Other What is Your Best Cleaning Advice?

[ApfelSeine]

Hello there!

For the past year, my roommate has been complaining that I'm bad at cleaning. Not that I don't do it, but specifically that when I do I'm not good at it. Most notably, I've been told that I don't sweep the floors correctly and miss a lot of dust when I clean. Lately I've tried counteracting that by always wearing my glasses and turning the lights on when cleaning to make sure I see everything, but apparently I'm still doing it wrong.

Does anyone have tips on how they clean their house/apartment? It can be hard to learn, so I think it would be good to share advice.

My best tip for cleaning is to always wash and dry off pans/cooking utensils while cooking. It saves a lot of work later if you use multiple pans and knives. It's important to dry everything off too when you have time, since the drying mat can get cluttered quickly.

What is your best advice?

 

[Mitheral]

And that is why I don't have roommates ... but that isn't useful. Fortunately I have some military expertise to fall back on - and my mother's old advice.

Dusting / Cleaning shelves: Start at the top and work your way down ... a section at a time. A section can be a wall, large piece of furniture, or kitchen cabinets.

Floors - it depends on the type of floor.
Hardwood floors tend to get dusty. Easy to miss "dust bunnies". Use something that will grab them and not let them go. Dust mop, Swiffer mop, etc.

Tile or linoleum are different. Stuff tends to accumulate in edge and corners. Assume it has and be diligent.

Man, this brings back memories of dorm life and white glove inspections. Ever see a First Sergeant nearly breaking his neck on a hardwood floor that you used Lemon Pledge on?

 

[Eye of Nowhere]

Water mixed with vinegar is great for cleaning windows and light calcium deposits. Use sparingly though, it kinda smells of vinegar for a little while after.

 

[bogworms]

This might be a little too specific to one type of situation, but maybe it could help! I have really bad ADHD, so usually it's hard for me to focus on cleaning. One tip I learned that's really helped (and I'm sure could help people without ADHD too) is to choose a specific area to clean- but only one area a day. It could be a whole room or even just a table that needs tidying. Start cleaning, but don't get upset at yourself for needing breaks or getting side-tracked, just go back to that spot if you realize you've drifted away. Sometimes even repeating tasks can help make sure they're done entirely- like sweeping multiple times even if you've already swept.

I hope this helps!

 

[Crafter789]

Sorry to hear you are in that situation, my advice, since it seems to be your roommate who has the issue is to sincerely ask them to show you how they do the cleaning that way next time you can do things their way. If they still complain you can let them know you are doing your best and doing it the way they showed you.

If it remains an issue perhaps your roommate should just take over that chore (sweeping) and you do a different one that that way the work load stays fair and it will hopefully be one less thing for your roommate to complain about.

But heck I would have loved a roommate who cleaned even if it wasn't to my standards which arent that high. There is a reason why I will never have another roommate ever again. No more moldy dishes because they didn't do them for 3 months, no more having to give gentle reminders that the living room is a shared space and they need to pick up their things.

Sorry for the rant, my best cleaning advice is if it seems overwhelming, set a timmer choose a room and just clean that room/area for 15 minutes when the timer goes off move to a different room or area for with the 15 minute timer, when it goes off go to a different spot and repeat. It's amazing how much you can get done in 15 minutes and it was a great motivator for me when I was living with my less than considerate roommate it also helped me spot areas I missed and after 3 to 4 times with the 15 minutes you can just stay in one area just depends on your motivation level and what works best for you.

Hope you find some helpful advice!

 

[Sciel]

I would try to make a habit of just tidying up. It makes it easier to transition when you’re actually going to focus in on only cleaning.

When there’s dirt on the floor/carpet, sweep or vaccuum it right away so it doesn’t spread further into the house.

If you have old scrap papers or just general “garbage” that are lying about, dispose of them right away to keep the space clean.

It’s already been mentioned, but I agree. If you assign even just 5-10 minutes every morning to just clean and clear some space in your common living room, I’m sure your roommate would come around.

For specifics on cleaning the floor, I would sweep it at least once a week.

I typically use a long broom with soft bristles for singular smooth surfaces laminate/hardwood flooring and a mop and bucket on tiles.

Laminate floors is really easy to sweep.

But things easily fall in between grout on tiles so to keep it clean, the washing approach works instead of just sweeping.

And if it’s carpet, a really through vaccuum would work too, given there’s no carpet stains.

High traffic areas also tend to get dirty a lot more quickly so I would start in those places before moving into a spot that barely being used and less likely to get dirty.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[Pumpkin Spice Cyanide]

i think this might need a little context in what level of cleanliness you're striving for; But, these are a few tips I know help me keep everything tidy. Some are active, some are proactive.

• Sweep/swiffer often
• Vaccum every other day or 3rd day (especially carpets)
• Mop once or twice a week (REALLY helps with dust)
• Dust once a week
• Dust things like airvents and ceiling fans once every 2 weeks
• Move what you can out of the way, do not just try to go around it.
• DO NOT underestimate the power of fragrance to add to the image of cleanliness
• Keep yourself clean in your home (we're the main source of dust, debris and stains)
• Don't be the person that "cleans" a surface by swiping the stuff onto the floor
• Limit the use of footwear indoors
• Do not leave windows open for long especially without a screen
• Pay special attention to high traffic areas
• Mind your corners and moulding
• Mind your darker materials and surfaces
• Own a Mr.Clean magic eraser, use it liberally
• Keep reflective surfaces clean (they can make a whole space look dirty)
• Clean/bleach anything and everything that has to do with or is related plumbing once a week
• Organizing what you can makes a lot of difference
• Organized can still be cluttered and clutter holds dust, put away/throw away what you can
• Always work top down
• Out of sight is not out of mind
• Heat rises so look up when cleaning your kitchen
• Bathroom floors can be deceptive in showing just how dirty they really are
• Dust your rugs outside once a month
• Sometimes, cleaning includes repairs (I only recently learned this one)
• Grout is a PAIN to clean and always includes either A LOT of time, hiring someone or some crazy jury-rigged powertool. Try not to let it get too dirty in the first place.

Treat cleaning less like a restoration and more like maintenance, you should maintain cleanliness, not restore it every time it's "your turn". At least, imo.

 

[M3M3N70]

Pick up an extra shift at work and hire a maid to come in once a week for a couple hours.

If that's not an option, focus on one thing at a time. Someone else already gave my suggestion, start from the top and work your way down.

My last suggestion is to tell your roommate that you think the apartment is haunted. Then you can just blame the ghost whenever something is a mess.