Tricks to deep cleaning
owner of the New York cleaning company Wizard of Homes, and inspect ceiling fans and light fixtures. “Most people don’t look up, so these are things that are missed all the time.”
Ceiling fans are often covered with a thick layer of dust and require a two-step cleaning process: First, remove all the dust you can with a damp cloth, then use an all-purpose cleaning spray for a final polish. Suspended light fixtures can be treated the same way.
Cover furniture below with a bedsheet, Dulude advised, to catch falling debris.
Clean high-touch surfaces
During the coronavirus pandemic, most of us have learned to be wary of high-touch surfaces in public. But high-touch surfaces at home — doorknobs, light switches, cabinet and appliance pulls, faucet handles — can also be problematic, as they tend to collect grime, or what Modaressi called “biofilms.”
We touch these surfaces multiple times a day, she said, but “these things are rarely wiped down or cleaned.”
Wipe them with a cloth and an all-purpose cleaner, she advised, and polish until they look new again.
Address picture frames and windows
Left undisturbed for months or even years, the framed art and photos hanging on your walls can get downright furry with dust. During a deep cleaning, take the time to clean the frames and glass properly.
Dulude suggested following the same two-step process she uses for ceiling fans to clean picture frames: Wipe the dust away first, then use a cleaner. For the glass, finish with a glass cleaner like Windex or white vinegar.
Clean windows the same way. Many people don’t realize it, Dulude said, but most doublehung windows have sashes with clips at the top that allow them to be tilted in, so the inside and outside can be cleaned.
Finally, clean windowsills with a cloth and soap and water. And “if it’s really bad,” she said, “use a scrubbing brush.”
Give bathrooms extra attention
Most people clean bathtubs, showers and toilets as part of their routine housekeeping, but some parts of the bathroom are frequently missed.
Drains, for instance, are typically ignored until a clog or odor requires attention. To avoid that, clean them before they become problematic.
“When you open up the drain, there is usually some nasty stuff inside, because hair does get through, and it gets dirty, moldy and stinky,” Dulude said.
To take care of it, put on gloves and pull out the gunk, perhaps using the end of a wire clothes hanger. “Then pour a few spoons of baking soda and vinegar in, and let it bubble up,” she said. “Later, drain it with hot water.”
The areas where tiled walls meet bathtubs and shower enclosures can be breeding grounds for mold and mildew. To clean those areas, Fierman recommended using a specialty tile-and-grout cleaner like Tilex.
Apply the cleaner, let it sit for a while and then scrub with an old toothbrush or other soft brush, she said.
After scrubbing, rinse well and consider resealing the grout if it has been more than six months since it was last sealed,
Fierman said.
Degrease the kitchen
Cleaning the kitchen is always a lot of work — but that is especially true when you’re cooking more meals at home.
Look for spattered grease above, below and beside the stovetop, and scrub it away with soap and water or degreaser.
Dulude also recommended inspecting areas you normally don’t see, like the top of upper kitchen cabinets. “You don’t think about it, but they collect gunk,” she said, offering a trick of the trade: Once the upper cabinets are clean, put down a layer of paper towels that won’t be visible from below but will make cleanup easier next time.
Wipe the front of cabinets with soap and water, she said, then unload them and clean the insides too. Toss any expired food from the pantry while you’re at it, before putting things back.
A thorough cleaning of the inside of the refrigerator should also be on your to-do list, Fierman said.
Finish with the floors
Once higher surfaces are sparkling, clean the floors. Hard floors like wood, ceramic and stone should be vacuumed and then mopped, Fierman said. And if you have hardwood floors, the mop “should not be anything more than damp,” she said, because too much water can damage the wood.
For hardwood, Fierman uses Bona floor cleaner or a mix of equal parts white vinegar and water. She recommended tying a cloth around the end of the mop, rather than using the mop head itself, so it can be replaced with fresh rags as cleaning progresses: “We don’t like to use the same surface over and over because we don’t want to just push the dirt around.”
If your carpets are looking a bit grungy, and perhaps even smelly, Jon Gholian, founder of the New York cleaning company Cleany, suggested sprinkling baking soda over the surface before vacuuming.
“Let it sit for half an hour,” he said. “Then go over it with your vacuum. That will take out a lot of the buildup and leave your carpet smelling great.”
Once you’re finished (and exhausted), try to maintain the new feeling of cleanliness with more frequent, lighter cleanings. That way, you can avoid having to do it all again for as long as possible.