10 Things in Your Home That Should Probably Be Replaced Right Now
Keeping your home clean is like having a second job: Most people spend at least two hours a week cleaning, and some spend nine hours or more . But no matter how much time you spend mopping, scrubbing, and dusting, there’s a good chance you’ve missed a spot. Several spots, actually, because your home is a minefield of hidden dirt, lurking mold, and forgotten clutter in the form of items that need replacing more often than you think.
These 10 household items may look clean at first glance, or they may be hidden from view, or you just don’t notice how dirty they are, but replacing them regularly is the only way to ensure your home is truly clean.
Shower Curtains
How often to change: Twice a year.
Bathrooms are natural breeding grounds for mold due to their damp environments, and the place in your bathroom most susceptible to mold may surprise you: your shower curtain (and curtain liner, if you use one). You’ve probably encountered at least one shower curtain that was more mold than curtain, but you shouldn’t wait until yours is like a petri dish before replacing it — you should replace the liner twice a year, and if you use a fabric curtain, make sure you wash it regularly , too.
Mattresses
How often to replace: every 10 years.
Your mattress probably isn’t very supportive—or comfortable—after ten years, but if you’re not concerned about the general sleeping conditions on it, you should be concerned about the skin flakes, drool, sweat, dust, and other debris it’s collected over the course of a decade. Even if you clean and rotate your mattress regularly, you should still replace it at least once a decade to prevent dust mites, mildew, or even mold from building up.
Pillows
How often to replace: Every two years.
As with mattresses, we tend to hold on to pillows for too long. This is partly because we don’t take into account the amount of saliva and skin flakes we pump into them while we sleep. Even if you still love your pillows and clean them regularly, you should replace them every two years or so. However, if you use a pillowcase, you can probably squeeze another year or two out of them.
Toilet seats
How often to replace: Every five years.
A properly cleaned and maintained toilet seat doesn’t pose a huge health risk, but most toilet seats will see significant wear and tear over the course of 5 to 10 years, depending on use. Once the seat becomes stained, cracked, or begins to shift when you sit on it, it’s time to replace it with a new one—plus, it’s a chance for a quick and easy update to your bathroom.
Toilet brushes
How often to replace: Every six months.
A toilet brush can last longer than six months if you clean and store it properly, but very few people do this, preferring to put it out of sight as quickly as possible after cleaning the toilet. If this is you, you probably have a lot of mold and bacteria growing in your brush holder right now. You should simply buy a new one twice a year — sooner if it starts to smell bad or has visible stains.
Sponges
How often to replace: Twice a month
It’s no surprise that the sponges you use to scrub dirt and bacteria off your dishes and countertops are disgusting breeding grounds for bacteria. Even if you keep them dry or microwave them frequently, a kitchen sponge will become a health hazard within a few weeks. It’s best to keep a supply on hand and replace it with a fresh one every two weeks or so.
Mop heads
How often to replace: Every 2-6 months.
Mops are essential cleaning tools, but they are not self-cleaning. Sure, you dip them in soapy water and rinse them, but mops are designed to absorb and hold dirt, so you can never completely clean a used mop head, and it will get pretty dirty over time. A string mop should be replaced every 2-3 months, depending on use. A microfiber mop head can last twice as long if you wash it regularly.
Aside from the microbial factor, your mop heads will become less effective over time as they wear out. So even if your mop head looks pretty clean, you should still replace it if you want to keep your floors clean.
Brooms
How often to replace: Every two years.
Like mops, brooms work by transferring dirt from your home’s floors onto themselves. You can (and should!) clean your brooms about once a month—a simple rinse with soapy water is enough—but even then, your broom will show real wear and tear over the course of a few years. Broken or missing bristles are usually a sign that you’ve waited too long to replace it.
Cutting boards
How often to replace: Annually
Cutting boards, whether plastic or wood, need to be replaced or substantially updated every year. No matter how carefully you clean them, your knives leave deep grooves in the material where bacteria can escape your cleaning efforts, multiply, and potentially make you sick. And the cutting board will eventually get stained, and no one wants to think about what caused those stains while they’re cutting up fresh vegetables.
Plastic storage containers
How often to replace: every 1-3 months.
Even if you wash your plastic food storage containers after each use, you still need to throw them away fairly often. Over time, plastic degrades ( forming microplastics ), and every time you stick a fork or knife into it, you’re likely creating a tiny piece. All of this ends up turning those storage containers into little bacteria farms. Consider replacing them with glass containers: they’re chemically inert, so they’ll last longer and pose far fewer health risks over time.