Designing a house that is easy to clean/maintain

[EJC85]

Hello all,

what choices would you make/suggest for an easy to clean/maintain house, in particular kitchens and bathrooms?

[BackforGood]

Am very surprised at this 'bin development' - not had one, but surely if something misses the bin, then it is much more difficult to clean inside a cupboard, than moving it to the side and having open access to the floor ?
I can't understand how you can use a kitchen and not have a bin at all though - how does that work? What do you do when you tear the top off a packet, or sweep breadcrumbs off the surface, or eat the last cake out the packet? Surely you don't want to be padding outside with every snippet of cellophane ?

Anyone with high (to the ceiling) kitchen cabinets do you use the full height (if so what for?)

Yes, we do. Top shelf is mainly for stuff we don't use very often - eg I have a 'naice' set of matching mugs that in my mind are used for "proper guests" - they are on the top shelf of the mug cupboard, along with a couple of little milk jugs. In another one I've got various baking things I rarely use, like my Christmas cake board, my Christmas cake tin, some shaped cookie cutters, etc. In another I've got a couple of glass water jugs we don't use that often. In another I've got the breadmaker.

[bouncydog]

We really haven't had bins inside for many years. We have 2 bins for recycling outside together with the one for stuff that can't be recycled (food scraps/black plastic/cellophane etc). I can't stand bins so definitely do not want them in the house!

[EJC85]

Oh selfishcrab cool! Will look into that, thanks!

[selfishcrab]

Polished plaster in the bathrooms, easy to clean!

[EJC85]

bouncydog no bins to clean now that's a dream!

[EJC85]

Nice one magimedi

[magimedi]

I have a bin similar to this one & I honestly think it is one of the best things I ever did. One bin is for mucky waste, one for recycling & one holds cleaning stuff

[bouncydog]

Black worktop will look fabulous. Don't have a bin! I keep a roll of biodegradable nappy sacks in the cupboard under the sink and all waste goes into one of those and into the outside bin. No bins to wash out and no chance of any spills/smells.

[EJC85]

magimedi - regarding the worktops, I've read about that before! It's funny cos I have a black (stone effect laminate - high gloss too!) laminate worktop now and I find it disguises the dirt well .

I am open to look at different colours - possibly something with some sort of speckles?

Good idea about the bins! Will try to integrate that too, thanks!

[magimedi]

Make sure your kitchen rubbish bin is in a pull out cupboard - not freestanding. Saves a lot of spills.

Also make sure your skirting boards are at least 20cm high - not the modern 10com ones. So much easier to keep clean.

Black worktop sounds great, I had it in a rental, but it shows every tiny crumb.

[EJC85]

CountMagnus - many thanks for the carpet advice. Greatly appreciated! Will check that out

For everyone suggesting a separate laundry area and/or upstairs. This won't be possible in our house, sadly. But I think that the layout we chose will work for us. We're not redesigning/building the house from scratch. Only adding an extension and changing a garage into the play room. Upstairs and lounge will remain the same layout.

For those suggesting no kids or pets: I'm afraid I'm too late on the no kids policy as we have a almost 2 year old son now. However, I have a 'no kids in the kitchen' policy for now and so far it has worked well for us. On the other hand, I am firm on the NO pets rule. Definitely not having pets as I am highly allergic and could not cope with having them, I'm afraid.

I'm totally on board with the other suggestions. SO so useful!

Many thanks, guys

[CountMagnus]

Go for sanitary ware that is smooth and rounded, so easy to clean. Wall hung loo makes it easier to install underfloor heating as well.

Stair carpet - I would go for a heavy duty (32oz and above) 80/20 Heather twist, the colours are speckled so hides any dirt. Buy the best underlay you can.

Yes to the upstairs laundry room - friends had this in their US house and it makes a lot of sense.

[Whattodowithaminute]

These are really useful tips. We are just planning a renovation of kitchen, bathrooms, utility room-quite overwhelming!
Anyone with high (to the ceiling) kitchen cabinets do you use the full height (if so what for?) or does it station you dumping things on top of cabinets?

[BackforGood]

This Don't have kids or pets. Or hobbies.

Seriously though, forget all the open plan nonsense. If you are designing a house from scratch, incorporate separate rooms and actual doors. Allow yourself space to shut the door on things sometimes. Definitely go for a separate utility / laundry room. I also really miss not having an airing cupboard in this house. Don't kid yourself that any house lived in by a family doesn't have to store things like wellies, and have clothes that sometimes need soaking before a wash, and sometimes need to dry clothes that don't go in the tumble drier, when it's a rainy week. Do allow yourselves to have space for hobbies - be that doing them or storing equipment. A really sterile house makes me feel so sad for people living there.

[EJC85]

Wow guys, thanks so much for all your ideas. I really appreciate it


For the kitchen we have chosen oak cabinets (Hyttan IKEA see pic) - totally straight, no nooks and crannies for dust to collect and because it's wood I'm hoping it won't show as much if it is dirty (although I clean regularly - I must add). The worktop will have to be laminate as the budget won't stretch to Quartz. I'm thinking something black as we like the contrast with the wood but we're not totally sure yet. Floor will be good quality vinyl. Splashback will be tiled but probably white tiles with dark grouting. Nothing in the kitchen will be exposed. We have
gone mad with cupboards everywhere to avoid having open shelving as these only look good for photos but in reality are a nightmare.They all go up to the ceiling!


