It’s important we show our cleaning equipment a little TLC – after all, it’s our brushes, vacuum cleaners and mops that bear the brunt of our daily efforts to keep our homes clean and fresh. Looking after our household tools is the key to ensuring they do their job properly, and make your life easier. We’ve created a guide to help you clean the most important ones, and how to increase their lifespan.
It’s vital to keep our kitchen equipment clean to avoid passing on dangerous bacteria such as Ecoli and Salmonella whilst we clean. Starting with the washing up station, make sure to keep things sanitary by soaking sponges every so often in a hot water and disinfectant solution, or blasting germs away in the microwave. Make sure the sponge is still wet, and place it on a high heat for ten seconds to kill the bacteria. These methods are effective once or twice, however, it is still recommended to throw sponges out once they have been used for two weeks or so. This rule follows for scourers and wipes, which can be soaked, but should also be refreshed regularly. Keep wipes and sponges for dishes and surfaces separate to avoid cross contamination, and wipe all cleaning products with detergent frequently with soap.
Bathroom equipment can suffer the worst damage due to the nature of its job, so it’s important to take care when cleaning to make sure your most hardworking tools perform at their best. Make sure to keep your sponges for the toilet, and the bath and sink separate, and always rinse them after use. Brushes can be cleaned thoroughly once a month, and sponges should be replaced as soon as they begin to wear out. You can soak your toilet brush every now and then in a disinfecting solution, and make sure to clean its holder properly with rubber gloves and bleach solution.
These items need to properly cleaned and cared for for optimal usage, especially vacuum cleaners, which if left to gather debris and dirt won’t adequately suck up dust from your surfaces. Empty and replace the bag or canister once it gets too full, or it can cause permanent damage. Make sure to also clean the brushes at the bottom of the powerhead by cutting and picking away hair and clumps of dust that can clog up your machine. Separate compartments can be washed with hot soapy water every once in a while and left to completely dry before replacing them in the machine. Broom heads can be cleaned in much the same way – cut away balls of hair and dust that are stuck to the brushes and every couple of months soak the head in soapy water before leaving to dry.
Mops, rags, and cloths
Mop heads can be placed in your machine on the hottest cycle after being ridded of any dirt clinging to them to keep them clean. Make sure to do this regularly so you’re not cleaning your floors in vain – a dirty mop can drag more grime across your floor and spread germs. Once the mop head is completely worn out, invest in a new one to keep things fresh, or one of the newer mop systems, that are designed to squeeze out the maximum amount of water to reduce dirt build up. Rags can also be laundered and thrown out much the same way – but watch out with microfibre cloths, which cannot get wet, but need to be heated at a high degree with some fabric softener.
To keep your dishwasher and washing machine working perfectly remember to show them a little love too! Cleaning your washing machine on the inside regularly or after a particularly dirty wash with disinfectant wipes or spray keeps your clothes smelling fresh. Special products can also be bought to run through without dishes on a hot cycle to look after your machine – check the user guide for further information. Your dishwasher filter should also be taken out and scrubbed regularly to help it do its job, and run the machine on a cycle with the right cleaning products every two weeks., again check the user guide to find the best way to take care of your machine so it can keep taking care of you and your home.
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