Cleaning your home is something few people enjoy, but everyone recognizes it as just a part of adult life. But often, because no one likes cleaning, we just do a quick clean of the things we see the most, and neglect the corners and undersides of things. We’re guilty of this ourselves in our own houses sometimes!
We’re Cleaner Guys, a professional cleaning, home restoration, and mold removal company with more than 20 years of experience. And we totally get not wanting to deep clean.
But we wish more people knew that if they don’t clean certain hidden areas of the house, they run a high risk of getting mold in their house! And that’s a pain to clean, and dangerous too! So in this article, we’re going to tell you the top 5 spots people miss when cleaning, so you don’t end up with a moldy house!
Table of Contents
- Top 5 Spots People Miss When Cleaning
- Why Does Mold Matter? Is Mold Dangerous?
- Bonus Tips to Prevent Mold
- More Resources
Top 5 Spots People Miss When Cleaning
It’s easy to miss little spots when you’re cleaning your house, and no one is saying that everything has to be spotless. We all ignore those little corners behind doors! But some neglected spots in your house can actually become problem areas if they’re not regularly cleaned, or at least checked. That’s what this list is about.
1: Behind and Under the Refrigerator
Why it Matters: The refrigerator is easily the number one spot for areas that can cause you trouble if you don’t clean them! Refrigerators, especially new ones, are full of water and have ice makers, and the water supply line that feeds those functions often leaks. If you never pull your fridge away from the wall, you won’t know if there’s water and mold back there!
Furthermore, the vent on the back of most refrigerators gets dirty and covered in “dust bunnies” over time. This can cause your refrigerator to have to work much harder to intake and push out air, and that will make your electric bill go up!
The Solution: Pull your refrigerator away from the wall every 2 months and clean the walls, floors, and back of the refrigerator. An extendable duster will work best for this. Shine a light back there as well, to check for water leakage. If there is, you’ll need to contact a refrigerator repairman to fix it, and a water damage restoration company, to make sure that the water hasn’t compromised the safety of your home.
2: Behind and Under the Washing Machine
Why it Matters: Just like with refrigerators, your washing machine has a water supply line that delivers water from the plumbing in the wall to the machine’s interior. But sometimes, it breaks or leaks, and that can cause mold and water damage. Additionally, your dryer needs to be vented out of the house, and that ventilation system can collect a lot of dust, which can impede its efficiency and make your electric bill go up.
The Solution: Pull out your washer and dryer as far as you can from the wall every 2 months, and thoroughly clean the walls, the floor, and the backs of the machines. An extendable duster will work best for this. Shine a light back there too, and look to see if there’s any water on the floor under the washer. If there ever is, you’ll need to contact a washing machine repairman, and a water damage restoration company to make sure that the water hasn’t compromised the safety of your home.
3: The Attic
Why it Matters: The attic is one of the #1 places we find mold in a house. It’s secluded, warm, dark, and often humid. That’s a perfect growing environment for mold. And since most people don’t really go into their attics, mold can have a long time to spread and get really bad.
The Solution: Don’t worry, we’re not going to tell you to deep clean your attic! That’s not realistic since most attics have blown-in insulation. However, it is important to climb up there with a strong light and look around about once every quarter (every 3 months). If you can, spraying an antimicrobial antifungal spray around is a highly recommended extra step! We recommend Shockwave by Fiberlock. We’re not affiliated with Fiberlock in any way — we just like their product, and use it in our own work.
4: The Garage
Why it Matters: Here at Cleaner Guys, we just recently got a call from an elderly woman who was experiencing severe headaches out of nowhere, for months. She knew that mold can cause headaches, and she wanted us to inspect her home for mold. We found a massive amount of mold growth in her garage (pictured below), because she never went in her garage or cleaned it. This is true for most people! But it’s why garages are one of the most common places for mold. Not to mention ants, rodents, and other creepy crawlies will want to stay in your garage if it’s always full of dirt and old food for them to nest in or feed on!
The Solution: Clean your garage every quarter (every 3 months) to prevent rodent and insect infestations, and to catch mold growth early, if it occurs. Dust and vacuum thoroughly, and check every corner of every wall and ceiling for mold.
5: Shower grout and caulk
Why it Matters: Showers (and bathrooms in general) are probably the #1 breeding ground in the entire house for mold and mildew. Bathrooms are regularly wet, hot, and humid, and they’re usually poorly ventilated. Mold loves nothing more than stagnant humidity and moisture. And even when people clean their showers and bathrooms, they often skip over an important part: the tile grout and caulk. Mildew loves growing here; it’s that black and brown stuff you’ve probably seen in tile grout before. This stuff is terrible for your health!
The Solution: Deep clean your bathrooms at least once a month with your normal cleaning products. Pay special attention to the shower and the caulk and grout lining it. If you ever see mildew in the grout or caulk, use an abrasive sponge or cleaning brush, along with a vinegar solution, and scrub it away.
Why Does Mold Matter? Is Mold Dangerous?
This is a rather in-depth article on deep cleaning hard-to-reach spots, all to prevent mold growth. What’s so serious about mold anyway? Is mold dangerous? Yes, mold can be dangerous. Most species of mold are allergenic, which means they can cause cold-like symptoms or headaches that never go away until the mold is removed.
However, a couple of species of mold are highly toxic, and can cause much more severe reactions. Prolonged exposure to Stachybotrys Chartarum — a species of black mold — can lead to bleeding from the lungs, nausea, hemorrhaging, and neurotoxic effects.
Despite its seriousness, it’s estimated by several studies that possibly up to 40-50% of homes in the United States have some amount of mold growth! This is largely because most people don’t know the simple steps to preventing mold; including cleaning the spots we’ve listed in this article.
Bonus Tips to Prevent Mold
We have an entire blog archive dedicated to answering every question about mold, which you should look into here, but here are a few parting tips to prevent mold in your home, and keep you and your loved ones safe and not sick.
- Ventilation is key. If any room in your home is humid and the air is stagnant most of the time, put a fan or a dehumidifier in there a few times a month to help prevent it from getting too moist and stagnant. If the humid, stagnant room has windows, open them as often as you can to encourage air circulation.
- Keep the shower dry. Mildew and mold only grow where there’s moisture, so take a second to squeegee your shower walls after you bathe. Squeegees are a few dollars at most grocery stores. It will help more than you know.
- Know the difference between mildew and mold. This is a more important distinction than you might think! You can easily clean mildew yourself without much hassle. But mold you often can’t clean yourself at all. Learn the difference here!
More Resources
We hope this informative article on the top 5 spots people miss when cleaning was useful to you! Continue learning more about mold and what to do about it through the other articles below.
Wondering how you should deal with mold in an apartment, as a tenant? Read our full guide here. ➜
Check out the dozens and dozens of other articles we’ve written about dealing with mold here! ➜
If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of needing a mold removal or mold inspection company in Western Washington State, consider Cleaner Guys as a high-quality, well-trusted option. We’re proud to boast award-winning customer service, lower prices than others, and top-notch workmanship! Contact us today through the menu at the top of your screen.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. No part of this article is medical or legal advice, and may not be used as such. For all serious medical matters, consult your doctor. For all serious legal matters, consult your legal advisor. This article contains Cleaner Guys’ experience and opinions only.
