As a homeowner, it might be daunting to think you have to manage so much at once. Well, that’s cause it can be overwhelming having to manage an entire property when there is so many little details to focus on that we never learned in school! Just imagine having to take care of all the upholstery, mechanical appliances, housework, water/heat pressure, bedrooms, bathrooms, and the list goes on and on.
Luckily, we’ve got your back on how to handle any and all obstacles when it comes to keeping your lifestyle and home tidy and clean. Many things get overlooked with how busy our lives are that we tend to skimp out on our necessary cleaning duties. Not only will you appreciate your home more, but you’ll be grateful that you’ll now live in less clutter with healthier air to breathe! The following 50 housewares are just some of the examples we’ve found are often overlooked to get you started.
Someone call Tim Allen because it’s time for our version of Home Improvement!
1) Cleaning Inside Dryer Vent
A statistic states that more than 15,000 fires are caused every year due to built-up lint inside dryer cabinets. The lint can escape through small holes around the edges of the dryer drum and result in clogging airflow where a flame can be ignited by the electric heating elements. Make a habit of cleaning it from time to time to avoid this calamity.
2) Cleaning Faucet Aerators
These are easy to dismiss if you’re not careful. Cleaning these will help unclog your sink and bath faucet in order to reduce built-up material. Follow these instructions to make sure to get the best clean possible.
3) Cleaning The Oven Door
Messy dried up oil and scaps of old food and liquids can stain your oven for a very long time. It’s imperative that you routinely clean your oven door to not cause unwanted smoke or even odor issues. These simple steps will show you how to do it.
4) Cleaning The Bath Fan
Moisture and humidity mix to create a terrible combination for your bathroom fan. Fortunatley, the fan is easy to clean and can help you breathe a little easier around the house. Step one is to release the springs to release them from their positions in order to do a deep clean. For more information, follow this link.
5) Cleaning The Trash Can
Everyone hates having to clean one of the dirtiest objects in the house, but its a must. When you take out the trash, be sure to spray the inside of the bin with disinfectant. Every month or so, wash it with bleach and pour hot water to make sure you get all of the bad stuff out.
6) Mattress Cleaning
Sure your mattress gets covered with layers of sheets, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get dirty. Make sure to routinely vacuum your bed mattress to clear it from dirty spots or hairs that may be stuck to it. Also, you can try airing your mattress out to get a nice smell that will help soothe you in your sleep.
7) Wiping Walls
Cleaning walls is important for making sure the place looks nice and neat. Try using a Swiffer Sweeper floor mop as a tool to make our wall-wiping experience much easier. Everything from cobwebs to dust will be eliminated using this method.
8) Fridge Control
These six easy-to-follow steps will guarantee you a better working fridge. This will no doubt help keep food from spoiling quicker, save you money on spare parts, and also save time on what it could take if you hire someone else. Be sure to thank us later!
9) Cleaning The Deck
Using a pressure cleaner and some good water-resistant footwear will go a long way on this one. The deck takes a beating throughout the year since it is exposed to various outdoor elements. Nevermind that it can take some time, but we will at least promise you a better looking deck by the end of it.
10) Washing The Dishwasher
It’s easy to think that after using a dishwasher it remains clean. You would be gravely mistaken. Little food bits find their way inside the small holes and can lead to bad odor and your dishes not getting the cleaning they need. Here’s a helpful guide on how to get your dishwasher looking clean again.
11) Cleaning Garbage Disposal Splash Guard
If your kitchen sink has been smelling awful, then odds are its your sink splash guard. This little nugget is what separates your food from the actual garbage disposal and is usually filled with unwanted food. The most important part of cleaning the splash guard is to clean right under it.
12) Cleaning The Chimney
To begin, you’ll need a shop vac and standard chimney cleaning tools. Cleaning your chimney will help prevent things like harmful creosote fires. It will also help keep your home from smelling terrible after lighting the fire pit. Follow these instructions before you do your own cleaning.
13) Washing Vinyl Siding
Like the deck, vinyl sidings tend to get hit hard from various effects of nature like wind, hail, water, and even air particles. Using a hose or pressure washer works wonders when it comes to cleaning vinyl siding. Learn how to give your vinyl sidings the cleaning they deserve with this helpful tidbit.
14) Blowing OUt Soffit Vents
Make sure to get any debris or particles that may be blocking your soffit vents. This will help ensure that your house gets good attic ventilation. In addition, this will help save electricity and air conditioning costs in the summer and helps protect your roof against condensation when winter arrives.
15) Cleaning Weep Holes
This is one is a bit of a drag mainly because they are annoying to reach. These tiny weep holes are considered the tiniest feature of many sliding doors and windows, though they serve a big purpose. Spray the outside of the window/door with a garden hose to verify if a steady stream of water flows from these holes. If not, grab a wire hanger or something like compressed air to unblock the clogging.
