9 things you're making dirtier by cleaning them

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• Though you might think that cleaning always makes things cleaner, there are actually some things that you can make dirtier if you clean them incorrectly.
• Knowing how to clean things in the correct way not only makes things cleaner, but also can save you some time.
• These tips from the pros for windows, surfaces, floors, and more will allow you to actually get everything in your home clean, instead of inadvertently just making things worse.

If you cleaned your entire home and then found out that it really wasn’t any cleaner than when you started you’d probably be a bit grossed out and upset.

To learn more about what sorts of things you might be cleaning incorrectly, INSIDER turned to some experts. Here’s what you need to know.

You’re using dish towels to clean your hands, dishes, and counter tops.

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If you’re using the same dish towels to clean your hands, dry dishes, and wipe down counter tops, you’re likely just spreading germs and messes around instead of truly cleaning things up.”The dish towel picks up crumbs, grease, food, and whatever else (germs, anyone?) is on the counter, and it stays there just waiting for you to wipe your hands or dry dishes or cookware,” Mary Gagliardi, a cleaning expert at Clorox, told INSIDER. “Think your cookware is clean? Not if you wipe it dry with a towel that’s not really clean!”

Keep your towels separate for each use so that you can be sure that they’re actually clean. And don’t forget to swap them out and wash them regularly. “Let the used towels air dry before adding them to your laundry basket where they can wait for laundry day,” Gagliardi said.

You’re using a mop to clean your floors.

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Using mops to clean your floors might sound like a good idea, but in some cases, they can just make your floors dirtier than if you hadn’t mopped them. “In addition to leaving it behind, the mop simply moves the dirt around the floor, relocating it but not picking it up,” Robert Moeller, the vice president of Anvid Products, told INSIDER.

Make sure you’re doing your research about what you need to clean your particular floors and make sure that you also know the right process to follow in order to be most effective.

You’re cleaning your floors before you’re cleaning anything else.

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Starting with your floors instead of finishing up by cleaning your floors is another mistake that can result in your home being dirtier than you might think. “That’s working backward,” Jennifer Rodriguez, chief hygiene officer at Pro Housekeepers, told INSIDER. “Dust and dirt will get on the floor and you’ll have to clean them again! Start with surfaces!”

That way you won’t have to clean things twice.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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