30 Things You Don't Have to Clean as Often as You Think

Maintaining a clean home is important for your health as mold and bacteria love to harbor in damp places, dirt and dust collect in high traffic areas, viruses can linger on high-touch surfaces and pets and so many other factors affect indoor air quality. But while some things must be cleaned frequently, you may be surprised that not everything in your home requires daily or weekly cleaning. A lot of household items only need cleaning every month, season or every year. Read on to see which spots you can go ahead and cross off your to-do list.

You should change your sheets weekly, but your comforter can go weeks, even months, between washings, since it doesn’t come in contact with your skin. It will last longer with fewer washings, too. But, if you share your bed with a pet who sleeps atop your comforter, you may need to wash it more often, or at least hit it with a sticky link roller to get the dog hair off.

You don’t need to clean the oven every week, or even every month. You only need to deep clean it three or four times a year. Your food doesn’t touch oven surfaces directly, so it doesn’t have to be sanitary. And the heat of the oven will keep germs from colonizing between deep cleans. Also, if it’s got a self-cleaning option, use it, and be sure to wipe down spills as they happen.

Less is more when it comes to cleaning your carpet. You should vacuum it weekly but only steam-clean it once a year. The chemicals, water and equipment used by professional carpet cleaners can wear down the fibers in your carpet, damaging it and making it get dirtier faster. Carpet stains happen, especially if you have kids or pets, but spot-cleaning is the better way to go.

We all love a smudge-free mirror, but spraying yours with too much glass cleaner can damage its reflective backing. The damage shows up as black spots around the edges or even in the middle of the mirror. Black spots mean a dead mirror. So, instead of cleaning your mirrors too often and creating black spots, try cleaning once a week, and go easy on the glass cleaner when you do.

Stop rinsing your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. Just scrape the food off, load them in, and let the dishwasher do its job. Most dishwashers have sensors that figure out how long to run a wash cycle based on how dirty the dishes are. If you rinse off, say, the dinner plates but miss the casserole dish, you can confuse the sensors, making them run a shorter cycle and leaving you with last night’s potatoes au gratin still stuck on your utensils.

Even if you cook every day, there’s no reason to do a big scrub every time you use the stove, unless you’ve had a massive spill. Just wipe it down after each use and give it a once-a-month good scrub. Your food isn’t coming into contact with the stovetop, and it gets hot enough to kill any germs that might lurk, so it doesn’t need too much attention from you.

Put down your lint-free cloth and back away from the furniture polish. Too much polishing can make your furniture get dirtier, faster. Really. Polish can build-up on the surface of furniture and become a dust magnet. Too much polish can dull the finish, making your furniture look old before its time. A thin coat of polish a couple of times a year is all you need to keep your furniture shiny.

Cross this task off your weekly to-do list: Cleaning light fixtures. Once a month, dust them with a microfiber cloth or feather duster. Once a year, take off the glass parts or shade and clean with soap and water. You never touch the light fixtures, and they aren’t the first thing you notice in a room, so a little dust won’t hurt.

You don’t need to pull everything out, wipe down the shelves and check expiration dates weekly. You don’t even need to do it monthly. Since all the edibles are sealed up, you can handle this chore seasonally. The pantry surfaces don’t touch anything you’ll be putting in your mouth, so they don’t have to be spotless and sterile.

The best thing about a cast iron skillet isn’t that it makes your cornbread crispy. It’s that it never needs to be deep cleaned. Ever. Classic skillets benefit from a layer of oil left behind from cooking. Scrub that layer of oil off with soap and water and the skillet will rust. A rusty skillet does not spark joy. Just wipe it out when you’re done cooking with it, and you’re done.

If your drain is working, leave it alone. Preventative cleaning can do more harm than good because the chemicals in cleaners can damage pipes and eat into the finish on your sink. If your drain’s smelly or running slow, bust the gunk that’s blocking it with a mixture of baking soda, lemon and hot water.

These little workhorses are your go-to for mopping up spills, drying dishes and cleaning counters, but they don’t need to be washed as often as bath towels. That’s because they’re made to dry out quickly, making it harder for bacteria to grow on them. You only need to wash them once every two weeks or so. Hang them up after each use so they dry fast and stay fresh, longer.

Toasters, coffeemakers and stand mixers don’t need to be kept sparkling clean, even if you use them regularly. Wipe up spills when they happen, and you’ll only need to do a thorough scrub every few months. Even if you don’t do a periodic super scrub, it’ll be OK. Who among us doesn’t have a toaster full of crumbs?

You don’t need to take them down and wash them every month, or even every other month. Washing them once a year is plenty. Spot clean them if needed — like if your toddler spills grape juice on them or your dog slings drool on them. Vacuum them with the upholstery attachment once a month to keep dust off, and they’ll be plenty clean. They’ll last longer with fewer washings, too.

