Cleaning Mistakes to Avoid

Here at the Maid to Shine blog, we’re quick to give you tips to help you achieve a cleaner home. We love giving helpful tips and tidbits. There are tricks for making your routine faster, and there are even tips to get the best deep clean. There are even cleaning habits that can become a mistake. It might even make your cleaning routine a little slower—which means, in the long run, you’re working twice as hard for results that can be achieved by simply ditching these habits!

Bad Cleaning Habits to Ditch Right Away

Here’s a list of a few habits to kick… and kicking these habits will speed up your process, making it easier to keep atop the cleaning routine we’ve created for ourselves. The good news is that the solution to these “bad habits” are easy to adopt!

* Overuse of Dirty Cleaning Rags: are we using our cleaning rags for too long? Using a dirt rag to clean surfaces for a little too long can make it impossibly hard to rid our homes of bacteria, dirt, etc. When you use a dirty rag for longer than it should be, you’re only spreading bacteria and scrum taken up from other surfaces onto new surfaces.

Be sure to change out rags as much as needed. There’s no need to go overboard. Some surfaces and rooms might only need one rag, or two; but the solution is not to use those dirty rags in another room. Dispose of the rags as needed.

*Not Cleaning Spills, Spots, & Messes Right Away: letting spots, drops, and spills of food and drink (or other items) dry onto whatever it is they fall onto. Quickly wiping up these spills immediately is much easier than scrubbing them up days, weeks, or months later. Be attentive to the times spills happen, and take care of them right away!

*Not Cleaning from the Top to Bottom: this is an important habit to break. Cleaning willy-nilly, without a little bit of rational, intentional thought about how the process goes can result in floors being swept first, dusting later, and pulling dirt back onto a surface that was already cleaned. Always clean everything from top, to mid-section, to bottom.

*Letting the Mess Amass: the busier life is, the more tempting this is. It produces a snowball effect. Things feel as if they’re out of control, and when it comes to “finally cleaning”, it feels like an endless task. Cleaning a little bit here and there, and faithfully every week will make your overall cleaning experience easier, faster, and less stressful.

Kicking unhelpful cleaning habits is as simple as that. Don’t let habits hinder you and bog you down in your cleaning routine. Your time is invaluable. You might even clue into a few habits not mentioned here. If so, pass them along in the comment section!