Contrary to popular belief, spring cleaning isn’t a one-off seasonal decluttering and deep cleaning of the house. In fact, it should be an all-year-round activity.
These are the best reasons to keep the home tidy consistently:
1. Indoor Air Quality Is Bad
Just because the home looks and smells fresh doesn’t mean the quality of the air is great. In fact, in many cases, it is poorer than the outdoors. Worse, it can be deadlier, according to a study in Science of the Total Environment. It could be partly because a lot of people spend 90 percent of their time indoors.
A home or a building can have many pollutants, such as chemicals from cleaning and personal care products, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paints and varnishes, and even fungal spores like molds. But some of the biggest and most common culprits are pet dander, dust, and smoke.
Although you can see them, you might not notice them all since they can accumulate in every nook and cranny. They may even gather in the ductwork or the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.
Steam and vacuum cleaning can already do the work. But if you want something more comprehensive, you can hire house cleaning professionals. They have complete equipment and supplies to help get rid of whatever dirt is in the house.
2. Every Season Has Its Challenges
Summer can be a time for ticks and mosquitoes. While these insects are found outdoors, ticks can attach themselves to dogs and clothes and even on furniture, curtains, edges of the windows, doorframes, and curtains.
Unfed deer ticks can not only lay their eggs, which means more of their kind at home but can also survive in these environments for at least 24 hours. That’s enough time for these insects to bite someone and, unfortunately, increase the risk of developing Lyme disease.
Another potential vector of disease is mosquitoes. They can be active at any season, but they seem to reach their peak in the summer because of the temperature of the surroundings. Eggs cannot thrive when the weather is cold.
Mosquitoes can be carriers of pathogens that can cause Chikungunya, Zika, malaria, and dengue. These diseases are no longer common in the United States than in developing nations, but small outbreaks can still occur. Depending on the severity, these conditions can become life-threatening or even fatal.
Come winter, some places like Utah are prone to winter inversions. This happens when colder air gets trapped underneath the warm air along with particulate matter. Inversions can significantly worsen respiratory illnesses like asthma.
“Spring cleaning” during these periods can help get rid of ticks and mosquitoes that can cause severe diseases. And although it may not stop winter inversions, it can make the home a safer place, especially for those with respiratory symptoms.
3. Replacements Can Be Expensive
Many things can happen in the months since spring. For example, a homeowner may miss the accumulating water from melted snow on the roof. The monsoon may bring heavy rains and thunderstorms, while some parts of the country may experience frequent hurricanes or tornadoes. These situations can cause a lot of problems in the home.
If one doesn’t perform spring cleaning after these scenarios, there’s a good chance that the problem only gets worse that the best option is a replacement, and this one doesn’t come cheap.
According to HomeAdvisor, replacing a roof can already cost as much as $30,000, depending on the kind, the severity of the problem, and how urgent it needs replacing. Changing the pipes may be more affordable, but with possible spending of over a thousand dollars for only a small section, it can still create a dent in a family’s budget.
4. You Can’t Catch Everything at Your Official Spring Cleaning
How often do you think about ductwork, plumbing, or electrical wiring when you do spring cleaning? More likely, you don’t because people’s concept of the task is getting rid of clutter and maintaining the more visible parts of the house.
However, if you’re living in an old property, they deserve to be part of your to-do list. Old homes may still be using metal pipes, which may already be corrosive and leaking metals into the water supply. The wiring may no longer be up to the standards of the building code. That increases the risks of fire.
As a homeowner, make it a habit to consider major cleaning at least once every season. It may also help to include some maintenance and checkup to ensure the house is in good shape and avoid spending a lot of money on an avoidable problem.