Exactly How Often You Should Be Sweeping Every Room In Your Home

When aiming for a clean home, it can be a good idea to nail your sweeping routine. Dust, dirt, pet hair, and general debris collect on your floors throughout the day. While tricks like a TikTok cleaning hack can make sweeping much easier, you shouldn't wait to sweep until your baseboards have an accumulation of dust mites and dander. But how often do you really need to reach for the broom and dust pan? Unfortunately, there's no hard and fast rule, since it can vary from household to household and room to room. For example, high-traffic areas like the kitchen, entryway, mudroom, or bathroom might need more frequent floor debris maintenance than low-traffic rooms like the laundry room, bedroom, or home office. And homes with pets and children that frequently track in dirt may need to be swept more often than those without.

In general, rooms that see a lot of foot traffic, like the kitchen and entryway, could benefit from daily sweeping. Crumbs left behind during meal prep or dirt tracked in from the outside can accumulate quickly. Bathrooms, which often see a lot of use, may only need to be swept once a week, though. If you notice an excess of hair or dust, you might need to sweep more often. Low-traffic spaces or rooms that see minimal use, such as guest rooms or home offices, may only need to be swept once a week. However, seasonal changes, such as visitors staying over for the holidays, may impact this frequency. Don't fret if you think you've been sweeping wrong your whole life; finding a routine is about meeting the personal, and ever-changing, needs of your home.

Aside from high vs. low traffic areas of the home, your flooring type, the size of your space, the number of family members, whether you have pets or kids, and the local environment can all impact how often you should be sweeping your space. Pets can shed a lot of fur, so you may need to sweep more often in spaces that they frequent. Additionally, the more family members you have, the more often you may need to sweep. This could turn weekly sweeping into daily sweeping in a shared bathroom, for example. Households with children may also want to sweep more often to pick up crumbs and create a safe floor space.

As you figure out how to create an effective cleaning schedule, also consider the size of your home. While daily sweeping can eliminate debris, it may not be feasible for a larger space, which takes more time to clean. Also, some environments will likely need more maintenance than others. If you live in an area with a lot of dust, sand, or mud, you might see more outside dirt tracked indoors. Different flooring types will also have different needs. Hardwood floors could benefit from sweeping daily or every other day, depending on the amount of traffic in the room. While carpeted flooring might collect dirt and debris, it hides it better and is less noticeable. Experts say most households can vacuum carpeted rooms once or twice a week.