7 Cleaning Missteps That Waste Your Time And Effort

Keeping your house clean can be rewarding, but the actual cleaning itself isn’t all that fun. The best any of us can do is try to make cleaning as quick and easy as possible.

Unfortunately, many of us are our own worst enemies in this regard — a lot of us do all sorts of silly things that end up making cleaning harder than it has to be!

Those cleaning mistakes are what today’s post is all about. Rather, it’s about identifying the cleaning mistakes that are making your life harder and learning simple strategies for avoiding them in the future.

7 Cleaning Mistakes That Cost You Time And Effort

1. Scrubbing Your Carpets

Scrubbing can be useful when cleaning your dishes, but it’s not great for your carpets or rugs! When you scrub at a carpet stain, you risk forcing stains deeper into the fibers, or even damaging the fibers themselves.

Instead, apply a carpet stain cleaner to the stain and blot it with a wet towel. Blotting will help pull the stain out of the carpet without damaging it in the process.

2. Cleaning Windows In Circles

For truly clean and streak-free windows, don’t use a circular motion to clean them. Instead, wipe the surface in a horizontal motion first, then wipe it again in a vertical motion.

3. Using The Wrong Carpet Cleaner

When removing carpet stains, it’s important to use the right cleaning agents and not your favorite laundry stain remover! Laundry stain removers are meant to be fully rinsed out in the wash, but it’s nearly impossible to rinse anything entirely out of your carpet without using heavy-duty cleaning equipment.

That’s why using a carpet-specific stain remover is important: you’ll get better results and do less damage to your carpeting. (Another option is to use my favorite DIY solution for tough carpet stains!)

4. Being Impatient

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from experimenting with homemade cleaning and laundry solutions throughout the past decade, it’s that a little patience can go a long way!

That’s why so many of my favorite cleaning and laundry tips that I’ve shared here on my blog involve some wait time. Allowing cleaning products to “sit” gives them time to penetrate more deeply into messes and grime.

So the next time you’re tackling a stubborn stain or a caked-on mess, remember that patience is a virtue, and try letting it sit for a bit! :-)

5. Using Soap On Cast Iron

A good cast iron pan is an invaluable tool in the kitchen, but it’s important to know how to care for them correctly. While most kitchen materials can be cleaned up with soapy water, cast iron is not one of them!

Soapy water will remove the “seasoned” layer on the surface of your cast iron, making it more likely that food will stick to the pan in the future. Learn more about safely cleaning cast iron.

6. Overfilling Your Vacuum Canister

If your vacuum canister is constantly packed full of dust and dirt, it’s probably impeding your vacuum’s airflow. This can wear out your vacuum’s motor over time, to the point where it eventually loses suction altogether.

Instead, just make it a habit to empty the canister every time you use your vacuum. It may not be strictly necessary, but once it’s a habit you won’t have to worry about forgetting to do it!

Related: How To Clean And Maintain Your Vacuum

7. Cleaning Your Floors First

If your floors are obviously dirty, it can be tempting to focus on them first on cleaning day. But if you do, you’ll only be making more work for yourself later on!

The most efficient way to clean a room is to start at the top and work your way down. That way, you don’t have to worry about pushing dust and dirt onto a clean floor, which could make you backtrack and waste precious time.

By cleaning your floors last, you’re ensuring that every speck of loose dust and dirt will get picked up right as you finish cleaning. It’s an easy way to leave a room as clean as possible!

Share your hard-won cleaning wisdom in a comment below!