What Cleaning Mistakes Are YOU Making?

You probably feel good after completing a household cleaning task. I mean, it’s not much fun, but it needs to be done, and it’s beneficial. Or is it? Oddly enough, there’s a right and wrong way to clean.

Find out if you’re making any cleaning mistakes that could sabotage your home’s cleanliness. You may love seeing your house spotless, but the actual down-and-dirty process of mopping, dusting, and vacuuming isn’t something we look forward to.

And to make matters even worse, we now find that many things we’re doing to get a cleaner home might actually create more work and problems for us in the long run?!?

From cleaning habits that create serious plumbing issues to ones that can make a mess of your appliances, these are the 7 cleaning mistakes you need to ditch now, according to the experts.

In this article, we’ll discuss how you can avoid making these cleaning mistakes to maximize grooming your house. After all, when you invest the time and effort in cleaning, you want to ensure that you’re doing it right.

Cleaning Mistake: Washing your cutting board with dish soap

Why it’s a mistake: While dish soap and hot water will remove any visible food residue from your cutting boards, the cuts in the wood and plastic cutting boards trap microscopic food particles.

They breed bacteria that will transfer to the foods you prepare on that cutting board.

What to do instead: You shouldn’t put it in the dishwasher either! A wooden cutting board might warp and crack, while a plastic cutting board may melt in hot water and the steamy environment of a dishwasher.

Instead, experts suggest you soak your cutting boards in hydrogen peroxide or a bleach solution: 2tbsp of bleach and 1 gallon of water. After, rinse well with water, and dry thoroughly.

Cleaning Mistake: Using the same cloth around the whole house

Why it’s a cleaning mistake: Despite it being spritzed with a cleaning solution, when you use the same rag in multiple spots around your home, it hangs on to the grime from any previous surfaces and spreads it to whichever texture it touches next.

This means that bathroom germs get wiped onto kitchen counters, the living room coffee table, and anywhere else that rag is used, definitely making this one of the ways you’re cleaning your kitchen all wrong.

What to do instead: Use a new clump of paper towels for each surface you’re cleaning, or you can buy a microfiber cleaning cloth that’s designated for each area of your home.

These cleaning cloths can be tossed in the laundry and thoroughly washed after every use to remove any grime.

Cleaning Mistake: Not cleaning your washing machine

Why it’s a cleaning mistake: The skin cells, dust mites, and stains from clothes can linger in a washing machine’s drum and also on the lid or door. This will lead to washing clothes in grimy water, and eventually, they’ll start becoming stinky.

What to do instead: For a top-loading washer, start it on its longest and hottest setting. When the drum is almost filled with water, pour in a liter of vinegar and a cup of baking soda.

Be sure to leave the lid open, allowing the mixture to sit in the paused cycle for about an hour. While the cycle is paused, clean the cover and any other visible nooks and crannies. Close the lid, and let the wash cycle run.

Repeat the vinegar and baking soda wash if you need to, then wipe down the inside of the machine and leave the lid open to allow it to completely dry.

If you have a front-loading washer, pour a solution of 1/4 cup of baking soda mixed with water into the detergent compartment and 2 cups of vinegar into its drum. Set your machine on the hottest temperature and let it work its magic.

When the cycle is over, wipe down the drum, the door, detergent compartment, and exterior clean. Be sure to pay close attention to the gasket.

You should also leave the door ajar in between loads for better air circulation.

Cleaning Mistake: Using a feather duster

Why it’s a cleaning mistake: No matter how much all those advertisements for these dusters say the feathers “trap and lock dust,” they DO NOT!

Feather dusters are well-known for spreading around dust on a surface or just pushing it off to fall to the ground rather than getting rid of it.

What to do instead: Use a microfiber cleaning cloth or a disposable paper towel with the appropriate cleaning solution, depending on the surface you are dusting.

Psst…The idea that feather dusters actually “dust” is one of the most common cleaning myths you can definitely STOP believing.

Cleaning Mistake: Placing your toilet brush back into its holder instantly

Why it’s a cleaning mistake: If a toilet brush is put back into its holder right after you use it, the moisture and germs from the toilet get trapped in the container and the brush, where they will breed and multiply.

The germs are then scrubbed back into your toilet the next time you use the brush.

What to do instead: After scrubbing your toilet, allow the brush to dry completely before putting it back into its holder, and…voila! You’ve gotten rid of one of the most common ways you’re cleaning your bathroom wrong.

Yet, have you thought about ditching the toilet brush entirely? If you’re not interested in keeping and cleaning a toilet brush, you should try out a toilet wand. It has disposable heads instead.

Cleaning Mistake: Skipping your vacuum when cleaning

Why it’s a cleaning mistake: If your vacuum filter hasn’t been cleaned or changed in a while, not only is it unable to pick up as much dust and dirt as it should be due to decreased suction, but the dirt also gets blown back into the air and carpet by the dusty vent.

What to do instead: You should change or empty your vacuum bags or canisters right after they become full. The vacuum attachments should also be wiped down, including the hose and the vent, with either a damp cleaning cloth or a moist paper towel.

Just be sure to check that the vacuum is unplugged first!

Cleaning Mistake: Starting to clean from the ground up

Why it’s a cleaning mistake: If you sweep, mop, or vacuum your floor before you clean the furniture, dust and crumbs will fall from tables, counters, and shelves, requiring you to re-clean the floor a second time.

What to do instead: Clean each room, going from the top to the bottom. Start by cleaning your windows, and work down to your tables and counters, chairs and couches, side and coffee tables, and finally, end with your floor.

Final Tip: A Deep Cleaning Service may come in handy every once in a while to clean everything top-to-bottom. Hiring cleaning professionals will focus on areas you may have overlooked or forgotten to clean over time.

We hope our tips will help you avoid any cleaning mistakes in the future!

And for some more useful tips, check this out: Trying to Redecorate Your Bathroom? These 6 Tricks Are a Lifesaver