Why are some homes cleaner and smell better than others? It is a common occurrence, and it all comes down to cleaning expertise and techniques. People with neat and organised homes have good cleaning habits, and it is reflected. If you have bad cleaning habits, your home will remain dirty, cluttered and messy no matter how much time, energy and effort you spend.
When your home is unclean for long periods, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses and mould because these pathogens proliferate at fast rates. For example, bacteria can double every 20 minutes, meaning if a surface has 100 bacteria, it will have over 200 bacteria in less than half an hour.
Therefore, you must ensure your home is sanitary and cleaned every day. You can hire a professional service for house or
bond cleaning in Brisbane when you lack the expertise to deep clean.
However, let go of the following bad habits that are making your house dirty.
1. Backtracking Due to No Planning
Many people make the mistake of assuming house cleaning doesn’t require planning or preparation. Therefore, they clean aimlessly and get frustrated when their home smells bad or looks messy. One of the most
common bad house cleaning habits is backtracking, which is when you reclean an area because you dirtied it while cleaning another area.
To avoid this issue, professionals clean top to bottom while house or bond cleaning in Brisbane. This technique prevents recontamination of cleaned areas and helps save time and cleaning products.
2. Sanitising Without Following the 6-steps of Cleaning
Cleaning and disinfecting are different activities and include six steps for the best results. If you skip steps or jumble them, your household surfaces remain contaminants and germy. Therefore, make sure to follow these steps.
Preclean to remove physical debris, dust and clutter.
Apply cleaner and scrub to loosen dirt and grime.
Wash with warm water or wipe with a damp cloth.
Apply a disinfectant to kill germs on the surface.
Wipe disinfectant with a clean damp cloth.
Dry the surface with a terry towel.
3. Not Using pH-neutral Cleaners
Most commercial cleaners readily available in markets are basic or alkaline in nature. They leave a milky film even after repeated washing or wiping. This film attracts grime, dust and dirt, causing cleaned surfaces to become dirty quickly.
Therefore,
use pH-neutral cleaners like mild detergents, dishwashing liquids, rubbing alcohol etc., to clean your home effectively and efficiently.
4. Reusing Dirty Cleaning Tools
No matter how many times you clean and sanitise surfaces in your home, if you don’t wash cleaning tools after each use, your home will remain a hotspot for contaminants and germs. Using dirty tools is a bad habit because these tools spread more germs and grime than they clean.
Therefore, develop the habit of washing cleaning tools with soap and water, then dip them in a disinfecting solution for 10 minutes before air drying and storing them.
5. Vacuuming Before Dusting
Both activities are necessary for removing dust and physical debris from household surfaces and fixtures. However, you must perform them in the right order to get the best results. Vacuuming is effective in sucking out dust from carpets, floors, upholstery and other areas.
Dusting is necessary to wipe stubborn dirt and dust from surfaces. While dusting, loose dust and contaminants can fall on other surfaces. Therefore, if you vacuum before dusting, surfaces can remain dusty, and your home’s indoor air quality suffers.
6. Letting Paper Clutter& Trash Accumulate
Stray receipts, tissues, food packages, cartons, fruit/veggie peels, and other clutter accumulate in a busy home daily. Ignoring them leads to household areas becoming messy and smelling. Furthermore, clutter can increase your stress and anxiety because it overwhelms you visually.
Therefore, if you don’t pick up paper clutter and trash at the end of each day, let go of this nasty habit and start decluttering your home routinely.
7. Bringing Dirt Indoors with Shoes
Microbiological researches show that footwear soles can have faecal matter and dangerous pathogens that cause
bacterial and viral infections. If you bring outdoor footwear indoors, then you are making your home dirty on purpose. What’s more, if you have pets, this issue becomes more pronounced.
Therefore, get a shoe rack to keep outdoor shoes in the mudroom or by the entrance door. Additionally, wipe your pet’s paws every time they go outside. Developing this habit will also decrease the need to sweep and mop the floors repeatedly. Your carpets will also remain pristine for longer periods.
The Bottom Line
Often people develop bad cleaning habits due to a lack of proper house cleaning and hygiene education. Therefore, use this guide to identify any bad cleaning habits you have picked up over the years. Let go of these habits to sanitise your home effectively and efficiently.
However, hire a professional service for house or end of lease cleaning in Brisbane if you cannot clean your home routinely or need to
end a tenancy.
