31 Overlooked Places You Should Be Cleaning Regularly, According To Professional Housekeepers

Professional cleaners reveal commonly missed areas that desperately need your attention.

Filip

Published in Interesting
October 19, 2024

31 Overlooked Places You Should Be Cleaning Regularly, According To Professional Housekeepers

Many families follow a regular cleaning schedule, breaking down chores into daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks. Despite these efforts, certain spots around the house tend to be easily missed.

This often happens because furniture or appliances block access to these spaces or are simply in out-of-sight, overlooked corners. Ignoring these areas can make your cleaning routine less effective, allowing dust, dirt, and allergens to build up over time and potentially even affecting indoor air quality.

It is important to include these neglected spots in your cleaning routine to maintain a clean home. Areas like the space under heavy furniture, tops of door frames, and inside appliances are notorious for hiding dirt.

Properly cleaning these spaces helps ensure your living environment stays fresh and healthy. But not everyone is aware of what they're missing or how best to address it.

Fortunately, a viral Reddit post by user Mature-Sensible-Name sparked a discussion where professional cleaners shared tips on the most commonly missed places in our homes that could use extra attention. From everyday items like mattresses to hidden components like dishwasher filters, these experts offered a detailed checklist to help you see if your current cleaning efforts are up to par.

"Coming from someone who is taller than average I’d like to mention that many people only clean to their eye level."

Vacuum your mattress

"Here's one people NEVER do but really should: vacuum your mattress. No, I'm not kidding.

When you change your sheets you should vacuum that b***h so you can suck out whatever dead skin and c**p have made their way down there. Also, we all know to wash the fitted sheet.

But below that, mattresses sometimes have another removable cover, please wash that too."

"Please empty your toaster crumb trays. I have found crumb trays so full that some of the crumbs were BLACK from being burned. That's a fire hazard"

"Clean your light switches and door knobs they are always gross and people rarely clean them."

"Places your pets (cats in particular) rub against"

"Something I didn’t notice until I sat on the floor the other day; places your pets(cats in particular) rub against. My door jams and walls were very dirty at cat level.

I didn’t see this mentioned: lighting fixtures and hood vent. Baking soda is a very good friend of mine!"

"The toothbrush holder, your spit and saliva drips down the bottom of brushes into the cup, nasty."

"Many people neglect to take down their shower curtains periodically for washing"

"When I did housekeeping during college, I noticed that many people neglect to take down their shower curtains periodically for washing. That's the accumulation of body oils, fluids, etc that has splashed off your body.

You can disinfect and make a bathroom sparkle, however, the stench off the ripe curtain...ick."

"It's a sad reality that I have to vacuum my BOOKS"

"Their fans"

"Mfs be having the DUSTIEST ceiling fans in the world. How do y’all sleep with those things spinning? It’s like snow."

"Clean the things you use to clean other things"

"Replace your kitchen sponge at least twice a month. Wash your towels weekly.

Leave the door to your washing machine open after each cycle so it doesn’t mildew. You get the idea.

If these things aren’t clean, it can manifest in big ways. Ever met one of those people who has a faint musty/sour smell even after showering?

Chances are they’ve been using the same nasty bath towel for weeks/months and don’t notice the smell from it anymore."

"Not a professional and a little off topic but have you ever cleaned your steering wheel? My god, the stuff that shows up on a Lysol wipe..."

"The blade of their can opener."

"This is for all the video gamers out there, please clean your gaming equipment."

" *Get some disinfecting wipes and clean down your controllers.

*Clean your keyboard about twice a year, if you eat at your computer clean it once a month.

*Clean your mouse about twice a year.

*Disinfect your mouse and keyboard once a month, it will help you get sick less.

*Dust your electronics once a month, it will help keep them from overheating and last longer.

*Clean your headset once a month, your hair oil is slowly sticking to it and that allows it to grab dust, it gets really gross.

*At least once a year, remove your gaming electronics from their tables and shelves to dust and clean down the area.

I have found even the most crazy of clean freaks for some reason neglect their gaming equipment."

"Toilet brush and toilet brush holder. These just become a stew of poop particles if ignored."

