There’s no other way to keep your house clean but proper vacuuming. The cleanliness of your home can have a significant impact on your overall well-being. Matter of fact, it has a great effect on the air you breathe. So it all boils down to the question, how often should you vacuum your house?
In this article, we will tackle everything you need to know about cleaning – from carpets to the rest of your home. You will learn “when” you should clean the “what” in your home – some facts might even surprise you.
How Often Should You Vacuum Your House
In general, you should vacuum at least once a week with a high-quality vac unit. However, you can deviate a little from the rule of thumb and try to define the intensity of vacuuming based on the foot traffic of your carpet or surface.
- Vacuum DAILY in pet areas and high-traffic spots. This might be your living room or kitchen where members of the family often walk through.
- Vacuum TWICE WEEKLY in medium-traffic areas. This could be your bedroom and other rooms that are not used on a regular basis.
- Vacuum WEEKLY in light-traffic areas. This is also the right time to use attachments to tackle the carpet edges and all possible corners.
Tips On How To Vacuum Properly
To optimize the vacuuming prowess of your unit and to ensure you’re able to remove as much dirt and grime possible, here are some essential tips to incorporate.
Slowly and Steady
It’s NOT enough to cover a certain space quickly once. The best way to vacuum is to move slowly and steady.
A random route is also inefficient. To be more effective, start from the farthest side and corner of the room and start vacuuming towards the opposite side. After which, tackle another row and so on.
The most appropriate vacuum route is to mimic a tractor plowing a field. Work one row at a time until you’ve covered the whole room.
Corners is a must
It’s better to purchase a vacuum cleaner that can clean corners and crevices. You must not ignore the little nooks-and-crannies of your house. These are the perfect spots for the dust to build up. Remember, the best vacuum cleaner is something that can work in narrow spaces.
Start from the high
Here’s the trick – to save significant time and to avoid vacuuming the same floor area again, follow the Top-then-Down rule.
This means you must vacuum first your windowsills, dust blinds, even your ceiling. Then work your way down to the furniture surfaces (chairs, tables, cabinets, etc.).
Vacuum those in the higher places first before you tackle your floor surface. Otherwise, you will need to clean your floor again because of the fallen dust that accumulated there even after you’ve vacuumed it.
Don’t forget to replace
Another trick is to never let your vacuum bag or canister get full of dirt. You must dispose of the debris of grime and dirt even if they are not full yet.
It is advisable to empty your canister or bag when they are half or 2/3 full.
Quick Cleaning Info
The experts have made a comprehensive list of what needs to be cleaned and when.
- Daily – Sweep floors. Use a squeegee to wipe down your shower walls.
- Once a week – You must be able to clean your fridge and microwave.
- Once a month – Clean your dishwasher and vacuum your vents.
- Every three (3) to six (6) months – Wash your pillows and bed sheets.
- Once a year – Clean your chimney and fireplace. Clean or replace your curtains.
When Should You Clean Your House
Here’s a detailed guideline on “what” you should clean and “when.”
Every Day
- Wash dirty dishes.
- Make your bed.
- Clean your coffeemaker.
- Sweep/vacuum your main floors.
- Sweep/vacuum your kitchen floors.
- Wipe down tables and kitchen counters.
- Wipe down bathroom surfaces.
- Squeegee your shower walls.
- Do laundry in everyday clothes.
- Sanitize kitchen sinks.
- Sanitize shower walls.
The fact that you should make your bed every day according to experts is not surprising at all. However, you must admit there are lots of times you skip making bed because you’re getting late.
Bed – If you want to follow the standard rule, which you should, make it a habit to make your bed DAILY no matter how busy you are.
Dishes – Also, do not let dirty dishes sit on your kitchen sink overnight. Wash your dishes before you go to bed. You have no idea what might lurk out of the dirty left-overs you allowed to stay on your countertop.
Floor – More importantly, you must VACUUM not just your carpet, but your hard floors. The best vacuum cleaner is something that can also tackle hard floors. However, you can sweep your floor as an alternative to vacuuming.
