When you hear deep cleaning, what does that really mean? You are debating whether it is worth bringing in a professional house cleaning service to do the deep cleaning, but what are you paying for? What does deep cleaning your house entail?
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Defining the Deep Clean
Deep cleaning goes deeper than your regular house cleaning chores, such as vacuuming and dusting, and gets into all the little spaces of your home to guarantee that your whole house is sparkling and clean. This can help rid your home of allergens, dirt, and grime that you may not have even realized were lurking deep in the nooks and crannies of your home.
How Often Should Your Home Be Deep Cleaned?
Most people keep up with their standard house cleaning through weekly cleaning or cleaning as they go. Your home should be well-maintained as long as you keep up with this. Therefore, deep cleaning can be kept seasonal or for special occasions, such as spring cleaning, when moving, or before hosting a big event. While regular cleaning of your home can be done relatively quickly, especially if you stay current with your daily chores, deep cleaning can take several hours, if not an entire day.
What Should Be Done Before Deep Cleaning Your House?
Before tackling a deep cleaning of your home, some steps need to be taken. First, look around your house and clear away any clutter. Next, pick up items collected on your counters, tabletops, floors, furniture, or any other place and put them in their correct places.
Next, set up a game plan. Decide which rooms you will tackle and in which order. When doing a deep cleaning, you may want to break it up over a couple of days. For example, you may do the bathroom and kitchen one day and the bedroom and living room on another day. If you have limited hours or a larger house, this may be the best plan.
Finally, take stock of your supplies to tackle the deep cleaning. Having all your supplies on hand before you start will keep you from having to stop when you are cleaning to run out and get necessary house cleaning items.
What Products Do You Need to Deep Clean Your Home?
Having the right items for the job is always essential, and deep cleaning is no different. While your items may vary, depending on which room you are in and which items you are cleaning, for the most part.
Here is a list of what you will need:
- Baking soda
- Broom
- Brush with stiff bristles
- Dish soap
- Dusting cloths (recommendation: microfiber)
- Window and glass cleaner
- Gloves (protect your hands)
- Lint roller
- Mineral oil
- Mop
- Multipurpose cleaner
- Sponges
- Telescoping pole
- Vacuum with extension accessories
- White vinegar
- Wood cleaner and/or polish
What Rooms Need a Deep Clean?
When we discuss deep cleaning, we are talking about the entire house, but certain rooms require more focus than others. For example, high-traffic areas, such as hallways, foyers, living rooms, and family rooms, will need less time since they get more focus during daily and weekly pick-ups and their deep-cleaning requirements require less elbow grease. Also, without water or food sources, their dirt is less of a deeply soiled grime.
- Kitchen
- Bathrooms
- Common areas
- Bedrooms
Deep Cleaning a Kitchen
A kitchen deep cleaning is a lengthy process but a worthy endeavor. Taking it step-by-step will make this task seem less overwhelming.
In your kitchen you’ll want to focus on cleaning:
- Cabinets
- The refrigerator and freezer
- Kitchen sponges
- Oven
- Microwave
- Sink
- Pantry
- Counters
Cleaning your Cabinets
With a damp rag, wipe down any dust on the inside and outside of each cabinet door and the sides and tops. You can utilize undiluted white vinegar if you come across any grease splatter. Dip your rag into the vinegar to wipe off the splatter, and then rinse the dish rag in warm water to wipe off all of the vinegar.
Cleaning Refrigerator coils and vent
Using your vacuum, attach the hose or brush extension and remove all the collected grime from the fridge coil and vent.
Refrigerator and Freezer Cleaning
Remove all food from both the refrigerator and freezer. Wipe down all shelves, inside walls, and drawers. Remember to work from the top and move your way down.
Before putting your food back, check everything for expiration date and freshness and dispose of anything past its prime. Remember to wipe down the front of the fridge and freezer and disinfect the handles.
Cleaning your Sponges
You may disinfect your sponges by putting them in the microwave or soaking them in a bleach solution, but they are still germ magnets. When doing a kitchen deep cleaning, go ahead and throw them out and get fresh ones. Tip: reusable silicone scrubbers are easier to disinfect and can last longer
Oven Cleaning
If your oven doesn’t have a self-cleaning function or you would instead do it on your own, you can make a DIY cleaner:
Directions for DIY Oven Cleaner:
- 5 tablespoons baking soda
- 5 drops of dish soap
- 4 tablespoons of vinegar
Mix ingredients into a paste and slather it onto the worst spots in your oven. Once it has remained in place for a few minutes, you can scrub it with a sponge or non-abrasive brush. If you have extra-stubborn grease stains, take a half lemon, place a few drops of dish soap on it, and rub on the problematic areas. You will then be able to scrub or wipe it clean.
Cleaning the Inside of your Microwave
Mix a tablespoon of vinegar in a cup of water and put it in the microwave on high for five minutes. The vapor of this solution will coat all of the food debris within your microwave and make it a cinch to wipe away
Deep Cleaning your Sink
The sink is notorious for being filled with germs. Wash the basin with a disinfectant.
Cleaning your Pantry
Your pantry may need a mild sprucing or a significant overhaul when doing your kitchen deep cleaning. Remove everything from the shelves. Wipe off the shelves and before replacing items, go through them and remove anything expired and discard. Decide on an organizational system and replace your items.
Countertops Need Deep Cleaning
Take every item off of your counters. Utilize a disinfectant spray or cleaning wipes to get into every corner and wipe it all down. Don’t forget your backsplash!
Look around your sparkling kitchen and pat yourself on your back for doing such an amazing job on your kitchen deep cleaning!
How Do You Deep Clean a Bathroom?
