10 Spring Cleaning Top Tips – Including our Free Downloadable Checklist!
Spring is a season of change. With longer days, warmer air and plenty more sunshine than we’ve had in recent months, spring is the time of year when many of us don our rubber gloves and invigorate our homes! However, spring cleaning can feel like a daunting task: with every room in the house to tackle and make new, it can be hard to know where to begin. Here’s our top tips for performing a thorough spring clean in your home this year…
You will need
- All-purpose cleaner
- Flass cleaners
- Tile/grout cleaner
- Toilet cleaner
- Oven cleaner
- Polish
- Micofibre cloths
- Mop
- Rubber gloves
- Bin liners
- Vacuum cleaner
- Your MOLLY MAID Spring Cleaning Checklist! (click to download)
Our top ten tips
- Start at the top: Spring cleaning requires some strategic thinking. Make yourself a plan, tackle rooms one at a time, and start in the highest place in the house. This is a great idea as it means you won’t traipse dirt and dust through clean rooms as you move furniture, dispose of items and take rubbish outside.
- Work logically: Start by tidying, then dust surfaces (as particles will inevitably move onto the floor), clean everything using hot water and suitable products, and finally vacuum. We recommend starting in the top left hand corner of the room, working your way down to the bottom right hand corner so that you can be sure you’ve not missed a spot.
- Move the furniture: Move furniture into the centre of the room so you can clean behind and underneath objects that normally conceal dirt and dust. It feels satisfying to know there’s not a speck of muck hiding anywhere!
- Perform a wipe down: Vacuum the walls to remove dust and cobwebs, then wipe them down with a clean, damp cloth to remove muck, stains and fingerprints. Clean kitchen and bathroom grouting using a solution of baking soda, vinegar and water. Work the paste in to the grout and scrub it using a toothbrush. Soak a microfibre cloth in hot water, wring it out and wipe down surfaces that are usually ignored, such as skirting boards, door fronts, windowsills and trims. Mop the floors too, using a steam cleaner to remove stubborn dirt.
- Tackle kitchen appliances: Give the oven a thorough scrub (removing racks and leaving them to soak in hot soapy water first). Run the microwave with a mug filled with water and half a lemon: it will loosen up splashes and eliminate odours. Remove the turntable and clean it, and then empty the crumb tray in the toaster oven. Run the dishwasher empty with distilled white vinegar to remove lime scale, and wipe down the interior with a cloth and warm water. Clean the cooker’s extractor hood, and empty out the fridge before giving it a thorough clean too.
- Empty the kitchen and bathroom cupboards: Begin by vacuuming and wiping down the tops and undersides of the cupboards first. Then, remove the contents and clean the cupboards thoroughly with hot water and cleaning products, not forgetting to clean the cupboard fronts and handles too.
- Blitz the bookshelf: De-clutter your shelves, surfaces and bookshelves and donate unwanted items to charity. Then, once items are removed, thoroughly clean the surfaces before rearranging your books, artwork and photos back into place.
- Air rugs and bed linen: Take your rugs outside and beat them to extract the dust and debris. Do the same with bed linen if it’s not suitable for the washing machine, such as wool blankets. You should also flip the mattress, swapping the head and foot end to maintain the mattress’s shape, and remember that most duvets and pillows can be gently washed in a machine and slowly tumble dried.
- Wash the curtains and cushions, and deep clean the carpets: Remove your curtains from the windows and wash them in the machine (or send them to the dry cleaners) and wash your cushions covers gently too. Now’s also the time to deep clean your carpets, calling on the services of professionals if you have pets or stubborn stains.
- Unblock the drains. Finally, empty clogged up drains using a boiling hot water and baking soda and vinegar. Cover the drain to keep the reaction happening below the surface, and then flush it through with boiling hot water again.
Once you’ve worked your way through these ten steps, your home will be glistening from top to bottom! All that’s left to do is enjoy your beautiful clean home by throwing open the windows and welcoming the spring sunshine.
