Sick of Sanitizing? Here's How to Make Your House Stay Clean for Longer

Feel like you’re constantly cleaning? Though it’s important to ensure your living space is clean and sanitary to help curb the spread of disease, food-borne illnesses and other preventable health hindrances, it’s possible that you’re making the process harder than it has to be. While (sadly) there’s no magic one-and-done way to keep your house perma-clean, a combination of smart strategies, good habits and hard-working products can help keep your home clean for longer – with less effort.

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Welcome Home

Ready to step up your home’s clean routine? Start by limiting what you bring into the house by reviewing your front-door habits. While it’s a good idea to implement a no-outdoor-shoes-in-the-house policy, you can further curtail dirt and debris by putting door mats both inside and outside every entry door. If you can, consider keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer in your entryway, too – helping you get in the habit of cutting back on outdoor germs as soon as you come home.

kitchen counter cluttered with dishes and small appliances

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Clear the Clutter

Clutter is more than just a decor-detractor – unnecessary piles of papers and forgotten knick-knacks attract dust and debris. Even worse? A cluttered surface is harder to properly clean: While you might make an effort to clean a messy counter, for example, you’ll inevitably leave areas unsanitized. Instead, recycle or dispose of anything you don’t really need and use storage to organize your home. One big organizational effort can make a world of difference when it comes to better cleaning results in the future.

Young Asian mother grocery shopping with little daughter and choosing for baby necessities in a store

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Learn Your Labels

Not all cleaning products are made or work the same. Taking the time to carefully read the labels helps ensure that you’re using cleaning products properly – making the most of your time and effort. If you want the full benefits of a disinfecting product, for example, you can’t necessary just spray and clean – you’ll need to follow specific steps for it to be truly effective.

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Break the Cycle

The specific products you use can make a big impact to the effectiveness and longevity of your cleaning efforts as well. In the past, disinfecting your home was a never-ending cycle: you’d clean and disinfect a surface, but then you’d touch it and spread bacteria – and immediately have to disinfect again. Now, however, certain sprays on the market can protect surfaces from the growth of bacteria in your home for 24 hours.

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Spray Some Staying Power

When used as directed for 24-hour sanitizing, certain sprays can kill 99.9% of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter aerogenes bacteria) and keep working all day to keep hard surfaces sanitized – even in high-touch areas like your living room – after multiple touches. And, though the 24-hour benefit doesn’t apply to viruses, some products kill 99.9% of cold and flu viruses (specifically, Influenza A H1N1, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Human Coronavirus) within five minutes of being sprayed when used as directed as disinfectants.

woman washing her hands in front of mirror at bathroom sink

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Wash Up

Of course, a key way to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses on your home’s surfaces is to get rid of them before you touch anything. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly throughout the day – for a minimum of 20 seconds with soap and water – to help preserve your home’s cleanliness.

bright yellow shower curtain in colorful bathroom

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Curtain Call

Because it’s a natural environment for moisture, the bathroom may be a tough space to maintain. Building habits that cut back on wet, bacteria-breeding hotspots can help: after you shower, close the curtain behind you to allow the curtain’s folds to fully dry and always hang up wet towels.

woman in white living room filled with green indoor plants

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Clear the Air

While the air you breathe inside your home may be out of sight, it shouldn’t be out of mind. Clean air doesn’t just smell fresh – good air quality can make your home feel better, too. To help keep your air as consistently clean as possible, regular change your air filters and take steps to check your home’s air quality. You can also use plants to help enhance air quality indoors.

man and child cleaning modern kitchen with green cabinets

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Make it Fun

If you live with other people, you’ll have a lot more luck maintaining a clean home if everyone joins in. Focus on the whole family – especially kids – learning good cleaning habits, to cut back on people undoing your work.

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Remember Forgotten Spots

Finally, when doing a deep clean of your home, look for areas that you don’t regularly clean that could be contributing dust or dirt to your home. Check for spots above and below your regular sight lines – like the top of the fridge and baseboards. Cleaning and sanitizing these neglected areas can help keep them free of debris that could contaminate your home’s floors, surfaces and even air.