Professional Maids Divulge The Things We Should All Be Cleaning Better

People are naturally messy and homes require a lot of maintenance. Keeping your living space clean is essential for healthy living, but a lot of areas and items often get overlooked. And yeah, guests notice and will judge you for having dirty toilets or crusty stoves.

mature-sensible-name asked, Professional house cleaners of Reddit, what do most people need to clean in their home, but don't?

Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.

Dirty shower curtains need to be washed regularly because they're covered in your... whatever it is you washed away...

When I did housekeeping during college, I noticed that many people neglect to take down their shower curtains periodically for washing.

That's the accumulation of body oils, fluids, etc that has splashed off your body. You can disinfect and make a bathroom sparkle, however, the stench off the ripe curtain...ick.

What? Things can get dusty even though I'm short?

Coming from someone who is taller than average I'd like to mention that many people only clean to their eye level.

It's always a race between the dirt and the rust.

The dish drying rack. I've never seen anyone with one that wasn't horrific looking.

Years of cat food and tuna juice takes its toll.

The blade of their can opener.

A dirty microwave is slightly less gross than a dirty stove. Or a dirty toilet. Scrub it!

I cleaned houses in college...clean your microwaves people. Baseboards and windows are less disgusting, but more often neglected.

Clean your kitchen, especially if you're inviting people over to COOK FOR THEM. Gag.

Kitchens in general, IMO. If you're going to be messy, be messy but for the love of everything, at the very least keep the place where you eat and store food spotless.

Seriously. Kitchens are generally small, divide them into imaginary little squares and clean them up one by one in order - you'll be done before you know it and after that , you just need to maintain it bit by bit.

This is similar to the black marks on my walls where my cats incessantly rub their backs.

If you have toddlers/short children - the entire inside perimeter of your house at the 2.5ft mark has a layer of snot encrusted dirt that's built up over the years that you are most likely blind to by now.

A wet rag and some dish soap goes a long way, especially for white walls.

Not a pro, but worked housekeeping at a hotel for a bit. Wash your walls. You don't have to go all out, just if you see scuffs wipe them off. Even if you're not smoking inside or anything, so much grime builds up on walls.

They're also some of the most-used items in your home.

Clean your light switches and doorknobs - they are always gross and people rarely clean them.

Ceiling fans collect tons of dust. Wipe them down!

Their fans. People be having the DUSTIEST ceiling fans in the world. How do y'all sleep with those things spinning? It's like snow.

This is actually a great idea...

Here's one people NEVER do but really should: vacuum your mattress. No, I'm not kidding. When you change your sheets you should vacuum that so you can suck out whatever dead skin and crap have made their way down there. Also, we all know to wash the fitted sheet. But below that, mattresses sometimes have another removable cover, please wash that too.

Do people NOT do this? Nasty.

Clean the things you use to clean other things.

Replace your kitchen sponge at least twice a month. Wash your towels weekly. Leave the door to your washing machine open after each cycle so it doesn't mildew. You get the idea. If these things aren't clean, it can manifest in big ways. Ever met one of those people who has a faint musty/sour smell even after showering? Chances are they've been using the same nasty bath towel for weeks/months and don't notice the smell from it anymore.

Oh people, people. Clean. Your. Toilets.

I learned about this when I was being trained to clean professionally...

You really need to take the toilet seat completely off every now and again - every 6 months minimum to clean the sludge that accumulates around the screws and fittings.

It's really gross. Wear gloves.

If your stove has a hood, clean it. Oil and grease can become a fire hazard.

The one that always gets neglected is the extractor fan hood over your cooker. There are filters on there that need replacing (or just cleaning depending on the type) and if you don't after about 6-12 months they turn into a fire hazard because they get saturated with grease. If you put your hand onto the flat underside of your extractor hood and it feels greasy and gross, that's because it is. Clean that sh_t once in a while folks.

Window frames also collect a lot of dust, and sunlight can make it worse. Clean them!

I have a house cleaner and she says the most neglected spots are doors and window frames. Both get pretty gross (especially white doors around the handle) but people don't notice it until it's pointed out.

Apparently dishwashers have filters that require cleaning.

Garbage disposal flaps, black mold under there. Dishwasher filters, grossest things ever.

Cleaning under and around appliances is important too - food and dirt piles up.

People need to clean the backs, top, sides, and underneath their fridge, it gets really nasty after a while. Like super mega gross.

Definitely vacuum after your pets! No one wants to leave your house covered in hair.

Outside your entryways. If you keep your stoop swept and the garage floor relatively clean, you will track in a lot less crud. Also, if you have pets, vacuum your furniture once in a while. I spent over an hour once removing dog and cat hair from a living room set. Also, behind your toilet. It gets dusty there, plus urine of anyone with a penis lives there. Also, spiders like that spot for some reason.

If you have an HVAC system, replace your air filters.

Replace the air filters in your home about every 6 months to once a year.

This wins my award for grossest household item.

The toothbrush holder, your spit and saliva drip down the bottom of brushes into the cup, nasty.