Kitchen – Make sure that you are able to wipe down your tables and kitchen surfaces. It’s where you prepare food so it must be the cleanest part of the house.
Laundry – The shocking thing is experts believe you should do your laundry daily. While other people can do this, we’d bet the majority of people can’t.
Bathroom – Another startling advice is you should use a squeegee on your shower walls and sanitize your bathroom every day.
Once A Week
At least there are things in your house that allow you to breathe a little by not requiring you to clean them on a daily basis. Here are some of the things you should do once a week.
- Scrub your bathroom surfaces
- Mop your kitchen
- Mop your bathroom
- Vacuum your furniture
- Clean and wipe your mirrors
- Wipe down your appliances
- Clean your fridge
- Replace your sponges
- Clean your microwave
Some of the chores that need to be done once a week are common sense. This may include vacuuming furniture and cleaning appliances.
However, there are some that may come as shocking to you. Like, how often do you change your sponge? How often do you clean your microwave? We’d bet most people can go a couple of weeks between doing these chores without major upheavals.
Fridge and Microwave – Experts agree that people must wipe down their kitchen or clean out their fridge on a weekly basis. And don’t forget your microwave.
Bedding – It may not be common to some people to change their bedding once a week. Matter of fact, some people can go for months without changing their beddings. Some just love their blankets too much.
Since you already know, it’s time to incorporate this habit into your weekly routine.
Floors – It’s also pretty common to mop floors – more often if not weekly. It’s also better if you sanitize your tiles especially if you have pets living with you.
Once A Month
- Clean ALL your light fixtures
- Vacuum ALL your woodwork
- Vacuum ALL your vents
- Clean your washing machine, dishwasher, and vacuum cleaner
- Dust/vacuum your blinds
It’s quite common to conduct a “big clean” of your house for once a month. Surely most mothers have made it a family tradition to ‘deeply’ clean the house on a monthly basis.
Some of the chores you need to do in your monthly “big clean” include cleaning all your light fixtures and vacuuming your vents & woodwork.
This is also the ideal time to clean your appliances that clean your stuff up – washing machine, dishwasher, and more especially your vacuum cleaner. It seems our cleaners need to be cleaned up too.
Every Three (3) To Six (6) Months
Now here’s the real deal. This is the time for general cleaning! If you have cleaned your house deeply every month, this time you’ll have to deal with things quite deeper.
Here are the things you should clean every six months:
- Clean range hood
- Clean your fridge on the inside
- Clean out your freezer
- Clean / vacuum behind and under all furniture
- Wash your shower curtain (replace if necessary)
- Wash ALL pillows
- Clean / vacuum deck surfaces
- Clean your drains
- Clean / replace your garbage bins
- Wash/vacuum ALL mattress
- Clean inside of oven
- Wash Car
You have no idea how much cobwebs and dust are already lurking underneath your furniture. It’s time to vacuum all those muck to attain ideal cleanliness. You should also clean your outdoor furniture and your deck.
More important things that need to be cleaned every three or six months include the insides of your fridge, freezer, and oven.
This is also the perfect time to vacuum all your mattress and wash your shower curtain – even replace it if necessary. Lastly, make sure you’re able to clean your trash bins.
Once A Year
- Clean upholstery and carpet
- Clean chimney and fireplace
- Clear out all gutters
- Wash / clean / replace curtains
- Clean all dryers and vents
If you’re able to follow the entire guideline above and successfully cleaned your house as prescribed (daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly), then there’s nothing much left to be done every year.
There are still some important chores to tackle including your chimney and fireplace. You should also clean your gutters annually.
This is also your chance to wash your curtains. You can also replace them if you want. It’s also advised to deep clean your windows and carpet.
Summary
Vacuuming your floors is the best way to make your home feel fresh. Cleaning and doing chores will give you a sense of fulfillment that you will never feel in another way.
Now that you know how often should you vacuum and when you should clean your house, take a bold step by starting to incorporate the said knowledge for the betterment of your home living.