Spring clean your home — in a DAY
It’s a dying art. But with these ingeniously simple tips from TV’s cleaning guru AGGIE MACKENZIE, you can have the whole house gleaming in no time!
While there’s nothing so joyful as spring sunshine streaming in through your windows, it can make a home look, well, just a bit grubby, with every fingerprint and mark suddenly depressingly obvious.
Once, women across Britain would have spent the first mild, sunny fortnight each year fighting back — turning their houses upside down and cleaning from top to bottom so everything was perfect for a family easter.
But with more women in full-time work and our busy modern lives leaving less and less time for household maintenance, the annual spring clean has all but vanished.
And now we’re paying the price. This month, english heritage warned that all our homes — ours, as well as their historic ones — are falling prey to infestations of moths as a result of slipping cleaning standards.
Several species of common clothes moths are involved — and it’s not just garments they are damaging but carpets, curtains and other soft furnishings.
The moths are both small — only 5-8 mm long — and voracious. Typically, they shun light and hide in dark areas and crevices, such as underneath beds, around skirting boards and in cupboards and drawers, laying batches of eggs on wool, fur, feathers and skins.
When the larvae hatch, they begin to eat the fibres in the material, causing bare patches in carpets and holes in clothes.
last year, english heritage caught 40 times as many moths in sticky traps at its historic properties as it did a decade ago.
Amber Xavier-Rowe, the charity’s head of collections conservation, said: ‘in every property, we tend to see the numbers rising. We suspect the problem is that we don’t clean like we used to in the old days.’
Well, nobody could spring clean like my mum, Joan. The two weeks in April that she devoted to the task were a whirlwind of activity for her, and purgatory for our dad Tommy, a blacksmith, my three sisters and me.
every bedstead was upended and scoured; rugs were beaten, pillows and blankets washed, curtains drycleaned, pelmets dusted and rooms given a fresh lick of paint.
The task was gargantuan, and Mum set about it with grim determination, sweeping about with her bristle broom and carpet beater. Back then, vacuum cleaners were practically unheard of, and only the fanciest homes had ewbank carpet sweepers.
By the end of the fortnight, every drawer in the house had been emptied, re-lined with wallpaper and its contents cleaned.
The frenzy infected every house in Rothiemurchus, in the Scottish highlands, where we lived. Nothing was wasted. Old clothes were torn into rags for cleaning or woven into rag rugs; old jumpers were painstakingly unravelled and the wool carefully preserved for later use.
it was a matter of honour to each housewife that her home was spick and span, and those who fell short were censured. But our home was literally spotless.
Of course, there was a practical reason for this. in the Fifties and Sixties, we relied on coal fires to heat our homes, which pumped out black dust all winter.
So at the first hint of sunshine, the spring clean began. We’d come home from school and find our bedroom furniture in the hallway and Mum furiously beating a mattress or rug.
We were all dragooned in to help, and my task was to ensure no speck of dust lurked in the crevices of our carved dining chairs or the corners of cupboards.
While a two-week spring clean is now out of the question for most families, i don’t believe we should abandon the annual ritual entirely.
And thanks to clever products — and some good old- fashioned household hints — you can achieve a startling amount in a single day.
i have a mantra: a home needs to be clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. So i’m passing on a valuable lesson from my Mum: you may not have two weeks, but once a year you could devote a day to giving your whole home a proper clean. i promise you can get it all done in that time.
That’s why i’ve teamed up with Femail to produce this invaluable guide, with top tips from other experts to help you plan your day and precisely what to do in every room. here’s my great Spring Cleaning guide . . .
TOP TOOLS TO TACKLE THE JOB
BeFORe you start, gather your cleaning materials in a bucket so they’re easy to transport. You need rubber gloves, microfibre and other cleaning cloths, a feather duster, multi-surface cleaner, floor cleaner, a pumice stone, clear vinegar,
bicarbonate of soda, bleach, paper towels, a lint roller, black bin bags, a toothbrush and a pair of old socks (for dusting blinds). With a mop and a vacuum cleaner handy, you’re ready to start.
AND BEFORE YOU GET STUCK IN …
Work from ‘top-to-bottom’. Start upstairs and work your way down. In each room, clean the ceiling and light fittings first with a feather duster, and vacuum carpets last. This way, any dirt you dislodge gets swept up later on.
open windows wide to allow fumes to escape.
enlIST some help. Get family members to clean the outside of windows and take duvets to the launderette.
9AM: LAUNDRY ROUND UP
STarT by gathering up everything to go in the washing machine. Bed linen, towels, mattress toppers, bath mats, cushion covers and cuddly toys can all be washed and then dried outside. Use lavender-fragranced detergent — the scent repels moths.
9.15AM: BLITZ BATHROOMS
TaCkle bathrooms first. You’ll be using the harshest chemical cleaners here, so it needs time to air after you’re finished.
Start in the medicine cabinet — you’ll be amazed at the out-of-date items lurking there! Take everything out, wipe the shelves and return only what you’ll use.
Spritz the sink, bath and shower with multi-purpose cleaner and leave to soak.
Dust and wipe walls, then clean the toilet. Spritz with multipurpose spray and wipe with a disposable cloth, doing the handle first and the seat last to prevent germs spreading.
