A Simple Checklist For Deep Cleaning Your House At Your Own Pace
Even the tidiest of houses needs an occasional deep clean. Once a year it’s worth taking the extra time to clean and sanitize all the forgotten parts of your home. Deep cleans are also a great time to check safety measures and switch out filters and clean vents so your home is as efficient as possible. Unlike spring cleans, which are often done all at once and can be exhausting to work through, you can spread a deep clean out over several weeks, tackling one room at a time.
At Pro Housekeepers, we’re the cleaning experts and in order to help we’ve put together this simple guide to deep cleaning your house. Never miss a spot again with our handy checklists!
Getting Started
Deep cleaning your house doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. Using our checklists as a guide, come up with your own list for each room you want to tackle. Try to start in the room farthest from the front door and work out, and when you’re in a room, always clean from the ceiling to the floor. That way you’re not making more work for yourself by having to vacuum or sweep twice if your cleaning efforts generate more dust.
Pro Tip: Declutter along the way. The neater your home at the end of deep cleaning, the more you’ll want to keep it that way. Having a place for everything makes it easy to avoid your house being overtaken by your stuff.
Bedrooms
You’ll spend a third of your life asleep, so your bedroom should be as clean and comfortable as you can make it. Regular chores such as changing the linens and vacuuming are only part of the story. Complete these extra tasks once or twice a year to make the most of your bedroom.
Checklist
- Dust light fittings and fixtures, ceiling fans, and HVAC vents
- Wipe down pictures and paintings, baseboards, door frames and handles
- Wash walls and windows, including light switches
- Vacuum curtains and/or wipe down blinds
- Rotate the mattress and change bedding
- Wash comforters, blankets, and pillows
- Wipe down furniture and shelves
- Move furniture where possible to clean underneath, or use a long-handled vacuum attachment
- Deep clean carpet or vacuum thoroughly
Extend the life of your mattress and bedding by sprucing them up once or twice a year. Mattresses really do benefit from being rotated, and most pillows and comforters can be put in the washing machine or dryer to get them clean and fresh again.
Pro Tip: Remove dust and lint from window blinds using an old tube sock dipped in equal parts water and white vinegar. Just put the sock on your hand and run it over the blinds. You can use the same trick to clean any hard surfaces, including shelves and cabinets.
Bathrooms
Hygiene and safety are important factors when deep cleaning your house. Now’s the time to tackle dirt such as soap scum and shampoo residue that accumulates over the year. Treating these nuisance stains can prevent serious damage to your seals, grout and plumbing, as well as make your bathroom sparkling clean.
Checklist
- Dust light fittings, fixtures and vents
- Wipe down mirrors, shower doors, baseboards and door frames
- Wash walls and windows, including light switches
- Vacuum curtains and/or wipe down blinds
- Clean grout and seals, including shower door tracks
- Soak your showerhead
- Clean faucets, door and cupboard handles, and toilet roll holders
- Clean plugholes and pipes
- Wipe down furniture and shelves
- Scrub the toilet, including under the seat and cistern
- Discard any old or empty bottles and boxes, including expired medication
- Wash towels, bathmats, and washcloths
- Replace Loofahs and shower sponges
- Move furniture where possible to clean underneath, or use a long-handled vacuum attachment
- Clean and disinfect floor
You don’t need to use lots of abrasive or expensive chemicals and cleaning products to get your bathroom shining. Household items like baking soda and white vinegar make great cleaners for most purposes. You can also take this time to discard any expired products and medication, as well as remove empty bottles, old razors, and other trash that may have collected in your bathroom.
Pro Tip: If the seal around your shower or bath is discolored or cracked, this is a good time to change it. You can choose between silicone and latex caulk to replace the seal. Silicone will last longer but latex is easier to work with and clean up, so is the better choice for beginners. Even a novice can reseal a bath or shower in just a few hours.
Hallways and Stairs
These high-traffic areas often get overlooked beyond cursory vacuuming or dusting, so they can really benefit from an annual deep clean. Shoe scuff marks, grubby handprints, and tread wear on flooring can all be resolved with a little elbow grease.
