7 bad habits that are making your house dirtier
We all want a clean home: Beyond the sanitary aspect, there’s something immensely soothing and satisfying about living in a tidy space, which is why we’re always researching how to clean better. Still, despite our best efforts, our homes will eventually get dirtier and in need of cleaning again, but there are also ways you can make cleaning easier and extend how much time passes before you need to get out your cleaning kit again.
Believe it or not, there are things you or household members are probably doing that are sabotaging your cleaning efforts. By breaking these habits, you can help your home stay cleaner, even if you’re cleaning the same amount or less often.
Read on for top tips from cleaning experts, plus a few of our own.
1. Wearing outside shoes in the house
“Taking just a few seconds to remove your shoes each time you come in from the outside will save you hours of vacuuming,” writes Mary Marlowe Leverette, cleaning expert at The Spruce, in her article “The Dirty Dozen,” as featured in Cleaning Made Easy. “Not to mention the bacteria and germs that will stay out of living areas. Make this habit simple for everyone by providing a bench or chair for easier shoe removal.”
This simple at-the-door step will ensure that you’re not tracking outdoor grime indoors with every coming and going. Don’t be afraid to ask guests to remove their shoes before entering, either — chances are, they’d ask the same of you when you visit their home.
2. Not closing the toilet lid before you flush
That lid isn’t there just to keep you from dropping your toothbrush in the toilet: Research has found that that flushing the toilet with the lid up can spread contaminated aerosol particles as far as 1.5 meters, effectively undoing any disinfecting or sanitizing you’ve done in your bathroom. To keep surfaces clean of the things you can’t see, close the lid before you flush — and encourage your household members to do the same.
3. Cleaning with dirty tools
“A dirty mop or sponge simply pushes around soil and bacteria,” Leverette writes in “Cleaning Made Easy.”
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