Deep clean the house

How to tackle this important annual task

Whether you are moving to a new home, selling your old house, or just getting a virtuous feeling of accomplishment, now is the perfect time for deep, deep housecleaning. That means digging into your home’s nooks and crannies and getting rid of all the yuck. Sound overwhelming? Not when you follow this guide.

Dust

To successfully rid a room of dust, start at the top. Stand on your ladder and wipe hard-to-reach spots like light fixtures, fans, and cornices with a lightly dampened dustcloth. Clean exhaust vents with a soft brush — and swipe at any cobwebs on the ceiling while you’re up there. Move downward, paying attention to such details as blinds, moldings, chair rails, the back of furniture, and the top of picture frames. As your current cloth gets dirty, replace with a fresh one.

And don’t forget those infamous dust bunny hangouts — under the bed and on the refrigerator coils. Here a vacuum cleaner is your best dusting tool.

Grease

Getting greasy deposits off stovetop, cabinets, and other kitchen surfaces can be quite a challenge. You may need to try several products before you find the one that works for you. Begin with a mild cleanser — castile soap or Dawn dish liquid. Apply, let sit for 10 minutes, then scrub with a dish sponge, nylon scrubber, or melamine foam sponge. If this is not enough, move up to a spray-on degreaser. In a truly hardcore case, I once tackled kitchen cupboards used by a heavy smoker and deep-fry aficionado with oven cleaner. (Please test an inconspicuous area before trying this at home.)

To control grease buildup in future, clean your range hood filter once a month and follow Mom’s tried-and-true strategy: wipe down one cabinet front per night — or even one per week — to keep this task from spiraling out of control.

Pet hair

Whew! This is a tough one. Give yourself a head start by brushing your pet well, outdoors or at least out of your main living area. (A garage or unfinished basement is a good grooming spot).

Focus your cleaning on the place where pet hair tends to collect most — upholstered furnishings. Take it from me: unless you invest in a special pet-hair vacuum, vacuuming furniture does not do anything. At. All. However, two simple cleaning hacks — rubbing sofa and chairs with a used dryer sheet or a moist rubber glove — actually are helpful. IMHO, the dryer sheet works better and doesn’t gunk up a good rubber glove.

BE WARNED: These tricks just get the hair off the surface and onto the floor, whence you’ll have to vacuum it up, but at least vacuuming will actually have some effect at this point.

Limescale

Even if (like me) you don’t believe that white vinegar is the magic solution for all your cleaning problems, this acidic liquid does perform beautifully at some tasks, notably dissolving limescale. It’ll get glass and metal squeakily scale-free, including:

• your coffeemaker (soak, filled with a 1:1 water to vinegar solution)

• your faucets (wipe with full strength vinegar, then rinse)

• your showerhead (wrap in a vinegar-saturated cloth overnight)

CAUTION: Follow manufacturer’s directions when before using vinegar or other substance to clean appliances. Don’t use vinegar on stone tiles or countertops.

Mildew and mold

I hate to break the news, but for truly effective mildew and mold treatment, you have to find out — and resolve — what’s causing the problem in the first place. There are 3 common sources:

• leaks (of the plumbing or roof variety) • excessive humidity • house or basement flooding Once you’ve taken care of the underlying issue, you’re ready to clean the mold. Here’s the procedure recommended by FEMA: Wear protective gear — breathing protection, gloves, and goggles. Unfortunately, you’ll probably have to discard anything with moldy fabric or other porous material (carpets, upholstered items, books). Scrub hard surfaces with a non-ammonia detergent mixed with hot water, using a brush for rough material like brick or concrete. Then disinfect by applying a 10 percent bleach solution for 10 minutes. Rinse and allow to dry thoroughly.