Extractor fan hood over the cooker

"Not a pro but the one that always gets neglected is the extractor fan hood over your cooker. There are filters on there that need replacing (or just cleaning depending on the type) and if you don’t after about 6-12 months they turn into a fire hazard because they get saturated with grease.

If you put your hand onto the flat underside of your extractor hood and it feels greasy and gross, that’s because it is. Clean that s**t once in a while folks."

"Clean out your cabinets people."

"This will probably get buried, but I haven’t seen it. Clean out your cabinets people.

Take everything thing out and wipe them down. You have no idea what you’re putting your “clean” dishes in...especially if you turn your cups upside down."

"Garbage disposal flaps, black mold under there. Dishwasher filters, grossest things ever."

The fan heaters

"I unplug mine and use a skinny crochet hook to yank the hair and dust out of ours. I have seen one catch fire.

Clean them, it's important."

"I never understand why people don't use pillow protectors between their pillows and pillowcases."

"They help extend the life of your pillow. I have seen some really nasty pillows. Remember, you spend the night drooling on your pillows."

Polish or wipe down the kitchen bin, kettles, and other shiny things on the counters

"People who are busy but wonder how it looks different when I do it, the finishing touches they miss are polishing or wiping down their kitchen bin, kettles and other shiny things on their counters.

One job I struggle with is removing hair from a plug hole and as I rule, I don’t do it because i’ll spend the day heaving. People forget to clean their taps, door handles and light switches, yet they are probably the most used item."

Polish or wipe down the kitchen bin, kettles, and other shiny things on the counters

Clean your couches

"Not a house cleaner but... When my guy and I first started living together he didn’t understand that couches need cleaned!

Underneath and inside. He will still try to get away with vacuuming and not moving the couch.

We have two cats and a dog, it gets disgusting under there. One of the cats is a hoarder too and likes to hide things underneath so it’s always in our best interest to move the couch around to find her treasures."

"Unscrew and clean your faucet aerator. Especially if you live in a hard water area."

There were a few places people often forget to clean

"I used to clean luxury apartments in the Upper East Side in college, and no matter how "clean" the apartments looks there were a few places people will often forget to clean:

1- Microwaves

2-Behind the stove (yes, food falls down there) I once cleaned someone's stove and there was popcorn kernels from 2010!! This guy had a strict diet, so he was able to remember the last time he ate popcorn

3-Window blinds (the guy had white blinds, and with time dirt it looked yellow/dark white)

4-Behind the fridge and clean inside the fridge!!

I used to clean apartments from doctors & lawyers and their places would be dirty!! They would always be amazed how I was able to find "hidden" garbage..

They would always appreciate my work, and always gave me a tip or bonus."

There were a few places people often forget to clean

Vacuum filter

"Does vacuum filter count? I’m a carpet laying apprentice and sometimes we use the customers vacuum to tidy up.

Usually they’re a useless sack of s**t and you have to empty it and clean the filter, then they’re good as new."

The keyboard

"The amount of hair and dry skin flakes that accumulate in there over time is pretty disturbing. Give yours a good shake and you'll see the mountain of repulsive substances."

"Vacuum the tops of your curtains, they are a major source of dust! Also I’m not a pro cleaner I just like cleaning"

Your ceilings ..fly s**t in summer isnt a laughing matter.

"Along the baseboards and corners while vacuuming"

The filters in the air-conditioning and vents

"Chef here. The filters in your air-condition and your vents gather a ton of dust and grime. Clean them for a better performing a/c

The waterlock under your sink. It can really fill up with some nasty a*s s**t if not emptied.

The bottom of cutlery drawers... No need to explain that one."

The filters in the air-conditioning and vents

Vacuum the lint off the refrigerator coils

"Nobody had mentioned vacuuming the lint off the refrigerator coils. Pop the lower cover off, no tools needed, then use a brush and vacuum brush to take the hair and stuff off.

Especially if you have pets. Your fridge will run less and last longer."

Vacuum the lint off the refrigerator coils

"The dish drying rack. I've never seen anyone with one that wasn't f*****g horrific looking."

We all have our cleaning routines, which demonstrate a specific order of how and what we clean. But, some places get easily missed.

We hope these professional cleaners have helped you figure out where all that dust comes from just minutes after cleaning. Cleaning these hidden spaces will help you to achieve a spotless home.