Eco-Friendly Cleaning Tips
Cleaning your house before moving out can be a daunting process to tackle. The key is to tackle each room strategically and to take your time.
Whether you’re moving out, or moving in, making sure that your property is clean is important because it gives you a clean slate to work with from the beginning, and it leaves your landlord or next owners happy.
To make a stressful time easier on you and your family, we’ve come up with a few step by step eco-friendly moving cleaning tips for each part of your house.
1. Ceilings to floors
Look up! When you’re moving, most people focus on the floors and the kitchen most. However, the ceilings, the ceiling fans, overhead lighting and shelving can collect the most dust and should be cleaned first.
Although they don’t need to be cleaned as often as your floors, when you’re moving it’s important to keep these in mind when cleaning. When you clean ceiling fans or overhead lighting we recommend using a microfiber cloth and an eco-friendly cleaning spray to collect as much dust as possible.
By starting with the ceilings, you can let the dust and dirt fall to the floors so you can clean those after.
2. The Kitchen
The best way to start cleaning your kitchen is by dusting around the light fixtures, corners of the ceiling, and above the cabinets. Next, make sure your cabinets and drawers are completely emptied.
Once the cabinets are empty, you can clean the cabinet doors and the shelves inside. To wipe the drawers and cabinets clean, use a soft absorbent sponge and a mild cleaner. Once the cabinets and drawers are cleaned, you can move to the appliances including the stovetop, oven, microwave, refrigerator, and dishwasher.
Use a solution of soapy water and white vinegar – this will get all the stains off and help remove fingerprints and oil. Next, use warm soapy water without vinegar to clean your countertops.
This will disinfect them while also getting rid of any grime and mold on the surfaces. If you have any glass surfaces, use a glass cleaner to leave a streak-free shine.
To scrub the sink and faucets use a chlorine-free solution. Let it soak in for a while, and then rinse it. This will make your sink and faucet look like new and get rid of any odors or stains!
3. The Bathroom
The most efficient way to clean your bathroom before moving in or out is to start with the bathtub and shower.
Use a disinfectant spray with microfiber rags and make sure to not only clean the walls and floor of your shower space, but also the shower rod and the shower head. These areas of your shower can accumulate a lot of dirt and grime, so make sure there isn’t any lingering bacteria for the next owners.
Once the shower and tub is completely cleaned, move to the ceilings and light fixtures. Start by dusting all the hard to reach areas – and then use a microfiber cloth and warm soapy water if you see areas with stains or areas that look dirty.
Don’t forget to dust the vents on the walls and ceilings! For the bathroom countertops, vanities and medicine cabinets, remove all items from inside and clean them out with a wet microfiber cloth.
Then move to the mirrors, vanity, and cabinets. Similar to the kitchen cabinets, make sure everything is emptied out and use a mild cleaner and a microfiber cloth.
To clean the toilet, use a toilet bowl cleaner, toilet brush, and disinfect spray. Sanitize the toilet bowl, tank, and the seat while also wiping down the toilet roll holder.
This will kill germs and remove any stains. Lastly, it’s time to move to the floors. If you have tile floors, scrub them thoroughly with an appropriate cleaner. Once you’ve scrubbed the floors and added a cleaner, make sure you rinse it.
Don’t forget to get to the areas around the toilet and near the vanity. These places collect lots of dust and dirt.
4. The Bedrooms and Living Rooms
To clean your bedroom and living room spaces, make sure you also remember to start from the ceiling and work your way to the floors.
Start by dusting all of the surfaces, washing the closet doors and window sills. Make sure to also wipe and dust the baseboards as needed. After you’ve cleaned and dusted the surfaces, be sure to go around and check the walls.
Buff the marks out of the wall and the baseboards. Wipe the light switches, outlets, doors, door frames, and doorknobs. Lastly, be sure to clean and polish all mirrors and glass surfaces.
Moving out and moving into an apartment, house, or condo can be stressful, especially when you add a cleaning list on top of it.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed about cleaning, reach out to our team at Happy Maids Green Cleaning or call us at 301-852-4706 / 240-681-5092.
Let us help you leave your property spotless and clean!