9 Cleaning Habits From Professional Cleaners

Professional cleaners don't necessarily work harder than everyone else. They work in a particular order, use products correctly and rely on a few habits that keep mess from building up. Most of them translate well to an ordinary home.

Clean top to bottom, dry to wet. Dust shelves and surfaces before vacuuming the floor, since dust falls. Do dry tasks such as dusting and sweeping before wet ones such as wiping and mopping, so you're not turning dust into mud.
Let the product sit. Disinfectants only work if the surface stays wet for the time listed on the label, called the contact time or dwell time. For many household disinfecting sprays it's several minutes, and some wipes need up to 10. Spraying and immediately wiping cleans the surface but doesn't disinfect it. While the spray sits, start on the next surface.
Clean before you disinfect. Disinfectants work poorly on dirty surfaces, so wipe away grime with soap or a cleaner first. Most surfaces in a home only need regular cleaning; disinfecting matters most for kitchen counters after raw meat, bathrooms and anything touched during an illness.
Never mix bleach with other cleaners. Bleach combined with ammonia, found in some glass cleaners, releases toxic chloramine gas. Bleach mixed with acids, including vinegar and some toilet cleaners, releases chlorine gas. Use one product at a time and rinse between them.
Replace sponges often. Kitchen sponges are among the most bacteria-laden objects in most homes. A damp sponge microwaved for one minute or run through a dishwasher cycle kills most germs, but it's still worth replacing them every week or two. A dish brush dries faster and harbors less.
Use the two-minute rule. If a task takes less than two minutes, such as hanging up a coat, rinsing a mug or wiping a spill, do it now. Small messes take far longer to clean once they've dried or piled up.
Reset one room before bed. Ten minutes putting the kitchen or living room back in order each evening means waking up to a clean starting point. The kitchen is usually the best choice, since a clear counter makes the next meal easier.
Keep supplies where the mess is. A bottle of cleaner and a cloth under each bathroom sink means the mirror and faucet get wiped while you're there, not on some future cleaning day.
Run the vent fan. Turning on the bathroom exhaust fan during showers, and leaving it on for 20 minutes or so after, keeps moisture down and slows mold and mildew. That saves you a much bigger cleaning job later.

None of these require a schedule or a special cleaning day. They simply make the cleaning you already do more effective, and they stop small jobs from growing into big ones.