From cloudy beer glasses to smoke-scented curtains: The student cleaning guide offers advice
Months of unwashed sheets, towering piles of dishes and encrusted hobs: student houses do not have the best reputation when it comes to hygiene. Writer Diet Groothuis – who says she hates cleaning and has no time for it – wrote a cleaning guide for students. “Many students have not learned how to clean from their parents.”
What good is it if you read Plato and never clean your toilet? That is the opening line of Diet Groothuis’s updated student cleaning guide, which was recently published. A new edition was needed because much more is now known about sustainability and microplastics. Her motto: the less time you spend on housework, the better.
In 2025, sustainability plays an even bigger role in her advice. Groothuis warns against cleaning products that contain microplastics. And anyone who thinks litres of bleach are needed for disinfecting is mistaken: according to Groothuis, soda works just as well. And ventilation? She stresses that much more strongly now, ever since the pandemic made it clear how important fresh air is for your health.
Students are rather well-known for being filthy. Fact or myth?
“That is a fact. Although it does not apply to all students; there are clean and messy types. But on the whole, student houses are grubby; many students have not learned how to clean from their parents. The dirtiest student house I have ever seen belonged to male rowers – truly next level. I thought it was hilarious that they didn’t have a door on the toilet, for the sake of sociability. They cleaned once a year, threw leftover food and empty cartons and bottles straight at the wall, and everything was covered in mould. It was so filthy that every new resident fell ill for a week after moving in. After that, they were immune.”
What is the key to a clean student house?
“You simply need to make clear agreements to keep it tidy. Many students do have a cleaning rota, but there are no consequences if someone doesn’t do their chores. The result: no one sticks to the schedule. It helps to attach a price tag to it: five to ten euros per missed cleaning session, for example. That stings.”
Which spot in a student house is always forgotten?
“The shower drain. It is truly disgusting to clean. And if you share a bathroom with several people, you also have to dig through other people’s hairs and skin flakes. Nobody wants to do that. Still, in a student house you should really clean it once a week. Otherwise the drain clogs and you’ll end up paying an expensive plumber. I sometimes unscrew it myself and scrub it clean with an old toothbrush.”
“Another hack: an alternative to all-purpose cleaner is a hot solution with soda or with soft green soap. Green soap is also handy for mopping a laminate floor. For stubbornly dirty oven dishes or racks, spread them with green soap and leave them overnight in a bag with a cup of ammonia.”
“And useful if you or your housemates smoke: by spraying a little water with cleaning vinegar on your furniture, or by placing a small bowl of cleaning vinegar in the room, the smell of smoke disappears. You can also use it to clean your windows.”
What revelation about dirt shocked you the most?
“Ventilation, without a doubt. I have done a lot of research on that. 61 percent of environment-related health complaints reported to local health authorities concern the quality of the indoor living environment. People can even become ill from it: from asthma and bronchitis to hay fever, skin problems such as eczema and headaches. And all that just because you do not have enough fresh air indoors. Sleep with the window open and always leave the bathroom door or window open for at least half an hour after showering. Also make sure that at all times, even in winter – even when it is cold – a small window, vent or grille is open. And don’t think this is a waste of heating costs. Air that you refresh in time is actually easier to heat than musty, damp air.”
What is the holy trinity and why is it so suitable for students?
“Soda, green soap and cleaning vinegar: everything you need. These three cleaning products are effective, inexpensive and more sustainable than many other cleaning agents. They are less harmful to surface water and therefore cause little environmental damage. Soda is not only a good cleaner but also works as a disinfectant. It is also great for cleaning the oven and the sink. And do you have cloudy beer glasses after a party? Just scrub them with soda and boiling water, and they will shine again. This way you really do not need expensive Cif or Mister Muscle anymore.”
Diet Groothuis is best known for the bestsellers Het grote poetsboek and Het groene poetsboekje. The cleaning guru also wrote a long-running column with cleaning tips for Trouw. In addition, Diet is a poet, gives poetry workshops and works as a journalist.
The first edition of Het studentenpoetsboek was published in 2017. What is different in 2025 compared to then?
“There is more focus on sustainability and microplastics. You can also contribute to that at home by not using sponges made of microplastics, but instead coconut sponges or organic cotton cloths. Back then, very little was said about it, and now it is discussed much more.”
“Because of the pandemic, ventilation also received a huge boost: the importance of fresh air has become more widely recognised. During that same period, many people went overboard with bleach – I came across the most bizarre examples, using entire packs at once. Whereas disinfecting can just as well be done with soda. I was very outspoken against that at the time.”
How can students make cleaning more enjoyable?
“First of all: good cleaning music. My go-to song is I Want to Break Free by Queen. I once held a survey on the music people put on while cleaning. Answers ranged from Bach and Rachmaninoff to André Hazes – as long as it has a beat. A second tip: do not postpone cleaning. The longer you wait, the more you dread it, and that only makes you grumpy. What also helps is speed-cleaning: within an hour, only doing the essentials. It takes little time and you still feel like you have achieved a lot. What works best of all is simply keeping up with it.”
Diet Groothuis, Het Studentenpoetsboek, Amsterdam, 2025, €17,50, only in Dutch.
