The ongoing pandemic has forced all of us to take a long and hard look at the standards of hygiene we maintain. Cleanliness is the need of the hour, and good hygiene should be a habit, rather than an afterthought. Your home is your haven of safety, and now, more than ever, you owe it to yourself to keep your surroundings sparkling clean and free of allergens.
Here’s our top-to-bottom list of cleaning tips to make your home sparkle:
Start with fresh cleaning supplies
If your cleaning products have been sitting on the shelf for a while, give them an overhaul before you get started. A mop that has not been cleaned for many months might end up bringing in more allergens than it removes. Choose products that are organic or herbal-based, and do not contain harsh chemicals that could harm your family in the long run.
De-clutter
A cluttered home is tough to keep clean. Go through your wardrobes and drawers, and set aside anything that you no longer need. As Marie Kondo would say, keep only the items that are useful and spark joy in your life. Give away the rest—paring down your belongings will help you to organise your home and keep it in order.
Clean all the windows
Use a glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth to wipe down the windows. You’ll have to clean both surfaces of the glass the best you can; if your apartment is on higher floors then cleaning the outside will not be easy. If there is any streaking, as a result, use a crumpled wad of newspaper to remove the streaks, and rub the surface with small circular motions. Pull down the curtains and wash or dry clean them. Curtains must be vacuumed once a week to prevent any accumulation of dust.
Furniture and rugs
Move all the furniture away from the walls, and vacuum all around and below. Use the crevice tool of your vacuum cleaner to dig deep into any recesses, and turn the sofa upside down to clean the underneath thoroughly. You can wash or dry clean cushion covers and vacuum pillows or cushions. Rugs can be aired in direct sunlight, and then vacuumed for the best results.
Make a schedule
Which is the most unorganised room in your home? Where does the most junk accumulate? Where does your family spend the most time at home? Make a schedule, and work on cleaning one room at a time. Make a list and work your way down the tasks one by one, cleaning the spaces that are the most in disarray first.
The kitchen
Kitchen is the heart of your home and is a great place to start. Here are a few trouble spots to watch out for:
- Microwave and oven: Squeeze the juice of two lemons into a cup of water and add a cup of white vinegar. Mix well, put this mixture in a bowl and set your microwave on high for two minutes. Remove the bowl and wipe down all the surfaces with a damp microfiber cloth.
- The pantry: Take all your supplies out, and throw away anything that’s past the expiry date. Wipe down all surfaces with an organic cleaning solution, allow it to dry and then get your pantry in order.
- Top of the fridge and cabinets: These surfaces are often hard to reach and tend to gather dust. Pull up a ladder and vacuum carefully.
- The hob: Use a mixture of lime juice and baking soda to clean hard residue on the hob. Use circular motions to remove all the grime. Once the surface is clean, wipe down with a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water to deep clean and remove allergens. If you don’t like the smell of the vinegar, use soapy water to rinse it out.
- The sink: Apply a layer of baking soda on all the surfaces, and use a sponge to rub it in well. Spray all around the sink with a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and water. The baking soda will fizzle. Rinse with hot water, and then rub lime juice or citrus peel all over the sink to make it sparkle.
The bathroom
Your bathroom is probably the room that harbours the most allergens in your home. Pay careful attention to these areas:
- Hard water causes the shower nozzles to get clogged, but this can be easily fixed. Fill a plastic bag with concentrated white vinegar, submerge the showerhead in the bag by tying it in place, and leave it overnight. When you remove the bag in the morning, the stains and clogging would have disappeared.
- Plastic shower curtains can be rinsed in the washing machine on a gentle setting, along with some towels.
- Shower cubicle glass can be cleaned with a paste of baking soda and white vinegar. Rub a thick layer of the paste all over the glass and let it sit for an hour before wiping down with a clean microfiber cloth. It’s best if you can wipe the shower glass dry after your bath every day so that the hard water stains do not accumulate.
- Tiles and grout: Scrub with bleach using a hard brush, and rinse with hot water. Make sure that you use gloves to protect your hands, and air out the room well afterwards.
- Pour a cup of baking soda into the bowl or sink, and allow it to sit for a few minutes before you brush it down and flush. Always close the lid when you flush.
- To keep all drains free-flowing, mix a cup of baking soda in half a cup of table salt. Pour down the drain and add a cup of warm vinegar. Allow the foam to settle and then run the hot water tap for a minute.
Dry all surfaces well once you’re done, as damp surfaces breed germs and cause mould to grow. All bathrooms should be aerated once a day.
The bedrooms
You spend over a third of your life in your bedroom, so make sure that it is the cleanest room in your house; you don’t want to be breathing in allergens as you sleep.
- If you have a dryer, toss the pillows in (there’s no need to wash them first) at the hottest temperature setting to kill allergens like dust mites. Alternatively, you can sun-dry them and then vacuum to remove dust.
- Strip the sheets off the bed, and sprinkle baking soda on the surface. Allow it to sit for 15 minutes and then vacuum the top and sides of the mattress. Every once in a while, the mattress should be rotated 180 degrees so that the surface stays level. If at all possible, open the windows and let your mattress sit in direct sunlight for a couple of hours.
- Wash the sheets, covers and quilts in the hottest temperature setting on your machine and dry them out completely in sunlight.
- Every once in a while, you should remove the contents of your wardrobe, air out the clothes and then put them back. This will help to prevent any mites and keep your clothes smelling and feeling fresh.
This article is contributed by Dipti Das, AVP-Design, HomeLane.com.
(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of RoofandFloor)
I struggle so much with this! I’ll have to follow this guide. Thanks!