12 Things You Should Be Cleaning More Often Than You Think

Are you guilty of leaving the bathroom and kitchen hand towels out for a week or two at a time? Even if you’re drying clean hands on these cloths, they can get grimey from the moisture. It’s best to swap out hand towels daily or every couple of days for fresh ones.

If you don’t already know, your bedsheets and pillowcases should be washed once a week. If your furry friends sleep in bed with you, you should actually be washing the bedding even more often — every few days. That’s because as we sleep, our sheets and pillowcases can accumulate a lot of grime from our natural body oils, sweat, dead skin cells, pet dander from pets, and even dust mites. Pillows should be washed two or three times a year. Throw blankets can go a couple months between washes, while duvet covers should be washed more frequently, about once a month.

Aside from collecting dirt from being on the floor, bath mats also absorb a lot of moisture throughout the day. You step on them with wet feet after a shower or bath, then there’s the humidity from the steamy bathroom. This creates a breeding ground for bacteria. Make sure to throw bath mats in the wash about once a week.

Similar to bath mats, shower curtains remain in a warm, humid environment that can encourage bacteria and mold to grow. It’s best to wash shower curtains about once a month. Cloth liners should also be washed at least once a month, or you can wipe down plastic liners with diluted white vinegar.

Our phones go everywhere with us, which means they can be exposed to a lot of nasty germs, including E. coli. Phones should be sanitized at least once a day. You can use a cleaner made specifically for phones, or simply unplug the device and use a clean, lint-free cloth with just a bit of soap and water to wipe down your phone and case.

While your trusty water bottle may go from your nightstand to your desk to the gym to your dining table and back to your nightstand again each day, you may be forgetting to wash it as often as you should. You should be washing your reusable water bottles every single day.

Trash cans are made to simply hold the garbage until it can be taken out, but these bins need to be cleaned, too. Make sure to give it a deep cleaning inside and out at least once per month. You can also wipe it down every time you take out the trash.

Your washing machine may clean out a lot of sweat, dirt, and debris from your clothing. While detergent gets the clothing clean, the washer needs to be deep-cleaned once per month to get rid of excess grime and detergent buildup. Dryers also need cleaned, but usually once or twice a year will do.

Contrary to what you might think, your dishwasher isn’t going to clean itself. Detergent, food and other debris can build up over time, making it harder for the dishwasher to run efficiently and leaving you with dirty or even germy dishes after running a wash cycle. Make sure to deep clean the dishwasher inside and out at least once a month either according to the user manual or with vinegar and baking soda.

When’s the last time your makeup brushes had a good scrub? Because makeup brushes touch our faces day after day, they need to be cleaned often. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends washing makeup brushes every 7 to 10 days.

You vacuumed the rugs, wiped down the coffee table, and dusted the TV while tackling your usual chores. But did you forget to sanitize the remote controls? Remove the batteries to avoid any damage, then use a wipe and standard disinfectants to wipe down the remote control, making sure to get between the buttons. Clean the remote at least once per month.

Fido slurps and slobbers all over his bowls after sampling an assortment of old food, dirt, and other debris he found on the sidewalk during your afternoon walk. Clearly, pet bowls can collect a lot of gunk. These should be washed every single day with soap and water. About once a week, put the bowls in the top rack of the dishwasher and run a cycle for a deeper clean.