A PRISTINE pad is good for your health and your stress levels, but when it comes to cleaning your home – how often is often enough?
You probably already know that you should be giving your kitchen and bathroom a good scrub at least once a week, but what about your microwave, toilet brush and washing machine? (Despite the name, it’s not self-cleaning!)
We spoke to an expert to find out how often you really need to be cleaning everything in your home – and how best to tackle those tricky spots.
If your microwave is splattered with leftover takeaway from last month, some elbow grease is overdue.
Henry Paterson, Senior Operations Executive at Housekeep, says you should be using a multi-surface spray and a clean, damp microfibre cloth to wipe the inside and outside of your microwave, as well as the outside of other appliances like the kettle, every week when you clean your kitchen.
FABULOUS BINGO: WIN A SHARE OF £250K
You should also be giving the outside of cupboards a good wipe.
“Any spillages on your kitchen surfaces should be spot-cleaned right away too,” he adds.
Some pretty gross things can happen if you don’t clean your sheets regularly, but a survey found only 28% of Brits are changing them weekly.
If you’re one of the 72% sleeping in a ‘botanical park’ for bacteria and fungus, consider stepping up your game and starting to wash your bedsheets and linen every week.
“Make sure to have at least one spare clean set ready at any time for easy rotation,” Henry advises.
It’s worth it for that fresh-sheet feeling, we promise.
If your dishwasher is smelling funky, draining slowly or failing to get your glassware gleaning, then it’s a sign you’re not cleaning it often enough (which should be once a month FYI).
Henry says: “You can remove the dishwater filter easily from the bottom of most dishwashers and then wash it in the kitchen sink with warm soapy water.
“You can also buy a dishwashing product that you place on the rack, before running the dishwasher on an empty cycle.”
If you’re vacuuming and mopping weekly, top marks to you.
“You should immediately wipe or mop any spillages on hard floors as soon as they’re made, and vacuum any obvious dirt or mud that’s brought into the house right away,” adds Henry.
Your toilet should be cleaned once or twice a week, and this is super simple to do.
Henry says: “Just apply some toilet cleaner to your loo, leave it to soak for a few minutes and then thoroughly scrub with a toilet brush before flushing.
“You’ll also want to wipe the outside of the toilet thoroughly, with a clean, damp microfibre cloth and multi-surface spray.”
Make sure this cloth goes straight into the washing though and doesn’t get used elsewhere.
News flash: Your toilet brush should be disinfected as often as you clean the loo.
Not sure where to start?
Henry says: “You can soak your toilet brush in a bucket of warm water and a dash of bleach – but make sure you open windows, turn on extractors, and wear rubber gloves when working with bleach.
“While it’s soaking, disinfect your toilet brush holder with anti-bacterial spray and wash it out in a sink you haven’t yet cleaned.
“Flush the toilet and hold the brush underneath the water to remove any excess bleach solution and pop the brush back in the holder.
“Then make sure to thoroughly clean your sink.”
The inside of your washing machine can become a damp haven for bacteria and mould to flourish – not exactly the environment you want for getting your laundry nice and fresh.
Henry says: “Clean the inside of your washing machine on a monthly basis by running an empty cycle on the hottest setting with soda crystals, and then wipe the front, outside and around the seal with a clean, damp cloth and a multi-surface spray.
“Remove the detergent tray if you can, and wash in hot soapy water.”
If you think how often you use your sofa and then how often you clean it, chances are the ratio isn’t quite right.
“You should vacuum your sofa once a week as part of your vacuuming routine, or more often if you have pets or suffer from allergies,” says Henry.
“Don’t forget to lift up the cushions and remove any larger debris by hand before vacuuming underneath and reassembling the sofa.
“If you have detachable covers, you should remove and wash these according to the instructions every few months.
“You may also want to consider getting your upholstery steam cleaned a few times a year.”
We’ve all seen one of those ovens that doesn’t look like it’s been cleaned in years – and that’s probably because it hasn’t.
“You should clean your oven three or four times a year, using a shop-bought oven cleaner,” says Henry.
“Oven cleaning products are strong, so read all of the instructions carefully and lay down newspaper to make sure that you don’t spill any on your worktops or floor.”
“You should regularly clean any limescale from your sinks, taps, shower screen and other surfaces with a product like Viakal,” advises Henry.
“Doing this weekly will prevent build-up which leads to ingrained limescale that’s much harder to remove.”
You might have a window cleaner who comes to take care of the exteriors, but when was the last time you gave the insides of your windows a good scrub?
Henry says that window sills and window frames should be wiped down as part of your weekly clean, and the actual glass cleaned every month or so – or sooner if you’ve noticed visible dirt.
“Simply use a dry, clean microfibre cloth and a glass or window cleaning product,” he says.
For more cleaning news, this cleaning fanatic shares an easy way to clean grubby walls in minutes – and it makes your entire house smell amazing too.
And this professional cleaner reveals why you should NEVER use bleach in the bathroom & what product you should use instead
Plus woman reveals clever hack to keep flies out of your wheelie bin using one household item you definitely already have.
