Spring cleaning. Should it be exactly that? Is giving our homes the once over from top to bottom every spring, enough, or should we be doing it more often than that?
It depends. If spring cleaning to you, means that your home only gets cleaned once a year, and that the entire place is left to gather dust, dirt and grime for the rest of the year, then a spring clean would end up as a Herculean task that could take weeks. If that’s the way you like it, then fine, but for most of us, we wouldn’t be able to live in a home that only gets cleaned once a year. That doesn’t mean to say that we want to spend all our time cleaning, but we prefer to stay on top of things so that spring cleaning doesn’t take too much time out of our busy schedules.
A spring clean, in my opinion, should be a session that involves cleaning items that don’t need to be cleaned regularly, but which benefit from a little cleaning once, or maybe twice, a year. Look at our brief guide as to how often these items/areas of your home should ideally be cleaned:
- Sinks and faucets
These can get super grimy, super quickly, and if left without being cleaned for too long, dirt and germs can build up, which not only looks nasty, but can be harmful for your health as well. Try to clean them at least twice a week, paying attention to tougher stains such as toothpaste or lime deposits.
- Toilets
Nobody enjoys cleaning their toilet, but necessity demands that we do so at least once a week. The frequency may depend upon who has been using it!
- Windows
These can be cleaned as little or as often as you like, since dirty windows don’t affect our health or the environment, but trying to look through grubby windows can be frustrating, and sparkling windows will always look better than dirt streaked ones. Try to clean them weekly if you can (weather permitting) or at least once a month.
- Shower and/or bathtub
It can’t be denied that the more often you clean your shower and bathtub, the easier it is to keep clean, but realistically, this may not always be possible. So try to give both a thorough clean at least once a fortnight, and that should be often enough to prevent too much mildew and bacteria from growing.
- Furniture
Our furniture and upholstery often gets forgotten in our cleaning schedules, but it’s important to try and get them cleaned at least once every 6 months. It may be that you need to hire professional help to get the job done properly, but this is always worth the cost and helps keep most items looking hygienically clean and smelling fresher.
- Carpets
Renting a steam cleaner can be the most cost and time effective way of getting your carpets thoroughly clean, especially as dirt and bacteria can build up in the fibres without being visible to the naked eye, and a steam cleaner should eliminate all these. Do this as often as needed, but ideally at least once a year.
- Comforters/duvets and blankets
We rarely forget to wash our sheets on a regular basis, but our comforters, duvets and blankets often get overlooked. This can be because they are bulky items that may not even fit in our machines, so getting them professionally cleaned may be the answer. But to avoid the build-up of germs and bacteria, and to keep them smelling fresh, they should be washed at least every 4 months.