Let’s face it we ALL love a really clean house! Especially the fresh smells, the look of furniture with no dust, the meticulous vacuum marks that you don’t want anyone to step on and ruin the moment of a clean and perfect house. So why not get prepared now and tackle your spring cleaning, because Spring is only 6 days away!
Here are some tips to help you with your Spring Cleaning this year…
Kitchen
- First and foremost start with declutter. It’s time to search and discard or donate anything you don’t need, use, or if it’s expired.
- Wipe down all cabinets and shelves. For dirt or other grease spots, use a microfiber cloth.
- Next, lets tackle that fridge! Time to take everything out and wipe down all handles, drawers, glass shelves. You can take most of the parts out and quickly rinse them in the sink with a little dish soap and wipe them down. If you have a freezer with an automatic ice dispenser. It’s nice to empty the ice and wipe out the holder. Fresh ice is very nice!
- For your sink drain, pour in a quarter-cup of baking soda and vinegar into your drain. Leave it overnight, and then flush it the next day with boiling water.
- Use Ammonia for your electric oven. Turn your oven to 150°F, and then turn it off. Place a small bowl containing ½ cup ammonia on the top shelf and a large pan of boiling water on the bottom shelf. Close the door, and let it sit overnight. The next morning, remove the dish and pan and let the oven air out. After wipe it clean using the ammonia and a few drops of dishwashing liquid diluted in a quart of warm water. WARNING: Do not use this cleaning method with a gas oven unless the pilot lights are out and the main gas lines are shut off.
- To get the grime off of your oven rack, lay them down in a bathtub. Fill the tub with warm water and add ½ cup ammonia. Let the racks soak for at least 15 minutes, the remove, rinse off, and wipe clean.
Living Room
- Wash those windows.First, mix one to two teaspoons of dish detergent in a large bucket of warm water. Then, using a squeegee, run it along the entire screen, making sure to wipe off the studs horizontally. Don’t forget to clean the blade off on a microfiber cloth after each swipe.
- Cleaning the TV. First turn off the TV, it will be easier to see streaks or fingerprints. Then gently use a microfiber cloth on the TV, this is the same kind of cloth used for eye glasses, it doesn’t leave lint behind.
- Conquer your couch:It’s important to check the fabric labels and follow the instructions if you’re looking to do a deep cleaning. But there are a few things you can do regardless of the style of couch. First, remove the cushions. Then, using a dry cleaning sponge, go over the pillows. Next, vacuum inside the structure to pick up grime, hair and crumbs. Finally, lift the furniture and dust the feet.
- Freshen up Your Rugs. This is actually something you want to be doing weekly to biweekly to keep the rugs in better shape. Take them outside and shake them really good. Once you bring them back in feel free to vacuum to get any leftover dust up.
- For surfaces like windows, wood, mirrors, the tops of bookshelves, ceiling fan blades, and the plastic housing of electronics, use a damp microfiber cloth. But use a cloth you didn’t already use for the bathroom or kitchen to avoid spreading germs.
Bathroom
- Erase mineral deposits and rust from toilets, tubs, and showers with a pumice stone and rubber gloves. For more power, mix baking soda with acidic vinegar.
- To clean your toilet, use an all-purpose cleaner plus a little baking soda. Hydrogen peroxide adds sparkle.
- Clean mirrors with a mixture of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Wipe with a microfiber cloth.
- Clean your drains by pouring in a quarter cup each of baking soda and vinegar. Leave the concoction overnight, then flush with boiling water.
- For tile floors,use your usual cleaner, but don’t mop — that’ll drive the grime into the grout rather than remove it. Instead, run a wet/dry vac, which will suck contaminants out of the grout.
Bedroom
- Store out of season clothing. I like to use the big plastic containers from Target or Walmart and then label them when I store them away.
- For the clothes you have not worn in a year, please donate.
- Rotate and flip your mattress. If needed you can call us and we can have somebody come out to do that for you.
- Use the vacuum hose attachment to get baseboards, under your bed, and in your curtains, favorite environments of dust mites.
There’s so much more that comes along with spring-cleaning, we mostly covered the basics here. If you’d like to take a break this year and hire it out, we have a cleaning crew who can make your home sparkle and shine! Just give us a call or email us here.
Best of Luck and Happy Spring!