10 Household Mistakes That Stand in the Way of a Cozy Home

According to a study, the dirtiest place in our apartments is the kitchen and the worst part is the “harmless” dish sponge. While taking care of our cozy homes, we often do things intuitively, like cleaning the windows on a sunny day or placing the toilet paper roll so that the paper comes from “under.” And some decisions result in a wasted effort or, worse, in some serious hygienic mistakes.

Here at Bright Side, we found out that we’ve been doing many things around the house in the wrong way. We’ve decided to shine a spotlight on our mistakes. Here are some wise pieces of advice we’ve discovered and would love to share with you too.

1. Using plastic door handles

Today’s variety of doorknobs is really impressive, so much so that everyone can choose an item according to their taste. But when it comes to the materials the doorknobs are made of, it’s really important to choose the one that will be the most hygienic.
Those that are made of brass are considered to be the safest because this material is well-known for its self-disinfecting capacity. It literally kills bacteria and viruses. On the contrary, stainless steel and plastic are considered to be the best home for bacteria.

2. Washing windows on a sunny day

Washing your windows on a sunny day may not be a very good idea. It’s better to put this task off until a gloomy and cloudy day.

Just like washing your car, this job will likely turn into a mess because the heat from the sun will make the windows dry quickly and cause smears, so all of your hard work will go down the drain.

3. Placing toilet paper roll “under” instead of “over”

People have been debating the issue of the correct toilet paper placement for so long that the discussion of “over or under” has grown into a legend. Surveys show that the number of fans of the “over” position is higher than those of the “under,” and even the inventor of the toilet paper roll has always suggested placing it so that the paper goes over the roll rather than under it.
The reasoning behind this is that when you’re in the bathroom and the toilet paper is over, you touch and affect less of the surrounding area with the hand you use to wipe your backside. Also, the paper itself doesn’t come into contact with the walls, which are a breeding ground for toilet bacteria.

4. Taking your shoes off inside your home

It’s customary in many cultures to take your shoes off before entering a home. In Japan, people even have separate slippers for the toilet which they remove after using the loo. The hygienic background of the tradition to remove your outdoor shoes before you enter your home is simple: you don’t track the dirt and mud onto the floors and rugs inside your home. Also, the soles of your shoes are the perfect home for infectious bacteria and by taking your shoes off before you enter your home, you actually prevent yourself and members of your family from catching various diseases.

5. Dusting after you vacuum

For some of us, dusting after vacuuming seems like a logical final touch on the way to a sparkling house. However, it’s better to dust the room before vacuuming so you can later vacuum up the particles that float and fall on the floor. Moreover, the dusting itself should be done properly: starting from the higher surfaces and moving down to the lower ones. By doing it this way, you’ll remove the major part of the dust first and then will be able to touch it up with a vacuum cleaner.

6. Moving the vacuum brush in one direction

The main mistakes that we make while vacuuming are either moving the vacuum cleaner in only one direction or quickly moving it back and forth. None of these movements will help us achieve the best cleaning results.

Cleaning professionals suggest that we vacuum in both directions, but in rows: first, you go forward with the brush and arrive to the end of the row with it. You fluff up the carpet and then you move back in the same row, collecting the remaining dust and laying the carpet back down. Using this technique, you can easily and efficiently vacuum the whole room.

7. Leaving your curtains open on a sunny day

Allowing some sunlight into your home may feel very pleasant and uplifting. However, it has one major drawback: the UV rays and visible light make your carpeting, furniture, and art fade and lose its vibrancy and color. The easiest way to protect your valuable sofas and armchairs is to place them in the shaded areas of your house.

If you don’t want to rearrange your furniture, you can still keep it safe by keeping blinds or curtains on your windows and pulling them closed when it’s sunny outside. This way your furniture is kept in this artificial shade. Window films also work great, as the qualitative ones reflect up to 99.9% of UV light.

8. Placing your doormat in the wrong position

Our doormats serve as an additional barrier for dirt before it gets inside of our home. While passing the doormat, a significant amount of dirt passes to it from your shoes. If you place a rectangular doormat lengthwise, not width-wise, you will have to take more steps on it to reach the entrance, and more dirt will remain on the doormat.

9. Removing dust under artificial lightning

Dust particles are easier seen in natural light, and you’ve probably noticed this while looking at the beam of light with dust particles “dancing” in it. This is why, while removing the dust in your apartment, it’s better to do it when the sun is up so that you can clearly see the dirty areas and clean them precisely. Artificial light will not provide you with a clear picture of the dirty surfaces and you may need to do the dusting again after you see the results the next morning.

10. Cleaning the window frames after the panes

While cleaning the windows, it’s good to remember that the window panes, as well as the sills, contain the most dirt. The first step is not cleaning the window pane, but removing all the dust and dirt from the window frames and sills with the help of a vacuum cleaner and then washing the pane with a cleaning solution.

It’s only once the frames are clean, that the panes should be washed. If you do it vice versa, the dirt from the frame will get on the freshly cleaned pane and you’ll have to clean and polish it again and again.

Which of the points above have you been doing wrong? Do you have a housekeeping hack that saves you time and effort?