Need cleaning basics

[mariona2002]

Hello! My name is Mariona, I'm 23 and my family never taught me how to clean, so while I've been doing research on my own and getting advice from my boyfriend, I finally accepted that I still have many questions, so I'm going to be annoying here 😅

My main questions are:
How often should I clean? Specifically, how often should I hoover, dust, wipe down surfaces and clean the bathroom? An important detail is that I have a cat who loves throwing kibble particles everywhere, every single day. When I say everywhere, I mean every room in our little flat.

How do I clean and dust efficiently? For the kitchen, I spray with a regular pet-friendly cleaning spray and dry with a paper towel. For the bathroom, I'm struggling because we get mould and dust very fast. Do I dust first, then wipe down with a bleach spray?

When doing laundry, do I need to separate the colours?

How do I manage humidity and air quality? I just moved to the UK from Spain and I'm used to opening the windows a lot, but quickly found out I can't do the same here ❄☔

Lastly, how can I clean the carpet in a cheap way? Is hiring a rug doctor worth it, or is it better to buy the equipment?

Thank you in advance 🤗

Well you already sound more thorough than me!

I have a dog. I hoover about 2-3 times a week, mop the kitchen once, and do the bathrooms every other day. I used bathroom wipes for the sink and toilet as these collect dust at the same, and done often there's not loads. I wash the bath and shower when I have a bath (just spray and wipe down). I use a floor wipe to do the floor.

As your cat chucks food around I'd confine her to a room until she's finished or feed outside, or really you'll have to hoover after every meal. Cat kibble really smells to someone who doesn't have cats, so that will be the biggest influence in how your house appears to others.

I dust when the window ledges get obviously dusty. Wipe surfaces in the kitchen daily or after making toast if stuff on them.

You need to open the windows daily for 5 mins, ideally twice a day. You should get a dehumifier. You need to work out the cause of the mould.

Do you live by yourself?

Is the cat eating food in every room? I’m just wondering how it is getting every where!

Thank you so much for your thorough response! I’ll keep it all in mind 😊I’ve checked the bathroom wipes in Asda and they sound so much better than the disposable cloths I’ve been using (gross).

Ah, 5 minutes at a time sounds very doable! I thought it had to be much longer.

I live with my boyfriend as well, and honestly, yes - our cat has been eating in the bedroom. He recently switched to an allergy diet and my boyfriend has been busier than ever at work, so these routine change meant he wasn't eating much. We noticed he felt safe in his cat tower by the bed, so we added a bowl there. I’ll work on gradually moving it out, though!

We've investigated the humidity source and we are pretty sure it's the bathroom, as it doesn't have any windows and the vent is not great. I'm now looking at a dehumidifier! Thank you for your advice 😊

You and bf need to be doing 50% of the house work each.

He works a 9-5 and I'm a freelance illustrator. I'm not earning much yet, so at the moment I do all the chores except for the trash and the cat litter box. Not sure I agree, but my boyfriend insisted that until I make money or have an actual contract, this is what's fair because I have more time in the day than him.

@mariona2002 no no that’s not good - he’s training you to be the default ‘housekeeper’. He needs to be stepping up and doing at least some housework chores now eg on a weekend. Otherwise when you do get a job/contract, you’ll end up both working and running the household.

I'm 28 and been living away from my family since I was about 17 but wasn't taught how to clean, so i hope I can help a bit. So, laundry I will seperate when it's new (like first wash) just so colours don't run. But the rest of the time I usually don't seperate 😂. It depends on what you're washing though, I have a light hoody that was expensive and I will only put it with towels/light colours to be safe.

Dusting, I do like a deep deep clean once a month including dusting wiping baseboards, walls etc. the rest of the month I just do maintenance cleaning rather than a deep clean. I have a spot cleaner as I only have carpet on my stairs and landing so I don't need a big carpet cleaner. If you do buy a carpet cleaner make sure to check lots of reviews on different sites to be sure it won't leak / doesn't cause damage like mould.

The damp/mould situation, is it just the bathroom? Bleach is bad for mould, I believe it's white vinegar you should use.. you can buy a spray bottle of it usually in shops like B&m or home bargains. Dehumidifiers are good too even those little ones that are only a few pounds in the shop. The issue with mould is sometimes it's too deep and wiping it away won't solve it if that makes sense.

I use reusable cloths for cleaning but for like my toilet or anywhere "gross" I will only use cleaning wipes, they're quite cheap in b&m. I have one of the flash spray mops too I find that better than a regular mop personally. I clean my house top to bottom daily through the day because I have 2 kids and they're very messy little things. I hoover twice a week but have laminate floor everywhere except stairs and landing. I mop 3/4x a week. Honestly don't stress too much, you'll eventually find a rhythm with cleaning. Partner definitely needs to pull his weight too though or else you'll be the default cleaner forever.

B&M, home bargains and Poundland can be really good for cleaning products. Or on order things on Amazon (I buy from a brand called miniml and the 5l stuff lasts be ages. Also I use my shark hoover to dust because it is detachable and has the attachment for dusting, you might find a cheap little handheld hoover to dust you save time