A clean home is vital for both physical and mental health. Daily tidying up and regular cleaning helps keep dirt, dust, and allergens at bay. But over time, grime inevitably builds up in hard-to-reach spots. When simple cleaning no longer does the trick, it’s time for a deep clean.
What is Deep Cleaning?
Deep cleaning takes regular cleaning efforts to the next level. It tackles dirt and messes that have been building up over a long period. Deep cleaning aims to refresh the entire home by cleaning every surface, including those easily overlooked during regular tidying sessions.
Deep cleaning should take place about once or twice a year. It allows you to clean your entire home from top to bottom thoroughly. The goal is to eliminate germs and make the indoor environment as clean as possible.
During a deep clean, nothing gets overlooked. It involves meticulously cleaning everywhere in each room. You’ll wash walls, curtains, floors, furniture, and more. Even cleaning inside cupboards, under appliances, and on top of fans. Deep cleaning leaves no surface untouched.
Why Deep Clean Your Home?
There are many great reasons to do a thorough deep clean of your home once or twice a year:
1. Improves air quality
Deep cleaning eliminates dust, pet dander, mold spores, pollen, and other allergens that build up over time. By removing these irritants from your home’s air, deep cleaning improves overall air quality. This can provide relief for those suffering from allergies and asthma.
2. Kills germs
Deep cleaning destroys bacteria, viruses, and other germs that accumulate in your home. Disinfecting surfaces helps keep your home free of illness-causing germs. This helps protect your family’s health.
3. Prevents pests
Crumbs, spills, and other food debris can attract ants, cockroaches, and other unwanted pests. A deep clean removes these food sources and gives pests less incentive to enter your home.
4. Extends the lifespan of furnishings
Dirt and grime wear down your home’s walls, floors, and furnishings. The abrasive effects of earth can shorten the lifespan of paint, flooring, fabrics, and more. Deep cleaning protects your investments by keeping furnishings cleaner.
5. Boosts mood
A clean home simply feels better to live in. Eliminating clutter, dust, and mess improves your living environment. This can lift your spirits and relax your mind. A deep clean gives you a fresh start in a tidy home.
6. Easier regular cleaning
Once a deep clean resets your home’s level of cleanliness, it’s easier to maintain. Daily and weekly cleaning tasks won’t feel as daunting after a deep clean. A thorough, deep clean gives you a blank slate to upkeep with regular cleaning.
7. Allows you to declutter
When doing a deep clean, you can identify items around your home that are simply cluttered at this point. Too many knick-knacks on shelves, overflowing drawers, and crowded closets are common clutter problems. The process of deep cleaning gives you a chance to clear out things you no longer need.
8. Opportunity to organize
Along with decluttering, deep cleaning lets you better organize your belongings. For example, you can alphabetize spices, neatly stack books, and folders, use storage containers to corral clutter, and install organizational systems. Deep cleaning and organizing go hand in hand.
9. Chance to inspect your home
The meticulous process of deep cleaning requires you to examine every nook and cranny of your home. This gives you the opportunity to spot issues like mold, leaky pipes, cracks, peeling paint, and other maintenance needs. Catching these problems early can prevent bigger headaches down the road.
How to Deep Clean Your Home
Doing a proper deep clean takes time and energy. But the effort pays off in a healthier, cleaner home. Follow these steps for an effective whole-home deep clean:
Make a plan
Choose a timeframe, usually a few days to a week, for your deep clean. Make a list of all areas, rooms, and surfaces that need cleaning. Break tasks down room by room. Schedule blocks of time each day to tackle portions of your deep clean checklist.
Start at the top.
It’s best to work from top to bottom when deep cleaning. This prevents dust and dirt from re-settling on already cleaned lower surfaces. So begin high up by cleaning ceiling fans, then washing walls and windows. Finish the room by vacuuming and mopping the floors last.
Wash all fabrics
Launder any washable fabrics like curtains, throw blankets, pillow covers, and more. Use the highest heat settings appropriate for the fabrics. For non-washables, hire a service to deep clean carpets, upholstered furniture, drapes, and blinds.
Move furniture
Clean under and behind all furniture in each room. Vacuum underneath or mop hard-to-reach spots. Don’t forget to lift furniture pads to clean underneath them.
Clean appliances
Clean stove tops, ovens, refrigerators, and dishwashers inside and out. For laundry machines, run empty cycles on the highest heat settings with disinfectants: Descale kettles and coffee machines.
Dust everything
Dust ceiling corners, fans, window trim, door frames, and the tops of cabinets. Clean underneath and behind any freestanding cabinets or shelving units.
Disinfect surfaces
Disinfect doorknobs, light switches, remote controls, phone screens, and other frequently touched surfaces. Use anti-bacterial cleaners on kitchen counters, sinks, toilets, tubs and showers.
Finish floors
Vacuum and mop hard surface floors. Shampoo carpets and rugs or hire professional carpet cleaning. Don’t forget floor edges along baseboards and under appliances.
Clean windows
Wash interior and exterior window and door surfaces. Clean window screens and sills thoroughly. Use a ladder and long duster to reach exterior roof overhang areas.
Freshen air
Replace air filters in heating/cooling systems. Light candles or use essential oils to give cleaned rooms a fresh scent. Open windows on nice days.
Detail spaces
Clean inside cabinets, closets, and drawers. Organize and remove clutter where possible. Dust shelving, clean mirrors, and wipe down built-in storage.
Clean electronics
TV screens, computer monitors, tablets, phones, and other electronics accumulate dust and fingerprints. Microfiber cloths safely remove smudges and dust from your electronics without chemicals.
Scrub walls
Grease, dirt, and grime collect on walls around light switches, behind doors, and near vents. Scrub walls with an all-purpose cleaner and stiff brush. Rinse and let dry.
Shampoo upholstery
Fabric furniture and mattresses collect dust, dirt, dead skin, and oils over time. Rent an upholstery cleaner to deep clean cushions, chairs, and sofas.
Hire Professional Deep Cleaning Services
If tackling a whole home deep clean seems too daunting, consider hiring professionals. Many cleaning companies, like Chloe’s Cleaning Company, offer comprehensive services. Professional cleaners bring their industrial-strength tools and eco-friendly cleaning solutions. They know how to clean hard-to-reach spots to remove built-up grime you may miss.
Professional deep cleaning services cost more than regular home cleaning. The extensive work required makes these specialty services more expensive. But the intensive scrubbing by experienced cleaners can be worth paying for. Hiring professional deep cleaning ensures your home gets a proper, thorough cleaning everywhere. The pros have the expertise and tools to handle the big job of deep cleaning effectively.
Enjoy a Fresh Start in a Deep Cleaned Home
Nothing feels better than moving through a freshly deep-cleaned home. When dirt, clutter, and mess are eliminated, the difference is clear. A successful deep clean leaves your home looking and feeling renewed. Your home becomes a healthier living environment with revived indoor air quality and disinfected surfaces. Fewer dust bunnies and less grime make daily cleaning more manageable in the future. A deep clean allows you to start fresh with a more spotless space.