Tools and tables

Cleaning and checks reference

How often each household task and safety check comes around, with the source where an agency gives the frequency and the word convention where none does. Filter by room or by kind.

Few household frequencies come from an agency. The CDC says to clean high-touch surfaces regularly and other surfaces when they are visibly dirty, and gives no weekly schedule. Smoke alarm tests, the fridge clear-out, cutting boards, the dryer lint filter and a handful of yearly checks do have an agency frequency, and those rows name it. Everything else (a weekly bathroom clean, sheets every week or two) is this manual's convention, labelled so you can change it without second-guessing a rule. Weekly routines builds the routine from this table, and your routine sheet is seeded from it.

The three kinds

Kind	What it means	How to treat it
Agency or extension guidance	A federal agency, a standards body's public education page, or a university extension service gives the frequency.	Follow it unless your manual or label says otherwise.
Research finding	A study suggested it; no agency has adopted it.	Know the study's size and limits (A working kitchen covers the sponge studies).
Convention	No source we found gives a frequency. It is a common starting point.	Yours to change; the household sets it.

Limits

The frequencies here are agencies' wording or this manual's convention. None of them makes a home safe or clean by a date, and the product label is the instruction for any product. Tasks marked Owners are in most rentals the landlord's or the association's; ask who does them before doing any.

