While deep cleaning is often associated with the springtime, every person knows how easy it is for a home to get messy. From dirt that is tracked into the home on shoes to the clutter that accumulates on countertops, it seems like cleaning always needs to be done.
Why is cleaning important?
A study by ApartmentGuide found that 66% of Americans said that a dirty home makes them feel stressed or anxious. In addition to this, they cited clutter as the most annoying mess to have in the home. The runner up to this was human or pet hair.
Decluttering can have a positive impact on your mood and self-esteem and mental health. In addition, reducing the amount of dust and dirt in the home can improve allergies, reduce the likelihood of getting sick and will prevent unwanted pests in the home.
So how often should you be cleaning?
With 63% of Americans doing the home cleaning themselves, it’s important that they are focusing on the right places in the home. Read through this guide for advice on cleaning specific rooms in the home.
Kitchen
The kitchen is an important space to keep clean because it’s where you prepare your meals. Forgetting to properly clean this area can lead to house bugs or food poisoning.
Change Your Sponges and Dishrags
These should be swapped out every few days. Only 40% of Americans change their sponges and dishrags every week. This number is low considering that 75% of dish sponges and rags analyzed by the NSF had coliform bacteria on them.
Deep Clean Your Sink
Sinks should be deep cleaned at least once a week but only 29% of Americans have followed these guidelines. In fact, a quarter of Americans had never deep cleaned their kitchen sink before.
Wipe Out Your Microwave
Microwaves should be cleaned weekly. Spilled food is prone to bacteria that aren’t always killed from the microwave’s heat. When cleaning, be sure to avoid bleach products. Instead try using dish soap, baking soda or vinegar.
Bedroom
You spend at least a third of your day in the bedroom so it’s important that it’s properly cleaned.
Change Your Sheets
Sheets should be washed every week or two. Your sheets soak up sweat, dirt, body oils and skin cells. They also are home to millions of dust mites that feed on dead skin cells. Washing your sheets consistently will help keep the bed clean.
Living Room
The living room is a place where friends and family gather. The traffic this room gets means that it needs to be cleaned consistently.
Clean Your Rugs
Rugs should be vacuumed every week and deep cleaned once or twice a year. Skin particles, dirt, pet hair, and food can sink deep into the carpet if you neglect to clean it.
Wash the Floors
Floors should be washed every week or two. How often will depend on how clean of a person you are. If you are prone to spills, cleaning will need to happen more often.
Even if you are neat and there aren’t any visible spills, your skin cells are accumulating on the floor of your home. Cleaning the floors will get rid of these and prevent allergies and illnesses.
Bathroom
A bathroom is a place where you get clean but it also needs to be cleaned for this to happen.
Clean Your Toothbrush Holder
This should be cleaned on a weekly basis. While you are changing your toothbrush consistently, there are still germs that can grow on the bottom of your toothbrush holder.
Replace bathroom towels
Bathroom towels should be washed at least once a week. Towels have been found to have traces of yeast, mold, aerobic bacteria and E.coli bacteria even after one use.
