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Raise your hand if you’re the type of homeowner that turns to the Internet for tips on how to manage household cleaning—create an easy-to-follow routine that you can stick with.
Whether you turn to Pinterest or TikTok for life hacks, there’s another thing that you should learn, or in this case, unlearn Home cleaning mistakes.
There’s probably a list of things you’re doing wrong when giving your space a little spruce up. It may involve using too many cleaning products or things that we often overlook when we clean. Which ones could you be guilty of doing? Keep reading.
The Biggest Cleaning Mistakes You’re Probably Making
• Overlooking Some Areas and Items in Your Home When Cleaning
There are some tasks at home that you just cannot miss when cleaning: washing the dishes, doing the laundry, vacuuming the floors, and carpets, and some other daily cleaning routines. But, there are also areas and things we tend to overlook. The usual victim? Curtains.
Curtains
We are vigorously sweeping the floors, wiping tabletops and counters, and vacuuming the furniture because we know that these are high-touch and high-traffic areas that accumulate dust and dirt.
But, we often forget that our curtains are also subject to the same particles and substances. They are even our first line of defense against the airborne particles that enter our home.
At least every 3-6 months, wash your curtains separately from your clothes. But, for curtains with delicate fabric, embellishments, or hardware, it’s best to take them for a curtain cleaning service to avoid the risks of damage.
Mattress & Bed Pillows
We often hear the advice to invest in your sleep and just appropriately so. Because a night of good and adequate sleep is key to keeping your energy, productivity, weight, and emotional balance in check.
Part of that investment is deep cleaning your pillows and mattresses periodically. Over time, these items accumulate dust, hair, dead skin cells, and many other gross things you can’t imagine sleeping with.
Whereas you should clean your pillows every 3 months, experts recommend deep cleaning your mattress every 6 months or so. This is regardless of how often you change your bedsheets and pillowcases.
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Refrigerator
It’s nice to see a refrigerator that’s full to the brim. But, because clearing all the items out and putting them back again seems difficult, many of us do without cleaning and let the fridge get dirtier and more unhygienic over time.
No matter where you look at it, cleaning your fridge is essential to avoid potential food contamination.
At least every 3-4 months, give your fridge a deep clean—store your food temporarily in a cooler, turn the fridge off, remove the shelves and drawers and wash them with soapy water.
• Other Household Cleaning Mistakes
Using Too Many Cleaning Products
While it may be fun to stock up on a lot of cleaning supplies—to the point that your storage already looks like the entire cleaning aisle of the supermarket—experts say that a less-is-more approach is a key to a clean home.
A case in point, when you use too much product on your floor, it would only leave a residue. You may think that you’re making your floor cleaner, but the truth is, you’re just making it slippery and grimy.
Always refer to the product instruction. If it says to use a cap full for every liter, use only a cap full, nothing more.
Pre-Rinsing Dishes
Pre-rinsing your dirty dishes can trick your dishwasher into thinking that they are cleaner than they are. It can unknowingly reduce its efficiency in cleaning your dishes and at the same time, negate its water-saving benefit—the two likely reasons you bought it in the first place.
Save yourself the hassle and leave the job to your dishwasher. The best you can do is scrape off any leftover food and load your dishes as they are.
Not Washing Your Washing Machine
The tub cleaning program in your washer is there for a reason. Over time, detergent and hard water leave residue that can build up inside the machine. It can potentially reduce its efficiency in cleaning your clothes and worse, cause your washer to break down.
At least every month or after every 30 washes, run your machine on a hot empty cycle with a tub cleaning solution. It will help prolong its lifetime and give you cleaner clothes.
Not Taking Care of Your Sponges
Next to toilet brushes, kitchen sponges are probably the ickiest thing in your home. They are often wet and contain traces of food—the perfect breeding grounds for germs and bacteria.
Replace your sponges regularly, do not use them to wipe other surfaces, and rinse them thoroughly and hang to dry after every use.
Mixing Vinegar and Baking Soda
Some products, which are safe and effective on their own, can sometimes be useless when mixed with other products. This is the case when you mix vinegar and baking soda—the recipe that’s thought to have superb cleaning power with all its foaming action.
But, the truth is, when you mix baking soda (base) and vinegar (acid), you get a neutralized solution which is mostly water. If you are to use any of these pantry staples for cleaning, it’s better to use either of the two, but not together.
Using Bleach on Mould
For most cleaning jobs, a multipurpose cleaner should do the trick. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case with bleach, particularly when you’re trying to use it to kill mold.
While it may kill surface mold, it doesn’t address its roots. It means they’re still there and would keep coming back in favorable conditions. A better and more effective solution to cleaning mold is simpler than you would think: vinegar.
Takeaway
Home cleaning isn’t always about learning how to speed things up, using the latest cleaning solutions the market offers you, or trying a lifehack you saw on TikTok.
It’s also identifying and unlearning the potential mistakes you’re making in the attempt to make your home cleaner or make things easier for you.
Clean Care is a trusted cleaning professional that offers curtain cleaning services in Singapore. Visit their website to discover more tips on home cleaning or to learn more about the services they offer.
