tried other appliance brushes because I've been so impressed with this set. My refrigerator has been cleaner since I've used this to get into the grooves of the door. It has helped eliminate odors and smells all over my kitchen by getting rid of lingering food.

Appliance brushes are a simple yet effective tool set

I've been really pleased with adding something like this appliance brush set into my cleaning inventory. They make it simple to get into the harder to reach places in your kitchen. I like not having crumbs and food residue left over in my appliances and these small brushes do more than a sponge can.