16) Cleaning Doorknobs
One of the most germ-filled surfaces in our household, the doorknob should be clean frequently for many reasons. Using anti-bacterial wipes or disinfectant spray will help kill off any germs or bacteria lingering on their surfaces. Be careful applying these cleaning products to wood doors because it does affect their finished look.
17) Cleaning HVAC Condensate Line
The first sign of a clogged condensate drain tube is when you see water around the furnace with the A/C running. Condensation from the air conditioning coils has bacteria that can form slime and clog the condensate pan drain tube. Follow these two easy steps to prevent the tube from draining again.
18) Check On Your Heater
Basic maintenance once a year goes a long way in extending the longevity of your water heater. By learning how to monitor it, you can see exactly when it starts to have trouble and act up. Get informed on how to clean sediment from the water heater using this link.
19) Cleaning Outdoor Lights
Anything that stays outdoors is bound to encounter some dirtiness. Check for any pests, nests, or disturbing features your lights can have since their shine attracts many bugs and insects at night. Also, the heat that is being given off off also attracts mice and other rodents who might be up to no good.
20) Cleaning Closet
I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to think I spent all that time doing laundry only to come back to a dirty closet. Make it a point every season to dust out and clean your wardrobe from time to time. There’s no harm done, and you can surely use less pile up of clothes sitting in a corner because your closet is too dirty to store them.
21) Removing Garage Grim
It’s probably been quite some time before you’ve cleaned your garage floor. We don’t blame since it’s an easy one to overlook. If you need help removing oil, paint, and concrete stains, then look to this link for more assistance.
22) Wiping Down Light Switches
Like doorknobs, think about how many times a day you switch on and switch off lights. Almost daily, right? Be sure to wipe them down generously to kill off any lingering germs. You can use both disinfected spray or cloth.
23) Cleaning The Keyboard
Keyboards can easily collect dust, food crumbs, hair, dead skin cells, and a whole lot more. You can use q-tips or cotton swabs with a little bit of rubbing alcohol to wipe in between keys. You may also notice a better response time the next time you decide to start typing.
24) Cleaning The Coils
It’s hard to believe that cleaning the fridge also involves cleaning its coils. It takes roughly 15 minutes to clean them and can drastically help to reduce your electric bill. If you clean it for 6 months, it is guaranteed to extend your fridge life longer.
25) Washing The Washer
Like the dishwasher, just because your washing clothes doesn’t mean you’re cleaning the washer. It’s good to run an empty load once a month with hot water and bleach to clean out the tank. It will definitely make a difference the next time you decide to do a laundry load.
26) Cleaning Pillows
Every three months or so is the suggested timeframe to clean out your pillows. Dead skin cells and hair stay on the pillow sheets for quite some time unless you get them removed. Just toss them in the washer for a gentle cycle with hot water and you should be good to go. When drying, add a couple of tennis balls to help with the drying process and to keep the pillow guts from looking all clumpy.
27) Cleaning The Remote
Dirty hands constantly touch the remote every day. It’s a literal center for germs and bacteria that can compromise someone’s health if they are not too careful. Use a microfiber cloth with a bit of rubbing alcohol to take care of any dirty remote issues.
28) Cleaning The Showerhead
Every week or two your showerhead should get detailed wash. You won’t necessarily have to remove your showerhead or take it apart since cleaning it involves a rather simple process. Don’t wait any longer and get this one taken care of fast!
29) Cleaning Hairbrushes
Sure your hairbrushes help by combing your hair, but what about the brushes themselves? They still need a little bit of rinsing to get debris and hair product residue out. You can give them a water bath overnight with baking soda and have them back like new in no time.
30) Wiping Shower Curtains
This one is a funny one since most people disregard it for whatever reason. Your showerhead attracts nasty mildew form the moist environment, especially after a hot shower. Using a disinfectant wipe or a cloth to clean it will do wonders.
31) Homeowner’s Journal
Need help organizing your homeowner information? Why not try a homeowner’s journal? It can help keep information like insurance papers, repair receipts, and other house-related paperwork all in one location. It’s not really something that can be cleaned, but at least it will help you become a cleaner person in the process.
32) Cleaning Out Dryer Vent
Having a plugged dryer vent can definitely cause efficiency issues with your dryer. At worst, it can even cause a potentially deadly house fire! You’ll have to go in the back to clean it and make sure the duct is good in condition. Just make sure to avoid plastic ducting since it can be a fire hazard.
33) Cleaning Shower Shelves
Shower shelves need a good rinse every once in a while since they hold most of our shower products. A good clean wipe with a cloth every week will do wonders. It’s a great habit to build since we don’t want to get any dirtier as we’re trying to get cleaned out in the shower.
