To do anything the right way, you need to follow the proper protocols. Believe it or not, that does apply to housekeeping. It’s okay to take a random approach to your house cleaning responsibilities, but more times than not, things are going to get missed.
If you want to be able to clean your home like a professional house cleaner or maid, you have to emulate the way they do things. What makes them such good housekeepers? The answer is experience and a willingness to use house cleaning checklists.
When the time comes to deep clean your home, we would suggest you follow a preordained deep cleaning house checklist. We would even submit that you might want to use multiple deep cleaning checklists by room. It will help you stay organized while cleaning. It will also help to ensure that nothing gets missed.
Why Deep Cleaning is Important
Over weeks or months, dirt, dust, grease, and grime will accumulate in hard-to-reach places throughout your home. The problem with hard-to-reach places is they often get missed or ignored when you are addressing your regular daily, weekly, and monthly housekeeping responsibilities. You can’t afford to allow this to happen for too long because it presents the possibility of health issues for you and your family members.
To avoid such problems, you really need to get in the habit of doing intermittent deep house cleanings. How often should it be a function of how much activity is taking place in your home? If you are single and rather tidy, a deep cleaning once every couple of months would likely suffice. If you have an active household filled with family members running about, it’s our opinion that monthly deep cleanings would be appropriate at a minimum.
As a professional cleaning company that cares, we offer you the following information regarding the deep cleaning process and how using a professional deep cleaning checklist can help you get things done right.
How to get started
It’s good that you have decided to deep clean your home. Before you get started, we highly recommend that you find or create a deep cleaning checklist by room that you can follow as your housekeeping guide.
By the way, you can’t do a proper deep house cleaning without the proper cleaning supplies.
At a minimum, here is a list of cleaning supplies you should have on hand as you get started. The list includes cleaning tools and cleaning products.
Cleaning supplies
- Wet and dry mops
- A broom and vacuum cleaner
- Feather duster for hard-to-reach areas
- Microfiber cleaning cloths
- Scrub brushes and sponges
- Rubber gloves and safety glasses if necessary
- Bathroom cleaner with scrubbing foam
- All-purpose cleaning chemicals
- Glass and mirror cleaner
- Hard floor cleaning products
- Furniture polish
- Trash bags
Once you have your checklists and cleaning supplies, it’s time to get started.
Entire Home Deep Cleaning Checklist
If you so choose, you can go with a single deep cleaning checklist that covers the entire home. It’s not an issue as long as the checklist is organized in a manner that makes it easy to follow. If you live in a small apartment, condo, or home, a single checklist might be the best option.
This first checklist includes the chores that will be common throughout the entire house. The list includes
- Clean ceiling fans and hanging light fixtures
- Wash all windows and window frames (inside/outside) and window coverings
- Washout wastebaskets
- Replace HVAC air filters
- Clean baseboards, door jambs, and door frames
- Clean and test security system and fire alarms
Note: Using a single checklist can create challenges when faced with cleaning larger homes. Since the reasons for using a checklist are to stay organized and make sure nothing gets missed, individual room-by-room cleaning checklists can be very helpful.
Room-by-Room Deep Cleaning Checklist
A room-by-room deep cleaning house checklist will work fine in two formats. It’s okay to use a single checklist if it’s organized by room. If you can’t find or create one you like, we would recommend you go with multiple checklists with one designated for each room in the home.
Regardless of the format that you choose, the following information is going to focus on the deep cleaning tasks that you should tackle in each room. Note: Deep cleaning chores should be additions to the standard chores you would do with regular cleaning.
Entryway
- Clean and organize shoe racks
- Polish door hardware (knobs, locks, and hinges)
- Clean entryway windows if applicable
- Clean the outside porch area to decrease dirt to be tracked in
- Clean doormats
Kitchen
- Clean the fridge/freezer inside and outside – dispose of stale dated food
- Clean tile grout
- Clean the oven – inside the oven, stove burners, stovetop, hood/hood fan
- Scrub and disinfect all small appliance
- Move large appliances and clean underneath and behind if possible
- Clean inside of dishwasher – empty filters, clean soap dish and drains
- Clean inside of the microwave
- Clean tile grout
- Clean out garbage disposal and sink drains
- Disinfect exposed surfaces
- Clean and organize cupboards and cabinets
Living Room Areas
- Clean and disinfect remotes
- Wipe down room trinkets and decorations
- Shampoo furniture cushions
- Vacuum under and between furniture cushions
- Shampoo carpets and or wax tile floors
- Clean pillow coverings and throw rugs
Bedrooms
- Wash all bedding – sheets, comforters, blankets, and pillow covers
- Vacuum under the mattress and bed
- Clean out and organize drawers & closets
- Wash curtains
- Declutter the room
- Dust bookshelves, books, computers, and lamps
- Clean and disinfect the TV remote
- Clean mirrors
Bathroom
- Toss outdated toiletries
- Clean all tile grout
- Wash bathroom rugs
- Wash shower curtains and liners
- Wash and disinfect all bathroom counter objects like the toothbrush holder
- Scrub and disinfect the entire toilet – bowl, tank, base
- Clean out and organize cabinets, medicine cabinet, and drawers
- Clean bathroom and vanity mirrors
- Polish brass plumbing fixtures
Laundry/Utility Room
- Clean dryer lint traps and air vents
- Clean under and behind the washer and dryer
- Clean clothing racks
- Clean and organize cabinets
- Scrub and disinfect the inside of the washer and dryer
Deep Cleaning Tips
As cleaning professionals, our maids have been able to come up with deep cleaning tips and hacks that make the deep cleaning process easier. For your benefit, here are a few deep cleaning tips of note:
- Make sure all of your cleaning chemicals are certified as safe for use around children and pets
- Always clean from the back of a room to the door
- Clean from the top of the room to the floor, leaving floor cleaning for last
- Citrus fruits serve as good glass and mirror cleaners
- Lavender and lemon cleaning scents are best
- Send the family out for the day on deep cleaning day
- Finish a room and close the door before going to the next room
Need Help – Call MaidThis
After looking at this list, it’s understandable that you might find the deep cleaning process to be a bit intimidating. It takes a lot of time and hard work to get to those hard-to-reach places. Here’s a thought.
Why don’t you delegate your deep cleaning responsibilities to us? No one on planet Earth would blame you for letting the pros handle this responsibility.
At MaidThis, we contract with the best maids in the Los Angeles area. Each one has abundant qualifications and lots of experience at deep cleaning houses. Did we mention they like to use cleaning lists? If you hire us, you will get our quality services at an affordable price. We’ll also back the results with our 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.
When deep cleaning time comes, you can schedule a cleaning appointment via our automated online scheduling system (below). You can also schedule by phone if you would prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct order to clean a house?
There is a science to correctly cleaning a house. The ultimate goal is to keep the dirt moving from one area to the next without risking tracking dirt through cleaned areas. First, each room should be cleaned from the ceiling to the floor, keeping the dirt moving downward. Second, you start at the back of the house and keep moving towards the last exit of the house.
How long should it take to deep clean a house?
It would depend on the size of the home and the deep cleaning chores to be included. At a minimum, it should take 4 hours. For a big house, it could take an entire day.
What are the steps for deep cleaning?
You start with the basic house cleaning chores as sort of prep work. When the deep cleaning starts, you’ll be attacking underneath and between things. That would typically be where grease and grime are hiding in those hard-to-reach places that get missed during regular or standard cleanings.
