Common ways of messing up our spring cleaning
It’s hard work keeping your space neat and tidy, so be sure to work smart
Another year, another springcleaning story — make that a “How not to spring clean” story.
Here are 10 cleaning mistakes to avoid this spring: 1. Starting without a plan of attack. Debbie Sardone, coowner of SpeedCleaning.com, says instead of just diving in, start cleaning upstairs and make your way down — or start on one side of the house if your home is a single story. Then, “move room to room, tackling one room at a time,” she says. 2. Cleaning a room from
floor to ceiling. Think about it: If you clean the floor, only to then knock dust and dirt to the ground from ceiling fans, blinds and furniture, you’ll have to clean the floor again. A better strategy is to start at the top: “Clean off clutter, dust furniture, wipe down walls, switches and doors” before cleaning the floor, says Beth McGee, author of Get Your House Clean Now: The Home Cleaning Method Anyone Can Master. 3. Using weak cleaning
products for tough grime. A recent Nielsen survey found 40 per cent of people want to use environmentally friendly cleaning products, and 36 per cent said they don’t want to use cleaning products with harsh chemicals. But, McGee says, “Don’t bring a knife to a sword fight … If you have not kept up with cleaning and have difficult grime to remove, stronger cleaners may be in order to get your items into a condition that is easy to maintain with less powerful products.” To routinely clean your home? McGee says using a spray bottle with a simple mixture of 1 cup water, half-cup white vinegar and quarter-cup grease-cutting dish soap will clean most surfaces well. 4. Using only one rag to clean your house. Rags get dirty the more you clean with them. Keep “a stack of 100 per cent (washable) cotton cloths or microfire cloths to change out when they are dirty,” Sardone recommends. 5. Drying surfaces with paper towels. Cotton or microfibre cloths are also more efficient for drying surfaces than paper towels and won’t leave lint behind. As well, paper towels have a rough surface that can scratch or damage delicate furniture and TV screens. 6. Not opening windows. Ventilation is crucial whenever you’re using cleaning products, Sardone says. The simple act of opening windows can counteract the indoor air pollution from cleaning products and make it easier for you to breathe.
7. Mixing chemicals from different products. This can create harmful fumes, Sardone warns. “Most of us have no idea what’s in the cleaners we’re using and how those ingredients react to each other,” she says. Bleach and vinegar, for example, are a deadly combo. 8. Washing the windows on a sunny day. Strong heat from the sun will dry cleaning fluid quickly, which could leave streaks or stains.
9. Vacuuming pet fur without an attachment. Doing this could mean you’re just blowing fur around a room. That’s why home-maintenance expert Bob Vila recommends using a rubber-bristle brush that, “when attached to your vacuum tube, sucks hair directly from the brush to the vacuum canister.” 10. Waiting until vacuum bags are full to replace them. A lot of older vacuums don’t have limit indicators, and allowing a vacuum bag to become too full can slow its performance, McGee says.