9 Dirty Little Cleaning Secrets You Need to Know

(HealthyResearch.com) – On average, women spend more than two hours a day doing household chores, according to the latest American Time Use Survey. While active in the household, men don’t spend nearly as much time doing things around the house. They come in at just under one and a half hours per day.

Regardless of who’s doing the cleaning, the moral of the story is clear: Americans spend too much time doing household tasks. Fortunately, there are a few cleaning secrets that will help you reduce the time you spend cleaning your house.

If It’s Not Dirty, Don’t Clean It

Gone are the days of indiscriminately cleaning your house from top to bottom. It’s a time-waster. Plus, it really doesn’t make your house any cleaner. Instead, skip over items that aren’t dirty and focus on the areas that are. This will save you a lot of time.

Spray Your Cloth, Not the Item

Whether you’re polishing the furniture or disinfecting the counters, spray the cleaning product directly to the cleaning cloth — rather than to the item you’re cleaning. This will help to reduce product waste and allow you to clean much quicker. There will be no need to wipe away excess product or oversprays. A simple, quick swipe will do the trick.

Mopping Is Not Always Necessary

SheKnows recommends sweeping your floors every two weeks to reduce allergens, but that doesn’t mean you have to mop them, too. A good sweeping is often enough to remove all the dirt, dust, and debris. When icky spots do pop up, spot-clean them. Reserve mopping for spills or when your floor looks grimy or feels sticky.

Spot-Cleaning Is Cleaning

A dirty doorknob, a drip on a counter, a cluster of cheerios on the floor… what do all of these things have in common? They can all be spot-cleaned! No need to pull out the heavy cleaners and tools to do the whole area. Simply get rid of the dirt you see and move on.

The Right Tools Make All the Difference

If you’re spending too much time and energy removing soap scum from your tub, you’re using the wrong tools. The right tools, such as an eraser sponge, will help you get rid of the gunk with minimal effort. If anything else around the house feels like it’s taking too much effort, try changing your tools and/or cleaning product.

Keep Things Cleaner for Longer

The way you live and the products you use can have a huge impact on how clean your house stays. For example, if you have hard water and use certain types of soap in the shower, you will have more soap scum. You can cut back on the accumulation of soap scum by getting a water conditioner and using a detergent-based body wash or natural cleansers.

Pre-Treat for Added Cleanliness

You can also prevent soap scum accumulation by pretreating your shower with wax or spraying it down with an in-between shower cleaner. Some recommend spraying your shower door with a thin layer of vegetable oil. This may prevent build-up, but you should be very careful not to create a slippery or dangerous situation in your shower.

Use Handy Cleaning Hacks

Take advantage of easy cleaning hacks. Before performing any large cleaning job, check online to see if there are any convenient hacks that will make the job easier. If you need to clean your ceiling fan, for example, you can clean the paddles by placing a pillowcase over them and pulling the dust off. This will reduce the need to clean your floors afterward.

Remove Scuffs Easily

Keep up with floor scuffs by wiping them away with an eraser sponge or tennis ball as soon as possible. This will keep your floors looking clean and new.

If you spend too much time trying to keep the house tidy, try out one or more of these cleaning secrets. Focus on cleaning smarter, not harder. If you do this, you will soon find that you spend less time keeping things clean and more time doing the things that really matter.

~Here’s to Your Health & Safety!

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