Professional cleaners reveal the places we always forget to clean
None of us particularly like cleaning our homes in our spare time, especially when busy households can get pretty dirty, pretty quickly.
And while we all have vacuuming and dusting down to a fine art, there are apparently quite a few places many family members overlook during the weekly clean.
We spoke to Sue Moore, President of Bright & Beautiful, a domestic housekeeping business in the UK. She reveals the places busy households often forget to clean, and what her team of pros notice first when they're tasked with cleaning a home...
1. A dirty doormat
A hallway is the first port of call for people coming into the house, which means a lot of outdoor shoes bringing bacteria in.
'Doormats and rugs tend to get moved around when we vacuum but aren't necessarily cleaned themselves,' Sue tells us.
'A doormat in particular will be the first line of defence between the dirt outside and our clean floors inside so they need to be regularly cleaned.'
2. Remote controls
When you clean, it's often the things that blend into the background that are forgotten. Yes, you may clean spills off the floor, or dust from your TV, but what about the smaller things you use everyday?
'Most people could not tell you the last time they cleaned their remote control, lightshades, lightbulbs or curtain rails,' Sue tells us. 'When you have animals particularly, it's incredible where their hair and fur will end up, something we see every day when we empty the vacuum bags!'
3. Your plants
Yep, living things need some TLC too, and Sue recommends taking a look at plants inside the home.
'Items like plants will stay looking green and healthy for a long time but if you look up close they may be covered in a thick layer of dust.' Just give your leaves a quick wipe – or even use a hairdryer on a cold setting – to get rid of the dust.
4. Your books
This one is important for the bookworms among us who treasure their paperback and hardback reads.
'Things like books become wallpaper to us if we see them every day. But if they're left to sit on bookshelves for years, the paper can actually start to deteriorate,' Sue warns us. 'If you have a full library this needs to be an annual job – take all the books off the shelves, wash and clean the shelves, then dust the books and shake out the pages to dislodge any dust and dead flies.'
5. Your cleaning equipment
'You need to clean and replace your cleaning equipment too!' says Sue. 'It's not exactly the most glamorous shopping list but kitchen sponges, mops, vacuum bags and dusters all need to be cleaned in disinfectant and hot water and replaced regularly.'
6. Dressing tables
We may wipe down the surfaces of our dressing tables, but apparently many of us overlook the actual things on it.
'Beauty products, hair products, make up and make up brushes are all crowded together to form a breeding ground for dust,' Sue says.
7. Light switches
It may sound silly to clean your light switches. But think about it… how many times a day are they touched?
'A quick wipe over with a household cleaner will get rid of germs – just do them every time you clean over your worktops.'
And there are other things that get overlooked too…
Outside bins
'Outside bins are natural repositories for dirt and germs even when we painstakingly bag up waste,' Sue says. 'With reduced bin emptying, our waste containers are playing host to millions of germs. So they really must be deep cleaned and disinfected regularly.'
That goes for the bin in your kitchen too. You might be using bin liners, but be sure to regularly disinfect the inside of your bin too. You might realise that it's the culprit of strange, stale smells.
Vegetable baskets
If you're someone that stores their non-refrigerated veggies in a basket, be sure to give that a good wipe down.
'This is especially important if you have a warm kitchen,' Sue warns.
Children's bath toys
Damp, warm bathrooms can be a breeding ground for bacteria and there are areas we often forget, according to Sue. This includes shower heads, towel rails, children's bath time toys and toothbrush holders.
Sue recommends cleaning them with mild vinegar or eco-friendly and child-friendly cleaning solutions.
Coat racks
Unsurprisingly, coat racks rarely get any attention, which can lead to damp, says Sue.
'We do notice sometimes a lot of build up of dust and damp caused by wet coats being regularly placed on them,' she tells us.
From Good Housekeeping UK
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