5 Overlooked Cleaning Secrets Every Homemaker Needs To Know

Inside:   Everyone has a secret. Find out what cleaning secrets the pros don’t want you to know about, and which ones they want you to keep overlooking while you clean. 

It’s been 2-weeks in a row you’re suffering from a headache so severe, it’s bordering on the lines of becoming a full-blown migraine. You rack your brain (which makes it hurt even more) trying to come up with a solution to your problem. 

You’ve gone to the doctor and he couldn’t find any reason for your headaches, but feels it’s due to dust or mold. For a moment you’re offended he thinks you’re a horrible homemaker, but at that moment you realize it’s now up to you to figure out what’s the culprit lurking in your home. 

You spent countless hours online trying to research the reasons for your headaches. You keep hitting a brick wall until you find a common thread amongst the articles. 

It seems the only two logical reasons for your headaches are too much dust and the odorant substances in your household cleaners. You know your house is mold-free.

You look around your house and you know it’s not dust, because that’s one task you never forget to do. 

What does that doctor know anyway?

It’s gotta be the cleaning supplies.

Finally, you decide to jump on the DIY cleaner bandwagon and make a few cleaners to see if that’s the reason for your headaches. 

Recommended Reading: 6 of the best kitchen cleaners that will save you money.

As time passes, your headaches aren’t as severe, but they’re still there. 

Maybe your house isn’t as clean as you thought. Maybe there are a few spots you overlooked. Carefully you walk around like a drill sergeant wearing white gloves, going over every little spot in your house, until you finally find what you’ve been looking for. 

Huge giant pockets of dust bunnies lurking in the shadows.

Secrets are for suckers

Most people can’t keep a secret; especially when it’s too good to share. 

Today, I’m going to share with you a few house cleaning secrets. These secrets are the keys to keeping our headaches and allergies at bay. 

They’re simple and easy, and you’ll be smacking yourself in the head wondering, “Why didn’t I think of that”?

Here are the 5 cleaning secrets the pros don’t want you to know

These are things that are just overlooked during the cleaning process. Hey, it happens. Life’s crazy busy and sometimes when you’re cleaning things get overlooked. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad homemaker, it’s just stuff no one really thinks about when it comes time to clean.

Overlooked cleaning secrets in the kitchen

Just when you thought you had everything down to a science when it comes to cleaning your kitchen, there may be a thing or two you sorta overlooked.

Dishwasher filter

Did you know your dishwasher has a filter? I didn’t know that for around 20 years. Call me stupid. Call me naive. Maybe I just didn’t want to know because then that means it’s just something else to clean. 

Each dishwasher unit is different, so if you can’t locate your dishwasher filter, or are uncertain how to remove it, you’ll want to refer to your manufactures guide.

Dishwasher filter cleaning schedule

The best time to clean your dishwasher’s filter is every month. To ensure you won’t forget to do it, set a reminder either on your favorite cleaning app, planner, or calendar. 

Recommended Reading: 4 brilliant apps that will streamline your homemaking.

Steps to take to clean your dishwasher filter

One. Remove the filter.

Two. Remove any visible debris from the filter.

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Three. Wash the filter using hot soapy water and a scrub brush if needed.

Refrigerator coils & the top of the fridge

Has the noise your refrigerator makes gotten louder? Does it seem like it’s struggling more to keep your food cold and fresh? If so, odds are you need to clean the coils on the back of your fridge.

Before pulling your fridge away from the wall, be prepared to be grossed out and amazed at what you’ll find back there. Who knows, maybe Jimmy Hoffa’s curled up in the fetal position next to 15 grapes and your kid’s pacifier that vanished a few years back. 

Refrigerator cleaning schedule

You’ll want to clean the coils to your refrigerator about every three-to-four months if you don’t have pets. If you do have pets, you’ll want to clean them every one-to-two months. 

Steps to take to clean the exterior of your fridge

One. Remove everything on the top of your fridge. 

Two. Take a damp paper towel and remove all the grimy dust. 

Three. Spray down the top and sides of the fridge with your favorite grime-busting cleaner. 

Steps to take to clean your refrigerator coils

One. Determine where your coils are. Typically they’re covered by a panel on the bottom of the fridge, other times they’re located in the back of the fridge, and sometimes you’ll have them in both places. If they’re in the back, proceed to step two, if not, move on to step four.

Two. Make sure there’s nothing that can fall off the top of the refrigerator before gently pulling it away from the wall. Move it far enough away where you can comfortably get behind it. 

Three. Unplug the fridge, or turn off the circuit breaker that delivers power to your fridge. Don’t worry about your food spoiling, as you shouldn’t be more than 10 minutes. If there’s a lot of food in the fridge, you may want to put some of the frozen or perishable items in a cooler. 

