Safety and Allergen Quick Cleaning Tips for Your Family
These safety and allergin tips will help create a non-toxic environment for you and your family. It’s critical to your health to acknowledge these truths and make the necessary changes for a healthy home.
1. Use Non-Toxic Cleaning Tools and Supplies
Did you know that most common household cleaners are toxic poisons that have no business in your home or around your family? It’s a startling truth. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has a Hall of Shame Database and catalogs many famous culprits.
Knowing this now, why would you continue to danger your health with household cleaners that cause several disorders and diseases? First, you must find healthy alternatives to avoid the dangerous health hazards of grocery-brand poisons and dollar store knockoffs.
Several cleaning products are EWG verified. So when you see that verification, you know that the product ingredients are transparent, genuinely non-toxic, and not greenwashed. The Attitude Store on Amazon is EWG-approved. Feel at ease knowing that the brand is eco-conscious, uses less plastic, and is cruelty-free and vegan. In addition to household cleaners, they have personal care items created with the same standards.
A good rule of thumb is to avoid products with perfumes and fragrances because they are toxic. However, some non-toxic cleaners use small amounts of essential oils for people who need the smell good (me). The Attitude non-toxic line (approved by the EWG), has natural air-fresheners too.
Did you know that your microfiber cloth contains microplastics? Those are terrible for the environment. Additionally, they create microfiber air pollution in your home. Microfibers attach themselves to dust.
So they are invisible airborne plastic pollutants swirling around in your background—a nightmare for allergy sufferers. Try cleaning with reusable bamboo paper towels and organic cotton alternatives instead.
2. Keep Your Cleaners in a Caddy
One of the best quick cleaning tips for staying organized and on top of the mess is to keep your supplies in a cleaning caddy. Having a caddy makes it easy to carry supplies from room to room. In addition, it provides a place to put the cleaners back immediately after using them and keep them all in one place.
3. Use Quality Air Purifiers and Properly Clean and Replace Filters
Allergens and air quality are vital elements when choosing cleaning products and equipment. For example, using non-toxic cleaners will prevent dangerous air pollutants from invading your home. Also, using quality air purifiers can drastically improve the air quality of your home. Air purifiers with HEPA filters are best for trapping indoor allergens and harmful pollutants.
People experiencing allergies and asthma have documented dramatic improvement in their conditions when properly using and maintaining air purification systems. Be sure to follow product advisement on when to replace filters. Common indoor pollutants include pet hair, smoke, dust mites, pollen, artificial fragrances, and cleaning chemicals.
Keeping your house clean shouldn’t come at the expense of your’s and your family’s health. So don’t take cleaning shortcuts that you’ll regret later, such as using toxic cleaners that you shouldn’t be inhaling. It’s not the best way to keep the house clean. It opens it up to more diseases.
General Quick Cleaning Tips
It can be challenging to stay on top of the mess, especially with small children. However, these general house cleaning tips are ideal for avoiding clutter and chaos before the disaster.
An easier way to keep things tidy is to break cleaning down into small increments, such as 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes. Then, you take an equal time break before returning to it again. These time windows make cleaning less overwhelming and can keep you motivated to get the whole house clean.
It’s as simple as using a set timer on your phone. Remember that a body in motion stays in motion. So speed clean in these intervals, and you may commit to longer than 15 minutes.
In addition, you may benefit from using a cleaning checklist to keep duties organized with designated days and times. Many people laminate their lists and use a dry-erase marker to make them reusable. It’s an effective tool, habituating daily cleanup and setting deep cleaning days.
4. Clean House From Top to Bottom
If you start from the bottom, you will have a terrible time. Instead, begin with ceiling fans and light fixtures and work your way down to the floors. This practice ensures that you don’t backtrack or do the same job twice. For instance, if you reverse the order, you’ll sweep and brush so much dust onto your freshly vacuumed surfaces. Work smarter, not harder. Blast, those dusty ceiling fans!
5. Complete One Chore at a Time
While it may be tempting to work through your home one room at a time, it’s better to focus on one chore at a time. So dust every room before moving on to the next task, and complete each duty accordingly. Also, completing each task before moving on to the next gives you a sense of completion. Put your cleaning equipment away as you go. It’s like checking off a bullet point on your to-do list; it feels gratifying and vital to speed cleaning.
6. Take Something with You When You Leave a Room
Don’t leave a room empty-handed! When you get up to go into the other room, survey the space you’re leaving first. If items don’t belong, pick them up and put them away. Picking up as you go keeps y our space tidier while helping reduce unwanted clutter. In addition, you are minimizing unwanted stress from your environment.
Quick Cleaning Tips for the Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most active rooms in your home and is known for housing bacteria, germs, and even viruses. The kitchen is ground zero for bacteria and other household germs and requires more daily upkeep.
