Cleaning Schedule

Be clever with your cleaning to save time and effort.

• Start at the top and work down, whether you are doing a room or the whole house.
• Dust first, with a damp cloth, then vacuum - otherwise you are wasting your time.
• Spring clean on a day you can have the windows open to allow the air to circulate and everything to dry. 

When using bleach, dilute with cold water (as hot water renders it ineffective).

Once a year indoor jobs

• Carpets - best cleaned professionally (find a reputable company via the National Carpet Cleaners Association)
• Curtains: take down, remove hooks and weights, loosen heading tape. If instructions allow, cool machine wash. If velvet, velour, chenille, tapestry, wool, brocade, silk or interlined, dry clean every two years.
• Interior paintwork: wash with Flash Magic eraser for gloss woodwork, and a cream cleaner for non-gloss finishes.
• Chimneys: if you have a real fire, use nacs.org.uk to find a local member.
• Light bulbs: switch off and wipe with a damp cloth.

Clean ovens twice a year. Once clean, line the oven base with foil or non-stick oven sheets to catch drips, and use roasting bags to cut down on spits.

Vinegar - distilled (not balsamic) - is a wonderful and versatile cleaner.

• For taps (not plated): wrap in a cloth soaked in vinegar, leave overnight.
• For showerheads: unscrew and submerge in a bowl of vinegar overnight.
• For shower screens: mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with six and a half pints of water and pour into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper rather than paper towels, which cause streaking.
• For kettles: fill with half water, half vinegar and leave overnight to remove limescale and make it more efficient.

Mould: to clear mould from walls, use a solution of one part bleach to four parts water - try on a hidden area first.  Scrub with a sponge, rinse thoroughly and dry.

Mildew: to clear grime and mildew from around windows, take down curtains or blinds. To clear grime, mix one part distilled white vinegar to nine parts water in an old spray bottle and use along with a coarse e-cloth to clean the frames and panes. Remove mildew with HG Mould Spray, then use a fine e-cloth to finish.

Grouting: Use an old toothbrush with a bleach solution or whitening toothpaste.

Other areas

• TVs, DVD players, audio centres: Clean with a dry microfibre cloth. Don't use window cleaner or any fluid on TVs, as these can bleed into the panel and damage the screen. 
• Extractor hood: unplug and wash removeable parts in hot, soapy water, and replace filter.
• On top of cupbaords, between appliances: Antibacterial wipes are ideal for cleaning these hard-to-reach areas.
• Slatted blinds: wearing cheap cotton gloves, plunge your hands into warm, soapy water, then run them along the slats, carefully removing the grease and grime as you go. Rinse and repeat.

Beds and upholstered furniture: Your mattress may not need turning (modern ones often don't) but it is a good idea to run the upholstery nozzle over the surface as part of the big clean. Do the same for your three-piece suite.

Once a year outside jobs

• Empty gutters (or pay your window cleaner to do the job). Once clear install 'hedgehog' cylindrical brushes to sit in the gutters and keep the leaves out (hedgehog-gutter-brush.co.uk)
• Clean your patio before paving or decking becomes too greasy and slippery.
• For exterior paintwork, window and conservatory frames, use a weak solution of bleach and a stiff brush to remove built-up grime.

Sources: Good Housekeeping, May 2017, March 2020.