If there is an unpleasant smell in your home and you are not sure where it is coming from, then there could be some place in your house that you forgot to clean. A couple of cleaning experts sat down with NPR recently to share which areas of the house most people neglect when it comes to cleaning.
We are sharing their insights, and hopefully that will enable homeowners to clean better and ensure that they do not miss some of the most overlooked areas in their home. Proper and thorough cleaning improves air quality and eliminates pests, which is why this news is so important.
Filters for Air Conditioners
This is the most important overlooked item in the house that should be cleaned. In fact, it should be cleaned every few months and then changed out about twice a year. The air filter collects so much dust, dirt, pollen, and allergens that it can be a health hazard just to clean it. If you clean it often, then it will not be so bad to clean each time.
Make sure that you clean the filter in such a way that you do not spread any dirt and dust around. It is especially important to clean the air filter regularly during the springtime. That is when there tends to be a lot of dust in the air and when there is lots of pollen and other allergy triggering particles present. The more often you clean this filter out, the cleaner your air will be. If you want good air quality in your home, says cleaning expert Kyshawn Lane, you will need to make that air conditioner air filter clean regularly.
Drains and Drain Pipes
Most people don’t clean their drains enough, and these can become storage areas for all kinds of bacteria. Mold and algae can start to grow in drains and create health problems, since mold spores get into the air and clog up people’s airways. If anyone in your home has trouble sleeping and is suffering from cold and flu-like symptoms for no reason, then it could be mold in the drains that is to blame.
Drains can be cleaned with baking soda and vinegar as well as a cloth or scrub brush to get rid of the stuck on model and slime. These should be cleaned until they look absolutely spotless. Any mold left behind can easily spawn more mold in the near future.
One great way to clean out drains is to pour baking soda and vinegar down them and then cover the drain. This will keep the cleaner in the drain and not release it where it would become less effective. The drains can also be cleaned with boiling water, which does a great job of killing pathogens and germs and removing grime that is stuck on.
When was the last time you cleaned out drains and drain pipes in and around your home? These need to be cleaned often if your home is going to be as clean as possible. If you hire top house cleaners in Dallas to come clean for you, make sure that they do this task as well so that you get the most effective cleaning. You can ask professional cleaners which cleaning chores they will do as part of the cleaning package, and they will be able to tell you.
The Clutter Problem
Cleaning expert and author Dana K. White says that organization in the house usually does not begin where it should. The mistake that many people make, says White, is that they focus all of their decluttering efforts on places that do not really affect their house. They declutter a closet or a basement or some other place that they hardly see. That may make that space look nice, but their home is not really any better off for it.
If you really want to make your home less cluttered and want to improve how it functions, then you have to declutter in an area where it counts- like the living room or bedroom. These are areas where you spend a lot of your time, so decluttering them has an immediate impact on how much space you have in the home as well as your mental wellbeing.
Think about the space in your home that would be impacted most by a proper decluttering. Use your energy there, says White, and you will see a big difference and not end up wasting energy on an out-of-the-way place that you never really see.
Fridge Coils
The back of the fridge has a component on it that is called the coil. These are winding, curling black pieces of metal that help to give the fridge its power. If you take a look there, you will probably see that they have collected some dust and dirt, and if that debris gets into the wrong spots and builds up, it can create a major fire hazard.
You may need to move the fridge a little bit to clean at this area, and if you are careful and do not move the fridge much, you will not have anything to worry about. But moving it a lot while it is plugged in can be a bad idea, especially if it is a combination fridge and freezer. The freon can rush inside the fridge and create a blockage or break and damage the appliance.
If you have to move the fridge, be very gentle and move it only slightly. Then, just wipe down the coils at the back and place the fridge back where it goes.
The back of your appliances are often going to get neglected just because you do not see them much. The back of your dryer could have a huge collection of dust and lint, and you will want to clean that out regularly as well to prevent fires.
This information could prove very helpful to homeowners who want their houses to smell nice and to be free from fire hazards and allergy sources.