If you’re one of those neatniks who clean dirty grout with a tile brush, stop. Here’s why: Grout is porous. It soaks up dirt and spills, so cleaning it is a Sisyphean task. Better to put sealer on grout once a year and call it good.

Whether you have an electric tea kettle or a classic stove-top kettle, you only need to wash it every couple of months. And unless you live in an area with hard water, you only need to descale your kettle once a season.

You should wash all of your bed pillows and throw pillow inserts, especially if you have severe allergies, but you don't have to wash them as frequently as sheets and blankets. A good rule of thumb is every couple of months or every month if you have bad allergies or tend to sweat at night. Most pillows can go right in the washing machine, but memory foam pillows need to be hand-washed.

Unless you're using your jetted tub every single day, you don't have to deep clean it as often as your regular shower or bathtub. If you use it more in the fall and winter — maybe a couple of times a week — then you need to do a deep cleaning for the jets at least once a month. If you rarely use it, then it only needs to be deep cleaned once every three months or so.

Put down the sponge and dish detergent. Similar to cast iron, a pizza stone should never, ever be submerged in water and soap. The stone or ceramic is incredibly porous and cleaning it in a traditional sense would break down the strength of the materials. But that's not to say you shouldn't clean it. Just wait for the stone to cool after baking and wipe off any burned bits with a damp cloth. Then, let it air dry.

The golden rule for outerwear is twice a season. Yes, really. Over washing coats can damage and break down important materials that keep you warm and dry such as water-repellant coatings on rain jackets or down feather insulation in puffy coats and vests. Always check the label for specific washing instructions, and when you do wash down feather outerwear, don't rush it. Wash on a slow, gentle cycle and dry on a low, gentle setting. It will take a long time to completely dry, but it helps the down from bunching up in one segment.

Towels are a known harbinger of bacteria and mold, and we've flagged them on our list of household items you should toss immediately if they start to smell. But if dried properly, you don't have to wash towels after every single use. In fact, it's more eco-friendly if you reuse towels a couple of times. But it's only safe to do this if the towel dried completely after each use. If you have hooks instead of a bar, this may not be possible as moisture tends to stay in those bunched areas. And if you have a shared bathroom where it stays moist and hot multiple times a day, your towels won't be able to dry completely. But if you have a bar towel rack, good ventilation and your towels can dry thoroughly, then feel free to reuse.

You might wash your hair often, but don't wash your dog's hair as frequently. Too many baths can actually be bad for pups and their coat health. This varies slightly by breed so always check with your vet, but in general, Dr. Mariah Coakley of Aledo Vet Clinic in Willow Parks, Texas, says a good rule of thumb is "every three to four weeks for the average dog who is in a controlled environment."

Dining chair slipcovers are timeless, and nothing makes a bedroom more cozy than a soft slipcovered headboard. But over washing slipcovers can wear down the fibers too soon. In general, you only need to wash furniture slipcovers once or twice a year. Though, headboard slipcovers may need to be washed more frequently if you have severe allergies.

Stop washing your jeans after one wear! Denim is tough and made to be worn more than once. Unless you have a stain or were sweating, you don't need to throw jeans in the wash that frequently ... or at all. A better alternative to freshen up denim, is to place in the freezer. Yes, really. This kills bacteria while protecting the fibers.

Bath toys can be one of the most germ-ridden items in your home if they're not dried out completely after each use. But, if they don't have tiny cavities where water can hide and you've dried them properly, they don't actually have to be deep cleaned after every use. Once a month is fine, as long as the toys haven't been played with outside or elsewhere and have only been used in the tub and dried after each use.

Like jeans, sweaters are built to last. They don't need to — and shouldn't! — be washed after each use as this can cause excessive pilling and fraying. And while we're on the subject, don't hang sweaters up in the closet. Sweaters and other knits are supposed to be folded when stored. Coat hangers can cause permanent indentations in the shoulders and can damage the weave pattern for loose-knits.

Like slipcovers, upholstered furniture doesn't need to be deep cleaned too frequently, as it can damage or wear down materials and textiles. As a general rule, you only need to have upholstered furniture professionally cleaned once a year. Maybe twice a year, if you have pets. You can spot clean stains in between professional cleanings with a steam cleaner or low-temp fabric cleaner.

Those laundry bags only help delicates so much. And bras are super delicate. Over washing can break down the materials as well as the shape; so, washing a bra after every wear will significantly cut down the lifespan of its support. Unless it's a sports bra, you can get away with washing these after a couple of wears.

Like bras, pajamas don't have to be washed after one wear — especially if you're a nighttime shower-er. Unless you tend to sweat at night, you can wear pajamas a couple of wears before tossing them in the laundry.