34) Sealing Power Outlets
Sealing the power outlet gaps on the walls lets the cold air in and the warm air out. Sealing them can take up to half a day and will definitely help you reduce your energy bills. Look to these steps for guidance on how to seal up your power outlet.
35) Taking Care of the Lawn
Try and avoid putting lawn products like seeds and fertilizers in the garage since they tend to soak up moisture. To keep them fresh and ready for use, make sure to store them inside plastic bags. Here is more help on how to grow a beautifully clean lawn.
36) Check Your HVAC Filters
Replacing your air filter at least 4 times a year is must, but maybe you should also check monthly as well just in case. The air inside the house will stay healthy and fresh as a bonus. Look at this walkthrough for how to accomplish this goal.
37) Inspecting The Automatic Garage Door Safety Shutoff
Always make sure to test whether the garage door can electrically be handled. Focus on the safety beams which stop the door from closing if it detects anything from the door closing.
38) Lubricating Garage Doors
As previously mentioned, we want to make sure every corner of our garage doors are cleaned and working properly. Use a correct lubricant for the process depending on if your door has metal or plastic rollers. Follow this tutorial in case you have any questions.
39) Cleaning Your Refrigerator Grille
The detachable grille is located on the top or bottom of your fridge and can easily detach to get access to the cooling coils. Over time, these coils build up dust and block airflow which can harm your fridge’s cooling system. If you need more help, follow this link for additional tips.
40) Organizing The Fridge
Christina Ciaquinto, the owner of Christina Giaquinto Organizing LLC, said, “Whether you live in an apartment by yourself or you have a family of five, somehow food always piles up in the fridge.” At the start of every month, take out all the containers and bottles that need to be thrown out
41) Inspecting Sinks And Tub Drains
The first thing is first: try removing any hairs or small things that may be plugging up the holes. Secondly, pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and then some hot water to help clear more things out. For more helpful tactics, check out this link here for the proper procedure.
42) Cleaning Filters In Range Hood
These yucky ranges are filled to the brim with sticky oil and grease residue. That’s why cleaning them is not easy and will require a sink full of hot water to get that mess to unstick. Lots of dishwashing soap, baking soda, and hot water will be needed to get this hood nice and clean.
43) Smudge-Free Appliances
Odds are you’ve disregarded your appliances for some time. Stainless steel appliances use car wax to get them to shine and sparkle like new. For other appliances, you can use your standard bleach or even liquid soap with a cloth and hot water to get any other stain off the metals or plastics.
44) Cleaning Upholstery
Baking soda has made a name for itself on this list and it’s not an understatement. It’s one of the most essential, multi-use household materials one could have. It can even help dissolve any funky smells from your couch and fabric if applied evenly and generously. 20 minutes of having the baking soda applied to upholstery will require a vacuum or hose to remove the baking soda once it starts smelling better.
45) Fresh Toilet Brush
A bit of Pine-Sol is the remedy you need to keep these fantastic brushes in pristine check. This will help deoderize the entire bathroom as well as keep your toilet disinfected. Don’t work harder, just work smarter (and cleaner, too)!
46) Under The Fridge Cleaning
That little crevice between your fridge and the floor is a black hole for hair, food, dust, and any other small, lingering particle. To make this easy on you, use a hair trap cleaner (called drain cleaning zip tool), which sells for about $5. The benefit of it is that it will not leave any scratches on the ground and can reach further than a vacuum cleaner.
47) Cleaning Your Computer Ports
For the avid computer user, using compressed air is your best friend. It cuts through small, tiny holes that otherwise would be impossible to blow through any normal means. Another item that does the trick is sticking poster putty in the port. The putty doesn’t permanently stick to the port and can remove things that can interrupt the connection.
48) Garage Door Springs
Use garage door lubricant once a year to help with the sliding mechanisms of your garage door. Eventually, all springs break because of corrosion, but lubing them once a year will help extend its shelf life. The lubricants are available in your local home improvement stores.
49) Checking High Water Pressure
With having high water pressure, you risk the harm of damaging pipes, connections, and appliances. In addition, it also creates water hammer and discards a huge amount of water as waste. Try getting yourself a presure-reducing valve with a pressure gauge in order to help monitor the water pressure. These are easily available for purchase at home centers.
50) Garage Door Balance
A properly balanced door will no doubt protect anyone who may be caught in the door’s path. To check on the balance, simply close the door and then disengage the opener by pulling the opener release handle. A balanced door will always stay in the halfway position by itself. Check the garage door multiple times before making the final call. If you need further help, we advise not doing this one by yourself and instead call a garage door professional for service.
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