15 Spots You’ve Probably Never Cleaned (The 5-Star Hotel Way)

Look around the room you're sitting in right now. Where is the dust you've never once wiped? Not the coffee table. The spot you've looked at every day for years and never actually seen. For 18 years I inspected hotel rooms, walking into rooms that had just been cleaned and looked perfect from the doorway, and finding what got missed. After thousands of rooms, it was almost always the same fifteen spots. Different hotels, different housekeepers, different years. And honey, every one of them is in your house too. The trick I taught every new housekeeper: look at a room from where the guest looks at it. Sit where they sit, lie where they lie, and you'll see a whole different room. THE 15 SPOTS, ROOM BY ROOM: THE ENTRY 1. LIGHT SWITCHES. The whole plate, not just the toggle. Cloth barely damp with soapy water, NEVER spray a switch, cotton swab in the gap, then dry 2. DOOR HANDLES AND THE DOOR EDGE. Under the lever where fingers wrap, and the edge beside the latch where hands push it shut 3. THE TOP OF THE DOOR. Run a finger along it. Damp microfiber, or wrap the cloth on a broom head and do it from the floor THE BEDROOM 4. THE REMOTE. Batteries out, cloth barely damp with rubbing alcohol or soapy water, a swab between the buttons, dry before the batteries go back. Never spray it or run it under the tap 5. THE HEADBOARD TOP AND THE WALL ABOVE. Damp wipe for wood, upholstery brush for fabric. Mild soap on the wall, and test flat paint low behind the bed first 6. LAMPSHADES. Lamp off and cool, lint roller inside and out. Don't wet fabric or paper shades 7. THE NIGHTSTAND. Lift everything off the top, empty the drawer, vacuum the corners, and pull it out to vacuum behind it 8. UNDER THE EDGE OF THE BED. The first foot or two, with the crevice tool or a flat duster, all the way around 9. CURTAIN TOPS, BLINDS, WINDOW SILLS. Upholstery brush top to bottom, blinds closed and wiped both ways, sills vacuumed then wiped and DRIED 10. BASEBOARDS. Vacuum the dry dust FIRST, then a damp cloth. A cloth on a broom head saves your knees THE BATHROOM 11. THE TOILET HINGES, BASE AND BOLT CAPS. The one that failed more rooms than all the others. Gloves, one cleaner at a time, an old toothbrush around each hinge, pop up the hinge caps and the floor bolt caps and clean under them. Once or twice a year, take the seat off 12. THE SINK OVERFLOW HOLE. A pipe cleaner or small bottle brush dipped in soapy water, worked in and out, then a cup of hot water through it 13. THE TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER AND SOAP DISH. Weekly, hot soapy water and a bottle brush, dry completely. A draining soap dish so the bar never sits in a puddle 14. THE BATHROOM FAN. The toilet paper test: a single square held to the grille. If the fan can't hold it, it's clogged. Power off (breaker if the cover comes off), vacuum the grille, wash the cover, dry it THE KITCHEN 15. THE COFFEE MAKER. Check the manual first. For most drip machines: half white vinegar, half water through one brew cycle, then two or three cycles of plain water. Wash the basket, and leave the lid OPEN to dry THE HONEST WORDS: never spray liquid onto switches, outlets or electronics. Never mix a toilet bowl cleaner with bleach or any other cleaner, since many bowl cleaners are acidic and the two together make a dangerous gas. One product at a time, gloves on, window open or fan running. Test flat paint and delicate finishes in a hidden spot. None of the fifteen takes more than a few minutes, and the whole kit is warm soapy water, a microfiber cloth, an old toothbrush, your vacuum, a little white vinegar and a flashlight. This week, take a flashlight and walk your house. Don't clean anything yet, just look and keep score: clean is a pass, anything on it is a fail. Then tell me in the comments your score out of fifteen, and which spot got you the worst. If you scored fifteen out of fifteen, I'll believe you, but I'll want to know how you keep the tops of your doors clean. I'll be reading them.