Doing a proper house clean is so time consuming

[Notcontent]

I was doing some cleaning today and just doing the bathroom properly took ages as I wanted to give the shower doors etc a proper clean. My plans to give the whole house a really good clean today were much too ambitious. Anyway, I was just thinking that the majority of people must have homes that are less than ideally clean as it’s really hard work. Even having a cleaner is not a complete solution in my experience…

What’s your experience - do your friends and family have slightly grubby homes?

Shower door - I learn the best trick on Instagram

Get one of these scrubby brushes that you can fill the handle - with just dish soap and cleaning vinegar together . Every few days whilst in the shower I give it a quick scrub down . Leave it on for a few mins whilst I shave my legs / put hair mask on etc !

Zero build up ! Life changing

What is "ideally clean"?

Keeping a house reasonably organised and hygienic is enough for most people.

For shower doors I use the method daily shower cleaner, really stops any limescale etc

Grubby? Um I mean if you look under the sofa or in a dark corner there's going to be some dust, and there might be the odd cobweb
It's basically clean as long as you aren't planning on licking the corner of a skirting board

I hear you op and agree!

You can do the weekly clean but at some point, once or twice a year, the average house does need a thorough sort out and deep clean, especially if you have DC or dogs or both.

It's all the stuff like cupboard reorgaisation, cleaning accumulated dirt in hard to reach places, touching up worn or damaged upholstery or paintwork, to name but a few!

The theory is that once you have it fairly clean and clutter free, it is easy to take care of, but I live in an old period home in a polluted city and it just isn't!

Mine is dusty for sure. And I agree having a cleaner only kept the worst of the grime down.

A do little at a time.

Friday is sheet changing, Sunday morning I clean shower (while showering and doing a hair mask) and then Sunday evening I vacuum while dh reads to DC in bed.

Toilets get done every day and kitchen I clean as I use.

For shower doors I wash down the door with water and a capful of cif and then clean the water off with a Karcher window vac. It's good as new in 2 minutes.

Having a cleaner 2 hrs a week wouldnt do it for us. If you have hairy pets you need to hoover very often indeed. I agree that doing the whole house in one go is too much, I do a bit every day. I'd say probably 6 hrs a week in total.

But does a house NEED to be ‘ideally clean’ all the time?

I only use a shower door once, I then replace it with a new one.

I did a deep clean of the kitchen this morning including oven and fridge. Took about 2 hours. Also mopped floor in hallway and living room and dusted/polished furniture. I was going to do the bathrooms but I think I will just stick bleach down the loo and do them properly tomorrow as I did them on Thursday so they aren’t too bad.

I too have a vague cleaning rota:
Mondays: general wipe down and white vinegar all taps/sinks etc.
Wednesday or Thursday and Saturday or Sunday: clean bathrooms
Sunday: change sheets
Friday: clean offices

Daily: sweep stairs, hallway and kitchen
2-3x week hoover
Daily: bleach/toilet cleaner down loos
2-3x week mop all hard floors inc. bathrooms and kitchen
Daily: kitchen general wipe down

Keeps it under general order but I am flexible with it otherwise it can take over your life. Deep cleans like today you are looking at monthly

Try the TOMM method. Or the principle of it, which is to tidy a room every day for about half an hour. You don’t have to do it in one chunk. I managed it when I was working by doing a bit in the morning and some in the evening after work until we could afford a cleaner again!

@Ifailed

I only use a shower door once, I then replace it with a new one.

I think grime is holding my house together.

@Notcontent

I was doing some cleaning today and just doing the bathroom properly took ages as I wanted to give the shower doors etc a proper clean. My plans to give the whole house a really good clean today were much too ambitious. Anyway, I was just thinking that the majority of people must have homes that are less than ideally clean as it’s really hard work. Even having a cleaner is not a complete solution in my experience…

What’s your experience - do your friends and family have slightly grubby homes?

My partner cleans the shower daily after his shower. I haven't cleaned the shower since I met him 3.5 years ago. Takes ages in the morning but it's great.

Ifailed

Have just come back to this. Yes, cleaning daily would obviously make things easier but Monday to Friday I just can’t fit it in .

Ime cleaners are much better at the general superficial clean than the detailed deep cleaning.

@Ifailed

I only use a shower door once, I then replace it with a new one.

I put mine in the dishwasher 😉

@TwoCoffeesPlease

I did a deep clean of the kitchen this morning including oven and fridge. Took about 2 hours. Also mopped floor in hallway and living room and dusted/polished furniture. I was going to do the bathrooms but I think I will just stick bleach down the loo and do them properly tomorrow as I did them on Thursday so they aren’t too bad.

I too have a vague cleaning rota:
Mondays: general wipe down and white vinegar all taps/sinks etc.
Wednesday or Thursday and Saturday or Sunday: clean bathrooms
Sunday: change sheets
Friday: clean offices

Daily: sweep stairs, hallway and kitchen
2-3x week hoover
Daily: bleach/toilet cleaner down loos
2-3x week mop all hard floors inc. bathrooms and kitchen
Daily: kitchen general wipe down

Keeps it under general order but I am flexible with it otherwise it can take over your life. Deep cleans like today you are looking at monthly

Do you work outside the home?

Yes mine and my friends and families homes are definitely a little bit grubby. Totally normal

@BootsScootsAndToots

A do little at a time.

Friday is sheet changing, Sunday morning I clean shower (while showering and doing a hair mask) and then Sunday evening I vacuum while dh reads to DC in bed.

Toilets get done every day and kitchen I clean as I use.

I agree. Also loads of decluttering

I agree op. I tried using the 30 mins a day thing but it was always more like 45 mins because the very basic daily floor sweep and kitchen wipe//general tidy takes around 10-15 mins and if I want exercise, I can't seem to fit in exercise and the cleaning at that level on a daily basis Mon-Fri while working fulltime. Even when I was managing it, it wasn't really enough time to deep clean, despite the 'Friday focus' session, so I have gone back to doing it at the weekends but if I want to do it properly I have to spend at least 1-2 hours doing upstairs and 2-3 downstairs which means I can't always face it

When I do a really deep clean of the house (around once a year), I need two days as I usually do two sessions of around 3-4 hours each but I can't face two of those in one day. This does involve a bit of decluttering, though not a serious amount as decluttering is another job where I can take several hours to do 1-2 rooms. If it is the kitchen pantry, that can take a half day to take out and clean it and re-organise it. It just never seems to stay organised so always needs redoing a few months later

@Skelligsfeathers yes 2-3 days out and 2-3 days WFH. I use my WFH days to get 45mins or so of cleaning done before I start work at 9am and on days when I am working out I do it in the evening.

My house is generally tidy and generally clean. I'm a uni student and have 2 x 12 week semesters. So keep on top of it during uni weeks, then deep clean/decorate/declutter over summer/Christmas. I also have 2 dcs, 2 horses, loads of other animals and our own business plus kids have hobbies/clubs etc so we are generally quite busy.

But tbh I've lowered my standards a bit on the basis that no one who comes and visits is remotely arsed that my skirting boards are dusty, or my kitchen cupboards would benefit from a clean. Anyone who would be arsed, doesn't get an invite.