How Often Do You Wash Bed Linen and Clean the Fridge? Tips for Structuring Cleanliness at Home
Daily tasks
A little cleaning every day will save you a lot of work during the weekly cleanup. After cooking, clean the countertop and stove with a degreasing all-purpose cleaner. After washing dishes, clean the sink and the kitchen will look sparkling again.
It’s also a good idea to dry the shower after each use. This doesn’t have to take long. Hang a squeegee nearby and wipe the glass wall dry, run a cloth over the faucets and make sure there is no water on the silicone edges. This will prevent limescale, black edges, and dirty joints that are difficult to salvage.
Finally, ventilation is recommended every day, winter or summer. After a steamy shower, open the bathroom window for 15 minutes and air the bedroom. Not only will you get rid of unpleasant odors, but you will also get rid of moist air. This is important to prevent condensation from forming on the walls, which can lead to mold. If the bathroom is difficult to ventilate, it is advisable to install a mechanical ventilation system.
Weekly chores
Weekly cleaning is essential for a healthy living environment. Take down the dust, vacuum the floor and carpets, and mop to wipe away stains. The bathroom also deserves a vigorous scrubbing. Cleaning vinegar combined with hot water can work wonders against limescale. It gets the bathtub, glass walls and faucets clean in no time and also helps with dirt on tiles and grout. Use milder, citric acid-based products on the faucets to prevent damage. If you have a lot of lime scale in the water, it pays to invest in a water softener, an appliance that pays for itself surprisingly quickly. This will make maintenance a lot easier and you won’t have to worry about those pesky, white lime spots.
During weekly maintenance, pay extra attention to places we often forget, such as lamps, the garbage can itself, the underside of kitchen cabinets and the rubbers of washing machines and refrigerators.
Bedding is best washed weekly or bi-weekly at sixty degrees. This is because sweat and dead skin cells accumulate in the sheets and are the ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
Take care of it monthly
You do well to provide a little more time each month for one weekly cleaning. Then you can clean the vacuum cleaner’s collection tank, clean and descale the coffee maker, and tackle the refrigerator. Remove paper or other dirt that sticks to the refrigerator walls and make sure the door’s rubbers are clean and fit perfectly. That way, your refrigerator will use less. Beware: built-in appliances are equipped with ventilation grilles at the top and bottom and you should also clean them so that they can continue to do their job.
Do you usually wash clothes at cold temperatures? Don’t forget to choose a high-temperature program once in a while. That way you avoid bacterial growth and unpleasant odors.
Maintain annually
During annual spring cleaning, make the time to clean in places you wouldn’t otherwise reach. Turn out the cabinets completely, let the freezer defrost once and put the curtains in the washing machine.
Also important: you are required to have your heating system serviced. Liquid or solid fuel boilers should be checked annually by an expert. For gas boilers, maintenance is mandatory every two years; in Wallonia, it is every three years. The maintenance of a heat pump, on the other hand, is not mandatory as long as the appliance has less than 3 kg of coolant, but you can sign a maintenance contract with the installer. That professional will then check in time that everything is still working and can detect any problems early.
A C ventilation system is easy to maintain: you only need to clean the valves and grilles once a year. With type D systems, you have to clean or replace filters. It is best to do this once a year. It is recommended that the ventilation ducts be maintained every five years. Call in a professional for this.
You would also do well to inspect the roof annually for minor defects. Also, thoroughly clean the gutter and drain pipes at least once a year, preferably after winter. Moss, leaves and debris can collect there and cause blockages. Leaf catchers help avoid the biggest problems. This is what you should pay attention to when maintaining your roof.
It is also advisable to have an annual inspection of the indoor and outdoor units of the air conditioner, to have the solar water heater checked, and to clean the solar panels with water and a soft sponge or cloth. It is also not a luxury to have your chimney swept at least once a year. Some fire insurance policies even require this annual maintenance. Another annual chore is to vent the radiators before turning the heating back on. Finally, be sure not to forget to test the smoke detector(s).
