AAH7!
August 31, 2026#911archive

NYT Strands — August 31, 2026

Looking for today's NYT Strands? →

Hints — one at a time

Hint 1 of 5

Today's grid is dedicated to getting things spotless.

Hint 2 of 5

Every non-spangram word names a product or action you'd use for a deep clean.

Hint 3 of 5

One entry is a powerful whitening chemical that removes stains; another is a chemical that dissolves grime or paint.

Hint 4 of 5

The spangram is the powerful, water-jet method of blasting grime off outdoor surfaces.

Hint 5 of 5

Look for BLEACH, CLEANSER, DETERGENT, SCRUB, SOAP and SOLVENT, all spanned by POWERWASH.

The answer — spoilers!

Reveal the full answer

Theme

With a little elbow grease

Spangram

POWERWASH

Theme words

BLEACH · CLEANSER · DETERGENT · SCRUB · SOAP · SOLVENT

This puzzle by the numbers

Spangram length
9 letters
Theme words to find
6

Counted from our own archive of NYT Strands answers — not published anywhere else.

A tall Strands-style board six tiles wide, mostly blank, with two highlighted rows: a pink one spelling FLOWER right across the board and a shorter amber one spelling ROSE
On the Strands board the theme word and the shorter answers are traced straight through the letters. Example board, not today’s puzzle.