How to wash and disinfect your home from top to bottom: from the hallway to the bedroom
Want to do a deep clean of your home and don't know where to start? Let's review the key points you should take into account to effectively clean and disinfect your home.
For home cleaning to be effective and remove viruses and germs, you need to bear in mind the characteristics of each room in order to clean all areas correctly.
To help you do so, here's a guide that is divided into the different spaces of your home, with specific tips for each one. That way, you won't miss any key element and you'll be able to do a deeper clean.
Before moving to the next room, this graphic gives you a quick guide where you can review basic home disinfection and cleaning tips, to make your home perfect with little effort while removing viruses.
The hallway
The entryway or hallway is a part of the home that most people don't pay much attention to when cleaning, because it's just a passageway that they don't spend much time in. However, because it's the first place you step into off the street, it's important to clean and disinfect it regularly. What needs attention?
- The doormat: shake it to remove the excess dust, apply a disinfectant product and deep-clean it with a wet brush specifically for scrubbing, like the BORSTAD. Let it dry, and it's done!
- The door handle: clean it often with disinfectant products.
- Cabinets: clean them often, especially the areas you use most, for example, the place where you usually leave your keys.
- The floor: regularly sweep or vacuum and mop the floor with water and bleach or any other standard disinfectant product.
If you want to reduce the possibility of viruses or germs entering your home, one option could be to have a shoe cabinet in the hallway where you can leave your shoes when you get home. Of course, it's wise to disinfect it from time to time. You could also place some disinfecting soap with alcohol in a tray or basket on the shoe cabinet.
The kitchen
The kitchen is a part of the home that requires a deeper and more frequent cleaning because it accumulates bacteria that may cause infection. Everyone spends lots of time in this room, and it's where people handle food, cook and eat, so it's important to clean it often.
These are the key steps to consider:
- Wash the countertops and table every day.
- Disinfect the tap and the fridge.
- Sweep and mop the floor with bleach.
- Make sure that crumbs and leftover food are removed.
- Prioritise the use of dishwashers, as this is the best disinfectant and you'll save water.
- Wash the drawers and pantry often.
- Use boxes or baskets to organise food, and it will last much longer.
- Wash kitchen rags and cloths often, preferably at 60º.
- Disinfect scrubbers, sponges and cloths once a week by submerging them in bleach.
The bathroom
Along with the kitchen, this is the room where the most bacteria collect, so it must also be cleaned frequently and always with disinfectant products.
An essential step, as you'll imagine, is to disinfect the toilet. For this you need to do a deep clean with bleach or ammonia, using gloves.
It's also important that you disinfect the sink, tap, shower, bath and floor often. As for the cupboards, try to also clean them every so often and keep them in order.
Other items you should take into account in this room are the towels and bath mat. Ideally they should be washed often, especially hand towels, at 60º to eliminate any germs or viruses they may have. So that they stay as clean as possible, it's important to hang towels to dry between uses so they don't hold moisture.
The living room
It's time for the living room – one of the favourite parts of the home for many. In this room, apart from cleaning the dust, sweeping and mopping the floor, there are several elements that you should pay special attention to if you want to disinfect properly.
- The sofa: this is one of the most commonly used areas and it's where dust mites and germs build up. The ideal solution is to vacuum and clean it frequently with specific products. If it has covers, remove them and wash them every so often.
- Rugs: everyone loves them, but for them to look their best, it's important to vacuum and wash them often. To do this, follow the manufacturer's instructions and use specific products for them.
- Blankets and cushion covers: again, these are elements that are used every day, so as with towels, they should be washed often.
Moreover, don't forget to disinfect other items of the living room, like the remote control, telephone, television or any other electronic device.
The bedroom
Finally, the bedroom. To deep clean this room, in addition to cleaning the dust off the furniture and keeping the floor clean, it's important that you focus on a crucial element: the bed. Let's review the main steps to follow:
- Aerate the bed every morning.
- Change the sheets weekly.
- Wash the protective sheets of the mattress, pillows and cushions from time to time.
In addition, don't forget to deep clean the wardrobes and remove any garments that you haven't used for some time. Like in the living room, if you have rugs, wash them with specific products so that they don't accumulate dirt.
Finally, in addition to cleaning, it's essential to keep the bedroom as organised as possible to encourage rest. Take look at this video, where you'll find out how to do this in record time.
We love it when customers use our products in a creative way. Why not try to do something new with them yourself? But do remember, any modifications or changes that you make to IKEA products will prevent them from being resold or used for their original use, thus invalidating IKEA product warranties and your right to return.
