How should you be cleaning your home? Seven things you might be doing wrong – The Sun | The Sun

TIDYING the house is a constant battle, especially in households with children or pets, and it can feel impossible.

Simple techniques can take your house from clean to sparkling in no time, so here's some things you might be cleaning wrong.

How should you be cleaning your home?

When giving the house a quick once-over there are ways to reduce the time and effort you put in without losing the cleanliness.

While we can't stop your home getting dirty again, these tips might help you when it comes to cleaning it up.

Use less polish

Think you're making your house spick and span by liberally spraying your furniture with polish?

Well it turns out that spraying too much on your surfaces can actually make them even more dirty.

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It also means you'll need more elbow grease to remove it.

A simple hack is to spray the cleaner onto a cloth instead, and then wipe this over your furniture.

Use natural dusters

When it comes to dusting, most people turn to their trusty classic yellow dusters to get rid of dirt and grime.

But it seems using the bright cloths might be doing more harm than good when it comes to dusting your home.

Experts say this is because all they do is simply move the dirt around and don't get rid of any of the dust and grime.

Instead, they suggest using cleaning cloths made from natural materials.

Empty your hoover

If you've been using your vacuum for a while you may have noticed it's not picking up as much as it used to – it may be full.

Sadly the self emptying hoover is not yet on the market so every so often you have to manually empty the bag.

The instruction manual should be able to help if you've never emptied it but most vacuums have a simple button to release.

Once there's space in the bag for the dust to go, you may find your hoovering becomes much easier.

latest in cleaning hacks

Disinfect sponges

Your humble sink sponge is actually one of the worst culprits for harbouring bacteria but throwing it away constantly is wasteful.

Boiling the sponge will kill any bacteria lurking without you having to pay out for a fresh packet of sponges.

If this feels like too much effort, you can put it in the dishwasher or in a bowl of water and microwave it.

This will have the same effect, make sure you squeeze all the water out once you're done.

Cleaning should be a weekly task and can make the sponge last for up to two months.

Clean your shower curtain

Shower curtains are an often forgotten part of our bathroom cleaning routine.

Many of us don't know how to clean them so they are left to gather mould until they need replacing.

Good news, you can put your shower curtain in the washing machine and give it a quick clean.

Let it dry completely then hang it back up, spick and span, ready for your next shower.

Use specialised cleaners

Multipurpose cleaners are great for keeping on top of a messy kitchen during the week but may be adding effort to your routine.

Different surfaces also need different care so an abrasive cleaner might be damaging to your sink but necessary for the backsplash.

Choose cleaning agents that suit the needs of each area, eg oven or tiles, for easier and better quality cleaning.

For messier areas like your kitchen stove, a cleaner which targets grease and stains is best.

Clean your toilet brush

After cleaning the toilet, we all do the same thing and that is place the brush back into its container away from sight.

However, this dark, damp place allows bacteria to grow quickly, even though there is a quick way to prevent this.

Rinse the brush after use by flushing clean toilet water over it and place it into an open container for it to air dry.

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A TikTok star even suggested pouring washing up liquid into the bowl and flushing to give the brush a proper clean.

Buying an open toilet brush holder might not look as nice but it could help keep your bathroom in top condition.

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