20-Minute Home ‘Clean-Ups’ for Better Family Health

Doing a thorough, deep clean of your whole home can take several hours. How often do busy moms have several hours? Instead of being daunted by the mountain of clean-up tasks in your way, try these 20-minute mini-cleanups that make the most of your valuable time while tackling some of the areas in your house where germs, dust, and allergens lurk.

20-Minute Bathroom Blitz

Once your children are old enough to sit safely in the tub and play for a bit, you can toss in a variety of bath toys and get the bathroom sanitary -- if not sparkling -- during 15 or 20 minutes of tub time. You’re still within arm’s reach should any water mishaps occur. All you need is some distilled white vinegar to clean and kill most bathroom germs without worrying that the kids in the tub will inhale harsher chemicals.

Your action plan should include:

• The toilet. Toilets are where most of our bathroom germs come from -- urine is actually sterile, but feces are decidedly not. Flushing can aerosolize all kinds of bacteria, germs, and fungus. Pour about two cups of white vinegar or disinfectant into the bowl, then spray more from a spray bottle onto all the hard surfaces of the toilet (including rim and handle). Let it sit for about 10 minutes while you handle one of the other tasks. Then wipe down the outside and scrub the bowl with a toilet brush.
• The sink. Spray with vinegar and wipe thoroughly. Don’t forget the handles and faucet.
• The shower. If you have a glass shower door, spraying it with vinegar regularly prevents residue from building up.
• The blinds and vents. Dust builds up on bathroom vents and blinds like crazy, and it’s a major allergen. Dust these areas with a moist rag to be sure you pick up more particles rather than sending some flying into the air.
• The floor. Spray white vinegar on the floor. When the kids are done, let them stand on their bath towels and “skate” around to wipe and dry the floor. Then toss the towels in the laundry.

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20-Minute Kitchen Cleanup at Breakfast or Lunch

If you’re like most busy moms, your kids eat at least one meal right in the kitchen -- at the counter or island -- or in a breakfast nook or dining area nearby. During the 20 minutes it takes them to eat, you can tackle a fast kitchen clean-up that will leave everything more healthy and hygienic.

• Spray all hard surfaces -- countertops, sink, cupboard fronts, taps, and faucets -- with a disinfectant cleaner (or distilled white vinegar) and let it sit for 10 minutes.
• Do a fast purge of the refrigerator. Dump leftovers that are more than 2 days old and other foods that are past their expiration date. Check the crisper drawers and toss withering lettuce and moldy strawberries.
• Replace old sponges.
• Take out the trash. Before you put a new bag in the trash can, spray down the sides with cleaner and wipe. Bags often leak or overflow and bacteria can collect on the bin.

When the kids are done eating, ask them to put their dishes in the dishwasher (or help them, if they’re little). Then spray down the kitchen floor with disinfectant cleaner or distilled white vinegar, and let them use dirty dish towels to wipe it clean. Toss the dishtowels in the next load of laundry.

Quick, what’s the most unhygienic place in your kitchen? It might be the sink, but it might also be what’s under the sink. When’s the last time you really cleaned under there?

“We worry about the countertops, sink, and stove, but nobody ever thinks about under the sink,” says Aricia LaFrance, a psychotherapist, parenting coach and organizational consultant in Broomfield, Colo. “But it can be a hazard. You can get mold under there, and a lot of times it’s where bugs get in -- and even mice, if there are gaps.”

• Take out everything.
• Check the pipes. “We’re always stuffing things under the sink and it pushes on the pipes. They may leak just a little along a seam, and then you get mold and mildew building up in the walls,” says LaFrance.
• Wipe hard surfaces clean with a disinfectant spray or distilled white vinegar.
• Purge old products -- anything you haven’t used in a year -- and overly toxic chemicals.
• If you find gaps, make a note to pick up a can of spray foam sealant at the hardware store. It expands and fills in spots where pests can get in.

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20-Minute Allergy Buster in the Laundry Room

When was the last time you actually cleaned your laundry room/closet/area? Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t remember. Many of us think changing the lint trap regularly and collecting the change that falls out of pockets counts as “cleaning” this area.

In reality, all kinds of dust, mold, and mildew can accumulate around the sides and behind washers and dryers. “People don’t think about these areas, and they get really, really gross,” says LaFrance.

While kids are doing homework in the evening or watching cartoons in the morning, you can purge the laundry room of allergens such as dust mites and mold.

• Come prepared with a trash bag -- you’ll probably collect more fuzz and goop than you expect.
• Move the machines. It’s easier than it sounds. Many move easily on their own; if not, get a package of little furniture coasters -- many drugstores and hardware stores carry them -- to smooth the job.
• Use a dustcloth or hand vac to get up all the lint that’s accumulated.
• Spray surfaces with a disinfectant or distilled vinegar and wipe down. (You probably don’t need to let it sit as in the bathroom or kitchen.)
• Throw away old bottles of detergent, empty fabric softener bottles, and other junk that’s built up.
• Dust or wipe down storage shelves.

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20-Minute Knick Knack Purge

Dust is bad for health. We know that dust mites are the No. 1 indoor allergen. But most of us still fill our homes with knick knacks that attract dust. It’s time to say goodbye to those dust buddies.

“Set the timer for 20 minutes and look around one floor of your house for things that collect dust,” says Lisa Jacobs, a certified home organizer and the founder of Imagine It Done, a lifestyle consultancy in Roslyn, N.Y.

These include:

• Silk flowers and artificial plants
• Newspapers and magazines
• Stuffed animals
• Picture frames and knick-knacks

You don’t have to get rid of your children’s entire stuffed animal menagerie, or your treasured teacups from your trip to London. But if you cut the furry zoo in half (give some away, or store in sealed bags), pack away all but your favorite treasures, and toss the fake ficus, your home will be healthier.

20-Minute Clean-up Down Under

Once in a while, go down under. Under your furniture, that is. “We mop floors and dust surfaces, but don’t think about underneath -- like the gap under the sofa,” says LaFrance.

Take 20 minutes in a high-traffic room -- living rooms, family rooms and home offices -- with an allergy-friendly dust cloth and duster. Dust:

• Under the couch
• Under the tables and entertainment center. Some of these items have small gaps underneath that are classic dust-catchers.
• Underneath stereo components and computers.
• In floor vents, which are huge dust-catchers.

If you have kids with allergies, be a little more thorough. Use a hand vacuum with a brush attachment. And buy micro-fiber dust clothes that pick up more dust.