8 Things You Don’t Want To Forget to Clean

When you have lived in a home for a long time or moved to a new one it can be easy to forget to clean several important things. Today I’m sharing a few things you don’t want to forget to clean and a free printable cleaning checklist. 

We recently purchased a townhome that was a foreclosure and needed a good cleaning before we moved in. Instead of hiring a cleaning company we decided to save money and clean the house on our own.

Cleaning the House

After closing on the house we brought over our cleaning supplies and got to work.

First, we vacuumed, swept and mopped the floors throughout the entire house. Then the bathrooms got a scrub from floor to ceiling.

After that, we used our new carpet cleaner to give the carpeted flooring a deep clean.

Next up was wiping down all the cupboards, walls, and other areas of the house.

Related Post: 10 Things to Clean to Stop the Spread of Germs

Many areas of the house get cleaned often and are obvious like vacuuming the floor and cleaning the toilets. But some things are not so obvious and are easy to forget.

8 Things You Don’t Want to Forget to Clean

Even if you have lived in your house for years there might be a few things you’re forgetting to clean that you might want to add to your cleaning list.

1- Behind Appliances

Do you remember the last time you moved your oven or fridge to clean behind and under them?

Chances are high that it’s been a while since you or the previous owner of your new home cleaned that area.

I know it might seem like a lot of work for something you won’t see. But it only takes a few extra minutes and then you know it’s clean and no bugs or little critters are going to find a snack.

2- The Ice Machine on the Fridge

Since the home we purchased was vacant for about a year I was worried about what I would find in the ice machine. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but definitely worth a clean.

Note: The condo we rented in Florida had mold growing in the ice machine so it pays to check before you start using it!

Even if you’re not moving into a new house it’s a good idea to clean your ice machine frequently to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria.

3 – Jets in the Bathtub

Jetted bathtubs take a little more work to clean than regular tubs that you can just scrub down.

With a jetted tub you want to make sure that you get inside the jets clean. So you don’t have those nasty black things floating in your bath water.

The contractor that did the inspection on our home told us that the easiest way to make sure that you get all the bacteria out of the jets and pipes is to fill the tub with hot bleach water and run the jets for a few minutes.

Then drain the tub and fill the tub with clean hot water and run the jets for a few minutes to get all of the bleach out.

Related Post: 16 Bedroom Organization Hacks You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner

4 – Windows

The windows may appear to be clean but you might be surprised how dirty a “clean” window can actually be.

Clean windows also have the added benefit of letting more light into your home!

5- The Bottom of the Upper Kitchen Cabinets

This may sound totally random but I found so many food splatters on the underside of the cabinets at our new house.

Think of things flying when you use a mixer or blender. Yeah, stuff like that gets stuck to the bottom of the upper cabinets. (Hopefully, your cabinets aren’t as bad as mine!)

6- Light Fixtures and Fans

Light fixtures can get dead bugs and dust trapped in them so it’s a good idea to clean them. Fan blades are especially good at catching dust, so be sure to clean them frequently.

7- Outlets and Light Switches

Outlets and light switches are easy to forget. They are a necessary part of each room. With how frequently outlets and light switches get used they are a great place for germs to get passed around if they don’t get cleaned.

Light switches are especially important to wipe down throughout the house during cold and flu season.

8- Stairway Handrails

If there is a set of stairs in your house there is going to be a handrail of some sort. Be sure to wipe it down so that when you run your hand down the railing you don’t find some unexpected surprise. (One of the railings in our house had a big sticky spot we had to scrub off. )

Free Printable Cleaning Checklist

To help you stay organized and make sure everything gets cleaned here is a free printable cleaning checklist. The list is organized by room with basic things to make sure get cleaned in each room.

It also includes the things you don’t want to forget to clean and space for you to add anything else you want to the list.

While the list is great for moving into a new home it’s also a great tool for deep cleaning the home you live in!

 Are there any other important things you don’t want to forget to clean?

Save this post!