5 cleaning habits that are ‘actually making your home dirtier’

No matter how big or small your home may be, the thought of giving the whole home a big clean all at once may seem daunting. Becuase of this, it can be useful to get into the habit of doing smaller tasks on the regular to keep your home as tidy as possible at all times.

Whilst regular chores such as vacuuming and washing clothes become second nature, tackling a comprehensive deep clean of the entire property can feel intimidating. Nevertheless, if you’re determined to keep your home gleaming throughout the year, it’s entirely achievable.

To help people get the motivation to get their cleaning chores done, one cleaning enthusiast named Lou often takes to her TikTok account, where she goes under the username ‘lou’s_home_’ to share her top tips and tricks for achieving a sparkling home at all times.

In one of her videos, she went on to share some common cleaning habits that might not be as clean as you may think, as they can actually end up leaving your home dirtier than before.

“Five cleaning habits that could actually be making your home dirtier,” Lou said at the start of her video before she jumped into explaining her list.

1. Not drying your toilet brush

For her first point, Lou highlighted the common habit of putting your toilet brush straight back in the holder while it’s still wet.

“I know this sounds obvious, but all that moisture sitting at the bottom of the toilet brush holder is a breeding ground for bacteria.

To prevent this, Lou explained that she leaves her toilet brush hanging to dry in the toilet, having secured the handle bar between the toilet and the toilet seat. This allows excess water to drip into the toilet, allowing the brush to dry.

2. Leaving wet cloths in the sink

Her second point was leaving wet cloths in the sink after using them, something Lou also admitted to having done in the past.

“But a damp cloth will start to smell really quickly. And gain, perfect breeding ground for bacteria,” Lou said.

Instead, she recommends leaving cleaning supplies somewhere with a bit of airflow, such as hanging cloths over the tap, or the dish brush to dry by an open window.

3. Making your bed after waking up

And while many of us might have been taught to make our beds as soon as we wake up, Lou is urging against doing this.

“Your bed needs to air after you spend a whole night in it,” Lou said. “So I just pop the duvet back after a couple of hours before making it.

4. Overfilling your washing machine

Next up, Lou warned against overfilling your washing machine with laundry that needs doing, and instead recommends doing multiple smaller loads.

“And yeah, I think we’re all guilty of this, and I get it, shoving as much in as you can feels productive,” Lou said.

However, overflowing your washing machine with clothes reduces cleaning efficiency, as clothes cannot circulate and dissolve detergent properly. To combat this, Lou recommends filling the machine until it’s three quarters of the way full.

5. Cleaning windows in direct sunlight

For the final tip, Lou said that if you choose to wash your windows in direct sunlight, they will most likely end up streaky.

This is because the direct sunlight makes the product you’re using dry up too quickly, which will lead to your windows looking streaky. She added: “You might as well not even bother.”

Instead, she recommends waiting for the clouds to come out and cover the sun, with Lou saying she prefers to do it first thing in the morning.