by Rose Morrison
Rose is the managing editor of Renovated, a home living site where she strives to help people live their best DIY lives.
Moving is an exciting and stressful time for homeowners. It’s often a relief when you can finally settle into your new home or apartment and begin unpacking.
However, sometimes your new home is a bit grimy, with sticky faucets and countertops and dirt accumulated on the floor. Although landlords and previous owners may hire professional cleaning crews to scrub every inch of the house ahead of moving day, it’s not always the case.
Here are five suggestions for giving your new home a proper cleaning when you first move in.
1. Start at the Top
Let’s say you move in and can’t stop sneezing or have difficulty breathing. There could be dust mites hiding in your house — tiny bugs that can bring on an allergic reaction or asthma attack. Of course, you’ll want to get rid of them right away.
Dust doesn’t just settle on floors, counters and furniture. Usually, dust particles will collect on ceiling fans, light fixtures, bookshelves and other surfaces that are high up, as well. It’s not uncommon for these areas to be forgotten or skipped over intentionally when cleaning.
Since you can expect dust to fall when diving into a deep clean of your new home, it’s a good idea to start near the ceiling and work your way toward the floor. That way, you don’t need to clean your floors and carpeting a second time.
One tip for collecting dust off ceiling fans is to use an old pillowcase to wipe each blade. It won’t fly around and you can wash the pillowcase afterward.
2. Sanitize Your Refrigerator
You’ve closed on your new home, and your boxes are unloaded off the truck. Now you need to put away all the perishable items your neighbors brought over as moving gifts to welcome you to the neighborhood.
Before you store food in your refrigerator, though, you should disinfect it thoroughly. Harmful bacteria tend to build up inside. Thankfully, an empty refrigerator shouldn’t take long to clean after your move.
The first step in sanitizing the interior of your refrigerator is to remove the shelves and drawers. Clean up any drips and puddles before wiping the fridge clean with soap and warm water or a safe cleaning solution.
Make sure to dry everything thoroughly before placing the drawers, shelves and food back inside. Then, do the same with the freezer.
3. Clean the Rest of the Kitchen
Safety has become of the utmost importance, especially while moving during the coronavirus pandemic when people are more conscious of the spread of disease. Kitchens are some of the most high-traffic rooms in the house, so it’s easy for germs and bacteria to creep into tight corners and surfaces.
Once you finish disinfecting the refrigerator, move on to your counters, sink, appliances and hardware.
You’ll probably store dishes and utensils in the cabinets and drawers. Therefore, you’ll want to clean the inside and outside of those, too.
4. Scrub the Bathrooms
There are a few essential steps you should take to clean the bathrooms in your new home properly. For the most part, a sponge and dish soap will do the trick. However, you may want to use an antibacterial solution, as well.
Toilet seats are relatively affordable, so replacing them is likely the easiest way to know that they’re clean.
Aside from toilets, showers, bathtubs and sinks, don’t forget other finishes like faucets, towel holders, outlets, knobs, handles and the toilet paper holder.
5. Finish the Rest of the House
Sometimes it’s easier to tackle each cleaning task simultaneously rather than clean each room one by one. For example, if you’re going to vacuum the rugs in one bedroom, vacuum all the carpeting throughout the home.
The same goes for windows. Clean the windows in the dining room, but then do the same in the living room, study and bedrooms right away, too.
Floors can be the last thing you clean after you move in. However, if you’ve recently moved into a rental property or apartment, sometimes previous tenants leave something behind and in your way.
Before throwing away things the previous residents owned, you should first find out if they retain legal rights to the belongings they left behind. In that case, your landlord should notify law enforcement to remove the personal items off the property for you.
Hire the Best Movers in Chicago for a Stress-Free Moving Day
You have enough to think about on moving day, from transporting your boxes and furniture to your new home to unloading to thoroughly clean after your move.
Contact Move-tastic today for a stress-free moving experience that will make the day much more enjoyable.