10 Home Cleaning Myths You Should Stop Believing Immediately

10 Home Cleaning Myths You Should Stop Believing Immediately

By : angelina
Cleaning is one of the most important house-maintenance tasks. You have to perform it routinely to keep household surfaces sanitary and germ-free. Using the right products, tools and techniques is vital to clean your house effectively and efficiently. Most people experience an infectious disease at least once in their lifetime in Australia, even though the burden of infectious disease is low (1.7% of the total burden in 2018). However, you can fall sick repeatedly if you believe cleaning myths reinforced by advertisements, age-old cleaning notions and misinformation. By tidying your home based on these myths, dirty spots become dirtier, surfaces lose their structural integrity, and household areas become hot spots for disease-causing pathogens. You can hire professionals for end of lease cleaning in the Sunshine Coast to get your rental bond back by returning the rental property reasonably clean. However, to maintain regular house sanitation, stop believing the 10 cleaning myths mentioned below.

1. Ice cubes sharpen and clean garbage disposal blades

Contrary to popular belief, garbage disposals don’t have blades. Instead, they have teeth impellers that break food bits into sludge. Pouring ice cubes does practically nothing to clean or sharpen the impellers. If you want to sanitise and deodorise the disposable, use baking soda, white vinegar and hot water rather than lemon rinds or ice cubes.

2. Washing dishes by hand saves more water

With the advancement of technology, modern dishwashers are energy efficient and use much less water & electricity than their predecessors. Therefore, the belief that washing dishes by hand saves more water is now a myth. Just make sure the dishwasher is completely stacked before running a cycle. You will not only save water and effort but also cleaning products and time.

3. Bleach is an all-purpose cleaner

Bleach is an effective disinfectant agent that you must use carefully and only to remove germs from household surfaces and fixtures. Using it as a cleaner has many disadvantages like
  • It can dull and discolour surfaces.
  • It can remove musty smells in your home.
  • Neither clean nor disinfect effectively because the contaminants shield the germs.
  • Repeated exposure can irritate your skin, eyes and lungs.
  • Degrade structural integrity of household surfaces

  • Therefore, pre-clean surfaces with a pH neutral cleaner and then spray a solution of one part of bleach and 10 parts of water.

    4. A feather duster is the best tool for dusting

    No, it is not because feather dusters don’t collect dust particles, bacteria or other contaminants from a surface. They collect pollutants rather than displacing them. It distributes the contaminants in the room, making your home’s indoor air quality bad. Therefore, use microfiber dusters or cloths for dusting because their material is made with negatively & positively charged polyester & nylon fabrics that attract contaminants.

    5. Vinegar is safe for cleaning all surfaces

    Vinegar has acetic acid that makes it a great degreaser & cleaner. Since the solution is acidic, it is not ideal for sanitising every household surface. You can sanitise stainless steel, glass, tiles and wood. But never use vinegar directly, diluted or in a cleaning solution on marble, sandstone, granite or any other natural stone surface. It will erode the porous surfaces and cause lasting damage.

    6. Mopping isn’t necessary after sweeping or vacuuming

    Sweeping or vacuuming floors is necessary to remove physical contaminants from floors. These contaminants are dust, food bits, pollen, dust mites and many other particles. Even after you sweep or vacuum the floors, illness-causing germs and grime remain on the surfaces. To remove the pathogen and stickiness, you need to mop with a microfiber mop and a mild floor cleaning solution. This is how the professionals performing affordable bond cleaning Sunshine Coast ensure floors are clean and disinfected properly.

    7. More product means better cleaning

    Most commercial cleaners are alkaline, leaving behind a milky residue if you use too much product. Therefore, you should always read the label to know how much product to use and how to use it. Some products will need more dwell time than others to work, which is why you shouldn’t blindly use too much.

    8. Disinfectants kill germs instantly

    Unless you use steam to bust the germs, a normal chemical disinfectant will not kill pathogens instantly upon contact. Commercial disinfectants need at least 5 to 10 minutes to terminate bacteria, viruses or fungi on any surface. You must spray the solution from a distance of 8 inches from the surface and let it dwell for the time mentioned on the label. Also, you should wipe the surface after the dwell time is over. If the disinfectant dries before the dwell time is over, reapply it to kill all germs.

    9. Air purifiers clean indoor air

    Commercial air purifiers are the biggest scam products because they only mask bad smells in your home. These products don’t purify the air and aggravate asthma, rhinitis and other allergies. They also introduce volatile organic compounds that cause respiratory distress and make your home’s indoor air more polluted than it was.

    10. You need a cleaner for each surface

    Most commercial cleaning brands advocate using different products for different surfaces. However, you don’t need special cleaners such as soap and water equally well to remove grime, dust, dirt and grease. You can use a multipurpose cleaning agent and microfiber products to sanitise your house without hassle.

    Endnote

    Cleaning your home is easy and quick if you have the right cleaning products and tools. You can save energy and effort by not believing the cleaning myths above. Using the insights above, you can clean and disinfect your home like a pro. However, if you plan to end a tenancy, hire professionals for end of lease cleaning in Sunshine Coast to get your bond back.