Ultimate Guide to Cleaning 13 Hard-to-Reach Areas in Home & Office

Cleaning is one of the most important chores in homes and a necessity in offices and workspaces. It’s better to ensure the cleaning is thorough and complete. No matter how much you clean, some hard-to-reach places and areas are left unclean. Cleaning them is often hard and, sometimes, special cleaning equipment or DIY hacks are required.

In this article, we will discuss how to identify and clean hard-to-reach areas in homes and office spaces.

What Are Hard-to-Reach Areas?

Hard-to-reach areas are those that are either located at height and thus hard to clean with conventional cleaning equipment or areas that are tight or narrow. Also, certain areas are generally hard to clean. For example, behind kitchen appliances, ceiling fans, wall-mounted light fixtures or window blind slats.

Why Should You Clean These Spots?

While such areas seem invisible or leaving them unclean may look harmless, it is quite the opposite. Hard-to-reach areas contribute to many issues around the house or office space. They reduce the air quality by introducing dust, making the space smell bad as the result of mould and bacteria accumulation and generally impact the health and well-being of the residents and employees.

Therefore, cleaning hard-to-reach areas regularly is strongly advised to reduce the amount of dust and improve the air quality, getting rid of bad odours and making the space safe, healthy and hygienic.

Read More: How to Reduce the Amount of Dust in Office?

How to Clean Any Hard-to-Reach Area?

While there are several hard-to-reach areas in homes and workspaces, the following 13 are considered the most common ones. Therefore, if you learn how to clean them, cleaning other similar areas will be relatively easy.

S, get ready to see what are the common hard-to-reach areas. Also, have some cleaning supplies and wear personal protective gear to clean them properly.

#1 Underneath The Rim or Behind the Toilet

Underneath the rim of the toilet and behind it are some of the hot spots for germs and moulds. You should clean them regularly as they are always exposed to moister and nasty bacteria. This might be the dirtiest area on our list.

To clean underneath the rim, you can soak a few thick paper towels with toilet cleaning solutions. You can also soak them with vinegar if you prepare green cleaning practices. Next, fold them underneath the rim and let them sit for 15 to 30 minutes until the solution dissolves the gunk and germs. Afterwards, remove the paper towel. Then, scrub with rim with the toilet brush to get rid of the remaining gunk.

To clean behind the toilet, you should do some nasty scrubbing. Normal mops won’t fit there, especially if the gap is just a few inches. However, your hand will fit. Therefore, wear a pair of gloves, get a bucket of water, a scrubber, a sponge and the toilet cleaning spray (or strong floor cleaner).

Spray the solution all over the area and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, use the scrubber to deeply clean the area. At last, use the sponge soaked in clean water to rinse the area. You can dry the area afterwards with a clean towel or a few paper towels if you want. However, if the toilet is well-ventilated, it’s better to leave it to dry slowly.

#2 Light Fixtures & Ceiling Fans

Cleaning anything at height is difficult. Items like light fixtures and ceiling fans hardly need any deep cleaning. Dusting is adequate. Therefore, you can easily manage it using simple feature dusters with long and telescopic handles.

Also, you can get long-handled feathered or microfibre dusters with flexible tops. You can bend the top and easily clean the top of dealing fans as well. Just make sure to open the windows before starting dusting. You can also spray water on the duster first before starting. However, this trick is only effective with microfibre dusters.

#3 Faucets

Faucets and chrome taps are very hard to properly clean. No matter how much you scrub them, they have some streaks when dried. The solution is easy. Cleaning faucets involves cleaning the tap as well as the part where it comes out of the sink.

To clean the base or where the sink and faucets meet, you can use a toothbrush or small bristle brush soaked in washing-up liquid (or a small amount of toothpaste) and rinse with water.

To clean the faucet itself, soak a non-abrasive scrubber in general-purpose washing-up liquid or vinegar. Then scrub the faucet thoroughly. Next, rinse with water and use a lint-free microfibre cloth to dry it completely. The result will be astonishing.

#4 Window Blind Slats

If you’ve ever tried to clean the window blind slats, you know how frustrating and annoying it is. But this cleaning trick is a life changer. There is special cleaning equipment for cleaning multiple window blind slats at once without hassle. Just spray them with some water and easily clean the dust off the slats.

If you feel creative or don’t want to order one, you can wear a sock like a glove, spray it with water and clean slats one by one. While the cleaning effect is fairly similar, it may take longer to clean the entire window blind. You can also glue soft sponges on a pair of kitchen tongs and get the same cleaning result.

Read More: Tips for Effective Window Cleaning

#5 Window & Sliding Door Tracks

Window tracks or sliding door tracks are always full of dirt and even mould. Windows prevent the dust from entering the house or office and sometimes trap the dust in the tracks. You should clean these tracks regularly to fully benefit from window cleaning.

While the tracks are narrow and hard to reach, there are some tips and tricks to clean them thoroughly. If there’s only dust in the tracks, you can use the vacuum cleaner with a brush head. Set the vacuum cleaning speed to high and clean and scrub the brush against the tracks to get rid of the dust.

However, if the tracks are mouldy, especially black mould, you can soak a few paper towels with bleach or other strong cleaning solutions and fold them into the tracks. Let them sit there for 15 to 30 minutes. Then, remove the papers and clean the remaining moulds with a cloth or a non-abrasive scrubber. Dry with a clean microfibre cloth afterwards.

