Recently my mom asked me if I ever clean my doors… “Umm no Mom, do you?” Apparently it’s a thing! More often than not we close the door by pushing on the actual door and not on the knob which means it’s another surface in our homes that can get grimy and germy. As a mom of four I’ll take all the germ fighting help I can get, so if that means cleaning in some weird places, I’m all for it. Here are a few common areas in our homes that we probably aren’t cleaning but should.
Places we touch frequently
Light switches, door knobs, doors (yes doors!) are all places our hands go without thinking twice about touching food or our faces afterwards. Add remotes, any devices, cell phones/landline phones, keyboards, and faucets to the list too. Grab a lysol wipe and go to town.
Garbage disposal
Every time you put food in your garbage disposal you should run it. Grab the weird black piece in your sink that lines the sink drain and pull it out. This thing gets GROSS. Give it a good clean at least once a week to keep smells away and stuff from growing.
The vent filter from your range hood
Each time you turn your stove on, you also likely turn your range hood on as well. There’s a filter just inside that catches all kinds of particles as the steam or smoke goes through and that can build up over time. Remove the filter, soak with Dawn Power Wash, let it sit for a bit, and rinse. Side note if you’re looking for an excellent grease cutter, Dawn Power Wash is awesome!
Washing machine
We got a new washing machine about a year ago and not long after we started seeing little black flecks on our clean clothes. Turns out if you don’t clean your washing machine regularly you can grow mold in it. Another awesome cleaning trick from my mom: put a 1:1 ratio of citric acid and powder Oxiclean detergent into the drum of your washer. Run your clean cycle several times and wipe out the inside of the drum as soon as it finishes. You’ll be amazed at what comes out.
Dishwasher filter
There’s a little filter at the bottom of your dishwasher that needs to be rinsed every few weeks. To help alleviate stress on your dishwasher, always rinse your dishes in advance along with making sure to keep your filter clean.
Other odd (but helpful) places
To keep the floors inside your home clean, opt for a no shoes inside the house rule, particularly on soft surfaces like carpet. Think about where your shoes go and how much that brings into your home. I became especially aware of this when I had babies crawling. Bonus for not wearing shoes on your carpets is that it can prolong the life of your carpet!
If your oven is in need of some attention, set the clean oven cycle while simultaneously cleaning the oven racks by soaking in a bathtub with dryer sheets.
Keep your outdoor trash bins clean and smelling less gross by bagging everything you put inside. If something spills, give it a good rinse with the hose before turning upside down to dry. Also if it rains on trash day (which it feels like it always does) make sure to let your bins dry before adding trash to keep the yuck factor down.
Any places you would add to the list?
