There’s an old Dutch saying, “East or West, home is best,” but how comfortable you feel in it and how willing you are to have guests come over and see it will depend largely on how clean it is.
A dirty or cluttered house may feel like home but you won’t necessarily be comfortable in it and you’ll certainly be too embarrassed to have anyone come over and see it.
There’s another old saying that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” While that’s probably not literally true, it does capture the emotional impact a clean house can have on you.
The largest most obvious place in your house that needs to be cleaned is the floor. There are many cheap flooring ideas to make your house look good, and with a little elbow grease, you can keep them that way.
But the floor is the last part of the house you want to clean. With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at the 7 cleaning mistakes to avoid when you’re cleaning your house.
Cleaning Mistakes to Avoid
Make a List
The number one biggest cleaning mistake people make is not making a list of things they need to clean.
When pilots and astronauts prepare for departure, they run down a checklist to make sure everything is good to go. They have it in a list so they won’t forget or skip anything.
Now granted, cleaning your house isn’t like a transatlantic flight or a Space Shuttle mission, but there are dozens of things you need to clean and it’s easy to forget them, especially toward the end when you’re tired.
Make a checklist and you won’t have to worry about it.
Clean From The Top Down
We alluded to this earlier; don’t clean the floor until the first last. As you clean the ceiling, high shelves, ceiling fan blades, windows, furniture, etc., where do you think all that dust and debris to going? It’s going down, to the floor.
Clean Your Cleaning Appliances
Your cleaning appliances – washer, drier, vacuum cleaner, mop, dishwasher, etc. – need to be kept clean for them to do the best possible job.
At least once every six months, set some time aside to clean all your cleaning appliances and tools.
Never Clean Windows On a Sunny Day
When you’re cleaning your windows, too much heat from the sun can cause your cleaning solutions to dry too quickly. This leaves unsightly streaks and smears on the glass.
This is why it’s so difficult to clean the windshield of your car on a bright day, the sun is interfering with the proper work of the cleaning solutions.
Clean those windows, and windshields, on a cool or cloudy day. The results will be much better.
Use The Right Tools
You wouldn’t use a hammer on a screw or a screwdriver on a nail, so why would you use the wrong tools to clean your house?
You need a vacuum cleaner to clean the floors, rugs, and carpets but you need to get the right one.
You can find a list of all the best vacuum cleaners here and pick the one that is right for you and your house.
The Right Way to Clean Carpet Spills
The minimalist look is a good way to make your home look expensive without hurting your budget, but it also means that carpet spills will stand out like a sore thumb.
As soon as something spills, dab it up with paper towels and clean clothes but don’t scrub.
If you scrub the carpet you’ll unwind the fibers, which can’t be reversed.
Instead, put fresh clothes on the spill and weight it down with bricks to further pick up any stain.
Then the next day, use a strong stain remover to finish the job.
The Wrong Cleaning Products
Speaking of stain removers, using the wrong cleaning product or trying to use a “multi-surface” cleaner is a really bad idea.
Cleaning agents and solutions are not all created equal. Use a glass cleaner on glass and furniture polish on furniture, and so on.
It might cost a bit more upfront, but the results will be worth it in the long run.
Concluding Thoughts
A clean house has a fresh scent to it. You can smell it the moment you set foot in the door.
That first whiff, that first moment, is the first impression that will stick with your friends and family when they come to visit. Make sure it’s the right one.
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