Which Part of the House Takes You the Longest to Clean?
Most people really don't like cleaning the house. As much as it's important to keep the house clean, most people would rather stay away from this chore. Some parts of the house are easy to clean up, whereas others take time to make them spotless.
In this blog post, we get into those parts of the house that usually take you the most amount of time to get cleaned and, importantly, how you can be done with them in a jiffy.
The Kitchen: A Cleaning Challenge
The kitchen is the home's heart for so many people. Unfortunately, it is also one of the hardest rooms to keep clean. With all those surfaces, appliances, and utensils, it's not surprising that the kitchen often takes the longest to tidy.
It is one of the most time-consuming kitchen procedures to clean the oven. Quite a bit of scrubbing is needed to get rid of greasy dirt, especially those that are baked on, and food splatters.
Cleaning the inside of the oven is no piece of cake either because most people generally do not do it. This is where a self-cleaning oven will save time, for although it needs little cleaning, the cooling period is time-consuming.
Also, cleaning the cupboards and the pantry could take a long time if you get around to pulling everything out and cleaning the shelves. The deposit of hard water on the sink and faucets could take quite a good amount of time to clean, even with the involvement of special cleaners and a lot of scrubbing.
Kristen Smith, head manager of Cleaning Services Austin, recommends giving the kitchen a deep clean each month, or at least four times a year.
Putting back every utensil into its place and washing dishes can be really time-consuming. Even if you use a dishwasher, loading and unloading it takes a long time, especially when you have so many dishes to wash.
Bathrooms: Need to be deep cleaned
Another room that can take forever to clean is the bathroom, if you really want to do a thorough job. It's really large on the list when it comes to thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing, including the toilet, sink, shower, and tub. It's quite easy to spend a good while in the bathroom.
Perhaps the most difficult thing about cleaning a bathroom is soap scum, mildew, and hard water stains on surfaces such as the shower and tub.
Generally, such tough stains need certain special green cleaners and quite some elbow grease to get them off entirely. Some grout lines may be a bit of a time-consuming activity to clean; these may have been cleaned for the last time quite a long time ago.
Cleaning the toilet is probably your least favorite thing to do in the bathroom, but something that needs to be done. You'll be cleaning the bowl, seat, and lid, but if there are hard water stains or mineral deposits, you'll be spending a lot of time cleaning the outside of the toilet, too.
Floors: A Job that Never Ends
Floors are likewise one of the parts of the house that consume much time, especially with large square footage area covered. Whether it may be carpeted, hardwood, tile, or laminated, floors need regular maintenance to keep clean.
Cleaning carpets with a vacuum is really time-consuming because, in addition to being able to move furniture or vacuum stairs, more frequent cleaning is needed if you have a pet. The time for spot cleaning stains and shampooing carpets is really devoured in your floor cleaning process.
Hard floor surfaces, like wood, tile, and laminate, may take quite a long time, especially for a big area, to sweep and mop. It can also be quite time-consuming to clean under appliances when moving the furniture.
Windows: Clear View Takes Time
Most of us have so very little time to do window cleaning, and this despite the fact that it is one of the most essential aspects of a bright and breezy home. Cleaning windows is really time-consuming, especially if you have a lot to do.
There is much detail involved with the washing of the interior and exterior of windows. This job includes cleaning the glass, washing the sills, and vacuuming the tracks. Tough water spots and mineral deposits might require special cleaners or even a razor blade to clean off.
Window treatments, including curtains and blinds, also make cleaning your windows take longer. Regular dusting and vacuuming will help keep them clean and fresh.
Bedrooms: Much More Than the Clutter and Making the Bed
This is true, and bedrooms do not require as deep a cleaning as kitchens and bathrooms, but they most definitely require regular upkeep in order to appear and feel clean. Cleaning a bedroom involves a series of tasks that, when added together, truly consume a lot of time.
What really takes much of the time when cleaning a bedroom is handling the clutter. That will really consume a lot of time; for example, picking up clothes, books, and such on the floor or surfaces can consume a lot of time, particularly when you own quite a lot of stuff and everything is unorganized.
Dusting dresser tops, nightstands, and bookshelves can also be a fairly time-consuming task, as you want to be thorough with the detail of it.
Just as important, vacuum the floors and upholstery in the bedroom. If the bedroom is carpeted, this will likely involve moving the furniture to get under the beds. Again, attachments may be needed to get into tight spots. In addition, if you make beds, you have to spend more time pulling off the old sheets and pillowcases, washing them, and putting on fresh ones.
Tips on Cleaning Your House Effectively
While some areas within the house take more time to clean than others, there are several ways in which you can get done faster:
Clean one room at a time
Don't clean everything at one go; take one room at a time for cleaning. This could help make you feel in control and less overwhelmed.
Be Systematic
Develop your cleaning routine and follow it. You may begin from one end and, in a systematic way, go around the room, or maybe you may be performing some tasks in a certain order.
Use the right tools
The right tools in cleaning play a significant role in determining time and efficiency in the cleaning of a place. Buy proper cleaning supplies tailored to particular surface types.
Regular decluttering
Cleaning your home becomes much easier and quicker if you are regularly decluttering your home and not leaving your items wherever you placed them. A few minutes each day will be enough to enable you to store away all the items that have made their way onto surfaces or the floor.
This practice not only keeps your space tidy but also reduces the workload for any cleaning service you might use.
Clean as you go: Instead of letting mess pile up, try to clean as you go. Wipe off kitchen counters immediately after cooking, clean the bathroom sink right after using it, and put away stuff as soon as you're done with it.
Conclusion
In general, some areas of the house are trickier to clean, but it must be done in order to maintain your well-being and that of the house. You can do this effectively and efficiently if you work on one room at a time, perform chores systematically, use the right tools, declutter frequently, and clean as you go. Well, let's face it: a happy home is a clean home!
Jenny Kakoudakis likes to blog about interiors. She launched award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2014. When she is not chasing criminals out of the financial system (her day job), she gets creative by redecorating her own home.
Download her free bathroom renovation guide here.
