Continuing from last week, I promised to dish you the dirt on the dirty corners in homes. When you read the list, you might find that you never thought of one (or two…) of the items, - or that you have it all under control. - Test yourself.

Before we begin, we need to be clear about the aim of this exercise. During the current wet-weather period and the warm and humid summer coming up, mould problems have dominated the work of Buildingbiologists all over the country, and health complaints are sky-rocketing. In the light of COVID, we need every bit of our immune system to be ready, well rested, and functioning - and environmental stress interferes with its functioning.

I wrote about mould before, but I want to emphasise, that the spores exist as dust and attach itself to other dust. As soon as humidity levels rise, mould grows on any dust or organic matter. Therefore: Keeping the dust levels low means we have less mould spores, and we have less substrate for the mould spores to grow on. This means we have less pressure on our poor overworked immune systems, less allergies, more energy, and better health.

This list is not in any particular order. Some jobs are more involved, than others.

• Pull out the fridge, dishwasher, washing machine and clean behind and around,

• Empty and wash the water collector behind fridge.

• Use cleaning tablets and high temperatures in fridge and dishwasher in regular intervals.

• Clean dust/ food strainers in washing machine and dishwasher at least monthly. Otherwise, you spread half decomposed things into your cleaned item. Use your nose to smell inside the appliances!

• Clean filters of rangehood, most are dishwasher safe.

• Vacuum carpets/floors weekly.

• Steam clean carpets every summer.

• Vacuum under the beds.

• Have free air flow under the beds.

• Vacuum mattresses.

• Prefer solid floors, especially in bedrooms.

• Clean drain holes in bathrooms.

• Clean handbasin drains. (Sodium hydroxide)

• Check and clean toilet cisterns.

• Wipe down and dry showers with microfibre cloth.

• Clean inside of vacuum cleaner, replace HEPA filter annually. Prefer bagged vacuums.

• Check under and behind lounge furniture.

• Check your windows, shutters, curtains, - especially at the bottom, where the cold air sits and condensation occurs.

• Use microfibre mops and wash them after, then dry thoroughly.

• Keep fly screen in good shape, as flies bring in germs and leave behind even more in their faeces.

• Take shoes off, when entering your home.

• Check the filters of your dehumidifier and air purifier.

• Check the air-conditioning! I have seen horrendous units, absolutely covered in dust underneath the lid or on the air intake, which then gets blown around… including moulds, bacteria, dust mites. You can vacuum and wash filters, but look inside with a torch- it might well be a professional cleaning job.

• Dry your rubber gloves out, after use. They grow mould inside, and if they smell musty, throw them out.

• If you are still not sure, - have your place tested for mould in the air.

• P.S. - Are your drinking bottles clean? Musty smell is not a good sign.

Always remember: Find joy in doing these jobs :-)

More details and links to resources are in my book, Health at Home.