Everyone has places in their home that need cleaning. These places don’t get the attention they need because they’re somewhat out of sight and out of mind – unless they smell or you have company.
And THEN you notice.
But, if you add these overlooked places into your calendar, you won’t ever have issues and your home will be much cleaner and fresher.
My regular readers know that I have never claimed to be the greatest homemaker. I struggle with it and would rather be doing … well, pretty much anything other than scrub a toilet.
My most popular post, which will tell you a lot about me and housework, is How to Keep House Like a Mennonite, with tips like teaching your kids to do housework and getting a dog.
And you there muttering about the state of my back porch, I’ll remember that muttering next time I make Chicken Cordon Bleu … or Corn Chowder … or Sugar Pie! (I’ll still cook for you, but you can do the dishes.)
My point is that I’m not JUDGING your mess.
I have plenty of my own.
If your mother says “Well, you just clean where it’s dirty” and your mother-in-law says “I never let my house get like that in the first place,” then I’m here to help you figure out where it’s getting dirty so you can clean up before either of them visit.
Stove Exhaust Vent
Most stoves have an exhaust vent above the stove with a fan that helps move smells and smoke out of the house.
That is a GREAT thing and useful and totally and completely overlooked by pretty much everyone.
That exhaust vent gets very dirty.
It’s even covered in old food and grease that are in the steam and smoke escaping. And if you bought a house that someone else had already lived in … you have their old food sitting there above your stove, getting steamy and hydrated every time you cook.
To clean the vent, first read your manufacturer’s directions if you can find them.
Having said that, normally you can just pop out the screen or unscrew it. Mine pops out.
Soak the screen in hot soapy water, brush with a soft brush, and then dry thoroughly. Using a soft cloth with a 50/50 vinegar and water mixture, wipe down the outside and inside of the vent.
If you need to get a new one, they’re not expensive – just make sure you get the right size.
You probably only need to do that about once a year unless you notice it looking disgusting again.
Dishwasher
The dirty food going through the dishwasher sometimes gets stuck in the filter.
Many people don’t realize that the dishwasher has a filter that can be removed, emptied and cleaned to keep the dishwasher fresh.
We learned that the hard way. Our dishwasher wasn’t working, nothing was getting clean, so I bought a new one. A friend offered to take the old one away “to see if I can get it working”.
Turns out it just needed a really good scrubbing inside – and now they have a perfectly good dishwasher.
There are a number of ways to clean the inside of your dishwasher. Some people recommend running CLR through it but I can’t breathe with chemicals like that in the house. Instead, I use citric acid or a cleaner containing it.
Mattress
The best way to protect your mattress is to keep a good waterproof mattress cover over it. Considering how much a good mattress costs, it makes sense to spend a tiny bit extra and protect it.
And get two – they need to be washed, after all.
But, if something happens, you can still get it clean.
Here is my daughter sprinkling the mattress with baking soda combined with lavender oil and tea tree oil.
Sprinkle the baking soda all over the mattress, let it sit for a few hours and then vacuum well. I love having a mattress that smells slightly of lavender.
If you get stains on your mattress of almost any kind, you can use Resolve carpet cleaner to remove them.
If it’s possible, one of the best ways to clean and freshen an older mattress that is still good is to put it outside in the sunshine on a very dry day.
Floor Vents and Air Return Vents
Many people who have central air have vents on the floor and also on the ceiling.
Plus, your AC has an air return vent – usually right near it.
These places get dusty and dirty and also need to be cleaned. It won’t take long if you give them a quick cleaning and then wax them with car wax. Dust will be repelled for months.
To clean the vents, just use a soft cloth soaked in hot soapy water. Wash, then rinse, then dry completely before waxing.
Washer and Dryer
Because the washer is cleaning dirty clothing, and there are small holes, it can become smelly if not properly cleaned. Dryers can collect tons of dust and can become a fire hazard without proper care.
Each machine has factory recommendations, so follow those. But in general, to clean your washer you can run an empty load on hot with vinegar, baking soda, or a special cleaning packet you can get at the store put out by different detergent companies.
To clean the dryer, always clean the filter before use. Monthly, you will want to use a special lint cleaner for the dryer to get any lint out that didn’t get into the filter. You should also use a damp cloth to wipe down the inside of the dryer at that time, drying fully before running another load.
Baseboards
This is the area in every single room in the house that is near the floor – usually with some sort of molding around it.
When you mop, take the extra time to also wash this area. Just use a soft cloth with a vinegar/water solution and wipe it down.
And tackle the door frames while you’re at it, at least if they’re painted white. Take a look at yours – if you haven’t been consciously attending to them, they’re sure to be covered in dirty finger marks.
If yours aren’t painted and the wood is getting dry, you may want to add some olive oil to the solution.
And if you have baseboard heaters (oh, how I hate baseboard heaters), don’t forget to wipe the dust off them.
Sink Drains and Garbage Disposal
If everything seems to be working right, we tend to ignore drains and the disposal.
However, this area can easily become very smelly.
The fastest and least expensive solution is to pour baking soda down the drains, then follow with vinegar.
Let sit for about an hour, then pour a full kettle of boiling water down. You may have to do it more than once if you haven’t done it in a long time.
Because we have hard water, I often boil white vinegar in my kettle or run it through the coffee maker in order to clean them out. Pouring that hot vinegar down the drain does double duty!
Ceiling Fans and Light Fixtures
Nothing is worse than having a party and realizing you have a lot of dust and cobwebs on your ceiling fans and light fixtures.
It’s simple to clean them, but it’s best to do this weekly so that it’ll go faster each time.
Just take the sconces off the lights and run them through the dishwasher if they’re just regular glass.
If they have a coating that might get ruined, soak them in the sink in hot water and vinegar, then wipe down and dry. Using a dusting tool so that you can reach safely, wipe down the surfaces.
Cobwebs
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spider in my house but we must have them because we have cobwebs. They’re simply abandoned spiderwebs that have become covered in dust.
The best course of action here is to use a long duster to get into all the corners of your house on a weekly basis before you dust the rest of the house.
If you see a particularly large one, go ahead and tackle it with your vacuum cleaner. Cobwebs also happen under furniture, so be sure to turn over your furniture on at least a monthly basis to run a vacuum on the surface of the bottom of chairs, couches, and beds.
Keeping your home clean involves a lot of thought and work, and these parts of the home are often overlooked.
However, they still need cleaning, and your mother (or mother-in-law) DOES notice if they’re not done. Better to get them on your chore list and set reminders so you won’t forget them again.
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