The table

47 tasks and checks with how often each comes around. A frequency with no source is this manual's convention and yours to change.
Task	How often	Kind	Source	Room	Note
Test smoke alarms	Monthly	Agency or extension guidance	USFA; NFPA	Safety checks	Press the test button on each one.
Replace a 9-volt smoke alarm battery	At least yearly	Agency or extension guidance	USFA	Safety checks	10-year sealed alarms have no battery to change.
Replace smoke alarms	10 years after the manufacture date	Agency or extension guidance	NFPA; USFA	Safety checks	The date is on the back of the alarm.
Test CO alarms	At least monthly	Agency or extension guidance	NFPA	Safety checks	Replace as the maker says.
Test GFCI outlets	Monthly and after major electrical storms	Agency or extension guidance	ESFI; NC State Extension	Safety checks	Reset, plug in a night light, press Test, then Reset.
Practice the escape plan	Twice a year	Agency or extension guidance	NFPA	Safety checks	Start by pushing the alarm's test button (USFA).
Check the fire extinguisher	Regularly (no interval given)	Agency or extension guidance	USFA	Safety checks	Access, pressure gauge, damage, cleanliness.
Review the emergency kit	Yearly	Agency or extension guidance	Ready.gov	Safety checks	Replace expired items and rethink needs.
Replace stored water you bottled yourself	Every six months	Agency or extension guidance	Ready.gov	Safety checks	Commercially bottled water keeps to its date.
Clean the dryer lint filter	Every load	Agency or extension guidance	USFA (before and after each cycle); NFPA (before or after each load)	Laundry	Do not run a dryer without the filter (NFPA).
Clean lint from the dryer vent pipe	Yearly, or sooner if drying takes longer	Agency or extension guidance	NFPA	Laundry	An owner's or landlord's task in most rentals.
Laundry	Weekly	Convention	None: this manual's convention	Laundry	Read each care label first (FTC Care Labeling Rule).
Wash sheets	Weekly or every two weeks	Convention	None: this manual's convention	Laundry	No agency gives a frequency.
Wash towels	Weekly	Convention	None: this manual's convention	Laundry
Put clean laundry away	When it comes out	Agency or extension guidance	MSU Extension	Laundry
Clear the fridge of perishables past their time	Weekly	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS	Kitchen	Use the FoodSafety.gov cold storage chart.
Read the fridge and freezer thermometers	With the weekly clear-out	Convention	Temperatures: FSIS	Kitchen	40°F or below; freezer 0°F or below.
Wipe fridge spills	At once	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS	Kitchen	Hot, soapy water.
Clean the refrigerator condenser coil	Several times a year	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS	Kitchen	Owners; in a rental, ask.
Wash cutting boards	After each use	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS	Kitchen	Hot, soapy water, then rinse and dry.
Sanitize boards, counters and the sink after raw meat	After each contact	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS; CDC	Kitchen	FSIS ratio for boards: 1 tablespoon unscented bleach per gallon.
Replace worn cutting boards	When deeply grooved	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS	Kitchen
Replace kitchen sponges	Often (the study authors' example: weekly)	Research finding	Cardinale et al. 2017	Kitchen	A small study, not an agency rule.
Refrigerate leftovers	Within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F)	Agency or extension guidance	FSIS	Kitchen	Shallow containers cool faster.
Clean the kitchen after each meal	After each meal	Agency or extension guidance	MSU Extension	Kitchen	An extension service's daily habit.
Take out trash	Often, before it overflows	Agency or extension guidance	EPA (pest prevention)	Kitchen	Tightly covered cans.
Clean high-touch surfaces	Regularly, and after visitors	Agency or extension guidance	CDC	Whole home	Light switches, doorknobs, counters.
Clean other surfaces	When visibly dirty	Agency or extension guidance	CDC	Whole home
Disinfect	Likely not needed unless someone is sick or at higher risk	Agency or extension guidance	CDC	Whole home	Clean first; follow the label's contact time.
Mix a bleach solution	Fresh each day it is used	Agency or extension guidance	CDC	Whole home	Only when a label gives no directions.
Floors	Weekly	Convention	None: this manual's convention	Whole home
Vacuum	Often	Agency or extension guidance	EPA (bed bug prevention)	Whole home
Sort mail	Daily	Agency or extension guidance	MSU Extension	Whole home
Short tidy at the end of the day	Daily	Agency or extension guidance	MSU Extension	Whole home
Clean the bathroom	Weekly	Convention	None: this manual's convention	Bathroom and moisture	No agency gives a frequency.
Dry leaks and spills	Within 24 to 48 hours	Agency or extension guidance	EPA	Bathroom and moisture	Report leaks in a rental in writing.
Check for condensation and leaks	Monthly	Convention	Humidity target: EPA	Bathroom and moisture	EPA: below 60 percent, ideally 30 to 50.
Toilet dye test	At least yearly	Agency or extension guidance	EPA WaterSense	Bathroom and moisture	Food coloring in the tank, wait 10 minutes.
Look for leaks at shutoff valves and the main shutoff	Regularly (no interval given)	Agency or extension guidance	NC State Extension	Bathroom and moisture
Replace the HVAC filter	As the manual says; some monthly	Agency or extension guidance	NC State Extension	Owners	Owners; in a rental, ask who does it.
Heating equipment and chimney cleaned and inspected	Yearly	Agency or extension guidance	USFA	Owners	A professional's job; in a rental, the landlord's.
Check the water heater's temperature-and-pressure valve	At least yearly	Agency or extension guidance	EPA WaterSense	Owners	An owner's task.
Track spending	For one month	Agency or extension guidance	CFPB	Paperwork	Total each category each week, then for the month.
Check bills against due days	Monthly	Convention	None: this manual's convention	Paperwork	The CFPB bill calendar is a free tool.
Update voter registration	After every move	Agency or extension guidance	vote.gov	Paperwork	Deadlines vary by state.
Update the router's software	Keep it updated	Agency or extension guidance	FTC	Paperwork	Or ask the provider whether it updates itself.
Re-read the lease's renewal and notice dates	Before the notice date	Convention	Example: Minnesota AG	Paperwork	Minnesota's month-to-month notice is one example.

Sources

U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for alarms, drills and dryers; the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) and NC State Extension for GFCI outlets; USDA FSIS for the refrigerator and cutting boards; CDC for cleaning and bleach; EPA for moisture, pests, bed bugs and the WaterSense toilet dye test; Mississippi State University Extension for daily habits; Ready.gov for the kit; the CFPB for the spending tracker; vote.gov and the FTC for the paperwork rows. Each is linked, with its date, in the resource library.