House Cleaning: Dos & Donts
House cleaning is easier to do if you have some rules for yourself. Here are some important dos and don’ts to bear in mind to increase your efficiency when cleaning your home.
To be as effective as possible at house cleaning you need to know firstly that you do not need to set aside huge chunks of time to clean. If you only have 10 to 15 minutes a day then use it to do light tidying up or cleaning in one particular room. Or concentrate on one specific task at a time. The bathroom and kitchen are where most of your germs accumulate. For that reason those rooms require the most attention from you!
Do dilute the cleaning products that you use. As a rule of thumb it is wise to replace approximately one-quarter of the bottle of cleaner with water in order to thin it out. When you do this it makes the product less sticky and also less inclined to leave marks. You do not want streaks when you do your house cleaning!
When you are wiping doors and even more importantly when you are wiping mirrors do not swirl. What you should do instead is use vertical strokes followed by horizontal ones. The swirling patterns you leave behind will not be obvious on a rainy or cloudy day but when the sun shines on the cleaned surface it will become very obvious.
Do not use paper towels to clean. Not only will you spend more money than you want to but you can easily scratch the surfaces you are cleaning or leave residue behind. Paper towels are also thin and not very sturdy. If you have long fingernails or wear rings then they can pierce the paper towel. What you should buy instead to clean with is a set of washable cloths. Even your local dollar store should have some cheap cloths that should work well. Another option is to make your own cloths out of old tee shirts that you were planning to use as rags. Even cloth diapers will do the trick.
Clean as you go along. In other words,
take preventative measures in your home. Do not wait until an area of your home is incredibly dirty before you do something about it. If you do this then you make more work for yourself. Instead make house cleaning a part of your regular routine. For example, wipe down your shower every time you use it to prevent the build up of mildew or mold. The little things in house cleaning count for a lot!
Do not apply cleaning products directly to any surfaces in your home. This includes upholstery, window treatments and floors. What you should do instead is dampen or spray a cloth and then wash or dust the chair or couch or blinds. Remember too that you only need a small amount of a cleaning product. Often just a smidgen will go a long way!
