'How filthy are you?'

“Although you’ll find my house a mess
Come in, sit down, converse.
It doesn’t always look like this
Some days it’s even worse!”

So says the little plaque inside my front door. I have a Tempur bed and pillows. The mattress is so heavy it can’t be turned and the pillows unwashable. I can’t vacuum under it. Nor can I vacuum under the sofa which is a recliner and too heavy to move. I haven’t noticed any bugs yet, I think the enormous spider which lives under the sideboard eats them.

I tend to follow the "bit of dirt" mode.

Kitchen, bathrooms, towels, bedding I'm on top of but lets not get into windows lol.

Due to the good weather I have started the annual washing of duvets and pillows. I do sometimes wash our pillows and duvet more often if I think they need it.

However, I have vacuumed some of my curtains.

We have rather large/tall windows so washing those curtains is a big, heave job and takes me few days. As a cheat I wash them one year and give them a good vacuum the next year.

This year I shall be washing the dining room curtains plus our bedroom ones and vacuuming the living room ones. The curtains in the spare rooms ? who knows ?lol. I will see how I feel :-)

I will NOT be vacuuming any curtains once a month.

Who has time to do all the things we "Should" do???

Like many here I think it's more about guilt tripping peps into buying products and Mapleleaf I agree I'm not sure the writers know much about vacuuming lol

How do you stop them getting sucked up the nozzle?
I've got a little brush attachment that fits on the tube instead of the nozzle.
I must try it on the curtains some time

Seen on the internet a little while ago:

My housekeeping style is best described as "there appears to have been a struggle"

I too dislike feather pillows, too prickly and I can't stand the escaping feathers.
I've never hoovered a curtain in my life! How do you stop them getting sucked up the nozzle?
I use pillow protectors that get laundered weekly with the bed linen, the duvet gets flung over the washing line every couple of months on a sunny/windy day (never washed one of them in my life either ?).
I rarely use wet wipes (there's a pack somewhere for picnics) and like Fennel a damp facecloth in a plastic bag does sterling work on grubby DGSs.

I gave up feather pillows long ago when I found the prickly bits sticking through even tough ticking. I have one good memory foam pillow which I use myself - guests have the synthetic ones. I have had the same curtains in two rooms since I moved here almost 18 years ago and have never thought of hoovering them, though I have had them dry cleaned. Now I have a fortnightly cleaner, I haven't mentioned this procedure to her. Maybe next time!

Welshwife Sat 28-Apr-18 15:00:54
"I still like a wet flannel as opposed to wet wipes - nothing like it to get little hands and faces clean. Oh for the days I never left the house without a clean wet flannel in a plastic bag and a clean nappy to use to dry. Old Terry nappies were so useful for years."
I still do that too - a wet flannel in a plastic bag.
There has been a lot of news lately about wetwipes, people flush them down the toilet and they're becoming a big part of fatbergs. Not biodegradable.
I used to belong to a 'Green' forum and someone suggested analternative to toilet paper, wet wipes etc - a bucket of old rags next to the toilet to clean yourself. And another bucket next to it with water to drop in the used ones. Then you wash and re-use.
I can't imagine many people doing that.

Good grief! How have I and my family managed to live so long?

My local vet surgery is happy to take any surplus pillows I have for the dogs and cats. The charity shops will not take pillows but they will take cushions which is a trifle odd.

I agree, we have had rooms done too and it's awful clearing right out but now they are fresh and so much easier to clean

We have several rooms being decorated and before they came and we started moving furniture I would have said we were fairly clean. Now I am not so sure! Everything I touch seems to be grubby. It’s quite embarrassing but I’m sure they have seen worse.

My parents were houseproud, all their spare time went on cleaning, gardening, decorating etc. My brother and I were practically ignored and often told to get out from under their feet. I will never make the same mistake. They and my lovely brother are dead now and I have to clear their house alone, it makes me feel miserable with unhappy memories.

use pillow protectors til the pillows die
kitchen and bathroom kept clean
the rest as i can.1 dog 2 cats and a herd of nieces.sand all the time everywhere.vac is tired too.
oh i do wash the curtains every six months but thats because of coal burning power plant tooooooo close.
havent had cold flu or any other sick for 25 years.
just wish the concept worked for arthritus

I've better things to do than housework, when I'm in the mood I do a room thoroughly because I will then enjoy it but apart from obv hygiene my house is lived in. With two outdoor workers in the house and a young dog I could drive myself mad cleaning all the time.
I used to own a cleaning company and cleaned others houses like a demon but my own is more homely than they ever were.
You should see my car!!

We had visitors at the weekend and one commented on 'how lovely you keep your house'

However, now they've gone I can relax and let go for a while .

Wash bedding twice a week

Thanks for the warning. I definitely won’t be searching for that particular article. I’ve got enough to feel guilty/ a failure about.

Hoover curtains?! NO, I'd never have even thought of doing that.

I wash my bedding twice a week, change my dishcloths and tea towels every day.

I clean the toilet twice a day. Kitchen worktops - every time I make something to eat.

I hoover downstairs rooms every few days, (laminate flooring) and upstairs fortnightly.

When pillows and duvets go flat, I take them (and old towels) to RSPCA for the cats and dogs.

Teetime if you walked into my house now you would think I had been burgled but I am trying to sort out paperwork and heaven knows what else. The laminate floor is clean, the parts that you can see!

A I said chaotic and dirty.... I can tell the difference.

If I came across someone cleaning the inside and outside of their handbag with antiseptic wipes I’d suggest they go to see the doctor about their mental health

Oh that did make me laugh Grandma70s

Isn't it ridiculous. Don't we all clean things when they need cleaning and relax otherwise? I don't mind being filthy (and sane) if I do not live up to the standards as described in that article! Talk about making those who don't know any better, or who see such articles as gospel, feel guilty about their slack standards.

Life was "too short to stuff a mushroom" in our day. I can find time for that now - cooking - because it's quite theraputic and enjoyable (imo) but I am blowed if I will become a cleaning machine. My home is never going to be as sterile as an operating theatre.

I have far better and more enjoyable things to do with my time.

I still like a wet flannel as opposed to wet wipes - nothing like it to get little hands and faces clean. Oh for the days I never left the house without a clean wet flannel in a plastic bag and a clean nappy to use to dry. Old Terry nappies were so useful for years.

Can’t be bothered to read the article I know I would fail on all accounts I don’t wash pillows that’s what pillow cases are for I shower every day so there is nothing dirty ever goes on my pillow so why would I wash it ?
I clean what I consider normally but have never ever vacuumed curtain if they look like they need it they come down for a wash
I rarely get bugs nothing like my friend who loves cleaning and cooking I keep clean and reasonable tidy but it’s way down my list of things to worry about and yes I do think over the top cleanliness does encourage the immune system to let bugs in and allergies go mad I also think all the cleaning chemicals some have in their houses play a big part

I did used to let my kids play in the mud and wasn’t running after them with wet wipes every five minutes they need to build up their immunity

I read that Paul O'Grady was very ill in an Indian hospital after lying in the gutter to flick maggots from a rat bite on some puppies. Now I have been to India about twelve times and I know that I would not do that! He says he has not let it put him off India and I agree with him that it is a magical place.

I'll take this with a pinch of salt. I expect this nonsense has come from the same people who say that the average chopping board is as dirty as a toilet seat. If that really is the case why aren't we all rolling around in agony, clutching our stomachs and being sick?
What a load of old cobblers - and that's my polite response.