Winter means cozy nights in, but also more chances for disease-causing viruses and germs to spread. Keep your home happy and healthy this season! Follow these expert cleaning tips from one of the best maid services in the Greater Milwaukee Area!
Why Do You Get Sick More Often During Winter?
Is it just coincidence that you get more frequently sick during the cold season? Nope, it’s not. According to health experts at Johns Hopkins, different types of viruses, including the common cold, flu, RSV, and even Covid-19, thrive during winter.
- More indoor time: As you spend more time indoors, these disease-causing bugs are passed on easily from one person to the next.
- Low humidity: It doesn’t help that winter’s low humidity or drier air conditions can weaken your body’s immune system significantly, making it easier for viruses to enter through the nose and throat, and more vulnerable to infections.
- Longer virus survival time: Some viruses, like the flu virus, may survive longer in colder, drier air. This means they can remain infectious for longer periods, increasing the risk of transmission.
How to Clean Your Home in Winter
In winter cleaning, you put a special focus on deep cleaning and disinfecting various areas around your home that can compromise your family’s overall health and well-being. Here are some excellent examples.
1. Prioritize cleaning high-touch surfaces
Clean and disinfect all your doorknobs, light switches, remote controls, tables, and countertops at least once a week. Do this especially if you had guests or other people inside the house. Use disinfecting wipes to save time.
2. Get professional carpet cleaning.
Your rugs and carpets are a hotbed for dirt, dust, pet dander, and other allergens, which can get to an alarming rate when all doors and windows are closed during winter. Sometimes your usual vacuuming may not be enough, so best to call in professionals who can do a more thorough cleaning of deep-seated dirt and stubborn stains.
3. Wash pillows and bed linens regularly.
Constant skin cell shedding and the high humidity during winter can foster mold and bacterial growth. All of which can trigger allergic rhinitis, asthma, or skin reactions. Avoid this by changing your pillow cases, blankets, and bed sheets at least once a week.
4. Clean your entryway and mudroom.
These areas can be extra-messy during winter so be systematic and proactive when it comes to winter cleaning.
- Have a cleaning basket ready, filled with a broom, microfiber rag, all-purpose cleaner, and disinfecting wipes so you can spring into action at the first sight of dirt and mud.
- Place highly absorbent door mats on your front door to minimize outdoor dirt getting tracked indoors.
- Add coat hooks and baskets for shoes and boots, so they don’t end up cluttering your entryway.
5. Deep clean your toilet and bath more often.
Despite the overall low humidity in winter, mold and mildew overgrowth can still be a common issue especially in damp areas at home, such as your toilet and bathroom. Usually, this is because of the temperature difference between the warm, moist air produced by showering and the colder surfaces in a poorly ventilated bathroom, causing condensation to form on those surfaces which then provides the moisture needed for mold growth.
Keep this from happening with these winter cleaning tips and tricks.
- Wash your shower curtains more frequently. The creases where it’s always moist are most prone to mold and mildew.
- Clean glass shower enclosures and doors with a baking soda paste.
- Replace wet towels and bathroom mats immediately. Get a quick-drying stone bath mat if you can.
- Wipe down all bathroom surfaces, including sinks, countertops, and tub, more often to remove excess moisture.
- Always turn on the exhaust when you shower. Since you can’t open the windows during winter, this can help ventilate your bathroom.
Need Help with Winter Cleaning?
Keep your home in tip-top shape this winter. Book a professional home cleaning service with the best maids in the Greater Milwaukee Area. With BetterCleans, you can enjoy this season without worrying about your household chores. We clean in different locations, including:
