13 Household Chores We Can Ignore and Nothing Bad Will Happen

3 years ago

Cleaning, ironing, and doing the dishes are tiring tasks, but they’re necessary. However, while trying to keep things totally clean, people sometimes get so carried away that they spend far too much time working and even ruin things.

We at Bright Side suddenly realized that some household chores can be made much simpler and even skipped entirely. Of course, our tips are fairly general because the frequency of how often you clean something depends on different factors, like the location of your home, the number of family members that live there, and if there are pets or not.

1. Ironing tulle and bed sheets

The tulle in the left photo was ironed, and the one in the right was hung right after washing when the fabric was still a little wet. It takes a long time to iron such a big piece of fabric and when you simply hang it, the wrinkles will disappear on their own. We can’t see much of a difference. So, is it worth wasting a lot of time and effort on ironing it? And there’s also a risk of burning the material or leaving yellow stains on it.

There’s also no need to iron bed sheets. You can use a steamer instead. Or you can use water: put the fabric on the bed, stretch it a bit, and sprinkle it with some water. Let the fabric dry. It’s more than enough to deal with the wrinkles.

2. Washing wooden floors with a lot of water

Water and wooden floors are not the best of friends. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t wash the floor at all, it’s just that too much water can leave stains on the surface. And if there are cracks, the water might get under the floor and ruin the wood. So the less water, the better. Don’t try to wash every single inch.

3. Cleaning the toilet with chlorinated products often

If your toilet looks clean and there are no visible stains, then there’s no need to wash it. It’s enough to do it once a week. In fact, the toilet is not the dirtiest place in the home: there are way more bacteria in the kitchen sink than in the toilet. Using chlorine-containing products often can be dangerous for your health. And make sure you don’t mix chlorine with other chemicals in order not to avoid getting serious burns.

4. Cleaning the dust with a dry cloth every day

Many people prefer cleaning surfaces with an old T-shirt or other piece of fabric. But it’s better to clean the dust once a week rather than do it every day. First of all, a dry cloth can damage the furniture because there will be small scratches on the surface. And secondly, the dust won’t remain on the fabric, it will just go into the air and land somewhere else.

To save yourself some time cleaning the shelves inside closets and cupboards, you can put baking parchment on them and change it every 2 weeks.

5. Cleaning the bathroom mirror regularly

If there’s a fingerprint or a few drops of toothpaste on the mirror, it’s better to use a wet microfiber towel to remove it. Using special liquids for mirrors too often can damage the surface. Sprinkling the liquid right onto the mirror is also not a good idea, it’s better to put it on the fabric.

6. Cleaning dust off books every time you clean them

When it comes to cleaning bookshelves, we usually just wipe them with a dry towel. But it can damage the books. Books should be cleaned once every 3-4 months with gentle movements using a soft piece of fabric.

It’s better to keep books on closed shelves because dust and moisture are bad for paper books.

7. Polishing stainless steel surfaces

Devices and other things made of stainless steel are a magnet for stains. Any drop of water or a fingerprint is visible right away. But don’t clean them too hard. Don’t use chlorine or alcohol-containing products to clean stainless steel. The surface and the color could get ruined.

8. Washing the oven too often

If you don’t use the oven very often, there’s no need to clean it more than once a month. If you use aggressive chemicals frequently, they can ruin the appliance.

If you don’t want to buy special cleaning agents, you can make a baking soda paste, put it on the inside surfaces of the oven, and leave it overnight. In the morning, all you’ll have to do is remove it and wipe it with a wet cloth.

9. Washing the fridge too often

There’s absolutely no need to wash the fridge more than once every 3 months if there aren’t stains inside. You can cover the glass shelves with parchment in order to prevent the stains from even appearing there. Parchment won’t get covered with condensed water, and it’s more eco-friendly.

To get rid of any bad odors, you can put a box of baking soda inside a couple of used teabags. Mint or green tea will do the trick.

10. Washing delicate fabrics by hand

Delicate fabrics often need to be hand-washed. But if you do it too hard, you will stretch the fabric and ruin it. You can just soak the clothes in cold water with detergent for 30 minutes, then just wrinkle them in the water carefully. It’s much easier than actually washing the clothes by hand.

11. Cleaning pots and frying pans

It’s pretty hard to wash off grease and food pieces. Sometimes, it takes more time to wash one frying pan than a whole pile of plates. But you can simply fill the sink with warm water, add a bit of detergent, and put the dirty dishes into it. The dishes will soak in soapy water and will be much easier to wash.

12. Scrubbing plastic containers

Scrubbing plastic containers too hard trying to remove food stains is not a good idea. Cracks and scratches on the surface are perfect places for bacteria to grow.

To prevent sauces from staining your containers, don’t put hot food in them. How temperatures don’t only ruin the containers, but they can also contribute to the appearance of bad chemicals. In order not to clean food pieces by hand, you can put baking paper or tin foil inside them.

13. Vacuuming carpets too much

It’s enough to vacuum clean your carpets 1-2 times a week. But what do we all do when we see a piece of wool and other trash? We get our vacuum cleaners out and put them to work. But few people know that you can easily remove the wool with a wet rubber glove or a special glove for grooming pets.

By the way, if there’s dirt on the carpet, or powder or rouge, you shouldn’t use a vacuum cleaner to remove it. It can ruin the device.