Everyone enjoys a clean, tidy home. That feeling of peace and tranquility an excellent ol’ house cleaning brings cuts across generations. But the whole cleaning process can get a bit tedious for older adults, especially if you can’t always get help from your loved ones. However, cleaning for seniors is necessary because a clean environment is ideal for older adults. Asides from the obvious lack of calm that a dirty house brings, dust, clutter, and dirt can be hazardous to your health.

Ultimately, you can’t escape cleaning your home, even if you’re a senior. So, here are ten hacks that will make cleaning easy and less demanding for you.

1. Create a cleaning checklist

Make a cleaning schedule that includes all the basic housework. Include as many weekly and daily activities as possible, and note any deep cleaning jobs that need some assistance. You can ask for help from a local cleaning service or caregiver while making this list. They can help you decide which tasks you can complete independently and which might call for assistance.

2. Use brooms with long handles to reach higher areas.

Older people are at a higher risk of falling from ladders and sustaining life-threatening injuries. This is why caregivers and health practitioners advise older adults to avoid climbing ladders while cleaning and are told to use long brooms instead to clean areas that are difficult to reach. Using a broom to clean confined spaces can help you avoid back strain and save time. You can scrub baseboards and bathroom walls with a broom and cleaning supplies.

3. Avoid cluttering your home

As someone advanced in age, you must have gathered a lot of knick-knacks throughout your life. Unfortunately, having many items in your home can pose a risk with time, as clutter could quickly become a tripping hazard. Get rid of mess to lower your chance of falling as much as you can. Additionally, decluttering will simplify cleaning and reduce the risk of injuries. It will also reduce hideouts for rodents and small animals like lizards, rats, and snakes. 

You can reduce clutter by donating stuff you don’t need to loved ones or goodwill centers. You can also sell items that still have value.

4. Leave the heavy lifting for younger people.

Don’t try to move large items or furniture on your own to avoid accidents that can be life-threatening. You can ask your friends and relatives to help you move any heavy objects. Alternatively, pay a professional to come in, clean, and rearrange furniture, so your home is organized without endangering your health.

5. Use a lint roller for lampshades.

A popular tactic caregivers and relatives of older adults use to reduce the risk of falls is adding more lights to the walking path in the yard. The odd shape of all those lampshades makes them challenging to clean, and they usually gather a lot of dust because they’re outdoors. You can easily clean these lampshades by lightly rubbing them with a lint roller. 

6. Keep your cleaning materials organized.

Maintain a safe, convenient location for all your cleaning products. Consider keeping a supply of cleaning supplies upstairs if you live in a multistorey house to avoid dragging cleaning equipment and tools up and down the stairs. You can also make your supplies more mobile by arranging them in a rolling cart. You should keep all the necessary supplies in this cart so you don’t have to keep moving back and forth when you need a particular brush or detergent. 

7. Use natural substances like vinegar to remove limescale.

Tough stains like limescale accumulate on kitchen and bathroom faucets and other fixtures and are very difficult to scrub off. You would have to use strong cleaning solutions to get rid of them.

Unfortunately, the strong chemicals in many cleaning solutions on the market could cause breathing issues for older people. But that doesn't mean you have to live with gross limescale messing up your bathroom and kitchen. Vinegar is an equally strong solution with few side effects that you can use to deal with limescale. 

Simply wrap the affected water fixture or object in a cloth dipped in vinegar. You’ll find that the limescale will dissolve without needing much effort. Additionally, you should always look for natural alternatives to synthetic chemicals to avoid exposure to allergens and protect your health.

8. Get a great vacuum

The best thing about vacuum cleaners is that they are very versatile. They work on every type of floor and clean up food particles, pollen, pet hair, allergens, loose debris, and almost every other kind of dirt you find in your home. They’re also better than sweeping because sweeping can lift these tiny particles into the air, which could easily affect your breathing or vision. 

Get a lightweight vacuum cleaner or an automatic one that will save you the stress of sweeping. 

9. Invest in cleaning appliances.

The whole point of technology is to make life easier for people, so you should always take advantage of it. Dishwashers, washing machines, air purifiers, and robotic vacuum cleaners are easy-to-use appliances that can help you get the home cleaning done quickly.

You should make it a point to know everything your appliances can do because they typically have a wide range of applications. Some dishwashers can clean filters, screens, oven knobs and racks, refrigerator bins and shelves, and so much more. You can also use washing machines to clean some shoes, shower curtains, bags, and other items. Just ensure these items are machine-washable before you place them in.

10. Hire a professional home cleaning team.

A professional cleaning agency can be a lifesaver when you just can’t get your cleaning done for whatever reason. Home cleaning teams are professionally trained to leave your home looking spick and span. 

If you’re in the Metro Atlanta area, Clean Tu Casa provides house cleaning for seniors. Our skilled team can help clean and organize your home and go on errands for you. You can reach out to us for your free quote today.