Where to start when deep cleaning your house?

The thought of deep cleaning can feel daunting. However, the good news is that deep cleaning isn’t as time-intensive as it initially sounds, and once you know what things you need to focus on and have an action plan, it’s quite an easy way to keep your house clean, tidy and clutter free - and can even help cut down on your daily cleaning tasks.

What Is Deep Cleaning?

Deep cleaning is a much more thorough approach to cleaning your home. While daily cleaning focuses more on maintaining cleanliness and keeping everything tidy, deep cleaning is about helping to prevent the build-up of dirt and bacteria in areas of your home that you don’t necessarily think of, such as your windows, door handles, and skirting boards.

What Areas Should Be Deep Cleaned?

If you’ve never done any deep cleaning in your home before, it can be a bit overwhelming knowing where to begin, so here are some areas deep cleaning focuses on.

Windows and Mirrors

Windows and mirrors attract dirt, dust, and other debris quite quickly. However, they’re not things that necessarily need to be cleaned every day, or even weekly. Your monthly cleaning tasks are typically considered deep cleaning, and this is a great time to tackle windows and mirrors.

The only exception to this is bathroom mirrors. They generally endure a bit more and require more frequent cleaning - especially if they’re near the sink and susceptible to toothpaste splashes and steam.

To clean windows and mirrors, it’s best to use a good window cleaner to remove dirt and grime, then use a squeegee to remove excess water, and dry with a lint-free cloth.

The Fridge

Fridges are an essential part of homes today, and should be kept clean and tidy to ensure that food is kept safe and that harmful bacteria aren’t able to grow.

That being said, although your fridge should always be kept clean and organised, it’s unnecessary to clean it thoroughly. It should be sorted out once per week and given a quick wipe down - many people prefer to do this when putting away their weekly shopping as it’s the time when they’re organising things anyway, and the fridge has fewer things inside.

However, deep cleaning your fridge at least once per month is something to consider to keep it in good shape and performing at its best.

To deep clean your fridge, a good, non-toxic cleaning solution can be made at home using baking soda, scented cleaner and vinegar. Baking soda helps eliminate odours, which can linger in fridges, especially from stronger food items such as meat and dairy products.   

Vinegar is an all-round excellent cleaner that removes bacteria and restores shine, while lemon juice gives a nice balanced scent that isn’t overpowering like synthetic cleaning products, you don’t necessarily want around your food.

Before starting, you should remove all food and containers, and then you can move on to cleaning the shelves, drawers and bins with your baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice solution.

Rinse with water and dry thoroughly before adding any product to the fridge.

Skirting Boards

Skirting boards are easily neglected from cleaning because they’re not likely to be something you think about daily. However, clean skirting boards make a difference to how a room looks, and on a practical level, they protect your floors, so it’s just as important to look after these as anything else in the house.

Although it seems awkward to clean, nowadays, it’s very easy to keep them clean and dust-free by using one of the smaller attachments on your vacuum, but a duster or even a lint-free, slightly damp cloth will do the job just fine.

Another great way to freshen up your skirting boards is to apply a new layer of gloss. You can do this every few years, but it makes a big difference and brightens the room.

Where to Start With Deep Cleaning

Deep cleaning is just like any other job you need to do in your home, and once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll find what works best for you. The truth is, when it comes to cleaning, there’s no right or wrong way.

Much of it will depend on the size of your family, how many rooms there are, and how much time you have.

It’s always a good idea to have a plan in place, and know that certain things need to be done each day, week, and month, so this will help you schedule them.

Don’t worry if it’s not perfect or you’re having trouble fitting everything in - these things take time, and you’ll soon figure out what works for you.

Deep cleaning is an easy way to keep your home clean, tidy, and clutter-free - and can help reduce your daily cleaning tasks.

We hope that this post was helpful in giving you a better understanding of what deep cleaning is, and how to get started with it.