The ultimate guide to cleaning: crazily OTT or totally reasonable?

How clean is clean enough? According to the Good Housekeeping Institute, not unless you’re cleaning the toilet on a daily basis.

Depending on your view on household management, you’ll either be applauding or appalled by a checklist published by the institute that has netizens abuzz.

The Guardian’s columnist Lucy Mangan, who reckons the list must be “satire on a grand scale”, seems non-plussed at the idea of cleaning the inside of her microwave, while the Daily Mail suggests that the list could help busy people keep their cleaning under control by doing it regularly.

The Good Housekeeping Institute, which publishes Good Housekeeping magazine, says that its experts are “always being asked exactly how often we should clean things” so it put together the handy checklist.

Daily tasks include wiping down the shower, cleaning the toilet bowl, wiping the stove top, sweeping the kitchen floor and clearing away clutter every evening. Homemakers should be dusting all surfaces, thoroughly cleaning bathrooms and cleaning the inside of the microwave every week, among other tasks, the list says.

Monthly tasks include washing the doormats, cleaning the inside of the dishwasher, washing machine and vacuum and washing the windows, while vacuuming mattresses, dry-cleaning heavy bedding and wiping down internal paintwork can be done every three to six months.

It advises setting aside a full day per month to get those jobs done.

The institute recommends wiping lightbulbs, deep-cleaning upholstery and carpets and emptying gutters every year but adds that “this list isn’t exhaustive and there could well be other chores you incorporate into your regular routines – don’t let us stop you!”

Read the full list below then tell us whether it’s OTT or perfectly reasonable. Are you a compulsive cleaner or is life too short to worry about the kitchen surfaces?