6 Home Cleaning Mistakes That Could Be Ruining Your Home

Every homeowner aspires to live in a clean, comfy, and spotless home. For this reason, each of you would create your own cleaning routine and schedule to ensure your house stays neat. However, since house cleaning isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, some would start browsing the internet for any cleaning hacks and shortcuts to make the cleaning process easier. Others would also try to experiment with some DIY techniques until they figure out a better and faster way of cleaning.

As much as these methods could make your cleaning process a success, some of these things are actually creating more work and problems for your home. Making wrong cleaning habits can lead to plumbing issues, damage your appliances, or ruin your home’s aesthetic and decorations.

To help you ditch some of these habits, here are six home cleaning mistakes that could potentially destroy your home in the long run.

1. Using Vinegar For Your Garbage Bin

One of the most popular cleaning tricks that most people do is using vinegar as their natural disinfectant. Some people use it to clean their countertops, toilets, floors, appliances, and dishwashers. Others also use vinegar to reduce the odor of their garbage bins, especially if they habitually keep their waste sitting indoors for a few days.

However, using vinegar to disinfect and deodorize your waste can adversely affect your garbage bins, especially if you have a rubber garbage bin at home. The acid from the vinegar could eat away the rubber elements of your garbage bin, causing it to degrade.

If you do wish to keep your garbage bin clean and free from odor, the best and most effective way is to take your trashes outside and have it picked up by https://www.dirtcheaprubbishremoval.com.au/sydney/parramatta/ and other same-day rubbish removal services.

Regardless if you have only collected little waste for the day, make it a habit to take them out daily and avoid letting it sit indoors overnight. And, if you wish to clean your rubber garbage bin, it’s best to use soap, water, and a bit of baking soda.

2. Soaking Hardwood Floors With Water

If you ask some people what they use to clean their hardwood floors, most of them would say it’s water. While using water is good, soaking the hardwood floors with water and leaving it there to dry can warp the floors and cause serious damages in the long run.

Instead of cleaning your hardwood floors with a mop soaked in water, only use a dampened cloth or mop to wipe your floors. Once you’re done, go over your floors again and wipe them with a dry cloth or mop to remove any standing water.

3. Using Bleach To Remove Rust Stains And Molds

Bleach has already been proven and tested by many on how effective it can disinfect and remove some stains. However, bleach may not always work in some areas, especially if your goal is to get rid of rusts and molds. Using bleach will only feed the rust, making the rusting worst after a short while.

The same goes for the mold. Some may claim that the bleach has removed the stain caused by mold, but in reality, the bleach can only remove the mold’s color. This means the mold itself is still there but only less visible. Thus, they can still grow and spread beneath the surface without you knowing it.

For rust and mold removal, it might be best to hire professional mold removers as they have the best cleaning solutions.

4. Scrubbing Painted Surfaces

It’s common for some homeowners to scrub their painted walls, especially if it’s stained with coloring crayons by their kids or if they see some molding marks. But before you vigorously scrub your walls, you need to know that doing so can remove the paint or, worst, damage the plaster underneath.

If you do believe that the stains in your walls require intense scrubbing, then they might be better off having them repainted.

5. Using Acetone To Remove Stain

Acetone is an effective solution used to remove your manicure and other nail paints. However, using them to remove the stains in your furniture or appliances is a big no-no.

A nail polish remover will only scratch and discolor your appliance’s surface, therefore, voiding your warranty. If you want to remove any stain or sticky gunk safely, better to use almond oil or baby oil.

6. Cleaning Grouts With A Commercial Toilet Bowl Cleaner

If anyone suggests you use your toilet bowl cleaner to clean your grouts, you may want to think twice before following their advice. While it may have worked well for your neighbors, using a toilet bowl cleaner is actually dangerous for your kitchen.

For one, these commercial cleaners contain high levels of bleach and other chemicals, making your kitchen hazardous or even poisonous for food preparation. Moreover, a toilet bowl cleaner might also discolor your grout sooner or later.

Instead of using that cleaner, it’s best if you use a mixture of water, baking soda, and vinegar to keep your kitchen grouts gleaming again.

Wrapping Up

While cleaning is good for your home, make sure you’re following the proper cleaning habits to ensure your efforts won’t be wasted. Check out the list above and see if you’ve been doing one or more of them. If you do, break them off starting today and go for safer and more effective cleaning alternatives.