In this video I’ll cover the seven dirtiest spots in your home and give you some tips on dealing with them.
Your appliances
When we clean our kitchen appliances, we usually focus on the front and top. But dirt and dust actually prefer hiding on the sides! That’s where the soap drips, the food splatters and the crumbs fall to. This leads to unpleasant odours, stains, pests, mould and mildew.
Pull your appliances forward and take a good look at their sides. You want to clean both the appliance and the counter on which it stands regularly.
Pets and pet accessories
Pet accessories and your upholstery are a magnet for animal odours and hairs. If you have any pets, your home is susceptible to having a distinctive pet odour. To counteract this, you should clean everything in your home that your pet comes into contact with and do so every week. Pet toys, bowls and other accessories should be cleaned daily.
The fridge door
Your fridge might not look all that bad, but trust me, there’s most certainly a mess waiting for you in there! It’s easy to forget how often you interact with your fridge during cooking, when your hand s are messy and greasy. And with each touch, you are transferring bits of what you were cooking to your fridge door handle.
The gaskets are another place where nasty things like to live – crumbs, spills, drops of juice, food leftovers and more! Anything that can fit in the gaskets will eventually find its way there.
The front of your fridge, along with the door handle can be taken care of by using a few drops of disinfectant along with a microfibre cloth. The gaskets, however, need a gentler touch. I prefer using a toothbrush to loosen up the debris, followed by a quick vacuum, and finishing with some all-purpose cleaner and a rinse.
Drains
Are you tired of dirty, smelly drains? I’ve got the solution!
Drain cleaning is a two-part process. First deal with the pipe and then with the outer drain.
You want to clean the exterior and the drain separately. I’ve found that baking soda and an old toothbrush are more than enough for the exterior part. For the pipe itself, I suggest you use either a string cleaner or an eco-friendly enzyme solution that you can put down the drain and follow up with clean water. Alternatively, you could also use a lemon-based drain cleaning solution for that refreshing spring aroma.
Toothbrush holders
Toothbrush holders can quickly get very dirty and mouldy. Just think, where does all the dirt and bacteria that your toothbrush takes out of your mouth go? Straight into the toothbrush holder, that’s where!
To counteract this, you can soak your toothbrush in a solution of dish soap and vinegar, wait for an hour, before giving it a good scrub with a clean sponge and then carefully rinsing.
Your bathroom mats
This is another of the dirtiest spots in your home. If you neglect your bathroom mats, mould and mildew will take them over before you realise. And no, washing your mats after each shower isn’t a replacement for dedicated cleaning sessions. I suggest that you either throw them in the washing machine or gently scrub them for a couple of minutes every week.
Check your air filter
If the airflow in your home feels lacklustre, you might want to check your air filters. They can easily get clogged, leading to breathing problems and allergies. I check my air filters once every two weeks to ensure the air in my home is clean and safe to breathe.
These are the seven dirtiest spots in your home, were you surprised, let us know in the comments.