Bathrooms, while generally cleaned on at least a weekly basis, need a deep cleaning for hygienic reasons. Therefore, you want to focus on this when doing a household deep clean. It is important to remember to clean from top to bottom.
Step-by-step instructions for deep cleaning your bathroom:
Showers, bathtubs, sinks, and toilets
When first starting your bathroom clean, spray your tub with a multipurpose cleaner so it will have the most time to soak into the grime and break it up. Do the same with the toilet bowl and the sink, and then move on to the next step. After you’ve completed the rest of the chores, come back and scrub these items until they shine.
Light fixtures, mirrors, and window treatments
When wiping down light fixtures and window treatments, ensure that you carefully clean out any debris that might have worked itself into corners and around edges. Add vinegar to a damp rag to clean out any built-up grime. Next, use a glass cleaner to wipe the mirror.
Glass shower doors
If your bathroom has glass shower doors, apply warm distilled white vinegar, allowing it to sit for a half hour. If you find that the soap scum and water spots remain, reapply. You can also sprinkle baking soda on top and carefully scrub the spots. Another tip is to take a slightly damp dryer sheet to remove buildup.
Shower curtains, bathmats, cloth curtains
Once you have checked the care tags on each item, wash them. To avoid anything from wrinkling in the dryer, select the lowest heat setting and remove the items while they are still damp. Rehang them in the shower or bathroom and allow them to dry completely. If you have a plastic shower liner, wash it on cold and then hang it to dry, or simply replace it with a new one.
Under sinks, inside drawers, medicine cabinet
These areas become catch-alls and end up very cluttered. Remove everything from each space so that you can wipe out the areas. Before returning anything, review it for expiration dates and necessity. Deep cleaning is a terrific time to get rid of anything that has expired and remove anything from the bathroom that you don’t need. Then, organize the rest and return it to its proper place.
Grout
Don’t overlook the grout when deep cleaning. You do not have to buy a special grout cleaner. Instead, mixing vinegar, baking soda, and water can make a wonderful homemade one. First, spray the grout with a half-vinegar/half-water solution and make sure the area is saturated. Once it has remained for a few minutes, scrub it with your bristled brush (or old toothbrush) and rinse.
After doing this, mix baking soda with water until it has formed a paste and then apply it to your grout using your bristled brush, and spray it with your vinegar/water solution. You will see bubbles form – these bubbles will start to clear away some of the grime, and you will clear away the rest with your bristled brush. Once you’ve finished, rinse the grout with warm water.
Handles and doorknobs
When reviewing some of the germiest places in the homes, handles and doorknobs routinely come up as the highest sources. Make sure to thoroughly clean these with either a multipurpose cleaner or wipe down with disinfectant wipes.
Do You Deep Clean Living and Family Rooms?
Even though living rooms and family rooms do not require the same amount of attention that kitchens and bathrooms do, they still require a deep cleaning beyond the typical weekly or daily house cleaning maintenance that most homeowners do. This is the time to eliminate all those cobwebs in the corners of your ceilings! So, what does deep cleaning your common rooms entail?
Couches and chairs
Remove all cushions from couches and chairs and vacuum underneath. Make sure to use an attachment to get into all the grooves where crumbs or dust may have nestled.
Rugs and carpets
Shampoo your rugs and carpets or, at the very least, spot-clean any stains that might be present, utilizing a pet stain remover or a steam cleaner.
Wooden furniture
Remove all items from your wooden furniture and clean them with a dust rag. You can then clean it with a wood cleaner or furniture polish. If you find any scratches, you can fix them by taking a walnut and rubbing it along the scratch or by using a commercial stain pen.
Baseboards, window treatments, light fixtures, ceiling fans
You may need to employ either a telescoping pole or a vacuum cleaner extension to reach high ceilings and corners. First, remove your window treatments and launder them. Next, clean your windows with glass cleaner, remembering to wipe your windowsills. Finally, a lint roller on your lamp shades can work just as well as vacuuming!
Décor
Take each item, dust it, and replace it.
Electronics
Another of the germiest items in your home is the TV remote. You will want to wipe down the TV remote with disinfectant. Then dust the top of your TV, streaming devices, and other electronic equipment. Use a microfiber rag to clean screens, and remember to get the corners.
Once you have done your deep cleaning, make sure to maintain your hard work by spending a few minutes a day (or week) vacuuming or dusting to keep up the level of cleanliness!
Best Ways to Deep Clean a Bedroom
Bedrooms should not be overlooked when deep cleaning. If you are an allergy sufferer, keeping your bedroom clean and free of allergens is imperative.
When deep cleaning your bedroom, let’s look at what you should focus on:
- Bedding
- Mattress
- Window treatments, headboard, ceiling fan
- Furniture
Wash bedding
Wash all bedding, including mattress covers, bed skirts, duvet covers, and shams.
Flip mattress
If you have a pillow top, you will want to rotate it to prevent grooves from forming. You can also freshen your mattress by spreading some baking soda on it, allowing it to sit for 45 minutes to an hour, and then using a vacuum and vacuuming it up.
Clean all window treatments, headboard, and ceiling fan
Wash your window treatments and dust your headboard and ceiling fan.
Look behind and under furniture
Make sure to vacuum or mop behind and under all furniture. Remove everything off the top of each piece of furniture and dust. If your furniture is wood, use wood cleaner or polish.
It’s of utmost importance to have your bedroom deep cleaned at least twice a year to keep you safe and healthy.
Deep cleaning goes beyond your regular house cleaning and is more than an exercise in beautification. When you do your spring cleaning (or whenever you choose to do it!), you are choosing to create a healthier home! Often, it is more than a homeowner can tackle, in which case, call the professionals. Pure House Cleaning is a network of local, Seattle-area house cleaning professionals ready to help make your home sparkle with eco-friendly cleaning products and dedicated effort!