Four. If the coils are under the panel on the front of the fridge take off the panel. 

Five. For both coils on the back and coils on the bottom, you’ll want to don a mask and carefully clean the coils using a long-handled refrigerator cleaning brush.

Six. Using the crevice tool from your vacuum cleaner, vacuum the dust. 

Seven. This part is optional but recommended. If there’s a lot of grime behind the fridge, you’ll want to mop it up. 

Behind and under the oven

You’d be amazed by how many crumbs, lost pieces of pasta and dust live between the oven, the counter, and behind the oven.

Oven cleaning schedule

You’ll want to clean the surrounding areas of the oven weekly during your normal cleaning routine; however, you should do a deep clean every one to two months.

Steps to clean behind and under the oven

One. Pull the stove away from the wall far enough to unplug it from the wall. If you have a gas stove, you’ll want to shut down the gas line before moving the stove. 

Two. Using the crevice tool on your vacuum cleaner, vacuum up anything that’s not too large to pick up by hand.

Three. Wash the floor behind the oven with your favorite cleaner. 

Four. Plug the power cord back into the wall and/or turn on the gas supply. 

Five. Once you put the oven back in its place, you’ll want to remove the warmer drawer (which most people use to store pots and baking pans). Using the vacuum crevice tool vacuum any small crumbs that are residing under the oven, or that may have been pushed toward the center of the kitchen when you moved the oven. 

Six. Remove any visible crumbs from the warmer drawer, then put it back in place. 

Overlooked cleaning secrets in the laundry room

If you notice it takes longer than usual to dry your clothes, odds are it’s time to clean out your dryer duct. Although you can hire a professional to do this, it’s pretty easy (and much cheaper) to do once you have the proper tools for the job. 

Removing lint from the dryer duct

Cleaning the lint trap alone isn’t going to stop the dryer duct from getting stopped up. Ensuring your dryer duct is clear from lint buildup is the first line of defense in preventing house fires. 

Dryer duct cleaning schedule

It’s recommended you clean your dryer duct on an annual basis.

Steps to cleaning the dryer duct

One. Pull the dryer away from the wall and unplug it. If you own a gas dryer, turn the gas off before proceeding. 

Two. Remove both the thumbscrew metal clamps that are holding the dryer duct to the wall and the dryer unit. 

Three. Using a dryer vent cleaning tool, push out any visible lint. 

Four. Using the same dryer vent cleaning tool, place the brush end into the duct to loosen and push the lint out of the duct. The lint should end up outside by the link receptacle. 

Five. Using your vacuum crevice tool, place the tool into the duct to remove any residual lint. Vacuum up the lint on the laundry room floor. 

Six. Remove the lint from the outside. Place it in a trash bag and dispose of it in the trash can. 

Seven. You’ll want to check the duct hose and check for any visible holes or tears. If you find any, you’ll want to replace the duct hose. If everything looks good, secure the duct hose back with the thumbscrew metal clamps, and place the dryer back in its normal position. 

Overlooked cleaning secrets in the bathroom

When it comes to cleaning out drains in the bathroom, the shower drain always seems to take a back seat to the bathroom sink. You’ll be shocked how easy this task is, and even more shocked, that you hadn’t even thought of it; unless you were standing ankle deep in water that wouldn’t go down the drain.

Unclogging and cleaning the shower drain

Shower drain cleaning schedule

The shower drain should be cleaned out every one-to-two months.

Steps to cleaning the shower drain

One. Remove any visible hair stuck in the drain holes.

Two. Using a screwdriver, remove the screws that are holding the drain cover to the drain on the shower floor. Discard the hair that’s clinging to life under the drain.

Three. Put 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by 1 cup of white distilled vinegar. Let it bubble and do its magic.

Four. If there’s still some grunge down the drain, repeat the baking soda process. If not, run the water in the shower on hot for 5 minutes.

Five. Scrub the drain cover with your favorite household cleaner, and screw it back in place once you’re done cleaning it.

As a homemaker you’re busy keeping your home in order, taking care of the husband, kids, pets, your job, and most of all, yourself. There are times during the cleaning process, things just tend to get overlooked.

Don’t stress over it.

Now that you know these cleaning secrets, by implementing them, not only can you reduce the chance of headaches, asthma, and other upper-respiratory ailments, but you’ll have a sparkling clean home.

Are any of these cleaning secrets new to you?

Do you have any cleaning secrets you’re dying to spill the beans on? Share in a comment.

Stay Peachy!

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References: Odorant substances that trigger headaches in migraine patients