Sunday, April 28, 2024

Ultimate Cleaning Cheat Sheet: A Step-by-Step Checklist for Your Home

clean of house

They need time to dissolve grime or cut through hard water stains. Some cleaners, especially disinfectants, have specific “contact times,” which means the cleaner has to stay on the surface for that amount of time to work effectively. Wirecutter, a New York Times company, has spent hours testing cleaning products and you’ll see I reference them when they’ve reviewed products I recommend. You don’t have to be a Michelin star chef to know that the kitchen can be prone to a wildly complex mess. Even if you aren’t cooking every day (here’s to looking at you, takeout) there are still tasks you have to stay on top of.

Dust

We're using one of the oldest methods in the book—a cleaning checklist—to show you how to get the job done without getting overwhelmed. There comes a point in a home where every room needs more than a quick cleaning to remove visible dust, dirt, and clutter. You can call it deep cleaning, spring cleaning, or "company's coming" cleaning—whatever the name, it should be done at least yearly. Using a general cleaning list like the one above will help keep your home cleaner longer and make thorough cleaning that much easier. When you want to give your home a top-to-bottom clean, tackling one room at a time makes the job more manageable. You can use this checklist for cleaning the house by breaking down the whole job into smaller chores.

How to clean a living room

clean of house

This will also discourage insects from feasting on the leftovers left on the counter. Part restaurant, part entertainment center, and part family room, it’s ground zero for the most troublesome spots in the home. Practically every surface is a magnet for bacteria, viruses, germs, insects, and other pests. Spray down patios, decks, porches, lawn furniture, playground equipment — and any other large item or space you have outside your home.

Clean Upholstered, Leather, and Wood Furniture

“Floor mopping can be more of a soil-spreading tool than a cleaning tool,” Rathey says. Unfortunately, the way the pros clean floors, according to Rathey—applying a clean solution, then vacuuming off the dirt in suspension—may be out of your reach. Instead, always sweep or vacuum to get as much debris off the floor as possible before you start mopping, and change your mopping solution frequently. If you use a disposable system, such as a Swiffer, change the pad frequently. Today’s spill is tomorrow’s stain, so jump on those stray globs of spaghetti sauce in the microwave or on the counter right away.

You might need to use a steel wool pad to scrub your oven and stove grates if gunk is really stuck on them. Finally, if you have them, be sure to wipe all stainless steel appliances in smooth vertical strokes for the shiniest finish. Tai Massimilian is the Marketing and Creative Director at Texas's premier luxury housekeeping company, Highland Park Housekeeping.

Additional House Cleaning Services

As you’re performing a house deep cleaning, don’t overlook the garage. Chances are it needs some TLC to remove dirt and debris, vehicle fluid stains, and other messes. There are several key steps to take when deep cleaning the living room. Whether relaxing, watching television, or chatting with friends or family, we typically spend a lot of time in the living room and want to keep it a clean and enjoyable space. After every load of laundry, it’s a good idea to leave the washing machine door open to let it air out and prevent mold from growing inside.

What is the most effective way to clean your house?

Clean like you mean it: the ultimate guide to spring cleaning your home - The Guardian

Clean like you mean it: the ultimate guide to spring cleaning your home.

Posted: Sun, 21 Apr 2024 13:00:57 GMT [source]

That will make scrubbing that much easier when you circle back to it later on. When you just can’t seem to find the source of that kitchen smell, check the garbage disposal. Food, foul-smelling bacteria and even mold can collect in the disposal and on the rubber splash guard (aka the baffle). “Run ice chips through the disposal periodically,” says Alan Soukup, plumber and owner of Bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas. You can do this as often as you want, even every day, to clean the impeller (the part that pulverizes your food) and the sides of your disposal. The ice chips scrub and scour otherwise hard-to-clean areas inside the disposal.

New clients of the company receive exclusive initial cleaning services such as the washing of baseboards and ceiling fans, interior oven cleaning, and bathroom mold and mineral removal. In addition to regular house cleaning, clients may also opt for supplementary cleaning services for laundry, dishes, closets, and pantries. It’s a popular tip, but one that pretty much all professional cleaners follow to avoid wasting time. When deep cleaning your house, experts strongly advise working from top to bottom, rather than starting lower and then going higher.

How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom

But it can be hard to know where to start when there's an entire home that needs a deep clean. Lucky for you, CNET has spent years consulting experts and writing up neat hacks and guides for how best to clean and organize every area of your home, from the bathroom and kitchen to your appliances and car. To make things even easier, we've compiled the stories into an ultimate cleaning checklist. Not only is the kitchen the most-used room in the home that needs to be cleaned on average twice a week, but it’s also the room with the biggest variety of surfaces, which makes it tricky, says Winch.

For this piece, Ally Childress tapped her experience as a licensed electrician and seasoned home and cleaning journalist. Then cleaning expert Ann Russell, author of How to Clean Everything, gave it a rigorous review to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. For this piece, we relied on reputable primary sources, including cleaning and health experts and reputable government agencies.

If you’ll be using any chemical cleaners, you’ll want to wear gloves to protect your hands. Even if you’re using natural cleaners, gloves will help keep your hands clean. These Playtex Living Reusable Rubber Cleaning Gloves and other similar styles will offer greater durability compared to thinner latex gloves for cleaning. If things have gotten a little cluttered, neatly line up cleaning supplies, so you can more easily see and access the items you need.

It's more effective and efficient than cleaning each slat individually. Do you ever reach for an old, wrinkly sponge under the sink, only to think twice about using it? The last thing you want to do is transfer bathroom germs to other parts of your house. Cleaning experts and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend color-coding sponges, microfiber cloths and scrubbers to serve as a visual cue of what areas they can clean. Assign one color for the bathroom, another for the kitchen and a third for general dusting. Plain white vinegar is a favorite of cleaning expert Alicia Sokolowski, president and co-CEO of AspenClean eco-conscious cleaning products.

When you put food back, be sure to check expiration date, and toss anything that’s past its prime. Don’t forget to wipe down the fronts of the fridge and freezer, paying close attention to disinfecting the door handles. Our bedrooms provide a dedicated space for us to relax and catch some z’s each night, but they're often the first room to take the brunt of our sloppiness. You might think of bedroom clutter as  “out of sight, out of mind” but having an unorganized bedroom can make the space feel less zen and more stressful.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The best coffee shops in Los Angeles Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content Outstanding Coffee Bars in Los Angeles Eater LA main menu Dinah’s Will Be Reborn in Culver City After 64 Years in Westchest...