4 Places You Never Think To Clean

Whether it is a spring cleaning or a fall once-over, nobody loves cleaning. Yet at the same time, nobody wants to live in a filthy house. So we clean, but perhaps we take shortcuts, and miss out on the details. And this can cause unexpected long-term problems. Before you next clean your own house, take a quick look at this list of frequently neglected cleaning areas.

Behind the Fridge

Nobody likes shifting the fridge around; it’s heavy and unwieldy and hard to position just right. As a consequence, the floor underneath this most important of appliances can quickly become a horror show. Like any hidden nook in your home, the refrigerator attracts its share of dust. Compounding the problem, your primary source of cold food storage can leak fluids, leading to mildew and mold. And any spills you have when getting food out of the fridge can end up seeping foodstuffs underneath it. Finally, the coolant systems of the fridge need a quick, periodic clean as well, or the internal workings of the appliance can end up overheating.

Around the Vents

Speaking of ventilation, your home’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning {HVAC} system need a regular dusting as well. Dust blocks the free passage of air in and out of the vents, making your system work harder to heat or cool your living space. This spikes energy usage and causes needless wear on the crucial components of the system. A quick dusting every week or two is enough to keep most of the detritus from accumulating to dangerous levels, but going over the vents in more detail with wet rags and solvents every couple of months is not a bad idea either.

The Baseboards

Your baseboards are the plating along the bottom of your walls. It serves many functions: it covers the joint where the walls meet the floor, it looks pretty, and it protects the wall itself from errant scuff marks and dirt. Baseboards are a great way to protect the wall from damage, but they in turn need some attention themselves. Dusting them periodically or running the vacuum over them prevents the accumulation of debris over time, while occasional scrubbing with a wet cloth can take care of deeper dirt stains and scuffs.

Inside Cabinets and Closets

Your cabinets, shelving, closets, and other storage spaces are a wonderful way to store things that you have only occasional use to. But they get dirty just like anywhere else in your home. Since the interior of these spaces aren’t always visible, it can be easy to overlook the accumulation of dust and dirt in them. This in turn can lead to stored items getting dirty and degrading over time. This is especially problematic in food storage spaces like pantries. Periodically empty out the spaces and clean them with appropriate tools.

Cleaning may not be fun when you are doing it, but the feeling of having a clean house is worth it. Your thoroughly cleaned space will be a source of enjoyment and pride for you in the years to come.

Mum’s two cents

Cleaning around the home can really be very tedious, but it sure pays to check on the areas mentioned above and do a clean-up periodically so they won’t accumulate as much dust or gather unwanted dirt. Giving them a quick wipe or dusting every week or two can effectively lessen the amount of dirt and dust you have to clear up during your next general cleaning, which cannot be far behind as I am sure most of us mums have massive cleaning activities lined up around our homes before setting up our Christmas trees and in preparation for the holidays.