To have not known that people wipe down their walls?

[Furiousaboutinstarubbish]

Does everyone do this as part of general cleaning? I had no idea and have been bellowing at kids for sticky fingers for months!!

I don't and never will!

Our paint is in many places F&B (smug face humblebrag emoji) which is not scrubbable. Not the hallway though. We're doing that in scrubbable because of kids wiping hands on walls/shaking off wet coats etc.

Ladies and gents... my DH told me something recently that changed my life.

There is good evidence to suggest that allergies and immune system problems may be on the rise because our living environments are too clean (& therefore the immune system is underused, so when it encounters something "unfamiliar" it goes crazy trying to show it really can attack when it needs to...)

For this reason I have genuinely stopped worrying whether I've got the pans clean enough/whether I should bleach the skirting boards/whether I wash my towels often enough. It's my duty to the human race to be slightly slatternly.

You're welcome.

We don't wipe walls.
We taught children to sit down when eating and wash hands afterwards.
Life is too short for this kind of activity.

MrsMolly we don't have stairs. DD 10 seems to use the walls to help her stay upright.

There is good evidence to suggest that allergies and immune system problems may be on the rise because our living environments are too clean (& therefore the immune system is underused, so when it encounters something "unfamiliar" it goes crazy trying to show it really can attack when it needs to...)

I should be bionic then

I do it about twice a week OP. Especially around doors and door frames and the walls near the DC's fave sitting spots.

Bloody dirty patches! Did you not think to wipe?

Teen lol....my DC sit when eating and wash hands but they play outside a lot. I can't ban them from touching walls as they enter the house!

There is good evidence to suggest that allergies and immune system problems may be on the rise because our living environments are too clean

My 3 year old picked his apple up off the floor, AFTER my daughter's dog had been eating it, and my daughter said "it's ok, it'll boost his immune system"

I wipe around light switches but not walls.

I do it if I have time or if the mark would stain. Our house was painted throughout with cheap matt paint that just comes off if you clean it too much. We will be gradually redecorating using proper wipable paint once we've had a bit of work done. I'd probably never do it weekly though! Maybe yearly!
A friend of mine is a bit obssessive about cleaning. Her kids are often ill.

Ps KirstenRaymonde I am just reading Station 11

I don't do mine regularly other than next to the toilet, just when they look grubby.

Never! But now you mention it OP they could really do with it!!

I only wipe if there are marks and I notice and I can be bothered (which could be months later).

The kitchen walls and fronts/tops of cooker hoods/cabinets/cupboards definitely need wiping because of the grease from every day cooking which leaves a thin film over time. I will need a cleaner for that. She starts Wednesday.

There is good evidence to suggest that allergies and immune system problems may be on the rise because our living environments are too clean (& therefore the immune system is underused, so when it encounters something "unfamiliar" it goes crazy trying to show it really can attack when it needs to...)

^^Yeah but no. There is good scientific evidence that contracting certain types of parasite associated with livestock boost the immune system. There is emerging evidence that our gut biomes play a huge role in our autoimmune system (idea of friendly bacteria but these live on our bodies not on the kitchen floor). No evidence that general dust, filth and grime is good for you at all. A lot of it is neutral (no need to spray bleach over everything) but good for you? No.

If I see a dirty handprint or mark, then I may wipe it off, but not wash them on a regular basis

This.

I'm far too busy to add yet MORE cleaning to the list!

Weekly?! Ye gods.

I just tend to do the corners occasionally. I did the bathroom recently as I noticed some dust clinging to the top. But no it's not a regular task here and is mainly done when we're about to paint.

@Pretaboire. magic erasers. i think the poundland ones are as good as the other big brand

Occasionally if I notice marks. I got a magic eraser when I was doing the nesting thing and unfortunately scrubbed the paint off...

I have a big dog that loves mud and likes to shake when he gets home rather than outside so if I didn't wipe, everything from three feet down in my utility room and around the back door would be brown and sticky ... I don't have a regular routine though, just when there's more brown than the original white paint showing ... I do wipe down walls round sinks and toilets each time though as neither DH nor DS seem to be able to keep toothpaste in their mouths rather than spraying it everywhere and I'm not even going to mention the other boy thing (boak not envy).

There are people who change their sheets once a MONTH?! And I thought I was a slattern.

How do you manage to find the time in between changing the bed(s) every 2 days,

By not wasting so much time on MN, and doing an hour every morning week day. I rarely have to leave the house before 7am, so that's at least 5 hours a week, more than enough on a normal size house.

The house is always welcoming in the evening, no chores needing to be done at the weeekend, and it takes a lot less time to clean a clean and tidy house than a messy one. Easy.

Wiping the kitchen walls after dinner can't take more than 5 minutes if that.

Pay a cleaner for yearly deep clean!

Barbarian I'm no scientist but I believe the idea is to do with eg dust: if our immune systems don't encounter enough "foreign matter" lol then anything whatsoever will seem threatening. So if you live in a dustier grubbier environment your system is not going to overreact. There has to be some explanation for the rise in allergies which is slightly scary. Also bleach has now been proven to cause lung problems so why would anyone spritz it around their home? Generally we are all cleaning too much and worrying too much - a bit of dust and grime is much healthier than the opposite extreme, mentally as well as physically.
Also (goes wildly off topic) my DH has never used soap on, or intentionally washed, his face (obviously he showers and uses swimming pools etc so there is some incidental washing!), and he has better skin and fewer wrinkles than me (and is ten years older). The bastard.

Five hours?!!!

A house full of boys and their entourage here and constantly have to wipe down walls , doors and light switches.They are all white though which means its quite obvious when they get dirty.

Five hours?!!!

I am sure people who spend their weekend cleaning and doing laundry actually spend a lot more time than that. An hour a day, plus cleaning the kitchen after diner is fine by me.

I never need to clean or tidy for visitors, so that's an extra bonus. At worst he kids just need to put their toys away.