#6 Keyboards

Keyboards are one of the hidden spots for germs and bacteria. On the surface, they look clean and shiny, but underneath each key, there are germs, dead skin, hair, dust and other nasty particles. Cleaning computers and their peripherals is usually a part of deep cleaning services. In general, electronics collect dust faster and need constant cleaning. Large offices regularly demand such services to ensure everything is clean in the office.

However, you can also clean the keyboard yourself. There are two ways. One is to remove the keys, either by prying or using special key-removal tools and cleaning underneath them with ear swabs and isopropyl alcohol. This way, you can achieve the deep clean results you expect, but obviously, you have to spend more time cleaning it.

The second way is easier. Take the keyboard outside, hold it vertically and clean between the keys using a soft brush. This is a useful case if you have a separate keyboard and is not recommended for cleaning laptop keyboards.

You can also use universal cleaning gels or cleaning putty to clean between the keyboards and get rid of dust and other particles stuck there.

#7 Air Vents and Registers

Air vents and registers in the toilet, kitchen and around the house or office get dusty a lot. Dust accumulation reduces the A/C and HVAC efficiency, so regular cleaning also saves you money on bills. But cleaning them is very easy. All you need is a vacuum cleaner with a bristle brush head.

If the vent or register is at height or on the ceiling, you can use extension tubes to reach the place. Set the vacuum cleaner speed to high and scrub and clean the dust off the air vent. Alternatively, you can use a damp soft sponge to achieve the same cleaning results, but if you can’t reach the vent, you may have to use a ladder, which introduces some danger to cleaning and is a Health & Safety risk.

Read More: What is COSHH Assessment?

#8 Radiator Fins

Radiators are one of the hot spots for dust in the house or office. Dust accumulates between the fins and seriously harms the air quality and people living or working around it. Cleaning radiator fins looks difficult. The gap is small and nothing fits in there.

But cleaning equipment manufacturers have a solution. There are special cleaning brushes just for radiator fins. They are long, thin and flexible so it’s easy to clean the dust in just a few minutes.

#9 Underneath Appliances

Underneath kitchen appliances or counters is another hotspot for moulds and germs. Food bits, bread crumbs and other factors and the moisture in the kitchen create a perfect condition for bacteria and mould growth. This results in unpleasant odours and may attract pests and insects.

To clean underneath the kitchen appliances, you can use thin flat mops made specially for this purpose. There are also thin bristle brushes that easily fit in any gap, helping you remove dust and dirt and clean them thoroughly.

Read More: Best Pest Control Measures

#10 Washing Machine Seals & Dishwasher Filters

Washing machines and dishwashers are frequently exposed to moisture on top of other factors like hard water, germs and dirt coming from whatever you load them with to clean. They are another perfect place for mould growth. Therefore, it is crucial to clean the filters and seals.

To clean the washing machine and dishwasher filters, first take out the filter. To learn how to take them out, consult the manufacturer manual as it is different based on brand and model. Then, use a toothbrush soaked in mild detergent or washing up liquid and scrub the filter to remove the germs and gunks. At last, rinse them with warm water and install them back. You may need to clean the filter housing before installing the filter back.

Washing machines often require extra steps as door seals or door gaskets also need cleaning. To clean them, get two clothes. Soak one in a mixture of borax and vinegar. Open the washing machine door and lift the top layer of the seal to reveal the bottom layer or the gasket. Start cleaning the area and remove all the black mould and other gunks. Afterwards, use the other cloth to rinse and dry the seal.

To prevent mould growth underneath the door seals, you can dry them after each use.

#11 Other High-Reach Areas

There are several high-reach areas around the house or office space, like cupboard tops or top shelves. The good thing about these areas is they collect dust over time and rarely get seriously dirty. Therefore, cleaning them is easy. You can use long-handled duster feathers to avoid climbing a ladder to clean such areas. They have telescopic handles, making them perfect for cleaning any high-reach area.

Before dusting these areas, ensure windows are open or the rooms are well-ventilated. Also dampen the duster if it’s a microfibre one, to avoid dust from entering the air and sitting on other surfaces.

#12 Crevices, Gaps and Ledges

Around the house or office, there are many gaps, ledges and crevices that are thin and narrow. You can’t fit duster or clean them with a cloth as they may not fit perfectly. As most of these spots usually get dust and nothing else, you can use special detail cleaning brushes, just like the ones used for cleaning car interior crevices. They are the perfect choice for cleaning ledges on picture frames, windows and walls.

#13 Shower Head

The last hard-to-reach and hard-to-clean area is the shower head. They require regular cleaning and descaling as the dirt and limescale form inside and block the shower jets.

To clean the shower head, you need a plastic bag, scotch tape or tie wire. a mixture of vinegar and 1/3 cup of baking soda. You can also use mild descaler liquids for better effect. Pour the solution into the plastic bag and tie it around the showerhead with tape or tie wire.

Leave it for 2 to 3 hours before removing it. At last, rinse it by running warm water through the jets and dry the shower head if necessary.

Read More: How Commercial Cleaning Companies Prepare for Pandemic

Conclusion

Cleaning is an inseparable chore in homes and office spaces. It is crucial to ensure everything is cleaned properly. There are certain areas that are hard to reach and, therefore, hard to clean. In this article, we explored the most common hard-to-reach areas around the house and the office and provided instructions on how to clean them properly.

The information in this article can help you achieve an effective deep cleaning in your house and office by cleaning hard-to-reach areas either with special cleaning equipment or with creative DIY hacks.