You may have just finished cleaning your home to perfection. And yet it does not feel clean. Your home may actually be as clean as it can be. However, there are certain things people often ignore when trying to make their houses smell better and look neater. Here are reasons your home is never clean
Dust is making your home dirty
Household dust can consist of dead skin cells, pollen, pet dander, dust mites and more. It can also appear anywhere in your home, even in places you do not typically look for it. In order to truly get rid of it, you will need to use slightly dampened microfiber cloths. Some places to look for dust are your shelves, ceiling fans, windowsills, corners, under furniture and top edges of your cupboards.
Your furnishings are making your home dirty
Your home may have a clean floor, but what about other surfaces? Things like your couch, curtains, rugs, cushions and even your bed can be filled with dust, dander and other nastiness that makes your home smell and look dirty. Washing your bed linens, cleaning your curtains, vacuuming your rugs and upholstery are all necessary ways to lighten up your home.According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, dust mites are often found in your bedding, carpets, rugs and upholstered furniture.
Your bed is making your home dirty
Humans spend almost 1/3 of their time in bed. This means sheets on your bed pick up dirt, sweat, dead skin cells and more. In order to keep your bedroom feeling clean, fresh and tidy, make sure you change your bedsheets regularly and wash your pillowcases occasionally. Sometimes, a bedroom can feel dirty even when your furnishings are clean, simply because your bed linens need to be changed or washed.
Your home is damp somewhere
If your house or apartment feels musty, it may not be because it is dirty. It may just be that there are some damp spots in your home. Make sure to check the bathroom, windowsills, sinks, around the pipes, in cupboards and near air-conditioning units. Things like damp towels, wet floors and poor ventilation can also lead to a damp and stuffy smelling house. Moisture is an important contributor to the growth of mould in your home. TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that in order to get rid of mould, it is important to identify and fix the source of the moisture, rather than merely trying to get rid of the mould itself.
Your kitchen always smells
Your kitchen can feel dirty even when it is clean, simply because it often smells like food. Grease, spices, food residue and cooking fumes can cause your kitchen to smell like food even when there are no dishes in the sink. Make sure to regularly clean your stovetop and any other surfaces where you often cook. It is also important to make sure you have functioning kitchen vents.
You are masking the smell
While it might seem like a good idea to use air fresheners in your home, it is actually important to find the source of the smell and get rid of it. A room freshener is ineffective if the source of the smell is left alone. Make sure to regularly check the obvious sources of smells in your home, such as the bin, drains, damp towels, shoes, bed linens, couch, sponge, fridge, and any other places where things tend to accumulate.A clean smelling house is not necessarily a clean house. Finding the source of the smell and addressing it is more important than simply hiding it with other smells.
Your cleaning tools are dirty
Your mop, duster, sponge, or cleaning cloths might actually be making your house dirty. Once these things get dirty, they can actually begin to smell bad and be a source of unpleasant odours in your home.This goes for your vacuums as well. Dirty filters and bags can also be a source of bad smells. Make sure to regularly clean your reusable cleaning cloths, allow things like mops, sponges and rags to thoroughly dry after use, and clean or replace vacuum bags and filters as needed.
You are forgetting the hard to reach places
There are countless places in your home that you might forget to clean on a regular basis. These can include places behind your couch, under your bed, behind your appliances, along your window track, along your door frames and skirting boards and on the top of your cupboards. You do not necessarily have to clean these places every day, but doing so occasionally can help your home look and feel less dirty.
Your home just needs more ventilation
Your home might not feel clean even when it is because there is not enough fresh air circulating through it. Ventilate your home more by opening windows when possible and using exhaust fans, especially in bathrooms and kitchens. US Environmental Protection Agency, source control, ventilation and filtration are some of the best ways to improve indoor air quality.
There is clutter taking over
Your house or apartment might simply feel dirty because of clutter. This kind of dirt is not necessarily related to germs or anything filthy, but more to objects taking over valuable surface space and making it hard to see the actual state of your home. Making sure things are put away when you are done using them can make a big difference.When your home has clutter taking over surfaces, it can make it difficult to tell whether your home is clean or dirty.Your home does not need to be spotless to be clean. Instead of focusing all of your attention on the obvious dirty spots in your home, try looking elsewhere. Wash your clothes, clean your furnishings, check for damp spots, address bad smells, clean your cleaning tools and get rid of clutter. The next time you clean, remember these dirty little secrets and make your house look and feel cleaner.
