There is so much effort that goes into keeping your home and belongings spick span, well sanitized, and in excellent condition. However, no matter how thorough and meticulous you might be, you could still be guilty of a few common poor cleaning habits that end up hampering the effort you have put into the job and which can make the job rather ineffective.

Building good cleaning habits result in getting the maximum positive impact and a rewarding cleaning experience for your home and family. Bad cleaning habits can, in fact, result in a dirtier cleaning outcome which defeats the purpose of the entire exercise.

Here is a look at some of the common good cleaning habits that you should adopt for seamless and efficient housekeeping.

1. Plan in Advance

While you might sometimes get away with winging it, this will not always work in your favor. Proper cleaning requires proper planning. Do start your cleaning from top to bottom to avoid backtracking on the clean. For instance, you can begin by dusting and cleaning the high places such as ceiling and ceiling fans before you clean the floor or the baseboards.

First, walkthrough your home and make a mental note on the conditions – have an idea of the scope of cleaning that you intend to undertake, and how the cleaning would flow from room to room, item to item. Next, before you embark on your professional clean, it is important to have a comprehensive checklist of the tasks that you plan to undertake. The checklist will allow you to keep track of the required items once you begin the job and ensure you don’t forget to complete important areas.

2. Let disinfectant or products sit as long as necessary

A common cleaning habit is a touch-and-go to save time and energy. This is also the case when it comes to disinfecting. Most people sill spray the disinfectant and wipe it off almost instantaneously. Few consider the fact that most disinfectants have a dwell time that ranges from 3 to 10 minutes and needs to be wet on the surface and in contact for a little while for disinfecting to occur. Before applying a disinfectant, it is also advisable to get rid of all the dust and debris on the surface which might hamper the disinfection. For cleaning solutions, the labels will inform you if you should be leaving it for 30seconds or up to a few minutes. This timing is critical because you may not see the best results if you are impatient, and could cause damage if you forget about it.

When disinfecting, start by wiping away all the dirt, dust, and debris from the surface. Then, you can spray the disinfectant on the surface and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Finally, use a clean microfiber towel to wipe away the disinfectant. The dwell time for the different disinfectants varies so it is important to read the product label instructions for precise timing.

You’re letting cleaning liquid sit for a long enough time to work. Great! Now, are you using enough product for the job?

3. Use just enough cleaning liquids

Know the appropriate amount of surface cleaners to use in every cleaning job. It should neither be too little nor too much. Too little or too diluted a solution will not give you the desired cleaning effect, and take up way too much elbow grease; while too much of it will simply lead to waste and result in detergent residues on the cloths and surfaces being cleaned.

To determine the right amounts of product to be used on the job, it is prudent to check the product labels and follow the instructions closely. Follow the directions to the latter and you’ll get the best cleaning effect.

4. Lightly blot fresh spills on carpet

When there is fresh spillage on your ultra-clean rugs and carpets, the knee-jerk reaction is to grab a towel and scrub the stain. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily the best solution for your carpets and rugs. Fresh stains can simply be blotted out gently without the need for aggressive scrubbing action. The blotting out should get rid of much of the stain as possible and clean the affected part without the need for scrubbing which destroys the carpet fibers and drives the stain deeper into the carpet. After the blotted part has dried out, you can use a stain lifter to clear out the remnants of the stain. Read the labels for precise usage instructions.

5. Clean with plenty of towels

From a practical perspective, it is efficient and time-saving to use the same microfiber towel to clean all the surfaces in a property. However, this is not a good cleaning habit as the cloth used in cleaning one area may end up spreading grime and germs across different surfaces. A good cleaning habit is to have different wipes, sponges, or cleaning cloths for the disparate surfaces on your property. The cloth used in cleaning bathroom surfaces should not be used in the living room or the kitchen, for instance.

Have a pile of cleaning cloths ready for wiping and ensure they are in different colors so you don’t get to mix them up. After the cleaning is complete, you can put them in the washer and be ready for your next clean.

There you go! 5 incredibly easy to remember good cleaning habits to pick up. Make a plan, be patient and careful when using cleaning products, take note of surfaces, and use plenty of towels. Try picking up a few of these good habits into your cleaning routine to achieve the professional cleaning effect in your home!