Regular cleaning will make your home a healthier and more attractive place to live in. Plus, if you do the cleaning yourself, you become better and more efficient at doing the job.
However, there are some hard lessons in cleaning that we may encounter along the way if we’re not careful enough.
Which is why below are some horrifying cleaning mistakes that you wouldn’t want to encounter or commit when you’re cleaning your home. Check them out so that you avoid committing these same mistakes when you’re only trying to make your home a better place for you and your other house members.
Using acids on granite and marble countertops
It is commendable for homeowners to try their hand at homemade cleaning solutions because not only will it help them save money, but it will also be a more sustainable choice for your home and for our environment. With that said, one of the most common ingredients for homemade cleaning solutions are acids like citrus juice, white vinegar, and sometimes, soft drinks.
However, if you use any of these (including wine and tomatoes) to clean your granite or marble countertops, then you are likely to damage them. You might end up not only staining your countertops but also even scratch its surface.
Worst case scenario, you’re going to have to repolish your countertops again to get it fixed. Sealants are also a possible choice but they aren’t a guarantee, as choosing the wrong sealant can end up further damaging the countertops if you’re not careful.
Wiping off dust with paper towels
Paper towels are used to clean up a lot of our messes so you might think, by instinct, that paper towels are also fine if you use them to wipe any mirror or glass surface, right? Well, although your instincts are usually right, in this particular case, using paper towels aren’t the best solution.
According to Maid Sailors, leading NY Maids service provider, using paper towels for wiping away dust or prints on mirrors or glass surfaces will cause streaks so you’re not only not removing the stain, you’re spreading it all over the surface.
Aside from that, paper towels tend to leave lint on the surface. So, not only are you spreading the stain, you may also end up adding to it.
In that case, you can opt to use a microfiber cloth instead so that no streaking or extra lint will hinder your mirror from being shiny and clean again.
Ignoring and not cleaning the grout
Although cleaning grout isn’t the most enjoyable of tasks on a good day, there are consequences to ignoring and skipping the cleaning.
One reason ignoring grout for a later date is bad is because of its porous nature. This makes it easier for all sorts of germs and bacteria to enter the grout.
Aside from that, grout can cause discoloration (again, due to its porous nature) if left to its own devices. Also, it can start smelling if left on its own.
All these reasons are enough to start cleaning away at the grout plaguing your bathroom or your kitchen.
For a healthier and cleaner home, it’s best that you address your grout issues as soon as you see them.
Using the wrong cleaning products
Although homemade cleaning products are a step in the right direction, using it the wrong way or simply using the wrong one can lead to more harm than good.
Beforehand, it was mentioned that using too much vinegar or citric acid can damage certain surfaces, but that’s not all. Using too much of them can cause damage to other materials if you’re not careful.
Avoid using too much of these products. Build on them instead of pouring them all over your problem areas. Make sure that you accurately measure your portions when concocting your cleaning product to avoid dealing with this type of problem.
Using too much cleaning products
Even if you’re not using homemade products, your standard cleaning product can still cause problems for you.
Some cleaning products (a lot of them, actually) use very strong chemicals which gets the job done, but can be harmful to your home.
Make sure that you’re careful, again, with your portions. Cleaning products are buildable so you don’t have to go all out when using them.
Cleaning your windows on a sunny day
People who don’t frequently clean their windows don’t know that there’s a specific time of the day when it’s best to clean your windows.
You might be under the wrong impression that a sunny day is best for cleaning windows. Instead, it’s best that windows are cleaned during overcast skies or during the late afternoon or even during evenings. Otherwise, your window might get streaks.
There are some lessons in life that you can learn even without having to go through extreme pain and hardship. Which is why reading this list should be able to help you avoid making the cleaning mistakes that are detrimental to some items in your home. After all, nobody should be punished for trying to improve and better the overall state of their home.