Bin the used cloth, then squirt toilet cleaner around the bowl and leave to soak. next, wipe down all the surfaces you sprayed a few minutes ago. Scrub the shower head, taps and plugholes with a toothbrush, then rinse thoroughly. Buff shower doors and taps dry with a microfibre cloth or kitchen towel to remove water marks.
once you’ve rinsed off the cleaning spray, if tile grouting still looks grotty, mix 50:50 bleach and water, then brush it on with an old toothbrush. and if your taps are tarnished with limescale? Cover them with kitchen roll drenched in vinegar. leave a few hours, then rinse down. For enamel sinks, baths and loos, take a dampened pumice stone and rub, rub, rub the limescale ( the pumice won’t scratch the surface).
Clean mirrors and windows with a splash of clear vinegar and a clean microfibre cloth. Finally, scrub the toilet again and flush.
10.30AM: CONQUER PESKY MOTHS
STarT by decluttering and dusting the bedrooms, not forgetting the tops of doors and windows. Take down pictures and mirrors, clean with vinegar and re-hang. Get rid of any clothes you’ve not worn all year. Take them to a charity shop, or recycle if they’re tatty. Store winter clothes in space- saving vacuum bags. Then tackle moths. They’re a huge problem, and the best way to keep them away is to stay on top of cleaning. a dry duster is no use: try a just- damp cloth and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll pick up. If you have clothes moths, take out every piece of natural clothing, including cotton and linen, and wash or dry clean. Then vacuum every corner of cupboards, where moths lay their eggs. Do the mattress, too. empty the vacuum into your outside bin in case of lurking grubs.
Most pillows and duvets can be washed and tumble-dried. Check the labels first, and use a third of the usual amount of detergent to prevent a bubbly mess.
lastly vacuum thoroughly, moving furniture as you go. Then have a well-deserved lunch break.
1PM: WORK YOUR WAY DOWN STAIRS
YoUr break over, it’s time for the landing and stairs. Dust from top to bottom and wipe paintwork, doors and radiators. Tackle marks on walls with a damp microfibre cloth, sprinkling on baking powder to cut through stubborn grime.
Vacuum carpets, using the crevice attachment in corners.
If you don’t already ban shoes indoors, make it a rule now.
1.30PM: GET TOUGH ON LIVING AREAS
YoUr living room is probably the most heavily used room in the house, so give it extra attention. pull furniture away from the walls, and take rugs and sofa cushions outside to give them a good beating with a clean broom. Vacuum the underneath and tops of rugs, and leave them to air outside.
Wash the windows with warm water plus a drop of washing up liquid, and dry with a microfibre cloth. With the glass sparkling clean, dirt inside will be that bit more visible so prepare to be horrified. For general dustiness, use a damp, soapy terry cloth — old towels are ideal.
Clean fabric lampshades with a lint roller. Wipe ornaments and lamp bases with a damp cloth.
Vacuum chairs, sofas and curtains with the upholstery attachment. For Venetian blinds, rinse an old sock in warm soapy water, put it over your hand and run your fingers over the slats.
a damp white cloth can be used to scrub away marks on soft furnishings, but always test on an area that doesn’t show first.
Vacuum behind the furniture, then replace.
Unplug and dust the TV, then wipe with a tumble-dryer sheet to reduce static. This will stop the screen gathering dust again too quickly. Vacuum, mop hard floors, and break for a cup of tea!
3.30PM: COOK UP A KITCHEN SPARKLE
In The kitchen, dust may be welded on with a layer of cooking grease. Cut through it with a solution of warm water and washing soda, using up to a cup of soda per 500ml of warm water.
Then empty one shelf or cupboard at a time, working from top to bottom. Throw out any outof-date flour or nuts. Wipe shelves with a damp cloth, getting right into corners, and buff dry.
To clean the microwave, put two lemon slices and two teaspoons of vinegar in a bowl of water. Microwave for two minutes, then leave the door closed for 15 minutes.
Wipe smaller kitchen appliances with warm, soapy water, then wipe out and dry the microwave.
If your regular oven needs a deep clean, use a commercial oven cleaning product or coat the inside with a thick paste of baking soda and water. (Both methods need to be left overnight.)
To clean your dishwasher, use a special cleaning product or run it, empty, with a cup of clear vinegar in the soap drawer. now spritz the hob with multipurpose spray.
Unplug the fridge, empty the contents into a cool bag and wash the shelves in warm soapy water. Wipe the interior and door seals, then dry with a clean cloth.
pull out the fridge, vacuum the cooling elements (the coils) with the upholstery attachment, then wipe with a damp soapy cloth.
put an old, dry sock over a broom handle, secure with a rubber band, then use it to dust under the fridge. push the fridge back into position, refill and switch on.
Wipe kitchen surfaces and clean the cooker hood. Dry stainless steel surfaces with kitchen towel.
Clean your sink — including ceramic ones — with clear vinegar. Use a toothbrush to scrub taps.
run your washing machine, empty, on the hottest wash with a cup of clear vinegar in the drum. Wipe a cloth dipped in diluted bleach around the door seal.
5.30PM: ON TO THE FINAL STRAIGHT
DUST, wipe and vacuum your hallway, and clean your front door.
reward yourself with a takeaway and a well-deserved gin and tonic!