Although research says that there are certain benefits of living with a little dirt, recent events have made it very clear that you need to routinely clean your home. However, according to a survey on home cleaning, 27 percent of Americans were primarily concerned over clutter and only 12 percent were concerned about stains.
That’s not counting how many people believe home cleaning myths that are either inefficient or don’t work at all. If you’re going to keep your home clean and sanitized effectively, you need to know the truth behind some of the most prevalent home cleaning myths around.
1. Vinegar can clean everything
White vinegar is a very acidic substance and that might lead you to believe that it’s an amazingly efficient cleaning agent. This is highly inaccurate. Although the acidic content of vinegar makes it effective in destroying limescale and many kinds of bacteria, you’ll need to use quite a lot of vinegar to achieve the intended effect. Not to mention the acidity can be very corrosive or surfaces made of natural wood or stone, leaving them rough and pitted over time.
You might also be tempted to use vinegar and baking soda to unclog drains but again, you’ll need to use a lot of both materials, making it highly inefficient. You’re better of using commercial products or contacting a drain cleaning service near you.
2. Instant action disinfectants
People rarely pay attention to the chemicals in your own home, leading to questions like “does conditioner expire?” It can also lead people to assume that cleaning products work instantaneously. You’ve probably sprayed a surface or a door handle with your choice of disinfectant only to wipe it away immediately. This method does not disinfect surface effectively at all.
Read the labels on your cleaning products and see if they included instructions specific for disinfecting areas. The time listed there will describe how long it takes the chemical to eliminate contaminants effectively and will usually be less than 10 minutes.
3. Washing machines self-clean
Every load of laundry you run through your washing machine dumps particles and microbe into it. Although the constant churn of the machine and the presence of bleach and detergents can significantly curb contaminants, these aren’t enough. Your washing machine doesn’t clean itself when you rinse it.
If you want to ensure your clothes and your machine don’t become home to microbes, deep clean your washing machine regularly. Simply run it through a wash cycle but only fill it with water a large amount of bleach. The combination will disinfect your washing machine quite nicely.
4. Feather dusters are effective
The quintessential image of someone cleaning a house usually involves them flitting about with feather duster. You probably imagine these things as either the archaic ostrich feather type or the rainbow-colored plastic kind. However, in either form, feather dusters aren’t good at dusting. Instead of collecting particles, which is a disgusting mixture of dead skin, mites, and hair, feather dusters just sort of spread them around. You should instead wipe down dusty surfaces with cloth rags made of microfibers or lambswool, both of which can gather dust effectively.
5. Handwashing dishware is more efficient
If you’re concerned over the environmental cost of home cleaning procedures, you might have heard that washing dishes by hand saves more water and energy than using a dishwasher. However, this is only true if you employ a two-basin approach where you soak the dishes first in a hot water basin before rinsing them in a basin full of cold water.
But most people leave the tap running while they’re washing, which is more wasteful than a using dishwasher. This inefficient type of handwashing uses approximately 34,000 gallons of water while a dishwasher only used 16,000 gallons in the same period.
6. Cleaning and disinfecting are the same thing
You might occasionally use the words “clean” and “disinfect” interchangeably, but they’re very different processes. Cleaning refers to the process of removing stains and dirt from a surface or an object. You can usually achieve this by giving it a wash or a scrub. Disinfectant refers to a more rigorous process of eliminating microbes and other contaminants, usually with the help of a cleaning agent. If you want to be more effective in sanitizing your home, you need to clean before disinfecting. The combined process will remove dirt as well as kill contaminants.
Now more than ever, home cleaning is a serious business. Effectively ensuring that your home is free from contaminants is the best way to avoid health problems and keep your family safe. You’ll be able to make your task much easier if you avoid believing in myths and clean your home based on dependable methods.
