You might think your home is pin-neat. It may look that way on the surface, but when was the last time you scrubbed your air fryer? Chances are, there are things in your home you should be cleaning more.
Doing so protects your family’s health. Germs can linger on some surfaces, especially those used in cooking and bathing.
Are you gearing up for spring cleaning by making your to-do list? Add these nine things that you need to be cleaning more.
Table of Contents
1. Your Tub
You might not think the place you go to get clean could get that dirty. However, consider this: every time you flush your toilet, you create a flume of tiny particles — and considering the source, they’re none too healthy. Even if you have a glass enclosure, they can enter through the top, lingering on the surface where you lie your bare bottom when bathing.
Follow these steps to clean your tub the eco-friendly way while kicking those germs to the curb:
- Rinse the tub with water.
- Sprinkle baking soda on all surfaces.
- Fill a half-gallon bucket with hot water and two teaspoons of dish liquid — Dawn with the duck is best.
- Dip a sponge into the bucket and scrub away.
- Rinse the tub and finish with a wipe of distilled white vinegar to kill lingering germs.
2. Your Coffee Maker
Your coffee maker can accumulate hard water deposits that make your morning brew taste funky. Leaving damp grounds to linger in the basket can foster bacterial growth.
Empty your grounds when you finish using your pot. There’s good news — you can compost the lot if you use an unbleached filter. Wash moveable parts with dish soap.
Run a blend of distilled vinegar and water every three months through the machine to address hard water deposits. Finish by brewing a pot or two of plain water until the vinegar smell disappears.
3. Your Air Fryer
Air fryers are fabulous for reducing food waste. How else can you reheat fries without turning them into microwaved mush?
However, your machine requires routine TLC. Fortunately, this simple 4-step process does the trick:
- Let the appliance cool.
- Dump out the crumbs.
- Place the basket in the dishwasher or scrub it with hot, soapy water.
- Wash the machine’s interior and exterior with a damp sponge soaked with dish soap.
If you’re concerned about eco-friendliness, you might want to put your dishwasher to work instead of handwashing, at least if you have a full load. Today’s efficient models use three to four times less water than filling your sink.
4. Your Dishwasher
Using your dishwasher more often means keeping it clean. Fortunately, this appliance is a snap to scrub.
Remove everything from your machine except one bowl filled with a cup of distilled white vinegar. Place this on the bottom shelf and run the device through the hottest cycle. The vinegar will lift away stuck-on dirt while disinfecting.
5. Your Microwave
Are your kids — or partner — famous for leaving the inside of the microwave looking like a Jackson Pollack painting? That mess is more than unsightly. It’s a health hazard, as the warm conditions inside the machine foster bacteria growth, and the splatter leaves plenty of food for hungry microorganisms.
Fortunately, it’s also easy to clean this device. Use a hot cup of water or an Angry Mama to harness steam power for loosening debris. Then, take a sponge soaked in dish soap and wipe the interior, finishing with a cloth soaked in distilled vinegar to kill lingering germs.
6. Your Refrigerator
You shouldn’t store food in a filthy refrigerator. You might not be able to see bacteria and fungal spores — but they can grow on your tomatoes. They can make your family sick or lead to food waste, as many microorganisms speed up rot.
Once a month, remove all your food. Remove the shelves and drawers, wiping the interior with a soapy sponge and following with distilled vinegar. If you have a water dispenser, please change the water filter once every six months, empty the ice maker and clean the component parts.
7. Your Light Switches
Maybe you wiped them every day when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Now that several years have passed, when did you last disinfect them?
Fortunately, this chore takes next-to-no time. You can mix up a DIY disinfecting spray to avoid a long, chemical-laden list and spritz your way through your home in less than two minutes unless you live in a mansion.
8. Your Remote
Your remote and gaming controllers see tons of hand traffic. You probably rarely clean them.
This task is a bit time-consuming, so tackle it while you watch TV. Use a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to get around buttons and remove crumbs from cracks.
9. Your Bed Pillows
Do you get stuffy when you lie down to sleep? Guess what? Hundreds of dust mites can live on a single speck of dust, and one of their favorite hangouts is your pillow. Think about it from their perspective: they have unlimited skin flakes on which to feast. Ew.
Fortunately, you can wash most pillows in a traditional washer and dry them by machine unless they’re down or feather. In that case, you should air-dry them to maintain their shapes. Foam pillows are the only exception — they should have a protective cover to prevent dust and mites.
Things You Need to Be Cleaning More
It’s that time of year again — spring cleaning. What often overlooked items could use your attention?
Add these nine things you should be cleaning more to your to-do list. You’ll protect your health and feel proud of your sparkling home.