Checklist
- Dust light fittings and fixtures and HVAC vents
- Wipe down pictures and paintings, baseboards, door frames and handles
- Wash walls and windows, including light switches
- Polish bannisters and handrails
- Vacuum or deep clean carpets
Oftentimes your hall is the first part of your house visitors see. You can brighten up a tired space by deep cleaning everything from the ceiling to the floor. Clean windows allow more sunlight to enter, and dusting your light fittings makes bulbs shine brighter.
Pro Tip: Get stubborn marks off your walls by scrubbing them with a tennis ball—really! The felt coat is very effective at removing stains, just rub the wall with the ball. You can also use a pencil eraser to remove scrapes and scuffs.
Living Room
Your living room is a place you want to enjoy being in, but soft furnishings can trap dust and allergens, making it difficult to relax. Wash cushions and pillows or toss them in the dryer to remove dust and dirt. Deep clean your furniture and move it around to ensure you vacuum or wash the entire floor for the cleanest, freshest results.
Checklist
- Dust light fittings and fixtures, ceiling fans, and HVAC vents
- Wipe down mirrors, picture frames, baseboards, door frames and handles
- Wash walls, windows, glass doors and light switches
- Clean sliding glass door tracks
- Vacuum curtains and/or wipe down blinds
- Wipe down furniture, shelves and TV remotes
- Move furniture where possible to clean underneath, or use a long-handled vacuum attachment
- Vacuum chairs and sofas
- Wash cushions and soft furnishings or refresh in the dryer
- Deep clean carpet or vacuum thoroughly
Ornaments can collect a lot of dust so if you have a large collection, it might be worth investing in a display case in order to keep them cleaner and limit the dusting you have to do. Once you have dusted, rub hard surfaces like bookshelves, blinds or baseboards with a dryer sheet to repel more dust from settling.
Pro Tip: If you’ve got stains on your carpet, you can iron them out. Spray the stain with a mixture of one part white vinegar to two parts water and cover with a damp cloth. Switch your iron to the “steam” setting and place on top of the cloth for about 30 seconds. The stain should lift right out.
Kitchen
Your kitchen is where you prepare your food, and you want it to be as clean as possible in order to avoid any nasty surprises. Deep cleaning your kitchen can be tricky with so many large appliances to sanitize, but the results are worth the effort. Removing built-up grease, dust and dirt will make your kitchen appliances more efficient and maybe even more cost-effective to run.
Checklist
- Dust light fittings and fixtures and HVAC vents
- Wipe down cupboard tops, baseboards, door frames and handles
- Install new shelf paper inside cupboards
- Wash walls, windows and light switches
- Vacuum curtains and/or wipe down blinds
- Clean grout and seals
- Clean plugholes, pipes, and garbage disposals
- Wipe down inside cupboards and on shelves
- Discard expired food, spices, and sauces
- Wash or replace hand towels, washcloths, and sponges
- Empty and clean refrigerator and defrost freezer
- Clean the cooling coils on your fridge
- Sanitize your dishwasher and washing machine
- Clean inside large appliances including your oven and microwave
- Change your cooker hood filter
- Clean inside cooking gadgets and small appliances like toasters
- Remove calcium deposits from kettles and coffee makers
- Wash and disinfect garbage cans
- Clean and disinfect floor
- Check smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries
During a deep clean is also the best time to check on your home’s safety devices. Test smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries, and check the expiration date or pressure gauge on your fire extinguisher. Also change out filters on your HVAC system, cooker hood, and fridge to keep them working as they should.
Pro Tip: Use ammonia to clean stove burners. Simply add a burner to a gallon freezer bag with a small amount of ammonia, seal and let the fumes go to work overnight. In the morning the burner should wipe clean. As an extra precaution leave the bags outside incase they leak.
Deep cleaning your house isn’t most people’s idea of fun, but the results can be immensely satisfying. From the joy of having a neat, tidy space where nothing is cluttered and everything is clean, to the freshness of a dust- and allergen-free environment, a deep clean can change how you experience and live in your home. Not to mention the money you can save when you repair damage from grease, soap and calcium buildups, and change or clean filters so your appliances and heating or cooling systems run as efficiently as possible.
Want the benefits but don’t have time to spend on a deep clean? Pro Housekeepers is here to help. We’re the cleaning experts, so whatever size of home you have, or however intensively you want it cleaned, we’ve got the cleaning Pros available to help. We even offer same-day appointments and we bring all our own supplies with us, so give us a call right now to book an effortless cleaning service.