It’s that time of year again where the sun starts making an unusual appearance and you notice how dreadfully dirty all of your windows are.
With spring right around the corner, it’s time to start setting your mind to getting your home looking spic and span. When you look at the job as a whole, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
However, if you take it step by step, it doesn’t seem like such a mammoth job. Go room by room and make a list of all the jobs that need to be done. Here are some tips to get you started.
Clean Your Oven and Microwave
These are the jobs that often get put to the bottom of the priority list and therefore are long overdue.
Although it’s easy to give your microwave a quick wipe over when you need to, oven cleaning usually takes far more time and patience. A good oven cleaner can take hours to deep clean your oven.
Then you’ll need to spend time scrubbing and removing the cleaner until you reach the result you desire.
To deep clean your microwave, try putting a bowl of water, white vinegar, and a few drops of essential oil inside and steam it. This helps to remove any difficult stains.
Clean Mattresses
Over time, mattresses see a lot. They usually take the brunt of us, including sweat, sickness, blood and more.
If you allow your pets on your bed, your mattresses will absorb the worst of them too. It’s essential to clean your mattresses at least every twelve months if you intend on keeping them for years.
You can use a carpet cleaner to clean your mattress. It will help to give your mattress a deep clean with soapy water that will work to remove any stains.
However, mattresses can take time to dry so expect to sleep on the sofa for one night.
Check Your Bins
It’s a job that no-one likes doing but one that must be done. When bins aren’t cleaned periodically, it’s common for them to build up waste.
If you haven’t checked your garbage bins recently, you may find they smell horrid and could have maggots inside.
If food waste goes into your bins, you should also expect to see fruit flies.
To get rid of fruit flies, make sure all the food waste is taken away and fully disinfect your bin so it doesn’t attract these types of pests.
Window Cleaning
No matter how hard you try, keeping your windows clean in winter is virtually impossible.
Harsh weather conditions will blow dirt back across the glass the second you’ve finished. As spring arrives, it becomes easier to keep your windows shining.
After the winter months, you may need to work a little harder to get your windows gleaming.
Start with a simple soap and water wash to remove all the dirt and grime. Then use a window cleaner and shiner to get your glass sparkling and protect it from debris.
Tackle Dust
Dust can build up in corners and crevices, especially during darker days and nights.
It’s not uncommon for dust to build up over the winter as you spend more time indoors. Now is the perfect time to hunt down the dust and cobwebs.
Use the natural light to look into corners and across ceilings to find anything you may have missed.
Use an extendable duster to reach places that you can’t reach on your own. Hard to remove dust can be persuaded with some warm water and soap.
Disinfect With Your Dishwasher
Your dishwasher isn’t just a life saver when it comes to dirty dishes. There are a multitude of things that can be cleaned in your dishwasher.
For instance, if you’re staring at a pile of kids’ toys that have been licked, chewed, and generally given the plague, you can put them in your dishwasher.
They come out looking good as new and you can be sure all the bacteria has been killed. You can do the same with dog toys and many other items that are awkward or time consuming to clean.
Scrub Your Patio
Your patio gets battered during the winter. It sees all the bad weather and all the debris the environment can throw at it.
Patio has a long life expectancy but only if it’s taken care of. Clearing your patio will also ensure that you have safe passage through your private backyard.
The best way to clean a patio is to use a jet wash and make sure it clears between each slab to remove debris or any potential pests nesting there. Failing that, a bucket of cold water that includes disinfectant will do the job as well.
Re-paint
When more natural light enters the home, it’s easier to spot stains or chips in the paintwork.
Now is the perfect time to touch up your walls so your home looks fresh for the longer days. You may even decide that you want to change colors and paint the whole room.
Set some time aside to paint your room without having to rush. Make sure to cover your floors and furniture and quickly wipe away any paint that lands somewhere it shouldn’t.
Steam Clean Floors
Floors pick up the worst of the dirt, grime, and bacteria. If you have a lot of foot traffic in your home, it will be even more important to clean your floors.
Steam cleaning is a great way to deep clean your floors because it will kill any bacteria present and give you a good surface for using cleaning products.
A steam cleaner for hardwood floors is your best chance at cleaning your floors well after everything that’s been dragged into your home through the winter. Let your floor dry and then use your regular floor cleaning products on top.
Clean Tiles
Most people have tiles in their bathrooms and kitchens. They make life easy when there are spills because they can be wiped clean. However, it’s common for stains to stay and grout to blacken over time.
Fortunately, there are ways to fix this. When your grout discolors, use a white vinegar and baking soda mix. Scrub the grout with this paste until it returns to white. If this doesn’t work, it’s simple to regrout tiles to freshen them up.
Doorknobs and Handles
This is one that people often forget. Doorknobs and handles tend to become part of furniture and therefore are usually overlooked.
Think about how many times you touch a door handle during each day. Each member of the family passes on germs and bacteria to every door handle and if they remain uncleaned, the bacteria stays.
All you need to clean these handles is a simple antibacterial wipe that will keep germs from spreading between family members. For stainless steel handles, use some olive oil to make them shine like new.
Toilets
Another cleaning job that no-one wants. And yet, it is essential. It’s no surprise that stains and bacteria can build in your toilets.
Although bleach products are great at killing bacteria, every so often, your toilet needs a deep clean.
Did you know that using Coca-Cola can help to remove stains from your toilet? Be sure to wear rubber gloves while cleaning so you can reach areas you normally wouldn’t. Thoroughly clean the outside and inside of your toilet for hygiene purposes.
If you’ve found this article helpful, take a look at the others. Happy cleaning!