Cleaning your house can feel like an intimidating task, especially if you have to do it by yourself. To keep the process manageable, it’s always best to do some cleaning tasks every day by following a routine. Doing this helps you spot potential issues, such as water damage or pest infestation, before they take root and become a problem in your home.
However, not everybody has the time or energy to do some cleaning every day. In this case, you will have to settle with a big clean up to keep your home tidy. The trouble with big cleanups is that they can feel like a gargantuan task.
In this article, we will share six cleaning tips to make a big clean up more like a sprint than a marathon:
Declutter
Bring a bucket, box, or an appropriately sized container with you and do a sweep of your entire house. Pick up casually strewn items that need to be disposed of, such as loose paper, packaging materials, old magazines, or beer bottles. If you pick up any items that you still need, keep them in a separate container and stash them away in a cabinet, and go through them later after you are done cleaning.
Wipe surfaces with disinfectants
Some cleaners prefer to dust surfaces and disinfect later. However, you even can combine these tasks to streamline your cleaning by adding about a teaspoon of isopropyl alcohol to a bowl of water. For best results, use a microfiber cloth and dip it into your cleaning solution, but make sure to wring it so that there is no excess moisture.
After ensuring that all the electric fans have been turned off and unplugged, you can begin wiping the dust from surfaces, such as countertops, shelves, picture frames, and television screens. Make sure to pay special attention to high contact surfaces as well, such as doorknobs, remote controls, computer mice, and keyboards.
Replace your curtains and carpets
Since curtains and carpets tend to collect lots of dust, you should consider replacing them with fresh ones while doing a big clean up. This way, you can ensure that there are no cobwebs building up on your curtains, and your carpet is not getting gunked up with hair and dust buildup. If your carpet is not removable, using a solid vacuum cleaner will do the job as well.
Pay special attention to the kitchen area
While you can clean the majority of your house using the same steps above, you will need to put in more work towards keeping your kitchen spick and span. Your sink, in particular, is probably playing host to many potentially harmful bacteria.
If you don’t like the smell of bleach in your cooking space, you can coat the surface of your sink with baking soda, add some dish soap to your sponge, and scrub your kitchen sink’s surface. If you see any rust or grime buildup left after some heavy scrubbing, you can apply a generous amount of hydrogen peroxide on the stains and leave it for a few minutes before wiping it down.
Clean your toilet and bathroom thoroughly
Similar to your kitchen, the toilet and bathroom areas will require special work as well. Because you’ve done all your decluttering and dusting earlier, you should be able to work on disinfecting your surfaces right away. Spray everything from your walls, floor tiles, faucets, knobs, and tubs with water, and followed up by an all-purpose cleaning solution and let it sit. You can also spray grout cleaners on your wall and floor tiles. As for your toilet bowl, use your toilet cleaning solution of choice, and let it sit.
After a few minutes, you may start brushing and scrubbing your bathroom surfaces. To prevent slip and fall accidents, use a bath mat instead. After a thorough brushing, wash your surfaces away with clean water and mop the floors dry using a clean rag.
Remember to clean your cleaning tools
After a day’s work, your equipment will need some maintenance as well. You can soak your dirty rags and mop heads in a solution of soap and water for at least an hour before a thorough cycle in the washing machine. You should also make it a point to empty the contents of your vacuum cleaner after every deep cleaning session to keep it in good working condition.
Conclusion
Cleaning your home can be a chore, but it is a worthwhile task. Doing so will not only get rid of potential health hazards, but it can also minimize upkeep since you are able to spot issues that may result in expensive repair work as the house grows older. Should the cleaning process be too much of a chore for your schedule, you can always hire residential cleaning services to do the job for you.
Our professional house cleaning services in Oakville are always ready to cater to your needs. We handle both residential and commercial cleaning needs and can respond to requests in the general Toronto area. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!