11 Places You Probably Forgot to Clean in Your House

You’ve washed the sheets and fluffed the pillows. But oops, you forgot to clean one of the most important things in your bedroom: The mattress. Strip the bed entirely and run over your mattress with a vacuum to remove all the dust particles. Make sure to carefully go over the seams, where dirt and dust can settle and become stubborn. Now is also a great opportunity to flip your mattress (which is something you should do on occasion).

It’s all in the details, and cleaning your baseboards makes a world of difference. To get those baseboards looking like they did the day you moved in, open the blinds and/or switch on the lights to ensure you can see every speck of grime. Dust off the areas first with a microfiber cloth or a rag. Then, add a few drops of dish soap to some warm water and go in for a deeper clean. If you haven’t cleaned your baseboards in a long time and they have stubborn stains, you may want to go in with an old toothbrush, too.

The refrigerator can always be a bit of a behemoth to tackle. There’s always some hard-to-remove sticky substance of unknown origin when you’re wiping down the inside. But what about on top and underneath the fridge? These oft-neglected spots can accumulate a shocking amount of dust and detritus. If you don’t want to go through the whole ordeal of unplugging your appliance and moving it to get around the back, you can also get to those hard-to-reach places with a Swiffer or drain cleaning zip tool. It won’t leave scratches on the floor and can reach further than a vacuum or broom.

Much like baseboards, these frequently overlooked spots tend to get lost in the spring cleaning shuffle. Reduce the amount of grime on your door frames and knobs by first wiping them down with a damp cloth before adding a little elbow grease with a simple mixture of warm water and a few drops of dish soap.

Look up! We’ll bet you didn’t realize your ceilings were so grimy. Cleaning your ceiling will not only help reduce the amount of dust particles floating around your home, but it will also enhance the paint job in any given room. Rather than climbing up and down on a step ladder, use a long-handled sponge mop. Dip the mop into a mixture that combines one cup of warm water, four to five drops of dish detergent and two tablespoons of white vinegar for a deep clean.

You’ve put a lot of elbow grease into cleaning your bathtub. As you admire your handiwork, it’s easy to neglect the shower curtains. Those gross mildew stains on your plastic curtains have to go. Good news: You can do it fairly quickly by tossing them in the washing machine with two towels on the gentle cycle. For a deeper clean, throw in a mixture of half a cup of baking soda during the wash cycle and half a cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle. Let air dry.

A gorgeous light fixture can set the tone for any room, but it also tends to be one of those common spots we forget to clean. Use a step ladder to help you reach the entire fixture and gently wipe with a cloth or duster. Don’t forget to place a towel beneath the fixture to catch all that excess dust.

Studies have shown that house plants help boost our mood and mental well-being. As a thank you, we should remember to keep them clean. Plants and flowers have the tendency to cling to dust, so wipe them down with a moistened cloth. Silk plants can be cleaned with a damp towel or by taking them outside and gently blowing off the dust with a hair dryer set on cool.

The toilet might be your least favourite spot to clean, but don’t forget to get down and around the back where an assortment of grime and dust tends to collect. Don a pair of rubber gloves, spray the area behind the toilet with disinfecting spray and wipe it down with a cloth or paper towel.

Air ducts trap more dust, hair, spiderwebs and pollen particles than you can imagine. Gross! The best way to tackle them is to turn off the power connected to the heating and air conditioning. Unscrew the air duct covers and use a brush with stiff bristles or damp cloth to clean the grates thoroughly. Vacuum inside the vents using a dusting brush attachment or a microfiber duster. If neither of those are available to you, simply wipe the area down with a dry microfiber cloth.

It’s tempting, when spring cleaning, to open the blinds and throw open the windows, but in doing so we often forget to actually clean the blinds. Whether they are wooden, fabric or plastic, there are relatively simple solutions for cleaning your blinds. You can vacuum them using a brush attachment, a duster or, depending on the material, wipe them down with a damp cloth.