Grove's guide to household cleaning and disinfecting.

Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in your home is an important task. Keeping surfaces clean helps prevent the spread of bacteria and germs, including the ones that cause COVID-19 and other illnesses. Many surfaces in the home are touched many times each day, such as light switches, doorknobs, faucets, and tables. These surfaces need to be cleaned every day. Other surfaces aren't touched as often, but they still need to be cleaned when they get dirty.

• Wash counters, the sink, and other hard surfaces with warm, soapy water. Dry the surfaces with a clean paper towel, then throw the paper towel away.
• Sanitize counters and other hard surfaces to kill bacteria after washing them. Use a ready-made sanitizing spray, or make your own with one tablespoon of chlorine bleach and one gallon of water. Spray the sanitizer onto surfaces and wipe them dry with a paper towel.
• Use the dishwasher to sanitize dishes, utensils, and cutting boards. You can also place other hard plastic items, such as children's toys, in the dishwasher to sanitize them.
• If you don't have a dishwasher, fill the sink with warm, soapy water and wash your items. Then, sanitize them with your sanitizing solution.
• Wipe down appliances daily with sanitizing wipes to kill germs.
• Sweep the kitchen floor daily to remove dirt and debris. Mop or scrub the kitchen floor once per week using a cleaning solution that will kill germs.

• Spray the bathroom sink and faucets with a disinfecting cleaner. Allow the cleaner to sit on the surfaces for several minutes to kill germs. Then, wipe the surfaces dry with a clean paper towel.
• Spray glass cleaner onto mirror surfaces, then wipe the cleaner off with a clean paper towel until all streaks are gone.
• Spray all outer surfaces of the toilet with a disinfecting cleaner and allow it to sit on the surface for several minutes. Wipe the surfaces dry with a paper towel.
• Clean the inside of the toilet bowl with a toilet bowl cleaning solution. Brush the solution over all inside surfaces, then allow it to sit for several minutes before scrubbing and flushing the toilet. Ideally, toilets should be cleaned daily.
• Spray the tub and shower area with a cleaner designed to kill both mildew and germs. Allow the cleaner to sit on the surface, then rinse it off and wipe it dry. Clean tubs and showers once or twice each week.
• Sweep the bathroom floor every day or every other day to remove debris. Scrub or mop the bathroom floor at least once per week using a sanitizing solution to kill germs.
• Launder bathroom rugs once per week in the warmest water possible in the washing machine. Dry rugs in the dryer.

• Clean soft surfaces such as drapes, carpets, and rugs with soap and water or cleaners designed for specific surfaces.
• Launder bedding and other items, if possible. Use the warmest water possible in the washing machine, and dry items in the dryer.
• Vacuum carpets and sweep floors daily to remove debris.
Wash towels and linens in the warmest water possible, and dry them in the dryer.
• Disinfect the laundry hamper according to what it's made from. If the hamper is fabric, launder it or wash it with soap and water. If the hamper is hard plastic, spray the surfaces with a disinfecting cleaning spray and wipe it dry with a paper towel.
• Clean electronic items regularly. Use special wipes made for cleaning electronics. These wipes contain alcohol, so they dry quickly.
• Spray or wipe disinfecting cleaner onto hard surfaces in living areas such as light switches, table tops, shelves, and lamps. Wipe these surfaces dry with a paper towel.

• Clean a concrete basement floor several times each year. Remove all objects first. Sweep it thoroughly to remove dirt and debris. Mix one cup of chlorine bleach with one gallon of warm water in a bucket and use a mop to apply the cleaning solution to the floor. Wash the floor with warm, soapy water next. Rinse the floor and allow it to dry completely before returning items to their spots.
• Clean other hard surfaces in the basement and disinfect them. Use the same process as you used for the floor to disinfect and clean walls.
• Spray disinfecting cleaner onto any hard furnishings in the basement, such as tables and shelves. Disinfect light switches every day or every other day with a cleaning spray or wipe.
• Launder any soft furnishings, such as throws and pillow covers.

Looking for more home advice, cleaning how-tos, and sustainable swaps you can make at home? Grove has you covered with our buying and cleaning guides. And let us know how if you have any cleaning questions (or share your own tips using #grovehome) by following Grove Collaborative on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

If you're ready to make the transition to natural cleaning products, shop Grove Collaborative's cleaning essentials for the cleaning tools to tackle the job.