Bad habits that make your home dirtier

We all want a clean home as it can greatly improve our mood and satisfaction when living in a tidy space. However, the final home can become dirty and need to be cleaned again. But there are still ways to make cleaning easier.

Here are some bad habits that you should overcome to have a cleaner living space:

1. Wearing shoes inside the house

Mary Marlowe Leverette, a cleaning expert at The Spruce, believes that “it only takes a few seconds to take off your shoes every time you come in from the outside, which will save you hours of vacuuming. This is easily done.” “Not to mention the bacteria and germs out there. Make this habit easier for everyone by providing a long chair or a chair to easily take off your shoes.”

This simple step will ensure that you don’t bring dirt and dust from outside into the house every time you come in and out. And don’t hesitate to ask guests to take off their shoes before entering the house, they may also ask you to do the same when you visit their house.

2. Not closing the toilet lid before flushing

The toilet lid is not there just to prevent you from dropping things. Research has found that flushing without closing the toilet lid can spread aerosol particles of pollution up to 1.5 meters, rendering any disinfection or cleaning measures you have taken in the bathroom ineffective. To keep clean surfaces free from what you can’t see, close the toilet lid before flushing and encourage your family members to do the same.

3. Cleaning with unsanitized tools

Leverette suggests, “Take the time to thoroughly clean your tools after each use by rinsing them with hot water and adding disinfectant. Also, replace them with new ones regularly.”

In addition, devices like washing machines, dishwashers, and vacuum cleaners will not clean effectively and make everything you clean dirtier than desired if you do not clean them regularly. Keep all your tools in good condition to ensure they are used for their intended purpose.

4. Not cleaning kitchen towels

There are few cleaning tools as useful or commonly used as kitchen towels. Just make sure you always clean that cloth. A survey finds that kitchen towels are prone to contamination, even when you only use them to dry. When you don’t clean them frequently, they can spread bacteria and other dirt to other surfaces every time you use them.

What you should do is try to wash these towels more often, especially if you use them to clean your hands after cooking.

5. Not paying attention to instructions

Nothing is more annoying than a spray bottle or cleaning tool not working as expected. But sometimes, you can’t blame the tool entirely. “Perhaps you didn’t read the instructions,” Leverette said, “That’s why most cleaning agents don’t work as you expect. The clue is: Spend 30 seconds reading the instructions to avoid wasting an extra 30 minutes scrubbing.”

Instructions are essential to understand the full functionality of a product, especially if you want to clean or disinfect it, so remember to read and follow those instructions precisely.

6. Trust everything you see on the internet

Viral cleaning videos can be entertaining, but not all of them deliver the desired cleaning results. Some videos even diminish the quality of your furniture.

So, if you think something is really useful for you, double-check it before carrying it out.

7. Letting clutter pile up

Leverette believes that “most of us will find reasons to avoid clutter as much as possible. But if you do a little cleaning each day, such as putting things away and emptying the dishwasher, doing a load of laundry, and vacuuming one or two rooms, then cleaning the whole house will not be overwhelming.”

Instead of letting clutter pile up, make a to-do list for daily tasks or assign them to everyone in your family. With just a few minutes each day, you will save yourself many hours of cleaning at the end of the week./.

According to VOV