We have all been a bit wearier when it comes to cleanliness recently – one of the few positives of a worldwide pandemic. We all started thinking about what is clean and what is not and for many that meant cleaning their house more thoroughly. And while we are pretty sure everyone is wiping their door handles with a disinfectant wipe now, there are still a few places around your house you probably haven’t thought of cleaning but should.
1. Light Switches
These little areas are used as often as door handles if not more and we rarely think to give them a good clean. Just think about how many times a day you turn on and off the lights and how many people in your household do it too. We often spread germs through our hands and fingers, so give your light switches a good cleaning, paying special attention to those by the front door and by the bathroom.
2. Washing Machine
It might seem like a self-cleaning device, but it’s not quite true. A lot of the time washing machines start growing mold inside of it over time — this is what leads to that weird smell you might be familiar with. You can clean your washing machine easily if you just run it empty on the highest temperature setting and use vinegar instead of laundry detergent. Do this to keep your washing machine clean and fresh.
3. Coffee Maker
You would not normally think of a coffee maker as a dirty place, after all, it uses boiling water and the only thing that goes into it is coffee, but apparently, they get quite dirty inside. Because of this, most coffee machine companies recommend doing a thorough clean of your coffee maker once in a while and run the special cleaning liquid through it to clean the insides.
4. Hairbrushes and Combs
You wash your hair a few times a week at least, but when was the last time you washed your hairbrush or comb? All those hair products and your hair oils accumulate on your hairbrushes and they get gunky. It is recommended to wash your hairbrushes and combs with shampoo at least once a month, and obviously remove all the hair that’s stuck on them on the regular basis, preferably every time you use them.
5. Lightbulbs
No one ever thinks of cleaning light bulbs, and it actually wasn’t a problem back in the day. Old lightbulbs used to just burn out and die and would not need to be replaced often, so they didn’t really get that dusty. But these days, most of us have those eco-friendly, long-lasting bulbs that work for years if not decades and they should definitely get wiped once in a while. If too much dust accumulates on a lightbulb it can literally become a fire hazard.
6. Yoga Mat
Chances are you have a yoga mat to do some at-home exercises, but how often do you actually clean it? Every time you exercise on it you touch it with your body, and your sweat sticks to it, and then you just roll it up and it accumulates dust where germs can flourish. It’s a nightmare if you think about it. So, make sure to wipe down and disinfect your yoga mat after every use.
7. TV Remote
Remote controls are super dirty — if you could see the number of germs and bacteria growing on them, you’d never want to touch them again. So, make sure that you sanitize your remote control at least once a week to keep it clean and prevent that horrible sticky feeling you might have experienced when touching them.
8. Ice Dispenser
We can only hope that you clean your fridge on the regular, and if you do not, you definitely should start ASAP. But even those who clean their fridge often forget about the ice-dispenser. Even though it is just water that goes in, germs can still grow, and the inside container can get moldy. So, make sure to clean it out with the special cleaning liquid or try the water and vinegar method many people swear by.