Spring cleaning is an age-old tradition and makes good sense. After the long winter months with the majority of time spent indoors, your home will accumulate more dirt, dust, and clutter. Ready to undertake a thorough spring cleaning? Here are 12 tips that will make the job faster, smoother, and more efficient:

1. A Fresh Home: It Starts with Clean Indoor Air.

The air circulating within your home may be continually depositing dust, dirt, allergens, and other contaminants if your air ducts are contaminated. A thorough, professional air duct cleaning will help keep your home cleaner, free from unhealthy particles. Plan on a yearly inspection of your air duct system as a critical point in spring cleaning. At COIT, our technicians can measure your indoor air quality as the first step.

2. Organize your Cleaning Products for Efficiency

Gather together all you need before you start. A bucket, rags, cleaning sprays, wood treatments, counter cleaning products, cleansers, and polishing products. Don't forget rubber gloves, brushes, and scrub brushes; assemble and put in one place -- set on a tray or rag to protect against spills.

3. Plan Your Attack

Make a checklist of all the cleaning jobs you want to finish, in an order that makes sense. For example, plan to clean or vacuum floors as the final step, as bits and pieces, dust, and dirt may land on floors during your other tasks.

4. Bathrooms First

One area many people don’t like cleaning is the bathroom. To streamline your spring cleaning, attack the bathrooms first. Start with the fixtures, move to the shower and bath, and finish the job with a thorough floor cleaning. Once the bathrooms are complete, the rest of the spring cleaning can move forward quickly. If you have stained tile and grout, it can be very difficult to clean. If mildew, mold or other problem has affected your tile, we advise calling COIT to professionally restore your bathroom tile and grout to a gleaming, spotless condition. COIT's certified cleaning professionals will make your floors Clean as New!

5. Your Walls – They Need Help

While most dirt, dust, pet dander, and other contaminants fall and land on furniture, blinds, carpets, and drapes, your walls are also affected. Depending on the type of paint on your walls, different methods should be used. Semi-gloss or enamel is tougher than eggshell or flat paints, which can rub off if scrubbed too vigorously, or with an abrasive cleaner. 

First, dust the walls. Then lay down rags below where you are washing to protect your floors from drips. If you have children or pets, the lower section of your walls may have dirt and smudges – address these first. In most cases, warm clean water is the most effective. If you can’t remove smudges with clear water, add a few drops of clear-colored dish soap – which must then be rinsed with clean water. Use two buckets for the job, one with clean water for the rinse. Once the smudges are removed, start at the top of the wall and move down. If you are using a step ladder, make sure it is steady, and be careful! Once the walls are clean, wipe them down with a clean cloth to dry off excess water.

6. Dusting Done Right

Spring cleaning means addressing the accumulated dust -- it is hiding everywhere. Use a microfiber cleaning cloth and duster. Some areas may need you to add a little water to your cleaning cloth. Dust will have collected on the underside of your furniture during the winter, so it will need to be turned and vacuumed thoroughly. Get some help to turn over your furniture! You may be surprised to see how much dirt, dust, and pet hair is hidden on the underside. Remember – this is why air duct cleaning is so important. Rather than circulating dust and particle-laden air throughout your home, ensure it is fresh, clean, and wholesome.

7. Pet Hair and Odors – Time to Go

While vacuuming can suck up most pet hair, some of it can linger. For tougher areas, use a lint roller or a dampened (clean) sponge, and rub it on the surface of your furniture to pull up the hair. If your furniture has stains and looks dirty, get it professionally cleaned by COIT and save yourself from the hassle. Over the winter, the furniture collects ingrained dirt, stains, and pet odors. Our certified cleaning professionals can leave your furniture looking bright, clean, and spotless – and free from pet odors.

8. Fridge Cleaning Tips

It is now time to attack the kitchen. Start with the refrigerator. Remove all food and have a trash receptacle nearby to throw away any unwanted or expired items. Remove the drawers and shelves and place them in the sink to soak in hot, soapy water. Your cleaning mixture should be simply warm (or hot) water and a little dish soap. Wash all surfaces thoroughly. 

For tougher substances stuck to the surface, soak them so they soften, and scrub off with a plastic scrubber – not cleanser, as it will scratch the surface. Once the interior is clean, rinse all surfaces with a clean cloth and warm water, and dry with another clean cloth. Let the interior air out with the door open while you clean the drawers and shelves. Replace them, return the food, turn the unit back on, and put in an open box of baking soda at the back. Now clean the outside of the fridge with warm water and dish soap. Never use an abrasive cloth on stainless steel. Rinse with clean water and a new cloth, and then dry.

9. Fixtures and Appliances

There are many types of stoves, so the cleaning process varies. It is important that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions, depending upon the type of stove top in your home. Study up and follow those directions. For standard stoves, take off all removable pieces and put them to soak in warm, soapy water. Move to the stovetop and soak it down to soften any stuck food, and then get to scrubbing with a non-abrasive scrubber. Once clean, rinse with a clean cloth and warm water. Move to the pieces and remove all stuck-on substances with a tough scrubber. Let them dry, and then replace on the stove.

10. Vacuum Strategy

Use your vacuum attachment to clean the corners and edges first. Then move to the floors: carpets and area rugs. Vacuum carpeted areas twice. Stains and embedded dirt? Call the professionals at COIT for a deep clean.

11. Closets

Time to donate your older, unused clothing. Remove all hanging or folded garments and fully wipe down those areas. Vacuum thoroughly, replace the clothing you need and put winter sweaters, coats and other garments you won’t be using for months into plastic containers if that works for you. Adding cedar rounds to your hangers can bring a pleasant scent and keep moths at bay.

12. Floors

Time to fully clean your floors. Every surface requires specific cleaning procedures. If you have wood floors, take advantage of the five-step COIT wood floor restoration process to bring back their natural beauty – and protect against damage. Always use the floor cleaning products recommended by the manufacturer, or you may be left with streaks and residue. The same goes for tile floors.

Spring Cleaning Done Right: COIT

At COIT, while we admire your industrious spirit, we can make spring cleaning a snap. We do all the heavy lifting, and can deep clean your furniture, tile and grout, wood floors, carpets, drapes and blinds, and even purify your HVAC system correctly. Pet odors or stains? No problem. Why not take the day off and let us do our magic? Your home will look sparkling, and the air will be sweet and fresh. Call today for help from a home cleaning service that has led the industry for over sixty years.