With spring around the corner, now's the perfect time to get a jump-start on housekeeping. And this year, there are a few places you'll want to address to improve indoor air quality and prevent a fire hazard.
The scoop
The next time you replace your HVAC air filter or tackle tough grease in your oven, remember to check the bathroom exhaust fans, too. Instagrammer Jill Koch (@jillcomesclean) wants you to add these essential bathroom features to your spring cleaning checklist.
"You could say I was a fan of these results," Koch quips in the post's caption, followed by a recommendation to clean bathroom exhaust fans at least once annually. Leaving another tip, Koch reminds viewers to turn the bathroom fan off when they aren't home to avoid issues.
How it's helping
Changing air filters and cleaning fans is important to keeping a home safe. While disposable air filters last three months to a year, the frequency at which you change it depends on the thickness and how often you operate your HVAC system.
Healthy air is well-circulated. Therefore, you must inspect air vents, clearing away dust deposits to prevent buildup and ambient air from becoming too congested. Frequent inspections also keep your equipment in tip-top shape and help avoid maintenance issues and fires.
The best way to clean vents and fans sustainably is by using safer solutions. For instance, baking soda and vinegar — two ingredients you likely have in your pantry — effectively remove grime and bacteria without releasing volatile organic compounds.
Natural ingredients can also save you $90 annually compared to harmful cleaning supplies you'd buy at the store. This approach leaves your house just as neat and sparkly as conventional solutions.
Another cleaning hack is using an old pillowcase to remove dust from fans and other appliances. When cleaning a fan blade, a pillowcase will catch the dust before it hits the floor or flies through the air. Because people use over 13 billion pounds of paper towels annually, contributing to 254 million metric tons of trash worldwide, a reusable pillowcase or other old fabric helps reduce waste at home.
What everyone's saying
Fellow Instagrammers praised Koch's excellent cleaning tip. On a more serious note, one user said, "My neighbor's home burned down because of the bathroom fan," suggesting just how vital this hack is.
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Yes — often 😬 Another Instagram user reminded everyone to clean the light in the stove's hood vent. "One of my friends' grandmother almost died in a fire caused by one!" Despite the grandmother's constant cleaning, residual grease may have ignited after she left the light on overnight. Fortunately she survived, but the ordeal left her home uninhabitable.
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