7. Disinfect Surfaces Daily
The easiest, safest, and most affordable disinfectant is white vinegar. However, vinegar needs to diluting with water at a 1:1 ratio. So, add equal parts to a spray bottle and spray down hard surfaces that need disinfecting. IMPORTANT for the white vinegar to be an effective disinfectant, it needs to sit on surfaces for 30 minutes.
It’s essential to note that his solution isn’t as effective as spraying toxic chemicals such as bleach. So be aware of that pending disinfectant needs. On the other hand, vinegar is non-toxic, the smell doesn’t remain long once diluted, and it’s safe for children and pets. Test surfaces first, and don’t use vinegar on aluminum, natural stone surfaces, waxed wood, and cast iron.
Before disinfecting, washing the household surfaces using dish soap and hot water is vital. Then, spray your disinfectant and follow the time requirements before cleaning it. Be aware of high-touch areas and disinfect them daily. Some of these include doorknobs, handles, faucets, tables, light switches, and countertops. Another disinfectant is boiling hot water, but that’s a dangerous way to clean countertops and handles.
8. Cleaning a Stainless Steel Sink
Another high-touch area is the kitchen sink. Think about all of the things you wash down the drain. Did you know that your sink is dirtier than the toilet? Yuck. For this reason that it’s essential to include this quick cleaning tip.
Wash the sink with dish soap and hot water before covering it with baking soda. Next, rub the baking soda with the sink’s grain using a soft nylon brush. Then, take a toothbrush to the tighter crevasses of the drain, and spray white vinegar all over the sink. This cause the baking soda to fizz and bubble. Once that stops, rinse the sink with hot water. Then, to disinfect, you can spray your vinegar solution and let it sit for an hour before rinsing it clean with hot water.
Alternatively, you could pour boiling hot water into the kitchen sink, but this process can result in accidents, including severe burns. So if you’re a toddler mom like me, you might opt for the vinegar.
9. Cleaning Your Microwave with Lemon
Cleaning your microwave just got much easier if you didn’t already know this hack? You only need a lemon, a cup of water, and reusable paper towels. First, cut the lemon in half and squeeze it into a bowl. Next, add one cup of water to the bowl and microwave it for three minutes. Let it stand for five minutes before wiping the mess clean and quickly with your paper or organic cotton towels.
10. Recycle Baking Soda
Rather than tossing your fridge’s box of baking soda after 30 days, dump it into the garbage disposal with running water for a second use. Then cut up a lemon, squeeze it into the garbage disposal and add the lemons before running it. Cut-up citrus peels are a safe and natural way to deodorize your home. So you can enjoy the fresh lemon scent.
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Quick Cleaning Tips for the Bathroom
The bathroom is the second nastiest room in the house. The toilet is gross! But do you realize how much nasty grime can build up in the sink and tub? YUCK! These are the best quick cleaning tips for maintaining your bathroom.
Use a Daily Shower Spray to Reduce Grime
11. Did you know a daily shower spray reduces the number of times you need to deep clean the tub? Spray it on the shower walls, tub basin, and curtain liner to prevent the need for laborious scrubbing.
12. Invest in a Washable Mildew-Free Shower Curtain Liner
Stop wasting your money and polluting the planet with disposable plastic shower liners! Did you know that fabric reusable shower curtains exist? It’s an easy way to keep cleaning the bathroom family safe, simple, and eco-friendly.
13. Soak Your Shower Head
Secure a bag around your shower head and soak it for 15-20 minutes to remove limescale and calcium deposits from your shower head. Because of its acidity, white vinegar works wonders for cutting through mineral deposits, grease, and household grime. Don’t be alarmed if your water pressure enhances after this simple chore.
14. Clean Bathroom Exhaust Fans
Don’t overlook this cleaning project! You don’t need to wash the exhaust fan daily or even weekly. Instead, clean your vents once or twice a year. However, if you or a family member suffers from dust allergies, you should clean them more often. Use the dusting attachment to your vacuum to clean inside the fan housing and the motor.
Additionally, you may remove the exhaust cover and soak it in a sink full of warm water. Add a few drops of dish soap and let it sit for five minutes. Wipe excess dirt and grime clean away with a washcloth or dish brush.
15. Cleaning the Toilet
After putting on your bathroom cleaning gloves, spray the toilet bowl cleaner on and into the toilet and let it sit for a few minutes. Next, wipe toilet bowl cleaner from the toilet with your reusable cotton cleaning towels making sure to clean around the base and bowl. Alternatively, pour one cup of baking soda and two cups of vinegar into the bowl for thirty minutes to one hour. Finally, use a toilet brush to scrub the inside of the bowl.
Quick Cleaning Tips for the Bedroom
The bedroom is the room you both start and end your day. So cleanliness and comfortability are crucial to keeping you happy and rested. Check out these best quick cleaning tips for the bedroom.
16. Make Your Bed
Make your bed first thing in the morning. Starting your day by completing this simple task helps you to set the day up for success and productivity. It establishes a sense of accomplishment and encourages you to check more to-dos off your list.
