It may not seem possible at first, but yes – you CAN clean a whole house in an hour or less. It can be done, but it takes focus and hard work. Forget your phone and social networks, don’t allow yourself to become distracted as you gather together discarded magazines and make sure the TV/radio is switched off. If you keep moving and follow these handy cleaning tips from Vale Carpet Cleaning then you will have that house cleaned faster than you ever thought possible.
Begin at the top, work your way down
If ever there was to be a great tip. The most valuable one we can give is always clean from ‘top-down’. Whichever room you happen to be cleaning, make sure you start with the highest surface first. This way the dust from those higher surfaces will land on the lower surfaces, and you don’t find yourself cleaning the same spot twice.
Fans, light shades and furniture should be done first with dirt and dust being swept straight to the floor. Once the high points are done, floors surfaces should be tackled before moving on.
Before you start there are 4 Essential Items you will need to carry out the clean:
- 2 x Microfiber cloths (one damp and one dry)
- Sponge
- General Purpose Cleaning solution or diluted white vinegar solution
- Vacuum Cleaner
Bedrooms – 6 minutes each
- Strip linen from the beds and then remake. Use one hand to lift a mattress corner while the other tucks the sheet under – this is easier and faster than hunching over.
- Clear away all the clutter. You can use a basket, box or bin to keep it in for sorting through later if there is a lot of it.
- Use dusting spray or simply a damp microfiber cloth on furniture, starting from the top and working your way down. Ensuring to leave no streaks.
- Give the interior of your windows a clean with a few sprays of diluted white vinegar on a cloth or fiber cloth.
Bathroom(s) – 7 minutes (each)
- Take a quick trip to the bathroom, clearing counters as you go and wiping them down. Allow cleaner (again we would recommend a white vinegar solution) to do its work while you clean the toilet.
- Toilet done, finish wiping off the countertops, rinse the bath and clean the mirrors with your damp microfiber cloth.
- Leave the floor, for now, coming back to clean it when it’s time to clean the kitchen floor
Living room/dining room – 7 minutes each
- Remove any all clutter from your path and countertops that could be easily knocked.
- Begin in one corner of the room, working inward, dusting all surfaces (start high, end low).
- Use a vacuum cleaner for any upholstered furniture.
- Before moving on, vacuum the floors and all other carpeted areas of the house.
Kitchen – 12 minutes
- Any dirty dishes and cutlery should be loaded into the dishwasher, if there is one – otherwise deal with them quickly and fill the sink with hot soapy water.
- Clear all of the counters, putting everything away in their proper place, again you need to get into a habit of unnecessary clutter.
- Using a sponge wet from the fresh hot, soapy water, wipe down cabinets and countertops working from the highest to lowest.
- Next, wipe down the appliances – washing machine, oven, fridge etc. Ensure that you do not over wet the areas especially when it comes to electrical equipment.
- Clean the floor last, then all other hard floors in the house not forgetting the bathroom floor. Ensure you clean from the corners back, after all you certainly do not want to be stuck into a corner and have to walk over the floor you just cleaned (footprints are a big no-no!).
Floors – 15 minutes, whole house
- Always clean your carpets correctly from the back room, toward the door and minimize overlap – this is by far the most efficient way to vacuum the carpet.
- Hard flooring should be vacuumed, not swept. This prevents dust and debris from being kicked into the air just to settle somewhere else. This process is also applicable for polished concrete flooring and resin floors.
- Steam mops can certainly make cleaning hard flooring much easier and faster than a more traditional mop ever could manage. However, it’s not necessary to use a steam mop and there are disadvantages of steam mops such as being known to damage laminate flooring or floors which have been glued down for obvious reasons.
Summary:
It may take a few attempts to become really good and stick to the times mentioned for each room, but the more you do it the easier it becomes – especially if you do it every day and there isn’t much to clean anyway! Before you know it, you will be able to clean the whole house in under an hour and you’ll be left wondering just why it used to take so long! We would be interested in hearing how you got on with cleaning your house in under 60 minutes. Managed to do it in less time? Please leave a comment, we would love to hear how you got on. In our next post, we will look at tackling the exterior of the house such as your guttering, driveway, roof and more.
