Cleaning the house is no easy task. It is quite difficult to find the strength or even the time to schedule a day to clean, especially if you’re working a full-time job. As a result, a lot of people tend to find local cleaning services to help clean their home for them. However, many of us can’t actually afford the rates of hired home cleaners, so what other options do we have? Well, what we can do is improve our cleaning methods to make the task a little less daunting.
While it will be hard to mimic professional cleaners by pure self-training, the chances of saving time and energy will surely increase if you learn about common mistakes people commit when cleaning the house.
In this article, we will try to make house-cleaning easier by going through some of the most frequent cleaning errors you can avoid in order to save time and effort.
Using Dirty Cleaning Materials/Appliances
This should be a no-brainer – how can you expect to clean something if you’re using dirty materials on it? People forget that wiping cloths aren’t dirt-proof and should always be washed and cleaned before reusing. When you are wiping around the surfaces in your house, remember to stop every now and then to clean or change your wiping cloth altogether. Always use clean water to wash the cloth with to avoid spreading germs around the house. If possible, prepare separate wiping cloths for each room so that you won’t be confused about which cleaning material is supposed to be used.
The same thing applies in cleaning appliances. Cleaning appliances like the washing machine and the dishwasher are supposed to make your life easier by taking care of dirty clothes and dishes, but that doesn’t mean they also clean themselves during the process. Learn to check on your cleaning appliances from time to time and clean them properly in order to maintain their efficiency.
Using the Wrong Products, or Misusing the Right Ones
Sometimes we get too excited when shopping for cleaning products that we fail to read what’s written on them properly. There are a lot of cleaning products available in the market and it is so easy to get confused about what you actually need for your home. Read the labels on the products carefully and identify if the cleaning agent suits the surfaces you will be cleaning. Using ineffective products won’t only waste your money, but they will also waste the time and work you’ll be putting in trying to clean something that the product wasn’t made for. As much as possible, go for products that can clean multiple types of surfaces. Not only is this cheaper, but you’ll also save space in your storage room by storing less cleaning products.
Once you have the right products purchased, it is equally important that you read the instructions carefully. For example, people usually make the mistake of spraying the cleaning agent directly on the surface they want to clean instead of using the agent on a wiping cloth first. There are surfaces that require very careful cleaning, so putting the cleaning agent directly can cause damages instead. Additionally, careless spraying can release more of the agent into the open air, which may be harmful if there are people with asthma or other allergies present in the house.
Another common mistake is using too much or too little of the cleaning product. Some people believe that using more of the agent means the cleaning will be done faster, or that the shine afterwards will be better. However, there’s a reason certain agents are only recommended in small quantities, as using more than suggested can cause damage or affect the desired outcome. Similarly, using less than recommended is also wrong because it decreases the chances of the product working as intended. Always follow the instructions on the cleaning products because the manufacturers have a better idea of how their items should be used.
Trying to Finish Cleaning Faster
Cleaning the house is not really on most people’s list of fun activities to do, but it is something that we all need to do at some point in order to keep a house pristine. Sometimes, because we simply want to get it over and done with, we rush through the cleaning process and this often leads to more problems later on.
When we try to rush-clean the house, chances are there will be missed spots or the surfaces will only be half-cleaned. As a result, we only end up going back to re-clean the still dirty areas. It is important to make sure that everything is cleaned properly the first time around, so as not to waste any more time later. Remember that there’s no one timing you, so you can take all the time you need. Pace yourself so that you can perform high-quality cleaning around the house. Cleaning the house might not be enjoyable, but living in a well-cleaned house will definitely bring you joy and comfort, so keep that in mind as you make your way into each room.
