With the spring cleaning season coming to an end, you might think that everyone's homes are now cleared out and spotless. You might even assume that with families and friends finally able to gather again after more than a year of separation, people have been extra diligent with their 2021 cleaning. But then again, maybe not, if past habits are any indication. People in the U.S. can be very forgetful when it comes to cleaning certain parts of their homes, as seen by the American Cleaning Institute's 2019 National Cleaning Survey. According to this survey, 1 in 4 people don't believe they clean everything properly, while 1 in 3 are not convinced they clean everything in their home often enough. We're inclined to agree. Around 1 in 5 people in the U.S. say they have never cleaned their washing machine. Yes—not even once.
If you're looking at your washing machine and are unable to remember the last time you cleaned it, you might want to get on it. Courtenay Hartford, a cleaning expert and author of The Cleaning Ninja, told Martha Stewart Living you should actually be cleaning your washing machine about once a month. If not, it could not only impact how your machine functions, but also allow debris, soap residue, and minerals from your water to build up in your machine and create the perfect environment for bacterial growth.
"Cleaning your washer should be viewed as more of a preventative measure than as something that you do to fix a problem once it arises," she said. "If you start to notice that clothes come out not smelling as clean as they should, it's time to clean your machine. You might also notice buildup of various types of debris (pet fur, leaves, etc.) around the seals—that's a visual cue that you might have forgotten to run a good cleaning cycle for the last few months."
Of course, the laundry room is not the only place in the house people tend to be forgetful with when it comes to cleaning. Read on to find out the other four most common things people don't remember to wash.
RELATED: 40 Percent of People Only Wash This Clothing Item Once a Year, Survey Says.
4 | Guest bathroom toilet
iStockPeople who can't remember the last time they cleaned this: 16 percent
RELATED: You Should Never Clean Your Toilet With This, Experts Warn.
3 | Bed linens
ShutterstockPeople who can't remember the last time they cleaned this: 23 percent
2 | Refrigerators
iStockPeople who can't remember the last time they cleaned this: 41 percent
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1 | Oven
iStockPeople who can't remember the last time they cleaned this: 47 percent
RELATED: 1 in 3 People Only Wash These Once a Year, Survey Says.
