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A Good Housekeeping report identifies nine household areas that cleaning professionals say people often miss in weekly routines. Its recommendations include laundering sheets and towels, cleaning bathroom touchpoints and appliance handles, and vacuuming rugs; some tasks, such as deeper floor cleaning, can be done less often.
Good Housekeeping has published a list of nine household areas that cleaning professionals say are commonly left out of weekly routines, including sheets, appliance handles, bathroom surfaces and light switches. The recommendations distinguish between tasks suited to weekly upkeep and deeper cleaning that can happen less often, offering readers a practical way to organize household chores.
The list covers sheets and pillowcases, kitchen appliances, rugs, hardwood floors, bathroom surfaces, toilets, light switches and doorknobs, towels, and wood furniture. Good Housekeeping recommends washing sheets and pillowcases about every seven days, while noting that households with pets on the bed, allergies, heavy sweating or an infectious illness may want to wash them more frequently.
For the kitchen, the report advises wiping down high-touch appliances such as refrigerator, cooktop, microwave and coffee-maker handles and knobs. It suggests a disinfecting wipe for those touchpoints, and a microfiber cloth with stainless-steel cleaner or a mild dish-detergent solution for visible marks. Rugs and carpets, meanwhile, can generally get a weekly vacuuming to remove tracked-in dirt and pet hair; the report suggests reserving carpet cleaner for stains and arranging professional cleaning about once a year.
The bathroom guidance includes weekly cleaning of counters, sinks and other frequently used surfaces, as well as the toilet bowl, seat and handle. The report says to follow product directions for how long disinfectant must remain wet. It also recommends wiping light switches and doorknobs, cleaning bath towels weekly as a general rule, and dusting wood furniture weekly. For hardwood, it proposes sweeping every few days, with a deeper wet clean every one to two months or as needed.
A Routine That Separates Upkeep From Deep Cleaning
The list matters because it breaks a broad household chore into specific surfaces and objects that are easy to overlook, especially handles and switches that people touch repeatedly. Its schedule also avoids treating every job as a weekly task: routine vacuuming and dusting are separated from deeper work such as cleaning under furniture, which the report suggests doing every three to six months.
Following the recommendations may help households keep up with everyday dirt and maintain frequently used surfaces, but the article does not present these intervals as a universal health standard. Cleaning needs vary with how a home is used, the presence of pets, allergies and the products or materials involved. Readers can use the list as a starting point and adjust it to their circumstances and product instructions.
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The List’s Weekly And Longer Intervals
Good Housekeeping’s recommendations combine different kinds of household care. Some are about removing visible debris, such as vacuuming rugs and sweeping hardwood. Others focus on frequently touched surfaces, including appliance controls, bathroom faucets, toilet handles, doorknobs and light switches. The report recommends disinfecting these surfaces according to the product label rather than relying on a single cleaning method for every material.
Not every item requires the same frequency. The report says hardwood floors can receive a deeper wet clean every one to two months, depending on use, while rugs can be vacuumed weekly and professionally cleaned about annually. It places dusting furniture in the weekly routine but suggests doing broader dusting, such as on blinds and light fixtures, monthly. Cleaning beneath and behind furniture, vacuuming mattresses, and washing pillows and comforters are listed as tasks for every three to six months.
How Often Depends On The Household
The supplied report does not identify the individual cleaning professionals behind each recommendation or provide research establishing one schedule as necessary for every home. The intervals should therefore be understood as practical guidance attributed to the report, not a single rule that applies regardless of household conditions.
Some details also depend on product labels and material care instructions. The report advises keeping disinfected surfaces wet for the time specified on the packaging, but it does not name a single product or dwell time for all surfaces. It warns against letting liquid seep behind a light switch; it does not provide instructions for removing switch plates or performing electrical work. Readers should follow manufacturer guidance and avoid applying liquids in ways that could create a safety risk.
Apply The Schedule To Your Home
The report does not announce a formal follow-up or new cleaning standard. Its immediate takeaway is a checklist readers can adapt: add overlooked touchpoints and fabrics to the weekly plan, then schedule less frequent tasks separately. Households can adjust bedding and towel laundry based on use, while checking care labels for fabrics and floor finishes.
For disinfecting, readers should use products as directed and allow the stated contact time. The report also recommends letting a disinfected toilet brush dry outside its holder before returning it to the caddy. The next step for anyone using the list is to decide which items fit their household’s routine, rather than assuming all nine require identical treatment or frequency.
Key Questions
Which nine areas does the report say are often missed?
The list includes bedding, kitchen appliances, rugs, hardwood floors, bathroom surfaces, toilets, switches and doorknobs, towels, and wood furniture.
Does the report recommend washing sheets every week?
Yes. Good Housekeeping recommends washing sheets and pillowcases about every seven days. It says more frequent washing may suit households with pets in bed, allergies, heavy sweating or an infectious illness.
Which tasks can be done less often than weekly?
The report suggests deeper wet cleaning of hardwood floors every one to two months or as needed, broader dusting monthly, and cleaning under and behind furniture every three to six months. It also recommends professional rug or carpet cleaning about once a year.
What does the report say about disinfecting surfaces?
It advises following the product label for the required time a surface must remain wet. It also cautions against allowing liquid to seep behind light switches.
Source: goodhousekeeping.com
