October 6, 2023 by justin davis
There’s nothing quite like a perfectly clean house. It feels calming to stroll into the kitchen and see that every surface is sparkling, or walk on a recently vacuumed rug that’s fluffy and free of debris. For most people, though, this feeling isn’t as common as they’d like. House cleaning can feel like a daunting task, especially the deep-cleaning jobs that aren’t necessarily a priority. The good news? There are plenty of ways to make the process easier and more efficient, meaning your house can stay cleaner with less work. These are the top 10 house cleaning tips you should know if you want to work smart, not hard.
#1: Take advantage of your vacuum
Most people only use their vacuums for carpets or rugs, and that’s understandable – cleaning floors is a vacuum’s main function. However, it’s far from the only surface it can clean in your house. Many vacuums include a hose that comes with a few attachments, which you should take advantage of. Use this function to get rid of the dust at the top of your curtains, the debris hiding in window frames, and the dust bunnies that accumulate in air vents.
#2: Don’t kill yourself over a stained toilet bowl
If toilets aren’t scrubbed regularly, they can end up developing stains or calcium deposits. These will sometimes come off with a good scrubbing, but that’s unusual. A more likely scenario is that you make good progress for the first 80% of the job, while the last 20% of the stain simply refuses to leave. What should you do if this happens? Let the cleaning agent do the work. Some people use cleaning chemicals to remove stains or calcium deposits, while others prefer non-toxic solutions. There are plenty of cleaning products that are designed to leave your toilet bowl glistening white; if you use these, just apply the product and follow the instructions on the label. If you’d prefer to minimize the use of chemical cleaning products, baking soda or vinegar will be your best friends. To remove stains, mix a paste of baking soda and water, and apply to the stains. Leave for up to 30 minutes, scrub, and repeat as needed. For calcium deposits, soak paper towels in vinegar, and lay on top of the deposits. Then it’s the same drill as with the baking soda: wait for up to 30 minutes, scrub, and repeat as needed.
#3: Use the dishwasher for more than just dishes
Just like vacuums, dishwashers are more versatile than people give them credit for. If there are items that are made from ceramic, metal, glass, or hard plastic – and if they can physically fit into the dishwasher – why not wash them that way instead of by hand? These items include stove burner liners, sink drains, toothbrush organizers, soap dishes, plastic baby toys, refrigerator shelves, plastic hairbrushes, and more.
#4: Steam clean the microwave
A microwave that’s been neglected for a while can be a nightmare to clean, but it doesn’t have to be. Put about a cup of water into a bowl, and microwave it for three minutes or so (or until it boils). When it’s done, don’t open the door! Leave the bowl to steam inside the appliance for around 10 minutes, which will loosen caked-on food and make everything easy to wipe off.
#5: Invest in some dusters
Technically, you can dust anything with just an old rag. The problem with dust rags is that they don’t actually hold onto the dust; they usually end up dropping it somewhere else, where you’ll just have to clean it up again. Feather dusters are just as good at removing dust, but they also hold onto it until you’re ready to release it with a few brisk pats.
#6: Simplify the way you clean
For every household surface, there’s a corresponding cleaning product. Some of them are legitimately helpful, such as high-powered stain removers. However, most of them can be consolidated into just a couple of homemade cleaners – diluted vinegar, or diluted baking soda. These won’t necessarily have the same cleaning power as some commercial products, but they’re more than adequate for regular cleaning tasks. Plus, they’re way cheaper, and completely non-toxic.
#7: Clean from top to bottom
If you’re cleaning entire rooms at one time, make sure you start at the highest point and work your way down. Clean things like light fixtures and shelves first, and end with the floor. This means you won’t mop the floor, and then scatter debris all over it as soon as you start dusting.
#8: Set aside blocks of time for cleaning
Setting yourself the goal of cleaning the entire house (or even just one room) can seem overwhelming. A better approach is to set aside a specific amount of time, and clean as much as you can in that period. Cleaning the living room from top to bottom in an hour might seem intimidating, but simply cleaning for an hour isn’t that hard. And who knows – you might get the whole room cleaned in that amount of time anyway!
#9: Don’t mess with the clutter
Just like a professional cleaner doesn’t take the time to declutter every surface before they start, you shouldn’t either. Instead of organizing everything perfectly, simply tidy up the surfaces you want to clean, and leave the decluttering for another day.
#10: Make a cleaning schedule
A lot of people dislike cleaning because they don’t do it very often. Once they finally get around to it, they have to deal with a month’s worth of buildup, which is enough to discourage anyone. A better approach is to clean commonly used surfaces at least once per week; this prevents the buildup of debris, and makes the process a normal part of everyday life. It might help to assign one room or task for each day of the week, so you don’t have to spend hours at a time cleaning. Plus, it means that your house will be a much nicer place to live in!