Student cleaning is something that is often neglected, with studying and partying often taking priority. However, maintaining a clean bedroom, toilet and communal area brings huge benefits, enabling you to have a pleasant and hygienic experience.
Whether your cleaning up after a party or have left dirty dishes out for too long – follow our top tips below. Student cleaning is seriously important, and our tips are designed to make cleaning easy, effective and cheap!
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Quick Cleaning Tips for Students
Tidying up
A bad habit that many students are guilty of, is leaving rubbish and dirt to rot for weeks. This can cause nasty bacteria to build up and increase your time cleaning in the long run. Instead, clean spillages, dirty plates and cups immediately. Many substances are better cleaned at the time, instead of being left for days. For example, stale food, limescale, mould will stain and crust making it difficult to remove. Try to be quick with the mop or kitchen roll when accidents happen. Getting into a habit of consistently cleaning as you go along, will help save time and effort.
Note: An easy way to put this tip into practice, is to ensure cleaning products are kept in an accessible place. This will avoid the classic ‘I couldn’t find anything’ excuse and will encourage roommates to clean regularly.
Use efficient cleaning products
To reduce the time and effort spent on cleaning, be smart about the products you use. For example:
- Use toilet blocks. These will realise cleaning agents every time the toilet is flushed, reducing the build-up of bacteria. Furthermore, cleaning blocks often contain a scent, which will help neutralise nasty odours. Using a toilet block, will be especially beneficial if you are sharing a toilet.
- Use air fresheners – having aerosols, plug ins, diffusers and/or candles are an easy way at reducing the need to clean. These products will help keep your flat smelling fresh, covering the odours of you or your room mates. However, make sure there are no rules against burning candles beforehand.
- Use products that have the best cleaning scents. Using cleaning products which release a pleasant, fresh smell, is an effective way of cleaning your accommodation whilst making it smell amazing at the same time. Scents such as vanilla, ginger and lemon are particularly good.
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Set up a kitty for cleaning materials
To make student cleaning fair, it is recommended to set up a kitty. Here, individuals will mark down each cleaning product they have bought and divide it equally. This way everyone is paying the same amount. Depending on how many people are in your flat, each of you would only need to buy one or two products. For example, bin bags, fairy liquid, dish washer tablets and tea towel etc. This is a simple way of purchasing cleaning products and can help avoid unnecessary fights.
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Student cleaning rota
A cleaning schedule for students is an easy way to divide and conquer the necessary chores- sharing the cleaning responsibilities equally. This is an essential technique that will enable you to clean your accommodation fast and avoid conflicts. Your cleaning rota should be displayed somewhere visible with everyone’s chores being shared.
6 tips to create a student cleaning rota
- Make an agreement that everyone is responsible for cleaning their room and individual areas.
- Write a list of all the chores that need to be done in the communal areas
- When writing your rota, make sure tasks are specific such as ‘wash the dishes’, instead of general tasks such as ‘clean the kitchen’. This makes cleaning less daunting and will help everyone contribute their parts.
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The best way to keep your communal areas spotless is to clean once a week, this will allow people to complete their chores over a week instead of pressuring them over a specific day. Furthermore,
change the rota each week to ensure that no one has the worst job every time. - Although, whoever is responsible for taking out the bins, must do this on the required day (make sure this is noted on your rota).
Dealing with Conflict
It is important to remember that everyone has different backgrounds, and people’s cleaning standards will not be the same. Using the tips above should leave your flat in a generally clean state. However, if you notice one of your roommates is not cooperating, speak to them in an honest, upfront and polite manner (even if you don’t like confrontation). Do not resort to note leaving or gossiping amongst other roommates, this will inevitably lead to fall outs and arguments. It is important to respect other people’s opinions and to comprise where possible.
However, if the conflicts about cleaning continues, you may want to consider a cleaner. Clubbing together, to hire a cleaner once a week or month, will only cost a small fee each. This is an easy option to avoid unnecessary arguments and allow you to spend time on the things you want, such as partying and studying.
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If you and your roommates are struggling to keep your flat clean. Hiring a cleaning service may be your best option. Rub and Scrub offers exceptional cleaning services around Hertfordshire and London. Leaving your student accommodation cleaner than it was when you moved in. Explore our cleaning services today.
