No matter how clean you are, there are certain areas in the home that everyone overlooks. Only when you start paying attention do you think: “Eww, I really haven’t cleaned that in years!” I’ve put together a list of ten common forgotten places in the home that quietly collect dirt. Don’t panic – I’ll also explain how to tackle them easily. Bet your home will feel even fresher afterwards!
10 dirty spots you (probably) forget
- Door handles and grips: We grab them every day, but rarely clean them. Grease, dirt and lots of bacteria build up on door handles, cupboard handles and fridge doors. Solution: Wipe them weekly with a cloth and a disinfecting all-purpose cleaner or some diluted all-purpose cleaner. Stubborn mark on a metal door handle? A dab of The Pink Stuff on a Scrub Daddy sponge will make it shine like new again.
- Light switches: Feel your light switch – sticky? 😅 Those discoloured edges are caused by dirty fingers. Because switches are often white, the grey smears aren’t immediately noticeable. Give them an occasional wipe with a slightly damp cloth (not too wet – electricity and water are not friends!) and a mild cleaning product. A drop of all-purpose cleaner or a cloth with some Fabulosa spray works wonders. Don’t forget to wipe the alarm panel or thermostat too.
- Remote controls: The TV remote is probably the stickiest treasure in your living room. 😜 Everyone grabs it with chip-covered hands, and no one thinks to clean it. Take a look at it now: see that black gunk between the buttons? Time for action! Remove the batteries and carefully go over it with a cotton bud dipped in a little alcohol or disinfectant spray. You can wipe the outside with a microfibre cloth and a touch of disinfectant. Make sure no moisture gets inside the remote. Dry it afterwards with a dry cloth. There, it’s ready for action again.
- Phones and tablets: Okay, this isn’t really “in the house”, but we carry them everywhere and put them on tables – and cleaning them? Not so much. Research suggests that smartphones are dirtier than a toilet seat (ew!). Luckily, cleaning them is simple: take your phone out of its case, wipe the case itself (that gets dirty too), and clean your phone’s screen and back with a soft cloth and a little screen cleaner or 70% alcohol. (There are special phone-cleaning kits, but a microfibre cloth with a dab of alcohol spray works just as well.) Don’t forget the buttons and edges. Do this at least once a week – your skin will thank you!
- Bin lid and rim: You throw all sorts of things away, but when was the last time you cleaned the bin? The lid in particular (especially on a pedal bin) gets covered in food stains and greasy fingerprints. Empty it, remove the inner bin and give the whole thing a good wash. Use warm water with a splash of all-purpose cleaner, or for baked-on grime, a sponge with The Pink Stuff to scrub away the stains. The Scrub Daddy comes in handy here too: it removes baked-on ketchup residue from the lid without scratching it. Rinse and dry it. As a finishing touch, I like to spray a little Fabulosa fragrance spray onto a piece of kitchen paper and place it at the bottom of the bin for a fresh scent.
- Top of cupboards and the fridge: Out of sight, out of mind… until you climb up a step ladder and see that sticky layer of dust. The tops of tall cupboards, kitchen cabinets and your fridge collect a mix of dust and grease, especially in the kitchen because of cooking fumes. How do you clean it? First, lay down some newspaper or kitchen paper to catch the worst of the dust. Then use a degreaser – for example, warm soapy water with washing-up liquid, or a Fabulosa all-purpose cleaner. For really stubborn sticky grime, you can call on our friend Pink Stuff again: apply it to a sponge, scrub lightly and remove the greasy layer! Wipe afterwards with clean water and dry. Pro tip: place clean newspaper on top of the cupboard afterwards – it catches the dust, and next time you’ll only need to replace the paper.
- Extractor fan and ventilation grilles: That extractor fan filter – have you ever cleaned it? No? You’re not alone. Grease and dust build up in the metal filters. Many extractor fan filters can be unclipped and soaked in hot water with degreaser (or even put in the dishwasher – check the manual!). After soaking, give it a quick scrub with a brush (or a Scrub Daddy, of course), and it will look like new again. You can also wipe the outside of the extractor fan with degreaser – Fabulosa kitchen cleaner, for example, also leaves behind a lovely scent. Finally, don’t forget the ventilation grilles in the bathroom or toilet: unclip them or carefully vacuum them, then wash them to remove that black dust.
- Radiators and heating: Take a look between your radiators… There’s a good chance you’ll see fluff and dust nests. People often forget radiators, especially the back and inside. Use a narrow radiator brush or a vacuum cleaner with a narrow nozzle to remove loose dust. You can then wipe the inside with a damp cloth, wrapped around a ruler, for example. For stains or black marks on the outside of the radiator, a little Pink Stuff works brilliantly – as you may have guessed. Rub it in briefly and wipe with a wet cloth, and your white radiator will be white again.
- Skirting boards and edges along the floor: While we diligently vacuum and mop, we often miss the skirting boards. They become dusty and get the occasional knock from shoes or the vacuum cleaner, leaving grey marks behind. Run a cloth over your skirting board – it will probably turn black. Solution: Run the vacuum cleaner, using the brush attachment, along all the skirting boards to remove dust. Then wipe them with warm water and all-purpose cleaner. For marks and scuffs on white skirting boards, you can use a magic eraser or a little Pink Stuff on a damp cloth. Goodbye, grey haze!
- Behind the toilet (and the flush button): When cleaning the toilet, we focus on the bowl and seat, but the back and the flush button often escape the cleaning cloth. Yet splashes and dust end up there too. Clean the cistern and button with an antibacterial product – for example, spray Fabulosa disinfectant onto a sheet of kitchen paper and use it to wipe them. You can clean the underside and back of the toilet bowl with an old cloth and warm soapy water (put on gloves, and if necessary use a little Pink Stuff for baked-on dirt on the tiles behind it). Bet your toilet will suddenly look much fresher?
Make it part of your routine
There you have it: the 10 “oops, I forgot!” spots. The good news is that once you know about them, it’s easy to add them to your cleaning routine. For example, tackle a few of these areas each week or month. Quickly wiping all the door handles may take just five minutes, but it removes a lot of bacteria. You can combine cleaning your remote control with your weekly TV dusting. And you can clean the tops of cupboards during your big spring clean (or more often if you’re particularly enthusiastic).
With the right cleaning helpers – hello The Pink Stuff and Scrub Daddy – no forgotten spot is safe from your cleaning skills. In fact, it’s quite satisfying to transform a grimy, forgotten area into something sparkling clean. I now catch myself proudly telling visitors that my door handles are “healthy” clean… Oh well, everyone has their hobbies, right? 😄
In short: explore those forgotten corners of your home and give them the clean they deserve. Your home will not only look fresher, but will also be more hygienic. And you? You officially deserve the title of Cleaning Superhero of Hidden Grime! 🦸♀️✨