To deep clean your house, whether it’s spring or not, means washing everything down from top to bottom, giving all surfaces a polished look. That means floors, carpets, showers, furniture, sinks and countertops all dusted, vacuumed, scrubbed and wiped. A deep clean makes your house nearly new again. This level of elbow grease has many benefits, but put simply a spic-and-span house is physically and mentally healthier to live in. Home Artisans member Christina Garten from Christina’s Complete Clean gives her expert advice on the best way to go about deep cleaning your home.

Getting Started

To be successful, it’s important to have a process that will make the job run smoothly. We suggest these four steps as a tried and true method for deep cleaning.

Preparing Your Rooms

To prepare for a deep clean, get things out of the way so you have access to all your surfaces. Pick up and put away as much as possible. Be as thorough as you want; take things out of your cabinets, shelves and bookcases if you desire a completely clean space. Don’t worry about organization or rearranging—that’s an entirely different task that comes after deep cleaning.

Planning Your Process

Now think through your plan of attack. It’s best to start with the extremities and work your way down to the core. For example, in a three-story house, try tackling first the top floor, then the basement, then finally the main level, completing one at a time. Also divide your rooms between wet and dry work—wet work is scrubbing down bathrooms and the kitchen, and dry work is dusting and vacuuming bedrooms, living rooms and home offices.

Dry Work

Start with dusting! Wipe every surface, including the walls, artwork and pictures, ceiling fans, lights, window blinds, chairs, fireplace mantels, TVs, door panels, door handles and baseboards. After you knock down all the dust in a room, vacuum it. Also consider vacuuming your curtains, couches, and fabric chairs—these can harbor secret pockets of pet hair, fallen food, bugs and cobwebs.

Wet Work

For bathrooms, get out your trusted disinfectant supplies and scrub out your sinks, faucets, toilet, countertops, mirrors, floors, tub and shower areas. The build-up of hard water, soap, shampoo, and other spills is what you’re getting rid of. After scrubbing and rinsing, take a towel or rag and dry everything. A final dusting and vacuuming is your last step in the bathrooms.

In the kitchen, wash every surface, including cabinet fronts and stove tops. The inside of appliances like the microwave, refrigerator and toaster may need to be wiped out as well. For the floors, vacuum first, and then scrub them by hand with a bucket and a rag to get them truly clean. This step is especially important in the kitchen, where food and drink have spilled.

A deep clean is well worth the investment, whether you do it yourself or you hire out a company. Having the entire house done from top to bottom will make it easier to maintain day to day. You’ll even have more time to organize! A deep clean can inspire you to start clearing out drawers and closets that you couldn’t get to before.

For more help with your house cleaning needs, reach out to member Christina Garten, Christina’s Complete Clean.