Common House Cleaning Mistakes Everyone Makes

Many people make the mistake of cleaning around things rather than moving them out of the way when they do their regular cleanings.

It may feel like you’re cleaning quicker this way, but actually you’re just creating dust piles that go undetected. Over time dust and dirt will build up underneath everyday items and will migrate back onto your surfaces.

A simple way to clean things properly is to simply follow these four steps: Move things → Clean things → Put things back where they belong.

When you use the same cloth to clean multiple surfaces, you’re not cleaning those surfaces; but transferring the dirt from one surface to another.

This can be especially problematic when you’re cleaning between a kitchen area, bath or living room area because you could inadvertently transfer bacteria and/or residues from one surface to another.

One of the easiest ways to improve your cleaning is by using separate tools to clean different areas of your home.

Using your product and spraying it directly on the surface you are going to clean is probably the fastest way to get it done, however; it can produce unsightly streaks/rings and leave an unclean surface behind.

The better method is to spray the product onto a cloth first and then clean with that cloth so you can control how heavy or evenly the solution will be distributed to the surface that you are cleaning (i.e., glass, wood, etc.).

Another common reason for the perceived inefficiency of cleaning is that too much time or effort is spent cleaning in a disorganized manner.

For example: if you vacuum first and then dust, the dust that you just vacated will only be re-deposited back onto the floor.

The cleaning professional; however, follows a top-down method of cleaning:

• dust and surface clean first
• clean floors last

Once this is corrected the speed of the cleaning increases as well as the longevity of the results.

An equally overlooked, but highly significant, cleaning tip is the use of the proper amount of a cleaning product. The most commonly found cleaning product is not in fact the better; excessive use of a cleaning product results in a thin film of residue on the surfaces being cleaned.

While you may not see the results of this residual build up for a long time; eventually, the surfaces becomes sticky, dull and now cause the re-accumulation of dust at a faster rate.

Real-life example:

You wipe your kitchen counter and it looks perfect. The next day, it feels slightly sticky and already looks dusty again.

That’s not new dirt—it’s leftover product.

Using less product—but using it correctly—often gives better and longer-lasting results.

Most people clean spaces that they can see (like the counter or the floor), while there are many other locations that accumulate dirt and dust over time (like under the couch, along the edge of the baseboards or behind your appliances). These locations will all have accumulated dust and dirt; therefore, an area that appears clean will still seem to be dirty or dusty because these accumulations are in these out-of-sight places.

Cleaning is made more challenging if the improper tools are being utilized. For example, standard vacuum cleaners may not get the deep-seated dirt or hair from the floors sufficiently cleaned. The use of rags and rough cloths can leave scratches on the surface of the floor due to the abrasiveness of those materials. Using low-quality tools can also inadvertently spread the dirt rather than removing it completely. The most cost-efficient way of improving the quality of a cleaning job without increasing the amount of time spent to clean all surfaces, is to upgrade to better quality cleaning equipment and/or supplies.

Surface cleaning will keep things looking clean for a little while, but it will not remove the ground-in and built up dirt that gets hidden over time. When dirt and other contaminants “settle” into carpets, textiles, and in corners or “hidden” areas of whatever you are cleaning; cleaning through surface cleaning will not result in the cleaning being better regardless of how many times the same item is cleaned.

Real-life scenario:

You clean your living room, vacuum, wipe everything down—and it still doesn’t feel clean.

That’s because the issue is no longer on the surface.

Without both, results will always feel temporary.