We all want our homes to look clean and sparkling, and to stay looking that way for as long as possible.

But, have you ever noticed streaks and smudges on your windows, no matter how hard you scrub? Or the dirt coming back to haunt you on the floors?

These common problems could be made worse by the way we clean, it turns out.

Professional cleaner Kacie Stephens, owner of The Big Clean Co in Melbourne, shared the five most common cleaning mistakes people are making at home.

A professional cleaner shares the five most common mistakes many make when cleaning their homes. Image source: Freepik.

According to Stephens, the first mistake is using too much mop water when washing the floors. Excessive amounts of water can ruin wood flooring and leave spots on the tile, so use just enough to dampen the mop and clean those hard floors.

The second tip to getting shiny, spotless floors is not to go overboard in terms of the amount of product you use. While you may want your floors ultra-clean, too much product can make them feel sticky.

Next, if you want to avoid streaks and smudges when cleaning your windows, Stephens said that the third mistake is using Windex.

Though it’s a popular product choice, it can leave 'visible smudges and streaks when the sun shines through'. So Stephens recommends: 'Instead, soap up and squeegee for a sharp finish.'

The fourth mistake is using a dirty vacuum.

Stephens warns that not regularly cleaning the outside and inside of your unit can cause weak suction, meaning dust stays in your house and lowers air quality.

Finally, the cleaning guru suggests not to forget about the vacuum head.

When it comes to wood floors, Stephens warns that not maintaining the vacuum head can lead to scratching your floors, which can be damaging and impossible to fix.

To help with mopping, Stephens also shared other mopping tips for all floor types.

One was to use pH-neutral detergent in warm water if your floor is still dirty after cleaning.

'Warm water helps activate the detergent so your mop water will work to dissolve and suspend any dirt on your floor (aka lift it off like magic),' she said.

Another is to rinse your mop often and make sure to regularly change that mop water.

'A clean mop head will help you continuously take the dirt off the floor, transferring it into the clean water,' she added.

Key Takeaways

• Kacie Stephens, a professional cleaner, has revealed the five most common cleaning mistakes people make at home, including using excessive amounts of mop water and product, using Windex on windows, not cleaning vacuum cleaners, and not maintaining the vacuum head.
  
• Stephens explains that these errors can cause floors to feel sticky, leave smudges on windows, lower air quality due to dust returning to the home, and may also lead to irreversible damage such as scratching wood flooring.
  
• The professional cleaner advises homeowners to soap up and squeegee windows for a clean finish, clean their vacuums for better suction, and to maintain the vacuum head to avoid scratching wooden floors.
  
• Along with these practical solutions, Stephens also shared tips for mopping all floor types including using a pH-neutral detergent in warm water, rinsing the mop often, and changing the mop water regularly.
  

Do you have other tips when mopping your floors at home? Or just tips for cleaning homes in general? Share them with us in the comments below!

 

[MariaG]

I use a Shark stick vacuum that is specifically for timber flooring. It is great and one of the less expensive I had to choose from at the time. Works a treat and has a really good headlight at the front. Amazing what you don't see from above.
My house is 95% timber flooring and I did experiment with a few things to figure the best way to clean them. Because we are chemical free in our home, I did have to think outside the square.
In the end, I found a product called KOH and it is a cracker. No chemicals and uses microfibre.
I have not looked back since. I don't own a mop and could not imagine trying to clean with one now.
I use KOH for windows inside, again, microfibre. Cannot physically get to the outside, so we have to pay someone to do a quick go around every now and then. No problems there.
Ultimately, you have to be ready to do a bit of research and find what suits your environment. What works for one, does not necessarily suit another.

 

[Grumpypa]

I never make any of those mistakes! I DONT CLEAN!