9 Tips For Keeping Your House Clean

By Ruth MacEachern

Product Manager

In spite of the new found frenzy of Mrs Hinch and her Zoflora obsession, cleaning is not everyone’s favourite activity. If you ask most people what they want to do on a Friday night it’s seldom deep clean the kitchen. However, studies have shown that having a tidy home means you really do have a tidier and clearer mindset and of course cleanliness protects us against picking up germs and mould. So how can you keep on top of those dreaded chores and maintain a tidy home? 

Most bloggers advise the little and often approach, by doing a few chores routinely you’ll barely notice doing them and they don’t become such a bother.  

1) Make your bed when you wake up – as soon as you get up make the bed, fold the quilt back so it doesn’t cover the sheet as this stops bacteria breeding. 

2) Re-fill or empty the dishwasher whilst you make your morning coffee. 

3) Put a load of laundry on and ‘delay-start’ so it finishes for when you get home from work, then put it out to dry as soon as you get home. 

4) Clean as you cook – washing up is probably one of the most easily-off put chores so to make it easier on yourself wash pans and cooking utensils after using (or load into dishwasher) and put any ceramic oven dishes onto soak after you’ve dished up your dinner. 

5) Additionally, do the washing-up before bed and wipe the kitchen surfaces down. It would even be advisable to do this as soon as you finish dinner so you have the rest of the evening to relax. 

6) Wipe up spills as soon as they happen nobody wants a stain –right? 

7) Rotate your dish towels, these can pick up germs easily and will especially after a few uses, simply throw into the washing machine after a few uses and it’ll get washed in your next laundry load. 

8) When you get home from work, before taking your shoes and coat off take the rubbish and recycling out, that way the job is done before you are properly home and ready to relax. 

9) It is also advisable you nominate a room/big task to one day in the week. For example, hoover and mop every Monday, deep clean bathroom every Tuesday, change the sheets every Wednesday etc. If you make a plan that covers Mon-Fri you have the rest of the weekend to yourself and won’t have to worry about any household chores and soon they will become so routine they won’t feel that choresome at all. 

Did you know however, that the air inside your home may not be all that clean, no matter how much you clean? In fact, some of the cleaning products you use may in fact be polluting your homes air and be damaging to your own health!  

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. 

Many of the products that we use to clean our homes along with, ironically, some of the aerosol sprays that we use to make them smell fresh contain VOCs. VOCs are irritants which affect some people more than others, they can cause allergic reactions, headaches, tiredness, respiratory problems and other illnesses. 

If you are concerned that your cleaning products may be causing illness you can look to more natural alternatives that utilise ingredients such as white vinegar and lemon. However, the effectiveness of these alternatives may not reach the standard most of us expect in our cleaning products. Additionally, whilst cleaning you should always clean in a well-ventilated environment.  

Ventilation is something that often gets overlooked and most do not realise exactly the effect ventilation has. Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a space and is mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants; it can also be used for purposes of thermal comfort or dehumidification. Most people don't associate health problems with the air in their homes, yet there are as many as 900 toxins polluting our indoor air. 

Introducing a ventilation system into your home may sound like the ultimate daunting chore but EnviroVent are on hand to take the hassle out. Initially we visit you home and carry out a thorough home survey in which your local expert will assess any condensation, damp and mould problems that you may be facing in your property and take readings of the relative humidity levels throughout the property. This survey is completely free and will establish the ventilation requirements of your home, after which there is no obligation to purchase but you will then have the knowledge of your home's needs.  

Installing a ventilation solution will massively improve your properties indoor air quality, reduce condensation therefore stopping damp and mould – a house proud persons dream!