Five Areas in Your Home You Should Clean More Often

It’s usually easy to tell when your home is dirty, right? There's a pile of laundry on the floor, dishes in the sink, and maybe even mud tracked in from the great outdoors. Those are easy messes to identify—even if they aren’t easy to clean! But once these messes are cleaned up, don’t wash your hands and call it a day. There are many areas in our homes that we don’t think about cleaning regularly that can be truly filthy homes for bacteria, dust, and other foul things to grow and accumulate.

When was the last time you took a duster or a disinfectant to one of these areas?

Air Filters

Most homes have central heating and air system that uses ductwork to connect to the inside of your home and filter out all the dust and pollen in the air. If this filter hasn’t been changed or cleaned recently, however, all that dust will just blow right back into your living spaces, which will cause irritation to your lungs or even trigger allergies. Make sure to change those filters regularly.

Under The Furniture

Always, always vacuum under the furniture. From small toys to dust bunnies to even spider eggs (yikes!), you never know what could be hiding under the couch. If you’re feeling particularly tidy, you can even take a disinfectant wipe to the underside of the furniture.

Light Switches & Doorknobs

Any area that you touch regularly on entering or exiting a room should be properly cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. Go through your home with a disinfectant wipe and try to get every high-touch surface like light switches, doorknobs, and other handles. Pro tip: This is a great chore for kids!

Closets

Is your closet the place where you hide any mess from other areas in your home? After years of keeping the mess in the closet, your closets are probably in need of a good cleaning themselves. Especially if you have carpet, your closet may be home to mildew, carpet beetles, and a swathe of yucky bacteria. Give your closet a good cleaning at least once a quarter!

Cleaning Tools

If you use the same cleaning tools across your home every time you clean, chances are those sponges, rags, and mops are probably pretty dirty themselves. Make sure to disinfect your cleaning tools before and after use with hot soapy water or a white vinegar solution. This will protect your home and your family from the spread of germs and bacteria. 

Whether you’re cleaning a new home before moving your things in or putting the finishing touches on an old one before staging it—don’t forget about these areas! Especially in these uncertain times, it’s essential to make sure all surfaces are clean, not just the ones you touch most frequently. If you have questions about buying a new home or selling your old one with the Move-Up America program, give us a call today. We have a wide range of programs designed to fit the needs of your family’s evolving lifestyle—and save you thousands of dollars while we’re at it.