Deputy taking credit for cleanse (5)
I believe the answer is:
scrub
'for cleanse' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'deputy taking credit' is the wordplay.
'deputy' becomes 'sub'.
'taking' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'credit' becomes 'cr' (abbreviation).
'sub' placed around 'cr' is 'SCRUB'.
(Other definitions for scrub that I've seen before include "something in the garden?" , "Eradicate" , "Rub hard to clean" , "Get rid of" , "Clean - scrap" .)