With a busy schedule to keep, how often do you really need to clean your home? By taking care of these 6 little-thought-of places, you can keep your home at its best and healthiest.
We live in a fast-paced world. How often do you have time to strap on a bandana, gloves, and grab a squirt bottle?
If you want to keep your home healthy and beautiful, but don’t have the schedule for regular deep cleans, then here are the six main places you need to focus on to eliminate sneaky bacteria, and keep your place shining at a glance.
1. Microwave
Contrary to popular opinion, microwaving your food does not burn away bacteria enough to counterbalance the spray of food from crackling bacon or explosive chili. Leaving your microwave as the last kitchen appliance to clean is setting you up for a bout of food poisoning. Running a heavy sponge over its inner walls, and sending the glass plate through the dishwasher every two weeks will keep your microwave safe and healthy. If you haven’t done in it a while, apply some bleach to a rag for the first clean to burn out those long-term bacteria growths.
2. Bath Tub
A report by Huffington Post speculates that a bathtub is even dirtier than your toilet. Bacteria lingering in your bathtub can cause more than a surprise bout of flu that takes you out of commission; harmful skin infections can be spawned off a bathtub left unattended, so be sure to give it a once-over with heavy soap once a week. If this is its first cleaning, hit it with some bleach to clear out the existing illnesses waiting to happen.
3. Floor
The eye is instantly drawn to the floor when entering the room, so even if the rest of your home is pristine, a dirty floor will equate a dirty home. When you see an accumulation of pet hair and crumbs, it’s time to give it a once-over with a vacuum, and mop up dirt as you see it on your hardwood. However, filth can gather out of sight that leave floors unsafe for pets and children. Set a schedule to vacuum, or sweep and mop, once a week, and be guaranteed harmful mildew or grime lingering in your floor is eliminated. This will provide a smoother feel, and make it less of a daunting task when you do get around to a major clean.
4. Table Tops and Pictures
Forgetting to brush off your ceiling fan once in awhile can aggravate respiratory issues such as asthma, and bacteria naturally gathers on coffee tables and bedside stands — things we rarely clean our hands before touching. To prevent breathing problems with guests and to safeguard your health, take a rag with disinfectant to your picture frames and table tops. This leaves them shining, clean of dust, and bacteria free. For your ceiling fans, don’t go for the feather duster — it’ll only spread it around. Take a bath towel and wrap it around the blade, dragging it towards you so that the dust is collected rather than scattered. These 10 Unexpected & Damage-Free Decor Ideas make it even easier to have a stylish home that isn’t difficult to keep clean.
5. Computer
You might run your virus scanner every week, but it’s not the insides of this home essential you need to worry about. A study conducted by CNN said that computer keyboards are over five times dirtier than our toilet seats, and while we all make sure to use a paper toilet when opening a public bathroom door, rarely do we put on gloves before using our laptops. Once a week, power down your digital buddy and don’t hold back in rubbing it down with a rag and disinfectant spray, scrubbing over the mouse while you’re at it.
6. Kitchen Counters
We leave dishes and food on them, use them as impromptu seats, and our pets even have free range of counter tops when we’re not looking. Kitchen counters are more prone to bacteria than any other table top, so set aside a time for scrubbing with bleach and soap once a week. If you do dishes more often, then give the counters a once over with your sponge as you finish, and save the heavy-duty cleaning for once every other week.
[tweetthis]When its time for a quick clean up, hit these 6 areas in your home to disinfect and freshen it up! [/tweetthis]
Keeping It Clean
A general rule of thumb is to clean once a week, but when you don’t have the time to tackle your whole home at once, you can still have a place that’s beautiful and healthy. By focusing on these six little-thought-of things, you can eliminate the most bacteria and keep your home safe until you can carve out a spring cleaning day.