It’s gross, but dead skin and fecal matter could be on the household items that you never think to clean.

We’ve all been there. You spend hours on home cleaning and it looks amazing. You sit on the couch, breathe a sigh of relief and then you see it, cobwebs in the corner of the ceiling.

We all know about those hard-to-reach places to clean, but what about the things that we completely disregard and never think to clean? For a clean and healthy home, check out these items that probably need a good bit of cleaning.

Complete Home Cleaning

These items don’t need to be washed as regularly as other items, but the simple truth is that they need to be added to your cleaning schedule. These are pretty simple chores so you won’t need to hire a cleaning service to take care of them.

Bacteria and viruses that can make you seriously sick can live on surfaces for 48 hours. Take the time to address the items on this list.

1. Dish Drying Rack

This one can go unnoticed simply because you use it to put freshly cleaned items. You wash the dishes, put them on the rack and then put the dishes away, but you’re forgetting a step.

The water that is constantly dripping down the rack makes it an ideal place for mold and mildew to grow. These should be cleaned weekly.

2. Doorknobs

How many people live in your home? How many visitors do you have on a daily or weekly basis? Now think about how many of those people are touching the doorknobs.

Doorknobs are one of the most actively touched items in your home, so why do we forget to clean them? Your family and visitors sneeze and cover their mouth and then go to the bathroom or their room, leaving their germs for the next person that opens the door.

These should be cleaned every month or so unless someone is sick in your house. In that case, consider cleaning them immediately.

3. Refrigerator Vent

Below your fridge is a vent that cycles the air through, keeping the fridge running cold. This is very easy to overlook simply because it is so out-of-sight.

Taking apart just the vent and cleaning it out is one way to go, but you’d be better off timing it with your monthly or seasonal cleaning and defrosting of the fridge itself.

Remember to unplug the refrigerator first, then remove the vent, clean it with normal soap and water, then use a vacuum to suck up any dust or debris hanging around.

4. Remote Control

Here’s a weird one that may make you a little sick when you think about how often it’s touched. The television remote control is generally used by everyone in the house and is hardly ever cleaned.

If you and your family like to eat popcorn during movie night, or enjoy the occasional meal seated on the couch, then your remote is certainly coated with food and mouth germs.

Electronics cleaner instead of household cleaners is the best option for this. Spray it on a cloth and then wipe the remote. This can be done monthly or weekly, depending on how often it’s used.

5. Ice Trays

It’s surprising how many items in the kitchen we forget to clean. Keeping a clean kitchen is extremely important. Your food and drink come from this room.

You take ice straight from your ice trays and put them into your drinks. Any leftover germs or mildew that is sticking to the trays is also sticking to that ice.

You can wash these just like you do your dishes and should probably be done every month or even every week if you go through a lot of ice.

Every Detail Counts

It may seem overwhelming at first, but once these items become a normal part of your routine, you won’t think twice about it, but you will definitely reap the rewards.

For more home cleaning tips to keep your house happy and healthy, check out these helpful guides.