There are actually people who claim that they really enjoy cleaning. Are you one of them? Congratulations. Then you probably already know all the tricks and what you have to consider when cleaning your home. For all others who don’t have that much fun arming themselves with brooms and rags, it is obligatory to read on. We will explain how best to proceed when cleaning your home. And to be honest, it really isn’t that bad.
Clean the kitchen
Let’s take the kitchen as our first step. There is a lot to do here. Cozy cooking evenings and the daily use of fridge and sink leave their mark. It is a good idea to always remove small pieces of dirt immediately. If you always clean directly after cooking, you won’t stand in front of an insurmountable mountain of dirt at some point. Scrub the worktops properly from time to time. The right method depends on the material it is made of. With wood, for example, you must be careful not to use abrasive cleaning agents. Plastic, on the other hand, is more robust in this regard.
Clean the refrigerator:
It is opened daily, food goes in and out. The refrigerator is a welcome place for bacteria and unpleasant odors. We don’t want to tell you how many germs and bacteria are romping around here. Just start cleaning right away and don’t think about it. You should clean the refrigerator once a month. Empty it completely and put the food in a box in a cool place. Remove all shelves. You can wash them normally with hot water and detergent and dry them afterwards. Hot water is often sufficient for wiping inside. For stains, simply add a little vinegar. However, please wipe the rubber seals without cleaning agents, otherwise they will become porous. You only have to defrost the refrigerator once a year and not every month.
Clean the oven and baking trays:
Yes, it’s worth taking a look in the oven after baking a pizza. You can guess for sure. The pizza cheese has dripped down and burned into the baking tray and the bottom of the oven. Oops. Again, don’t wait too long. The dirtier the oven, the more difficult it is to get everything clean again.
Household detergents have proved their worth in oven cleaning so far. Although special oven cleaners promise good results, they are often harmful to the environment and health. Baking powder, on the other hand, is a good choice for eliminating incrustations. Mix three or four packets of baking powder with 100 milliliters of water until you get a thick paste. Apply this to the encrusted areas in the oven or on the baking tray and let it work overnight. The next morning you can wipe everything off with a sponge and hot water. For the rest of the oven, simply use vinegar or lemon essence to remove grease stains.
Next step: the bathroom
Oh no, there’s a lot of lime in the bathroom and you don’t even want to start cleaning. But if you’re smart, you’ll save yourself a lot of extra work. First of all, the toilet cleaner goes to the toilet so that it has time to take effect. Then put away any objects that might stand in the way of cleaning. It’s a good idea to empty the trash cans now and change the bags.
Limescale in the bathtubs and in the sink is best dealt with using a professional descaler such as durgol. Conventionally one can also use citric acid or vinegar cleaner, the household remedies work however more weakly and can lead to insoluble precipitation. Wipe the bathtub and shower with a microfibre cloth and the vinegar cleaner. For the shower curtain it is enough to wash it once a month at 30 degrees and then simply hang it up again to dry.
If you don’t want to leave drops of water on the wall, get a squeegee. This will give your bathroom a new shine. At least until the next shower… But using a squeegee after a shower to remove water drops from the walls for a short time is a pretty good idea anyway. The less moisture there is, the less likely it is that mould will spread.
Does everything shine so far? Or is it worth looking for dust again in the corners and on the windowsills? Then let’s go. Once you’re through with it, you can start cleaning the toilet. First wipe off the outside, preferably with glass cleaner, and then work your way further inwards. Make sure that you scrub the inner edge of the toilet brush properly to remove persistent dirt. The cleaning utensils (toilet brush of course excluded) then go into the washing machine at 60 degrees.
Last but not least, sweep through the bath once so that you have a clear path to wipe afterwards. It is best to open a window so that everything dries quickly. Then put everything back in its original place. It wasn’t so bad, was it?
This is where a professional is needed: the fireplace
The fireplace should be thoroughly cleaned professionally. A chimney sweep must be called in to do this and also check the fire protection. How this works differs from canton to canton, as there are different chimney sweep systems in Switzerland.
The frequency of cleaning depends on the type of fireplace and how often it is used. It may be necessary for the chimney sweep to come by up to three times a year. However, consult a professional about this.
And what about the rest?
Of course, the bathroom, kitchen and fireplace are not enough for the cleaning frenzy. Bedroom and living room are also part of it. Just remember a few basic rules for cleaning:
- Rooms are cleaned from top to bottom. It doesn’t make sense to vacuum first, then wipe the shelves and new dirt falls on the floor.
- When cleaning, clear away everything that might stand in the way. Then you can clean a large area and put everything back down.
- Clean the corners and also check whether there’s mould behind the sofa.
So, are you still chilling or cleaning?
