From your kitchen floor to your bathroom and even your BED, how to properly deep clean your house
Ad Feature by Gtech
Given we’re all spending lots of time at home, keeping our surroundings clean and sparkling is more important than ever.
But to get the best results, it’s time to adopt tougher tactics for a proper deep clean that will leave dirt with nowhere to hide.
From dusty nooks and crannies under kitchen cabinets to neglected mattresses providing the ideal home for bedbugs, there’s plenty of places that are in need of special attention.
And that’s even before we come to perhaps the most reliable source of mess – our pets, whether it is bundles of fur on the carpet or the debris from yesterday’s walk.
Working from room to room, here’s our advice for the ultimate deep clean.
Ironically your sink and kitchen sponges can often be the things most in need of a clean
The Gtech AirRam K9 (£249.99) is the ultimate upright vacuum cleaner for pet hair
Kitchen
Sometimes the best ingredients for a thorough kitchen clean come from an unlikely place – your larder. That’s because several regular food products are packed with cleansing properties that you can use to impressive effect.
Take vinegar, which is both a disinfectant and a solvent, meaning it dissolves materials like grease. You’ll often find plenty of that in your microwave, which is regularly used but rarely cleaned, not least because its shape makes this awkward.
Pour equal parts of white or cider vinegar and water into a small mug or bowl, place it inside, and put it on high heat for five minutes. Wait for another 10 minutes, then remove the bowl and wipe the inside clean with a sponge.
Here’s why you should clean your sponges
When it comes to deep cleaning you’re only as effective as your tools.
Sponges can be filthy, with the average one in a British home teeming with 19.6billion bacteria, according to the Global Hygiene Council.
The good news is they’re easy to clean – just pop it in a dishwasher or washing machine.
You can tackle a dirty stainless steel or porcelain sink with a kitchen cupboard staple, bicarbonate of soda. Just dampen the basin, sprinkle on the powder until it covers the whole surface and scrub down with a scourer.
Pets bring a lot to your home – joy, companionship… and plenty of fluff and hair over your kitchen floor. Thankfully, that’s no problem if you have a Gtech AirRam K9 (£249.99), the ultimate upright vacuum cleaner for pet hair that works just as well on hard floors as carpet.
You’ll enjoy a seamless cleaning experience, with a powered rotating brush bar that works alongside a unique AirLOC system to pick up large debris from the surface as you push forward, before sucking up embedded dust and hair on the backstroke.
Cordless technology means there’s no wires for an energetic dog to chase, while LED lights along the full width of the brush head and effective edge cleaning means you’ll never miss any fur hiding under a chair or coffee table.
At 7lb, it’s lightweight but robust, with aluminium in crucial areas to withstand the extra strain that pets can put on cleaning tasks. And when you’re finished, all the debris is compressed into a small capsule that can be emptied into your bin.
The brush head is fitted with LED lights to make sure you don’t miss any hidden dirt or fur
Another notoriously hard job is cleaning your oven, but there’s a simple natural solution to help you out. Simply mix equal parts baking soda and white vinegar to form a paste that can be wiped around the inside of the appliance.
The chemicals will gently react with each other to dissolve oil and dirt, which can be wiped away with a cloth.
Before you move on from the kitchen don’t forget one hidden source of nasties – bin lids. These can be sprayed with disinfectant and wiped down with a paper towel.
Bedroom
There’s nothing nicer than sinking into a freshly-made bed , but they can also be home to unwelcome guests – bed bugs
Bedrooms are a place to relax and recuperate, but they also harbour plenty of hidden corners that require your special attention.
Remove the dust from your window blinds using an old sock dipped in a half-and-half mixture of white vinegar and warm water. After putting your hand in the sock, gently run it down the length of each blind, not forgetting to do the underside.
Bookshelves are also magnets for dust. To clean them properly, remove all the books and dust the surfaces, using the duster that comes with AirRam’s handy Speed Cleaning Kit (£20.00) to access any hard-to-reach reach areas. The books themselves can be wiped with a clean magnetic cloth.
There’s nothing nicer than sinking into a freshly-made bed, but they can also be home to unwelcome guests – bed bugs. These critters feed on human blood by biting exposed body parts while you are asleep and lay small hard-to-see sticky eggs.
Thankfully, the bugs themselves are quite easy to see – they are around 5mm (nearly 1/4″) in size and reddish in colour. To remove them, thoroughly vacuum the mattress, headboards, carpets and other areas around your bed.
AirRam’s Speed Cleaning Kit (£20) includes a speed clean handle to allow you to hold the lightweight vacuum head by hand
It is vital you use a vacuum with a powerful rotating brush bar like the AirRam K9 or regular AirRam (£199.99) to remove those sticky eggs. Afterwards, take off all bedding or exposed clothing and put it on a hot wash (60C) or tumble dry on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes.
Rugs help make your bedroom extra cosy but can also attract odours, particularly if you find your dog likes using them for a bed! To neutralise any lingering smells, sprinkle them with baking soda before vacuuming it off. The AirRam K9 includes lightly scented cartridges on the filter to help leave your home feeling clean and fresh.
Bathroom
The wet, warm bathroom environment provides the perfect growing environment for mould, which can often gather on wall tiles. Get them shining again with a mixture of half white vinegar and water. Spray this onto the tiles, then let it sit for at least a minute before wiping it off.
Use an old toothbrush for stubborn areas. This can also work wonders on grout, but this time swap the water and vinegar for whitening toothpaste, which is mildly abrasive so will help dislodge any stains.
Shower heads are often ignored because of a perception they clean themselves, but they can quickly collect limescale. Give yours the star treatment by filling up a small bag with white vinegar before attaching it to the shower head with a rubber band and leaving it to soak overnight.
A powered rotating brush bar that works alongside a unique AirLOC system to pick up large debris from the surface as you push forward, before sucking up embedded dust and hair on the backstroke
Most shower curtains can be taken down and put in the washing machine, but it’s best to put them in with a couple of towels and use a gentle setting.
And don’t forget toothbrush holders! These can quickly become a harbour for bacteria and all sorts of gunk, but can be easily cleaned with hot water and a bottle brush.
Common areas
Before cleaning the sitting room, corridors and hallways, do a roundup of any pet beds, leads or even toys that may be lying about. These can give off a strong odour if they’re not cleaned regularly. Simply wash by hand in the sink before leaving them to dry outside.
Stairs can be tricky to access with a vacuum, particularly if it has trailing wires. The Gtech Speed Cleaning Kit includes a speed clean handle to allow you to hold the lightweight vacuum head by hand. And with 40 minutes of run-time on a four-hour charge, you’ll have plenty of time to finish the job.
Light bulbs might not be a typical item on a cleaner’s to-do list, but they can quickly become covered in dust. After turning off the switch, unscrew the bulbs and wipe them with a clean microfibre cloth to leave them looking extra bright.
The Speed Cleaning Kit, which is compatible with the regular AirRam and the AirRam K9, includes a duster along with the speed cleaning handle
Germs collect on surfaces we regularly touch, not least door handles. Use disinfectant spray and a cloth to kill any bugs and don’t forget other frequently-used items like the landline or TV remote.
For an effective clean of your sofa, it’s best to strip off the fabric covers and pillow cases and put them in the washing machine, ensuring you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If your settee is made from leather, remove stains with a dishcloth soaked in warm, soapy water.
And now you’ve finished your deep clean, don’t forget the wonders of a blast of fresh air. Re-energise your home and remove any lingering cleaning smells by leaving your windows and doors open for 10 minutes.
Source: Read Full Article