Bathroom very similar - large tiles with dark grouting. I will now research the wall hung toilet and sink cabinet options. What a great idea!

I think the only place in the house with carpet will be the stairs. Need to research which types of carpet are better for stairs. Need something heavy duty that won't show dirt as much. Can anyone recommend anything in particular?

Thank you all very much, this thread has been so helpful!

[OnePlanOnHouzz]

If you are in a position to design this house from scratch then I'd say making a separate laundry area is a must ! And if it's at all possible, locate it close to the bedrooms so the washing doesn't have to be hauled up and down stairs - simply wash/tumble dry /hand to de crease or iron if needed then put away !
( unless you are working from home all day and have time to put washing outside to dry )

[minipie]

Marking place!

I will add quite an obscure one:

Bette (bath and shower company) do baths and showers with an "upstand" built along the edge of the bath or shower tray. You tile down over the upstand. That means no need for the silicon strip which is the bit that always goes mouldy.

Also:

Full width carpet on the stairs, not runner. With runners, dust collects at the edges. Or wood stairs but that's noisy.

YY to larger tiles, underfloor heating, wall hung loo and basin, single mixer tap, built in doormats, walk in shower.

For bathroom pipework you have a choice: chased into the wall looks better and will be easier to keep clean, however it's harder to fix if it leaks, especially if you've tiled over it. Same applies to wall mounted taps vs basin/bath mounted taps.

Choose tiles, flooring and worksurfaces which have a bit of a "fleck" or pattern to them - so that every speck of dirt or stray hair is not on show. And avoid anything textured or carved as it will collect dirt (even just a simple Shaker cupboard collects dirt, flat fronted would be better).

Avoid wood in the kitchen or bathrooms.

[MammyNeedsASpaDay]

Don't have kids or pets. Or hobbies.

😂😂😂😂

[70ontheinside]

Walk in shower - no glass or unnecessary nooks and crannies.
Everything boxed in and wall hung.

Cupboards in the kitchen up to the ceiling. Pull out shelves for everything.

Underfloor heating. Mixer taps.

[Chillidawg]

Tell you something that's made a big difference here. Inside all external doors, rather than any kind of flooring I have 3 or 4 feet of full width doormat, you know, the really thick straw coloured stuff. The tile/laminate starts further back along each hallway. It's amazing the difference those first few steps of doormat make, and it looks much nicer and 'fitted' than just chucking down a doormat.

[bouncydog]

Bathroom - wall hung toilet, large tiles on wall and floor, dark grey grout for the floor tiles. Wall hung cupboards with a counter top and built in basins so you can clean the floor under the cupboards. Boxed in bath with wall mounted taps and all shower fittings hidden behind the wall with a glass shower enclosure.

Kitchen - no open shelving, false panel from top of cupboards to ceiling, all integrated appliances and easy clean work tops. Plinths that are sealed so no bits get under the gap between floor and plinth. No gloss doors or ornate handles. Plenty of storage so little is left on the work tops. Boiling water tap so no kettle to wipe splashes from. No fancy fabric blinds/curtains and an extractor powerful enough to clear steam. Flooring which is easy clean - oh and a cleaner!!!! 😂😂

[Kiroro]

Have a system in the fridge including containers (if you google or pinterest it there are loads)

Yes this is a good idea - I have 'things in things' in all my cupboards in the kitchen e.g. you just pull out the box of spices rather than having al spices loose.

[TimTamTerrier]

The best thing that I did in my new kitchen was to put all the cutlery and crockery into drawers in a base cabinet. So it goes, sink, to the left of the sink the dishwasher, to the left of the dishwasher the cutlery/crocker drawers (last base cabinet). Beside the cutlery/crockery drawers is the kitchen table. So laying the table, loading the dishwasher and emptying the dishwasher are really quick and for the most part I hardly need to move my feet, let alone walk back and forth for miles.

The base of my loo is smooth and the back of the column is flush with the wall so it's easy to mop and there's nowhere for pre-teen boy piss to collect. The loo seat has a quick release mechanism so the whole seat and lid lift off for easy cleaning, again for pre-teen boy reasons.

[Pallisers]

Storage - no clutter.

Have your kitchen cupboards go up to the ceiling or have moulding on top so no way to catch dirt and grease

Line all cupboards

Have a system in the fridge including containers (if you google or pinterest it there are loads)

Places to put small appliances (I keep my toaster on a tray in a cupboard in the kitchen - easy to get out, just wash the tray every now and then)

Have a place for everything.

Windows that swivel in for easy cleaning.

Hardwood floors rather than carpet.

[cakeandteajustforme]

If in a hard water area invest in a water softener so stop scale building up in sinks, shower screens etc. They're quite expensive so we plumbed ours such that we took it with us when we moved house.

Agree with pp about wall hung toilets and sinks for easy floor cleaning, and large format tiles to reduce the amount of grout. Reduce things with horizontal ledges that can collect dust as much as possible, so for example a shallow medicine cabinet could be installed into the wall so there is no ledge above it. Similarly, kitchen units to the ceiling.

Personal preference but I find hard floors easiest to clean.

In the kitchen get pull out drawers inside cupboards - much easier to see everything and get to things in the back. And clean!