People Explain Which Household Items Need To Be Cleaned More Often Than Anyone Realizes

If you’re in your nice clean home just hanging out enjoying the cleanliness, this article might come as more than a little distressing to you.

Because your home is probably nowhere near as clean as you think it is.

Reddit user FoxMachine asked: 

“What common household item is rarely if ever cleaned, although it should be?”

So listen, we’re going to be honest with you.

If Thanos popped up right now and said the fate of the world depended on finding someone whose fan blades, air vents and lighting fixtures were completely dust-free … well … it’s been fun while it lasted.

Lets take a look at what else is likely to get us Thanos-snapped out of existence.

We’re Toast

“The bottom of my toaster is a graveyard of charcoal crumbs.”

– CubaGoodingIII

“Working from home I was in a meeting so boring I realized I hadn’t cleaned the crumb tray of my toaster in years.”

“Imagine a meeting so boring you think about the crumb tray in your toaster. And I wasn’t even in the kitchen.”

– JustaRandomOldGuy

Just Washing The Maggots

“Once a month,the dishwasher gets the full treatment in our house.”

“Some family members are plumbers. They’ve seen things. They’ve smelled things.”

“Fun fact: most dishwasher pumps fail because of maggots. Clean your f*cking catcher and rinse off the chunks, people.”

“Maggot eggs are eeeeverywheeeerre. You can also get mould mites, drain flies, cockroaches….it’s a humid, dark environment with food scraps.”

– Taleya

Component Care

“Your computer components and setup.”

“My mouse is clean as it’s easy to swab with a q-tip… my keyboard… my keyboard is one with the dirt. You can run it through the dishwasher and still have hair stuck.”

“I’m honestly not even exaggerating. I’ve had the same mechanical keyboard for 8 or 9 years and ran it through the dishwasher multiple times, but it’s impossible to get completely clean.”

“The key caps themselves never seem too bad, it’s just getting the film of grime and dirt out from under them and between the switches.”

– ApprehensiveAd3778

“Yeah, same with keyboard and mousepad, they’re absolutely disgusting.”

“Oh yeah and DO NOT forget the chair, I found moldy food under the pillows of my friends gaming chair. one of the most disgusting things ever.”

– marcago

You Need To Shampoo That

“SOFA! maybe because it’s so hard to clean your sofa, but it’s really dirty and has dirt all over the years.”

– thitgahamtonghop

“I shampoo mine about once a month. The water is always brown.”

“I know people who have NEVER shampooed theirs. I can’t even imagine the water.” 

– Gingerbrew302

“Here in Germany, we have several stores which rent out for free a big… Wet vacuum?”

“In one container, you fill a soap solution. You spray it on the sofa.”

“The vacuum then takes in the solution and dirt. It is often shocking.”

– Joe_Rapante

That’s Not A Paint Job

“Walls.”

“I went around my place last winter after I lost my job and started washing all my walls. My family was telling me it looked like I painted them.”

– Smil3yAngel

“I have a steam mop that has a handle that detaches so it’s like a wand.”

“I steam cleaned my bathroom walls because the previous tenant was a smoker and had that nasty yellow residue on the walls. Biggest pain in the ass project, but totally worth it.”

“Cleaning my other walls is on my to-do list.”

– spitfire07

If That’s Dirty, So Are You

“Shower curtains they get so nasty people!”

– Rat_Queen91

“I don’t understand how people let theirs get so nasty. My brother’s is slightly moldy on the bottom.”

“My last place was really (pre 1920s) old with a sh*tty bathroom and mold build up in the grout around the shower/wall tiling.”

“There was also a full sized fucking window in the shower (of all places to put a window lol) with unsealed wood trim that got moldy too!”

“I don’t know how my room mates could stand it! I replaced the shower liner every few months on my own due to mold, because they just wouldn’t.”

“So glad I moved somewhere new, no one should have to fear that they are breathing black mold every time they shower.”

– QuasarsRcool

Dangerously Dry

“Blow-dryers.”

“Once every 4-6 weeks. Lint blocks the air. It’s a fire hazard and a bad hair day hazard.”

– Steen70

“I almost bought a new blow dryer one time because it had become so useless.”

“I realized how clogged with lint it was, cleaned it out, and it was like brand new!” 

– pink_mango

Cabinets Shouldn’t Be Sticky

“In your kitchen: The underside of your cabinets (as well as the top of them if you can).”

