Danielle Mason has revealed some of her top cleaning hacks passed down to her from the family of her cage-fighting traveller ex.
The radio presenter – who is the younger half-sister of EastEnders star Jessie Wallace – was in an on-and-off relationship with cage fighter Tony Giles from 2010 to 2019 and the pair welcomed two children, Rudy, 14, and Delilah, 12.
During her romance with Tony – through which they celebrated a wedding ceremony on My Big Fat Gypsy Weddings – and the two years she lived with the traveller community, Danielle honed her expertise in cleaning.
Mentored by Tony’s mum for many years, Danielle, who confirmed that they were never legally married, learnt the ‘tricks of the trade’ as the culture meant getting up at 7am and cleaning all day, every day, while her partner was out at work.
This not only included cleaning the entire house but also hosing down the roof, cleaning the outside windows daily and scrubbing the outside porches.
Danielle has turned her cleaning expertise into a business, known to fans on Instagram as Miss Mason Cleaning and she has even done presenting work on QVC.
After spending years polishing windows, removing water stains from the shower, steam cleaning every streak of grease in her oven and always taking her shoes off at the door, Danielle has now shared her top secret tips she was taught by Tony’s mother and the community.
Danielle Mason has revealed some of her top cleaning hacks passed down to her from the family of her cage-fighting traveller ex Tony Giles
Danielle has turned her cleaning expertise into a business, known to fans on Instagram as Miss Mason Cleaning and she has even done presenting work on QVC
Danielle’s domestic cleaning tips
Streak-free windows
Danielle revealed that while she cleaned her windows on a Monday, they needed doing again by the following day.
A usual cause of this was the children in the community playing outside and putting their ‘sticky’ fingers on people’s windows.
But the easiest and cheapest way to keep windows streak-free is to clean them with a damp cloth dipped in a bucket of washing-up liquid and hot water.
Danielle said: Most women do the windows outside the chalet every day because the kids come along and stick their sticky fingers on it’
Fluffy towels
To ensure that her children and Tony enjoyed the small luxuries of home comforts, Danielle always kept her towels not only clean but also hotel-quality and fluffy.
After use, Danielle said the easiest way to maintain the quality is to fill the washing machine drum halfway up.
Use half as much detergent as normal and use a few drops of white vinegar and run a cycle on 40C.
After washing, the blonde beauty then recommended putting the towels in a tumble dryer with a few fragrance balls.
During her romance with Tony and the two years she lived with the traveller community, Danielle honed her expertise in cleaning (Pictured together in 2012)
Cage fighter Tony is pictured outside the caravan he shared with Danielle on an episode of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Hotel-crisp sheets
For crisp hotel-worth sheets, Danielle revealed the secret is in how the bedding is dried, rather than the washing.
She said the technique involves allowing sheets to be air-dried first and smoothing out any creases while they are damp.
Just before the covers are dried completely, Danielle recommended steam ironing and then spraying with scented linen spray.
Couch cleaning
Danielle revealed that it was considered ’embarrassing’ if a traveller had a messy home or if their cleaning was not done.
She explained that because Tony’s mother, his sisters, his nieces and his nephews all surrounded them in accompanying chalets, anyone could drop by at any time.
When family and friends did pop by for an unexpected visit, their homes always had to be immaculate.
And to ensure that their guests sit on a clean and plump couch, Danielle confessed her secret is to wipe down the fabric with a mixture of perfumed cleaner and hot water.
Danielle said the best way to keep them fresher for longer is to wipe the sofas over the top and around the cushions or wrap them in plastic.
But when the sofa is starting to look weathered, Danielle recommended using a fabric cleaner, then a steam cleaner and finishing off by wiping it down with a fabric softener.
Red wine stains
Red wine stains and alike are a moment of panic for many, but for Danielle, she has revealed a very simple and cost-effective hack.
She recommended that after an accidental spillage, blot the liquid with a thick cloth, then cover in salt.
After leaving overnight, she advised hoovering the remains and then wiping down with white vinegar.
For crisp hotel-worth sheets, Danielle revealed the secret is in how the bedding is dried, rather than the washing
Danielle revealed that it was considered ’embarrassing’ if a traveller had a messy home or if their cleaning was not done
Degreasing the oven
The oven can be a backbreaking task as grease builds up after every use.
But for Danielle, there is a much easier way to clean it without using too much elbow grease.
For a big clean, she recommends making a paste with baking soda and water. Spread the paste all over the oven and leave over night.
In the morning, spray the baking soda with white vinegar and use a steam cleaner to finish off.
For a smaller, daily clean, the mother-of-two said to chop up lemons, put in a dish with hot water and steam the inside of the cooker.
She confirmed that ‘lemons and white vinegar are the tricks of the trade’.
Watermarks on shower walls
The buildup of watermarks on shower glass panes is a chore that many avoid as it not only can take hours but can be a burden on the lower back.
To avoid the unnecessary effort, Danielle said she ‘swears by’ Viakal limescale spray and white vinegar.
She suggested spraying the glass panes with vinegar and limescale spray, leaving them overnight, and wiping them away in the morning.
Danielle revealed that jobs such as these are not always done by herself, as women in the traveller community teach their daughters from a very young age how to clean.
She said little girls will play clean when they are toddlers and eventually will be able to clean an entire home properly by the age of 12.
Even now, Danielle’s daughter still helps her grandmother to clean when she visits and is still learning the tricks of the trade.
The buildup of watermarks on shower glass panes is a chore that many avoid as it not only can take hours but can be a burden on the lower back
The oven can be a backbreaking task as grease builds up after every use – but for Danielle, there is a much easier way to clean it without using too much elbow grease
Pan cleaning
After just a few months of usage, a saucepan or frying pan can quickly stain and develop a thick black layer along the bottom.
While many spend hours scrubbing away with steel wool and damaging their favourite pans, Danielle has revealed her way to get her pans ‘like new’ again.
She said to use an old toothbrush to coat the entire pan with a layer of Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste, then gently brush away the grime.
While Danielle has experimented with many hacks, tips and tricks over the years, she credited the use of white vinegar as a key, cheap product to achieve most domestic cleaning needs.
Danielle first found fame on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and has worked as a glamour model, and also appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show in 2008.
