10 Cleaning Mistakes You Need To Avoid

Do you often clean your home? Do you know that you are most likely making home cleaning mistakes? In fact, there is a pretty good possibility you made a few of the cleaning mistakes we will highlight in the following paragraphs.

Keep in mind that whenever you are not 100% sure how to clean something, the best thing you can do is to ask a specialist. Alternatively, go online to find articles written by highly reputable authors, those you can trust. You can easily start with the following very common home cleaning mistakes.

Incorrect Cleaning Habits

We get used to cleaning in a specific way and we never question our technique. The problem is that there are some wrong ways and some right ways in which you vacuum, scrub, mop, dust, and basically clean anything inside your home.

Are you using the correct method or not? Ask yourself this to make the right choices.

Cleaning Wood Furniture In An Inappropriate Way

Furniture polish is often preferred since it makes items look shiny and does smell great. However, it needs to be used sparingly. Commercial furniture polish includes a lot of oil. This oil will make fingerprints prominent and will smear. Generally, using a cloth, a little damp with water, is enough for simple maintenance cleaning.

Cleaning Carpet Stains In An Inappropriate Way

It is impossible not to have to deal with stains from time to time, especially when you have carpets in your home. Whenever this happens, you need to resist the natural urge you have to scrub your stain out. This is because scrubbing damages carpets.

What you should do is blot the spill, as much as possible. Do this with a dry, clean towel. After, rinse it with water. Blot dry again. Follow this procedure as many times as needed. When necessary, use carpet stain remover, based on the indications of the manufacturer.

Washing Your Windows During Sunny Days

Most people naturally believe that they should clean windows during sunny days. This is because visibility is higher. The problem is that the opposite is what is actually true.

With hot sun, glass cleaner evaporates faster. This leads to the appearance of streaking. The much better option is to wait for cloud days. Just aim for a temperature under 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using Spray Cleaner To Clean Electronics

Unfortunately, way too many use sprays (for instance, window cleaners) on electronics. This includes LCD screens, cell phones, and TV sets. When you do this, you cause damage, just as with wood fibers that might exist in tissues and paper towels.

The solution is to use microfiber cloths. When you do not have that, the coffee filter is an option. When you need a stronger cleaner, it is better to use rubbing alcohol. Also, you should never spray directly on the screen. It is just better to spray on the cloth and then use the cloth.

Mixing Bleach With Ammonia

Cleaning products should never be mixed, no matter what you want to do. And you need to be particularly careful with bleach and ammonia. These two are often included in home cleaning products, especially those you use in your kitchen and bathroom.

The big problem is that when vapors from these mix together, a toxic gas is formed. This toxic gas is very dangerous. Whenever you are exposed to this or you see that someone has, it is imperative that you contact emergency services as soon as you can. The mix is deadly for humans.

Using Abrasives When Cleaning Tiles And Tubs

When you use abrasive tools or cleaners on bath tubs and porcelain tiles, the finish is dulled. Sure, stubborn dirt is also removed but it is definitely not worth it. Avoid pot scrubbing sponges (many use these) and go for softer cloths. Also, you should use non-abrasive liquid cleansers. A failure to do this can damage your tiles and tubs.

Using Water When Mopping Wood Floors

It should be common sense that water can damage wood floors but it happens way too often. It is very tempting to just take out your bucket and mop to clean laminate floors and hardwood floors. In reality, this is not necessary and can be quite harmful. What you need to do is to sweep and then vacuum. Also, you will need to use the right vacuum attachments. Mopping can be done at the end but you should use a cloth that is barely-damp to do this.

Wrong Direction Vacuuming

While we cannot say that there is a wrong way in which people vacuum since there are results regardless of what you do, there is one better way to use your vacuum. Basically, you should not vacuum in a perpendicular angle to baseboards. This pushes dirt under them. The best thing you can do is to vacuum in a parallel angle to your baseboard. Vary direction in the room’s middle part to untangle, separate, and lift fibers.

Using Paper Towels When Cleaning Mirrors

The last home cleaning mistake we should highlight is that you should not use paper towels when you want to clean mirrors. These are very absorbent. They are ideal to clean up the messes that appear on counters. When used on mirrors, they leave a streaky mess behind. The best option is to use microfiber cleaning cloths.