Home Cleaning Top to Bottom
Believe it or not, home cleaning is more than just wiping, vacuuming, and brooming. Sure those things are involved but there’s actually a science that governs when you wipe, when you vacuum, and when you broom. Not only that, it’s often more important to consider where (in a room) you should start cleaning. Let’s walk through cleaning a normal living room to illustrate the process.
Start at the top
This is the step most often neglected when a room is cleaned. If it isn’t neglected, it’s often performed out of sequence which can negate all the hard work you’ve done already. Well see how in another section.
If you’ve ever looked closely at the corners where ceiling meets walls, you’ve likely noticed small, wispy cobwebs that are almost invisible to the eye. These cobwebs can, over time, collect dust and debris that can leave your room lacking the luster that a good cleaning can provide. A broom wrapped in an old cotton t-shirt can help you invade those hard-to-reach places. This step also helps to knock down any dust that may have accumulated at the tops of the walls.
Moulding
While you’re up there, be sure to brush off any moulding that may be present. The decorative curves and lines provide just enough horizontal surface for dust to accumulate over time. If neglected, the dust can combine with other substances to adhere more firmly to the moulding and cause discoloration.
Walls
Once you’ve knocked down the cobwebs, it’s time to wipe down the walls. This step doesn’t need to be done very often – once or twice a year – because dust doesn’t accumulate easily on such vertical surfaces.
Other horizontal and vertical surfaces
Again, start high and work your way down. This is probably the bulk of the work because of the presence of cabinets, tables, chairs, and mantles. Think about collecting the dust and dirt at the lowest point. If you have a ceiling fan, wipe this off first as the dust you remove will likely drift down to the table or chair underneath. Work your way down the surfaces in the room wiping horizontal surfaces first then vertical surfaces. Again, think about moving all that dust to the floor without leaving any behind.
Once you’ve dusted the horizontal and vertical surfaces, it’s time to vacuum the furniture. Couches and chairs are notorious dust and dirt hoarders. It’s important to start by removing the cushions and running the vacuum over all the exposed surfaces. Then be sure to vacuum the cushions to remove all the left-over dust.
Baseboards
This is another often-overlooked step in thorough cleaning. All the dust you’ve knocked down over the course of the previous steps has likely taken up residence on the edges of your baseboards. If tackled often, cleaning these surfaces is as simple as brushing with a broom. If neglected, dust can – as with moulding – build up and combine with other substances to more firmly adhere to the baseboard. When this happens, a chemical cleaner and some good scrubbing may be in order.
If your room is carpeted, it’s time to vacuum up all the dust you’ve knocked down.
Hard floors
If your room has hard floors, the next step is to broom all the dust and dirt into a nice tidy pile for disposal. Be sure to broom under tables and, once a year at least, under larger furniture.
With hard floors, there’s one more step necessary to complete the job. Give the surface a good mopping (either with a traditional mop or the more modern wet mops) to remove anything your broom missed (which is usually quite a bit).
Working from top to bottom is the best way to get a room completely clean and ready for company. HouseMaids is proud to offer such thorough cleaning to all their residential, commercial, and business clients.
Contact HouseMaids at 94-953-4300 today!
Their services are available to Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakewood Ranch, University Park, Gulf Gate Estates, Bayshore Gardens, South Bradenton, Palmetto, Siesta Key, Osprey, Bird Key, Lido Key, Longboat Key, and surrounding areas.