17. Use Dust Mite Protectors
Significant gross fact, your bed houses dust mites. These disgusting critters feast on your dead skin. While they do not bite or carry diseases, they cause allergic reactions in people with asthmatic conditions. The American Lung Association states,
A mild case may cause an occasional runny nose, watery eyes, and sneezing. In severe cases, the condition is ongoing, or chronic, resulting in persistent sneezing, cough, congestion, facial pressure, or a severe asthma attack. People with asthma who are sensitive to mites face an increased risk of flare-ups or an asthma attack.
American Lung Association
Protect your peace of mind and your family’s health with dust mite protection for your mattress and pillows.
18. Wash Bedding Once a Week
Washing your bedding once a week is ideal for keeping dust mite allergies at bay. Some experts suggest you can wash them every two weeks. However, the idea of microscopic bugs all up in my face, feasting on my dead skin, is enough for me to make this a weekly chore. You decide.
Quick Cleaning Tips for the Laundry Room
Lastly, here are a few laundry tips to help with this never-ending chore.
19. Use Laundry Safe Detergents
Remember that store brand washing detergents are toxic and are some of the most dangerous allergens in your home. Laundry detergents are known for causing skin allergies and outbreaks. Typically, the preservatives, dyes, and synthetic perfumes cause dermatitis outbreaks, including redness, hives, and intense itching. Choose safe laundry alternatives for your family instead.
20. Use Timers for Laundry Loads
The secret to laundry is that you must keep moving to get the job done. An empty laundry basket is a mission and rarely goes according to plan. At least that’s the reality in my home—never-ending piles around every corner. However, setting timers to keep you on top of switching the loads and folding them makes it less daunting.
Additionally, folding laundry is my new time to watch something on the television. If you make that deal yourself, I bet you start folding that mountain of laundry. Lame reality shows or docuseries make house cleaning more fun, provided you don’t get stuck and pulled into three seasons. Of course, I’m only kidding, slightly. I think we’ve all been there? Keep moving through each laundry basket with the timers, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly it goes.
One final tip, use the best cleaning tools within your budget. Investing in the proper house cleaning tools makes house cleaning more manageable and more fun. For example, I invested in a cordless spin scrubber for my bathroom tub and tile, and it’s fun watching it do the work. Well, as fun as house cleaning can be.
Quick Cleaning Tips In Summary
Make cleaning safe for your family. Ditch the microfiber cloth, use non-toxic cleaners, and test them before using them on hard surfaces. Don’t use products with fragrance unless it’s an essential oil safe for kids and pets. Also, keeping up on daily cleaning makes Spring cleaning a piece of cake. So do one chore through every room rather than cleaning the entire house one room at a time for the best cleaning routine. It gets the job done quicker and more efficiently.
That completes this list of quick cleaning tips for keeping you and your family clean and safe. Do you have any short tidy-up tips for the whole house? Please add them to the comments below and share this article to make my whole day. Thanks, you’re fantastic!
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Elizabeth Ervin is the owner of Sober Healing. She is a freelance writer passionate about opioid recovery and has celebrated breaking free since 09-27-2013. She advocates for mental health awareness and encourages others to embrace healing, recovery, and Jesus.
These are great tips. I’m definitely going to start using a shower spray on our shower. I HATE having to clean all the hard water and soapy stuff when i clean it.
I really love these tips. They take away that feeling of being overwhelmed because I have some great ideas to help me tackle the mess more efficiently.
I’m so glad I found this. I’m obsessed with keeping the house clean, but I never once have thought of an air purifier! I’m missing the most important step – clean air!
These are all good points to consider. I have been doing some deep cleaning lately, and it makes sense to go from top to bottom. I definitely need to try soaking my showerhead!
Excellent tips! I need to remember to pay more attention to filters and vents. I consider a clean house a happy house, so I’m always looking for new ways to make sure my home looks its best.
Such sage advice you’ve shared with us all here! Thank you for giving out all of this great information. 🙂
Me too! I’m so glad you found these quick cleaning tips helpful!
Yes! They are definitely a game changer!
Awesome! I’m glad these quick cleaning tips helped. And filters and vents are super important. Especially for allergy sufferers.
I need these tips as I have not yet allowed my maid to come inside the house. Me and my husband do all the cleaning and hence we need suggestions.
I have a microwave that pretty horrendous looking and I’ve ben putti it off in cleaning it. That for that lemon cleaning tip. I needed it.
Awesome! Glad you found inspiration on this list of quick cleaning tips!
Cleaning a house is tough work and at first I mentally reacted and could totally relate to your post. But as I read on there were some tips that were just aha moment for me! So thank you, this was very educational for me.
I never know that we can clean microwave with lemon. Thanks for share this.
Thanks for sharing. I’m glad you found some inspiration from these quick cleaning tips!
Absolutely. Thanks for reading!