7 Overlooked Places You Totally Should Be Cleaning?

Sharing is caring!

A woman cleaning the windows.

You try to keep your home as clean as possible by decluttering, sweeping and wiping down furniture. However, some household locations are easy to forget. Here are seven overlooked places you should be cleaning and how to clean them.

Ceiling Fan

While you may not touch your ceiling fan often, keeping them clean is essential for health and functionality.  Dust, debris and allergens can collect on the blades, re-distributing them in the air when they turn. Dirty fans also don’t work as effectively as clean ones. The debris keeps the blades from moving the air as quickly, limiting its ability to cool down a room soon.

To clean your ceiling fan, carefully climb a stepladder and wipe the dust off the blades. You might want to put a paper cover or drop cloth on the floor to catch whatever falls. After removing the debris, dampen a rag with an all-purpose cleaner and wipe off the blades. If your fan has globes on it, remove them to clean first. You should try to clean your ceiling fan once a week.

Air Vent Covers

Your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit has a filter that takes dust and allergens out of the air so you can breathe easily in your home. The filter’s purpose is defeated if you let dirt and dust collect on the vents where your cleaned air comes out.

Turn off your HVAC system and remove the vent covers to clean. Use a small brush to dust off your vent cover. If there’s stuck-on grime, soak them in warm soapy water before wiping them clean. You can vacuum your air duct before re-adding your cover and turning on your HVAC system. Clean your vent covers twice a year to keep your air clean.

Floors

You might sweep and vacuum, but when was the last time you cleaned your floors? These surfaces are magnets for viruses and bacteria you should wash away to keep your home healthy. The flooring type you have will require different methods of cleaning.

  • Wood: Clean wood floors with a damp mop and your favorite wood floor cleaner.
  • Carpet: Use a carpet cleaner and mixed solution or clean it by hand with baking soda, carpet shampoo and a brush.
  • Tile: Clean ceramic tiles easily with dish soap, warm water and a floor brush.
  • Laminate: To clean laminate flooring, add a teaspoon of dish liquid to a gallon of warm water and dampen a mop to wipe down the floor.

You should wash your floors every one to two weeks to keep them strong and sanitary.

Baseboards

Like your floors, your baseboards are dirt and debris magnets, sparing your walls from the dust bunnies coming from the ground. The worst part is many baseboards are white, so they change color if you go too long without cleaning them.

Clean your baseboards with a sponge or cloth and warm, soapy water. Some stores even sell special mops so you don’t have to bend down. You should clean your baseboards around monthly to keep dirt from building up.

Blinds

Cleaning blinds can be intimidating since you may have heard you need to take them down to get a nice clean. The good news is you can thoroughly clean them while they’re still hanging.

You can gently wipe down your blinds with a dry or damp microfiber cloth to eliminate dust and debris.  If you want a more thorough cleaning, take them down and soak them in warm water and dish liquid before drying them with a cloth. Clean your blinds once a month to help them stay clean.

Doors

You touch your doors every day, but they’re still an easily overlooked cleaning place. They can collect dirt and allergens, regardless of if they’re an interior or exterior door. Not to mention, your hands can pick these up and spread them to everyone you touch.

Wipe down your doors with a cloth dipped in water with either dish soap or vinegar. You should clean them when you notice visible dust or dirt, but you should disinfect your doorknobs once a week, especially during flu season.

Light Switches

Like doorknobs, everyone in your household must touch light switches, even when their hands are germy. It’s important to disinfect them regularly, but it’s easy to forget them.

Use a damp rag with soap or a disinfectant wipe to keep the germs at bay. You should wipe down your light switches weekly to keep them nice and clean.

Remember to Clean These Easily Missable Spots

It’s easy to overlook places in your home while you’re cleaning, but these locations can collect dust, debris and germs you’ll want to keep away. By adding these locations to your cleaning regimen, you are making your home a much tidier place. Keeping your house clean is essential to maintaining your and your family’s health.

Sharing is caring!

Speak Your Mind

*