Top Tips for Making the Most of Your Deep Cleaning

Is your household a clean environment? According to a survey from the American Cleaning Institute, it’s probably pretty tidy. The survey reveals that the average family spends about six to seven hours weekly on tasks such as sweeping, vacuuming, doing dishes, and folding laundry. And that’s not all: Post-pandemic, 85% of participants in another ACI survey said they were planning to preserve the same level of cleaning practices adopted at the start of the pandemic.

But that raises an important question: Are all those regular weekly cleanings enough? As it turns out, they do a great job of maintaining a baseline level of cleanliness. However, you need to engage in some occasional deep cleaning to round out the process.

Deep cleaning isn’t just scrubbing harder, though. It involves paying special attention to areas of your home that you tend to overlook during your routine cleanings. Often, these are hard-to-reach or “out of sight, out of mind” places that become collection spots for bacteria, dirt, dust, cobwebs, mold, and other unwanted debris, grime, and toxins. Over time, they harbor and hide lots of stuff you wouldn’t want in your house. Deep cleaning helps ensure you have the cleanest possible living spaces.

The Best Areas to Add to Your Deep Clean

At Jelmar, we recommend engaging in deep cleaning twice a year. For many homeowners, this means spring and fall. However, you can pick the cleaning cadence that works best for you. You can also feel free to increase your deep cleanings to once every season if you have a lot of pets, entertain plenty of guests, worry about air quality, or find it hard to clean on a regular basis.

Though you’ll absolutely want to focus on the typical areas of your home during your deep cleaning adventure (think bathroom, kitchen, and floors), you don’t want to overlook other key locations. Below are some that tend to get missed, even by pro deep cleaners:

Baseboards and Ceiling Fans: Anything that’s not at eye level ends up being ignored. Make no mistake, though: Dusty particles will find your baseboards, ceiling fans, and other nooks and crannies! Use CLR^® Everyday Clean with a paper towel or reusable cloth to carefully wipe off these surfaces, being especially careful with delicate ceiling fan blades.

Door Parts: Those door frames and handles get messy! This is another job for CLR^® Everyday Clean. One way to make sure you don’t miss any doors is to assign “door cleaning duty” to one person in your household. That way, you’ll know the task gets done from attic to basement.

Under Furnishings: Dust bunnies, pet toys, and odds and ends love to sneak their way under sofas and beds. If you can safely move furniture, you’ll be able to sweep or vacuum underneath more easily. Notice a stain? Treat it on the spot with CLR^® Stain-Free Carpet, Floor & Fabric cleaner.

Appliances: A deep clean is a great time to address build-up in appliances that don’t get much attention. For instance, remove your dishwasher filter and spray with CLR^® Active Clear. Then, wipe the filter with a sponge. To clean the rest of the dishwasher, pour a half-cup of Calcium, Lime, & Rust Remover in the bottom of your empty dishwasher and then run a normal cycle. Rinse the dishwasher out by running another normal cycle. For your washing machine, wipe down any crevices, the filter, and the detergent box with Active Clear. CLR^® Mold & Mildew Clear is great for tackling mildewy or smelly areas.

Kitchen Drawers, Silverware Holders, and Cabinets: Crumbs find these spots, so plan to remove all materials inside your cabinets and drawers and wipe them down with Everyday Clean. This is an excellent opportunity to toss expired foods and reorganize, too.

Vents and Walls: Though this seems like a big task, it’s simple to clean the vents on your air duct covers with a cleaning brush or sponge, followed by a wipe-down of Everyday Clean. While you’re at it, use Everyday Clean on your walls for an especially deep clean.

Deep cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore. Make it fun by putting on your favorite music and dishing up some delicious snacks. You’ll end up with a happier, healthier home.

Need cleaning supplies to help with deep cleaning? Check out our lineup of must-have products and join the Clean Fight Club!