“All of the food you cook, sautee, etc. sends tiny particulates of oil and other parts of your meal into the air. It settles on all surfaces, but you clean most of them regularly.”

“The top of your cabinets is usually ignored, but it can develop quite the gunky buildup if you don’t do a fairly regular cleaning. Say, once a month or so.”

“The underside of cabinets – especially near your cook surface – should be cleaned every week or so. That oil and muck will eventually start to dry and cake on, attracting bugs and rodents and emiting a not-so-fresh smell.”

“Get a good degreaser cleaner and give those surfaces a thorough cleaning.”

– ilikemrrogers

“Can” You Imagine?

“Can opener. Look at yours and despair.”

– IAmEggnogstic

“I literally never even thought of washing one until i moved in with my wife. Blew my mind when she threw it in the dishwasher”

– 1seacow

“Isn’t it the dirtiest thing in the house? I’ve seen that a lot. Because people never think to wash them.”

– appleparkfive

“The blade under your automatic can opener.”

“People use it for all sorts of things like dog food. It can get gross.”

– chillflyguy33

Phone Check

“How often do you clean your phone?”

“How often do you check your phone in the bathroom?”

– FatsDominoPizza

“Your phone.” 

“If you actually use it for calls then it’s covered in your face oils, spit and germs from your mouth, and possibly ear wax.” 

“If you’re a normal person who just texts a lot, then it’s covered in everything you and your grubby little hands have touched.”

– Reddit

The Lid

“This is funny. I just noticed yesterday that I rarely clean the inside-top of my rice cooker.”

“Cleaned it last night and was like ‘I use this weekly and have never wiped this part down.’ Made me feel gross but yea.”

– [Reddit]

So now that you’ve seen what Reddit has to say, let’s talk about you.

What unclean horrors are you suddenly realizing you might need to clean?

Sound off!

Great Ways You Can Reuse Those Little Silica Gel Packets

This is pretty cool.

You know all those little packets of moisture absorbing silica gel that falls out of new boxes of shoes, electronics, big bags of rice…really all kinds of stuff? These little packets that tell you 1) not to eat them and 2) to throw them away?

Well, definitely don’t eat them, but don’t throw them away either – they can be repurposed and used for all kinds of things. Those packets are practically gold!

Here are some ways you can save these tiny dehumidifiers from the landfill and improve your own quality of life.

1. Keep your gym bag free from odor.

Throw a few packs in your gym bag with your stinky clothes and gear. They will absorb odor so you won’t recoil in disgust when you open it later.

Photo Credit: Flickr

2. Keep your razors from rusting.

No matter how thoroughly you think you dry your razors, you’re bound to miss some moisture. Store them with a silica gel packet to absorb water droplets.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

3. Keep rust off your tools.

Live in Arizona? No? Your garage is practically a rainforest then, and if that’s where you keep your tools, you’ll need some packs to stop them from rusting.

Photo Credit: Flickr

4. Keep your pantry fresher.

Tuck some packs into your pantry or cupboard where you keep your spices, flour and potatoes.

Photo Credit: Flickr

5. Keep your expensive headphones from getting smelly.

Prevent your audio investment – before storing, go ahead and tuck packs into each “ear” of your over-the-ear headphones. It helps after they’ve spent a few hours near the warm, moist heat of your body.

Photo Credit: Flickr

6. In wet weather, use to protect chargers and cords.

If your staring down the barrel of a big storm and you need to keep electronic accessories dry, zip them away in a waterproof bag with a few packets for extra insurance.

Photo Credit: Pxhere

7. Protect photos

Remember printed photos? Remember your old box of printed photos? Whoopsie. Find that box and throw in some packets to keep them free from moisture damage.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

8. Get the musty smell out of your old books.

Old book smell is delicious. Musty, moldy smells? Not so much. If one of your books gets too much of a good thing, zip it in a bag with a few packets and wait a month. The offending smell should be gone.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

9. Use for storing seeds.

Gather seeds from your annuals and store them in a jar with a packet. Come spring, you’ll be ready to garden.

Photo Credit: Pixnio

10. Protect your silver jewelry from tarnish.

After wearing, clean your silver pieces and store it in your jewelry box with a couple of packets to keep them shiny and ready for next time.

Photo Credit: Pxfuel

See? Those little packets of silica gel are miracle workers. And if they don’t seem to be working, stick them in the oven on a cookie sheet on low heat for an hour or two or put them outside on a sunny afternoon. The moisture will get baked out, and they’ll be good as new and ready to reuse again!

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