Spring cleaning: how to clean your home

Major cleaning
Spring cleaning: This is how your apartment will be hygienically clean again

One of the most popular excuses we like to use to avoid cleaning is “I don’t have time”. Due to the ongoing Corona crisis, however, more and more people are withdrawing into domestic isolation and – if possible – working from home. However, there are also numerous employees who cannot work from home and have to fill their days elsewhere. So why not use the time and tackle the spring cleaning? The traditional large-scale cleaning is not only a sensible occupation, but an extremely effective method to get the apartment hygienically clean. In times of Covid-19, it is certainly not a wrong task. To make cleaning easier for you, you will find a helpful checklist for the most important steps below.

Why a cleaning schedule makes sense for spring cleaning

You should plan several hours for a thorough spring cleaning – even better would be a few days so that you can work through your cleaning plan systematically and step by step. If you work in a different room every day, you can divide up the work better and you won’t lose the desire to clean as quickly. Alternatively, you can divide the rooms among your family so that everyone has something to do and can take part in the spring cleaning. Either way, it always makes sense to create a plan of who should do what and when. Then you do not lose track and save yourself duplicate work steps. Before you get down to business, it makes sense to check your plaster supplies. These are the most important utensils:

Spring cleaning checklist: here’s how to go about it

1. Tidy up the apartment

Before you can even begin with the major cleaning, it is advisable to clear all areas that are to be cleaned – from the floor and shelves to tables and window sills. Take the opportunity and ask yourself for every item lying around whether you want to keep it. This gives you the opportunity to clear out, store, throw away or donate everything you no longer need as part of the spring cleaning: magazines, clothing, toys, paperwork, decorations, etc.

2. Clean the window

When the nights get shorter and the days longer, the first rays of sunshine reveal every dirty secret – especially on the windows and curtains. While the fabric curtains can be washed in the washing machine, the glass panels require a little more effort. Here you can either remove the dirt by hand with water, washing-up liquid and a rag, or you can use a window vacuum cleaner – for example from the brand Kärcher. The device effortlessly cleans the windows for you, leaving no streaks or drops.

3. Wipe the dust

After you have cleared all surfaces, you should remove coarse dust from them – otherwise all the dust will be distributed again on all surfaces immediately after cleaning. If you use a damp duster for dusting, the dirt will stick to it better. Alternatively, you can also use a Feather duster use, for example, to remove dust from the plants. Make sure to always remove the dust from top to bottom, otherwise the dust will trickle down onto the surfaces that have already been cleaned.

4. Vacuum the floor

Once you’ve followed the first three steps, it’s time for the floor: Carefully vacuum any floor covering, including any cracks, corners and ledges. Then all smooth floors (including laminate and tiles) are additionally wiped with a damp cloth – sensitive floors made of real wood can be cleaned with a special wood care product for parquet floors. You can then remove noticeable stains on the carpets with a Upholstery cleaner to edit. Or you can use one Steam cleaner, e.g. from Vileda.

5. Clean the furniture

Dusting the shelves is not the end of the story as there are still a variety of furniture to clean inside and out – such as tables and chairs, chests of drawers and wardrobes. Before you start cleaning, you should first clear out the furniture and, in the process, sort out everything that you no longer have to use. Then wipe the inventory with a damp cloth and let it dry well. You can also wash upholstery covers.

6. Clean the bathroom

Sooner or later it is also the bathroom’s turn – a place where germs and bacteria only sprout. Here, special attention is paid to the fittings and the toilet, but the shower and / or the bathtub must also be cleaned thoroughly. And the tiles. It is best to use an abrasive cleaner for stubborn areas, an all-purpose cleaner for the tiles (in combination with a Scrubber), one Limescale remover for limescale and a Mold remover against fungal spores. Then throw away the used rags.

7. Clean the kitchen

Last but not least, it’s the kitchen’s turn: First, clean all the cupboards, ideally on the outside and inside. To do this, you have to clear out all the groceries here as well – and then sort out everything that has expired for a long time, for example. Then clean all work surfaces and tiles, depending on the degree of soiling, with a normal all-purpose cleaner or a more aggressive cleaning agent, for example a degreaser. Then it is finally the turn of the last trouble spots, such as the refrigerator, the stove, the oven, the microwave and the extractor hood.

If you have followed all seven steps in a row, you can be very proud of yourself. The apartment should now be completely clean, mucked out and hygienically clean. In addition, after the spring cleaning you have some peace and quiet until the next major cleaning – at the latest in 2021. You can put your feet up until then, but the regular thorough cleaning must of course still be carried out.

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