WHEN it comes to deep cleaning the house, many of us don’t know where to begin.
There are so many areas that we don’t even think to address because they aren’t so obvious.
Organization expert and cleaning aficionado Jessica Haizman, who has over one million followers on TikTok, has her own blog where she shares home hacks and parenting tips.
She spoke with The Sun to reveal eight places that you’re forgetting to clean, which actually get really dirty.
SMALL APPLIANCES
The first thing that Jessica said many people miss is their small appliances: toaster ovens, coffee machines, instant pots, tea kettles, etc.
These appliances can be expensive, so you want them to last as long as possible.
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To do so, they need regular cleanings.
“For the toaster, you need to dump out the crumb trays and wipe them down. If you’re using the machine every day, you should do this once a month,” she said.
FILTERS
Our homes are filled with filters that aren’t totally visible: air filters, vacuum filters, dishwasher filters, and washing machine filters.
“These should all be cleaned out once a month for most people,” she said, adding that you won’t need to do it for the dishwasher, washing machine, or vacuum as often if you don’t use them regularly.
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“But those can get really, really, really gross and need to need to be rinsed out.”
The air filters, however, should never be ignored.
“They should be cleaned or replaced. Especially in the summer months, they get a lot of pollen and gross stuff caught up in there.”
If you have pets, they’re probably even dirtier than you think.
VENTS
According to Jessica, swapping out your air filter isn’t enough.
You also need to target the vents.
“You’ve got floor vents, ceiling vents, vents under the fridge – and all of those attract a lot of dust.
“And that dust is what will be blowing in the air. Whether you have heat or air conditioning running, it's circulating that dust around your home.
Jessica said this is one of the most important areas to clean to ensure that you’re not breathing in dirt or allergens.
“Adding that into your weekly cleaning routine would be my recommendation. It's hard because they're down low and up high, so they're not something that you see often.
“But that makes a big difference, especially if you're someone who suffers from allergies or if you feel like you're congested and don't understand why.”
LIGHTS
Next up on Jessica’s list were lights: lightbulbs, chandeliers, and light switches.
“Any lights that are up above, like chandeliers, will attract a lot of debris.
“But also, light bulbs themselves, even ones on small lamps, bring in dust.”
Ignoring a dust-collecting light bulb for too long could pose a fire hazard, Jessica warned.
“You’ll also want to regularly clean your light switches. They might not attract as much dust, but we’re constantly touching them.”
She recommended wiping them down with a disinfectant to stop the spread of bacteria.
DOORS
Like light switches, doors are a surface that we’re always touching.
“You’re going to have fingerprints on the doorknobs and the doors themselves. And over time it’s going to build up,” Jessica said.
She said to give these spots some attention every few months.
“And also, the floor corners behind the doors need to be cleaned. A lot of times people clean the bathroom with the door pulled open and then leave.
“But you need to close the door while you’re in the room and clean that corner area that’s behind the door too.
“There’s a lot of dust that will settle their, dog hair, things like that.”
BEDS
Most of us know that we should be washing our linens – Jessica cleans hers once a week but said once a month should be ok – but many of us don’t think about the other areas around the bed.
“The mattress, the headboard, the floor under the bed. Those all need to be cleaned at least once a month.
“You spend a good chunk of your time laying there, so if there’s dust on the headboard or dirt under the bed, you’ll be breathing that in.”
Jessica said you’d be surprised at how much grime accumulates in these spots.
FANS
Like vents, fans are a prime suspect when it comes to igniting allergies.
“You have a lot of dust sitting on a ceiling fan, and if you start the fan, you blow all of that into the air,” she said.
To clean these, all you need is a pillowcase and a washcloth.
Wrap the ceiling fan arm with a pillowcase and slide it down so that all the dust falls into the case. Then, just wipe it with a wet towel.
If you have smaller fans like desk or stroller ones, you’ll want to take off the cover and give the blades a wipe down once a month as well.
PHONES
Jessica’s final tip was to declutter your cell phone.
“Delete old text messages, voicemails, recent calls, unused apps.
“Back up photos to Google Photos or whatever you use, and then delete them from your device,” she said.
“I hate getting to that point where I’m on vacation or I’m with my daughter and I want to take a photo of something, but my phone doesn’t let me because my storage is full.
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Jessica likes to declutter her device once a month.
“Having a clean and organized phone is really helpful and can make a difference in your life.”
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