Solving the Apartment “How Often Do We Clean?” Debate

Whether you’re living with roommates for the first time or moving in with a new spouse, cleaning expectations for your apartment can clash. When sharing a space, you need to discuss cleaning habits and rules with the other people living with you, even if you know them well, to help avoid squabbles.

The amount of time your place stays clean will vary depending on whether you have pets or frequent visitors and your level of daily upkeep.

Time Saving Cleaning Tips

One of the best tricks for a clean home is to clean from the top down. In the kitchen, that means dusting the tops of kitchen cabinets, door jambs, appliance tops, and light fixtures before moving to lower surfaces.

In other rooms, dust ceiling fans, drapery rods, bookcases, and the tops of pictures, then work your way down. You’ll end with removing fallen dust from the baseboards and cleaning the floor. The best way to tackle top-down cleaning is with a vacuum attachment. If your time is limited, a robot vacuum can decrease your chore load and free up your day for other priorities.

Kitchen

For sanitary reasons, the kitchen is the room that needs the most attention.

Countertops: Wipe them down before and after you prepare food.

Stovetop and microwave: Wipe up spills after each use. Clean the interior of the microwave one or more times a week, depending on use.

Fridge: Wipe it out before putting away new groceries.

Floor: Sweep or vacuum frequently. Your feet track grease and crumbs out of the kitchen, so the more often you clean the floor, the cleaner the rest of your place will stay.

Don’t forget to deep clean each month to catch any spots you may have missed. You should also clean your oven every three to six months to prevent buildup.

Living Area and Bedroom

Your vacuum is your best tool for keeping your main living area and bedroom in great shape and dust-free.

Upholstered furniture: Run the upholstery attachment over furniture to collect dust once a week. Vacuum under the cushions to collect crumbs and over the seats to pick up pet hair.

Window treatments: Use the dusting brush attachment to clean blinds or drapery tops every month.

Furniture surfaces: Dust most wood surfaces once per week. You can use your dusting brush attachment to dust furniture as well. Glass tabletops show dust and dirt much faster. Wipe them down with a glass cleaner in between dustings.

Floor: Vacuum once a week. That should suffice unless you have a shedding pet or live in a sandy area. Adjust as needed.

Bedding: Change sheets once a week. You may need to wash them sooner if you’re sick or you share your bed with a pet that sheds or jumps on the bed with wet paws.

Bathroom

The bathroom needs more frequent cleaning than other rooms. Start with daily cleaning, then do a deep clean once a week.

Shower: Rinse out the shower after each use and squeegee the glass. Clean it thoroughly once a week.

Counter and sink: Wipe down the counter and sink each day with disinfecting wipes.

Towels: Hang up towels after each use, and wash them once a week.

Bath mats: Wash bath mats and throw rugs once a week.

Light fixtures and fans: Wipe down and dust all fixtures each week.

Floor: Vacuum the floor to remove dirt and hair, then mop it each week. Dust and clean the baseboards as well.

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Outside Areas

Sweep your front steps or the balcony, brush away spider webs, and shake out the doormat.

When settling the debate over how often to clean, both parties should contribute. Split up the responsibilities fairly. Do some research into cleaning methods for the best possible deep clean, too. For instance, here is a great way to successfully clean blinds. After all, a clean apartment where you can hang out and entertain friends is a win for everyone.

This article is editorial content that has been contributed to our site at our request and is published for the benefit of our readers. We have not been compensated for its placement.

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