8 Things You Should Actually Clean Every Day, According To Experts

We spoke to two experts on the important items that should be wiped down daily to help keep bacteria and germs from building up in your home.

We get it. The thought of cleaning your home every day doesn’t sound like fun, especially after a long day at work. While most households wait until the end of the week to complete their weekly cleaning, there are high-traffic areas of your home (your kitchen and bathroom), with fixtures that should be wiped down every day for sanitization purposes. “Surfaces that are touched on a daily basis by everyone in the home contain outside germs that can be easily transferred,” says Sarah Grace Vedros, the operations manager at Geaux Maids in Louisiana. “Cleaning these areas daily can greatly improve the health environment of your home.”

For more insight, we spoke to Sarah Grace and Me’Shayla Sandifer of Princess Cleaning Services about the specific things in your home you should clean every day. These professionals are also dishing out on their favorite cleaning products to tackle the job.

Meet the Experts

• Me'Shayla Sandifer is the owner of Princess Cleaning Services, LLC in Byram, Mississippi.

• Sarah Grace Vedros is the Operations Manager at Geaux Maids in Louisiana.

Door Knobs & Handles

Door knobs and handles are touched every day multiple times a day. It makes sense that these items are full of bacteria, especially after coming home from the outside. Taking a disinfectant wipe–something Vedros speaks highly of since they help with bacteria spreading–to the most used knobs and handles is an easy task that eliminates germs and promotes a cleaner home.

Kitchen Sink

Ever had a problem with fruit flies in your kitchen? If so, you might have noticed them swarming around your kitchen sink. “Kitchen sinks are consistently left with leftover food particles that sit overnight or over a course of days that can turn into a breeding ground for bacteria,” Vedros warns. Along with the bacteria that are forming in your garbage disposal from the particles, your drain is becoming attractive to these pesky flies.

Luckily, Vedros has an interesting, natural cleaning method for cleaning this area that involves ice cubes and baking soda. Place 1-2 cups of ice cubes with 1 tablespoon of baking soda in the opening of your garbage disposal. Turn the drain on to let the blade cut the ice and have the baking soda run through the system before rinsing the drain with cold water.

For external cleaning of your kitchen sink, Sandifer suggests using a disinfectant spray with a degreaser and a microfiber cloth to run over the faucet, handles, and surface area. “Not only will this break down bacteria, it’ll also help prevent rust.”

Dishwasher

The kitchen is full of places to harbor bacteria and similar to your sink, your dishwasher is another bacteria breeding ground. “Your dishwasher should be checked for food particulars caught at the bottom tray every day and removed,” says Vedros. “Warm, moist environments are where bacteria love to grow.”

Wiping down the handle to your dishwasher is a simple task to do every day to sanitize the surface while cleaning the bottom tray can be done weekly or monthly whenever particles are visible. To clean your tray, fill it with white distilled vinegar and run a quick cycle to wash the particles away.

Microwave

Are you a frequent user of the microwave? Then you’ve probably noticed a build-up of smells and splatters from certain foods. If the microwave is something you use daily, Sandifer highly recommends giving it a quick wipe down after using it at lunch or dinner. “A microwave should be wiped out daily to avoid bad stains and odors inside.” Her suggestion for cleaning this kitchen appliance is to use a microfiber towel and a cleaner with an added degreaser to break down stuck-on stains.

Kitchen Table & Chairs

If you haven’t noticed, the kitchen is one room of the home with a lot of areas to clean since it’s such a high-traffic area. There are also a lot of appliances that come into contact with food, trash, or water that are prone to causing mold the longer it sits. The kitchen is a very messy room, which is why Sandifer highly recommends cleaning your kitchen table and chairs after every use. “These are important to wipe down after each use to avoid damage from spills since certain foods can stain your furniture.” Not to mention, you might have crumbs or sticky residue left behind after a meal that needs to be picked up. Just like other areas you’re cleaning, Sandifer says a microfiber towel and degreasing spray will do the trick.

Bathroom Sink

Another high-traffic room of your home is your bathroom, which is also prone to harboring a lot of bacteria. Your bathroom sink is an area in this room both experts say should be wiped down at the end of every day. “Hands are constantly touching the faucet hands and being cleaned here,” says Sandifer. Taking a disinfecting wipe or towel and cleaner spray to wipe down the handles is a good idea to clean the bacteria you’re washing down the drain.

The bowl of your sink is something else that should be wiped down daily to clean up toothpaste residue. A bathroom cleaning spray sanitizes the surface and the sponge you use to wipe the cleaner away picks up the residue for a sparkly finish.

Toilet Seat & Flush Handle

It should go without saying that your toilet is not the cleanest fixture in the room. Specifically speaking, the toilet seat and flush handle are harboring germs and bacteria that need to be sanitized with the help of a disinfectant wipe. While a thorough cleaning of the toilet is likely included in your weekly cleaning chores, adding this fixture to your mid-week cleaning is an excellent practice to get into for a cleaner, safer surface throughout the week.

Electronics

Phones, tablets, computer keyboards, remotes… they’re all touched by so many hands daily and our phones are constantly picking up germs from surfaces we lay them on. Wiping these items down at the end of every day removes germs and bacteria, but you need to be careful with what you use. Some cleaning products can damage the glass of your screens when mixed with alcohol, but disinfecting wipes with 70% alcohol have been deemed safe to use and won’t cause damage.

Tips For Cleaning Every Day

Think remembering to clean these areas every day will slip your mind? Both experts have the perfect solution they recommend to their clients: creating a checklist. “It's easy to just jump into a room, see obvious issue spots, and then move on to the next room. But a checklist will remind you of the spots that aren’t so noticeable,” Vedros says. “For example, under the bed. Who thinks of that spot on a weekly basis? Most of us forget it's even there or that it needs some TLC every once in a while.”

If you have a very active home with a lot of spots that are touched daily, getting everyone involved–including kids–is a major win and a helpful way to make the process go by quicker. But, as most parents know, getting kids involved in cleaning throughout the week is easier said than done. Luckily, our experts have ideas on how to get everyone involved.

“To get kids involved, help them, and guide them on how to do it,” Sandifer says. “Offer them a treat or some type of incentive to keep their rooms clean. You may also use it as a way to earn funds or allowance. This is also a great way to equip kids for work. Allow them one more chore as they grow older to help around the house, and play a little music on Saturday mornings to get them going.”

Vedros has a similar approach that makes the chores more personal and fun to encourage them to be part of the cleaning. “Kids love having their own “toys”. It’s a great idea to get them their own “cleaning supplies” and label them. This way they feel a part of the process and have their own equipment. Positive affirmations after each completed area will help encourage them to continue their chores and want to do well.”

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