Unfortunately, the work of keeping the clean is never truly done. (My kingdom for a self-cleaning house!) But while cleaning remains a perpetual need, there are plenty of ways to make the fruits of your labor last a little longer!
The topic of “preventative cleaning” is one I’ve explored previously on my blog, and this post will expound on that idea with new, but equally practical, tips for making your hard work last. One can never have too many time-saving cleaning tips, after all!
With the help of these 7 preventative cleaning tips, you can ensure that your cleaning efforts aren’t going to waste!
7 (More) Easy Ways To Keep Your House Clean Longer
1. Keep Your Shower Dry
Want your shower to stay clean as long as possible? Taking a few seconds to clean things up after your shower will make a huge difference!
Keep a squeegee in your shower to remove excess water from the shower walls and doors after each use. This will prevent soapy water from turning into soap scum, keeping your shower much cleaner over time!
2. Clean Your Cleaning Tools
You rely on your vacuum, mop, duster, and other cleaning tools to help keep your home clean. But if the tools themselves are dirty, they may be more of a hindrance than a help!
Keeping your vacuum clean will help ensure it can clean your carpets as thoroughly as possible. And washing your mop and duster regularly will ensure they pick up dirt instead of pushing it around!
Learn more about how to clean your cleaning tools.
3. Use Drain Covers
No one wants to deal with a clogged or slow-running drain! Putting drain covers in your kitchen and bathrooms is the easiest way to catch hair, food, and other stuff that can contribute to clogs.
Removing gunk from a drain cover every once in a while definitely beats dealing with clogged pipes!
4. Replace Your Doormat
The best way to keep your floors clean is to prevent dirt from coming inside in the first place! And your first line of defense against dirt is a good doormat.
If your current doormat is old and worn, it may not do much to remove dirt and moisture from shoes. Investing in a new, durable doormat will help keep dirt outside where it belongs!
5. Take The Trash Out
Cleanliness isn’t just about how things look, it’s also about how they smell! If the smell of garbage is wafting out of your trash can, it isn’t doing your kitchen any favors.
Make sure to take the trash out regularly to help prevent odor issues. If it helps, you may even want to create a trash schedule so it doesn’t slip your mind!
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6. Clean Your Appliances Regularly
Like your cleaning tools, it’s also important to keep your major appliances clean. Your efforts will go further if your appliances aren’t struggling to do their jobs effectively!
Learn more by checking out my guide on when and how to clean your appliances.
7. Don’t Forget About Your HVAC System
Regardless of what type of central air system you have, it’s important to keep it clean. If there’s dust and dirt lurking inside your air ducts, it’s eventually going to end up on your carpets, furniture, and walls!
There are two ways to keep your HVAC system (and by extension, your whole house) cleaner. First, replace your air filter at least twice per year, or more frequently if you have allergies or pets. Second, check your air vents regularly for dust, dirt, and hair and vacuum them out as needed.
What’s your best tip for keeping your house clean longer?
use a window vac to suck up the moisture after a shower, squeegees can often spray it around.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The best way to keep foul odors from your trash is to rinse out all food containers (milk, yogurt, tuna, etc.), and to never trow food scraps in the trash can. A helpful hint to diminish the “fishy” smell from cans is to rinse then add a little kitty litter to can. Wrap can in a small plastic bag (something you are throwing out anyway) and put in trash. Helps a lot!
Thanks for all your great tips and homemade solutions Jillee…. I especially love the fabric softener using the Rosemary Mint hair conditioner!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The tips are very helpful
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Nice tips
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks
Re squeegee in the shower. I spray shower with a mix of 1T vodka, a few drops of Dawn, any good smelling essential oils and distilled water, squeegee, then use a micro fiber cloth to wipe after, especially the pan. Sounds unnecessary, but it takes one minute, you can rub away any ring caused by commercial bar soap, gets rid of every last bit of water and you almost never have clean your shower. Plus it smells yummy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just use Jillee’s daily shower spray (takes about 15 seconds) and that’s it !! The last time I scrubbed my shower, was about 3 years ago…..It’s just my husband and I, using the shower about 2-3 times a week…………
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Keep outdoor walkways into the house swept. Take shoes off in the house, switching to slippers/indoor shoes at the door. Keep dirt patches in the yard/garden covered with ground cover or mulch to cut down on dust and dirt blowing into the house through open windows. If I was really energetic I’d wipe my dogs’ paws off too.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Better than a squeegee for glass shower surrounds: Costco’s microfiber cleaning towels. 16 x 16, 36 for $17.99. I like them so much for cleaning all over the house that I ordered a second package for my own use and a third package to go into a housewarming gift basket. They’re da bomb. Just be sure to wash them gently and only with similar microfiber fabrics and they’ll last forever. On glass and mirrors you hardly need glass cleaner.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Those filters need to be changed out much more than twice a year! Use the cheap thin ones too, never the extra thick ones. The thick ones make it harder for the air to pass through and are taxing on your HVAC system. The most important preventative maintenance you can do to prevent problems with your HVAC is replace the filter once a month. My family operates a Refrigeration and HVAC repair company and most people are not doing this one super simple and cheap preventive measure to keep their system in good working order.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you for this note! I had central heat and A/C installed in my 95 year old house last year. The installers told me to keep an eye on the filter and find my home’s own good schedule for changing the filters. They were quite specific about all the benefits of regular filter changes, not the least of which was prolonging the life of the new system. With the age of the house and all the pets, they said it could be at least quarterly but probably every 4 to 6 weeks. I have settled into a 4 week schedule and, to your point, I use the pleated light weight filters from the local DIY store as recommended. Super simple, super easy and well worth the couple of dollars and the couple of minutes it takes to make the switch
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Agreed 100%.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.And if you get new carpet or rugs, watch your filters as even the best plush will SHED fibers like crazy the first 2-3 months. Our filters were *full* after only 2 weeks when we got new carpet! This was the only place we saw it–not on furniture, nor anywhere else. After a couple months it slowed, and eventually we were able to return to changing the filter only once a month.
I have a very old home and finding filters to fit is a challenge. I signed up for a site called filter easy and am on a monthly subscription. Each time a new filter shows up, I know it’s time to change out the old one. One of the best things you can do for your HVAC. I don’t get the cheapest but I also don’t get the most expensive.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee, I love your site and all the helpful information.
Unfortunately, I cannot use your Miracle cleaner to remove stubborn soap film from my shower since it calls for heated vinegar. I have companion birds, and the fumes are dangerous. One bird is large and bites, and relocating him and the little birds stresses them . Also, husband absolutely despises vinegar.
Do you have a second favorite way to remove soap film? I use a 3M scrubbie, which does work, but something homemade that loosens the nasty soap film would be wonderful. I do see you have a daily shower cleaner, which I will certainly use once I get the soap film removed.
Thank you so much.
Terry
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Terry! Can you use vinegar without heating it up? If so, simply skip the heating step. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Terry, I just mix the 2 without heating and they work the same. I initially heated the vinegar up, which I found irritated my airways [I have asthma which may account for that], so the next time I made it I skipped that step, and it made no difference except that I may have to give the bottle a swirl to remix the ingredients when I use it, easy peasy. This is the best stuff I have ever used for soap film and I won’t do it any other way now! Just wish I knew about it sooner ;)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you squeegee the walls every time you use the shower, you won’t have buildup!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Using a shower filter (I use 2 one being a vitamin c filter) cuts down on the soap scum!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love all the tips and tricks, Jillee
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We have a shiny, chrome faucet, sprayer and on/off lever in the kitchen island, which I love, when there are no hard water stains around the base plates. It was a constant ‘battle’ until I started a new routine.
Every night I spray some homemade lemon vinegar from your recipe on all sides of the base of each of the three and now I wake up to no mineral deposits.
Great idea, unless you have granite–don’t use vinegar there or it will erode the stone. Better choice then is rubbing alcohol or peroxide
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I suppose this is more work rather than a hack or tip, but sweeping the garage, front porch and other points of entry on a regular basis helps keep the dirt, pine straw etc. outside where it belongs. Our last house was positioned such that dead leaves (which quickly became tiny bits) entered the garage every time the wind blew, and now our uncovered front porch collects pine straw like a magnet. Also any dirt on our shoes would be first deposited here whenever we came home. Once I started making a point of sweeping these areas once per week or so (in addition to shaking out the doormat), there was noticeably less dirt in the house to contend with. An indoor, water-absorbent doormat (also vacuumed/shaken out once per week) at each door has also helped contain the dirty footprints, from man and animal!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jilliee
Just wanted to say thank you for all your articles, I find them very useful and look forward to seeing them every morning.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks Penny!
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