The long awaited Spring is coming and hopefully, sooner than later, London will greet us with warmth and sun. The nature is slowly waking up, and we also seem to have more energy. It’s more likely to see an increasing number of people opening windows wide, letting fresh air into their homes after Winter. Many ask their cleaners for some extra work, others do their spring cleaning themselves. Some people wait until Easter holidays, but any time is good time for a bit of an in-depth cleaning. Spring is a wonderful period, when you can have a proper look inside of your wardrobe, tidy up the attics and cellars. Here is a quick guide on how to approach Spring cleaning, delivered to you by your A.G. Cleaning Services!

It is worth starting with getting rid of all the unnecessary items from your household – things that you might have planned to throw away, but left them for the time being. Most of the people have piles of stuff they keep in their wardrobes, cupboards and drawers, without which they could easily survive, saving a decent amount of free room. Many people stubbornly collect coats that are too small, pairs of trousers that are completely worn-out, old newspapers, or even cracked plates and cranky cutlery. Generally, stuff that they think might be useful sometime in the future, awaiting better times, which never come. A real collector needs a very strong motivation to get rid of their treasures. Usually, such a motivation can be brought by moving out – packing up all the stuff, loading it to a car and then unpacking it again can be very frustrating, even more when one third of the room is taken by unnecessary items. Sometimes though, the coming of Spring is motivating enough to sacrifice a whole day for cleaning and tidying up. Especially, that you can see an immediate effect of freeing up space in the closet. Moreover, you may even make somebody else happy by giving out your unnecessary stuff, for example as a garage sale or by supporting your local charity. An increasing popularity of swap parties is also an opportunity to get rid of your old clothing. During such parties, people swop their jumpers, shirts, trousers or other pieces of garment with friends or even random strangers met at the gathering. Old blankets, on the other hand, can be given to animal shelters. Such a gift is especially valuable during the Winter or early Spring, when the weather is still quite fierce and can help the animals to survive the coldness. And old jars and newspapers are just another way of helping the planet if you take them to a recycling point.

Spring cleaning should always include the walls and ceiling, where dust, spider webs and other dirt is quietly stored during all the rest of the year. Painted surfaces can be simply swept by a brush on a long holding stick, and walls covered by wallpaper are easy to wash with a damp cloth. While being at it, remember to pay attention to the doors, frames and radiators – especially the old ones that you may find storing huge amounts of dust between the ribs. To access such spots with no trouble by means of a bottle brush warped up with a piece of damp cloth.

Tiles, full of greasy dust can be cleaned quite effortlessly with a sponge soaked in warm water with some detergent working well againt oil, like washing up liquid, soda or vinegar. Be careful though, hot water and any cleaning products can be harmful to your skin. You can protect yourself by wearing thick rubber gloves (remember to also supply your cleaner with a few pairs of those). Speaking of the kitchen stuff, it is worth cleaning up the cupboards and drawers as well. It’s good to perform the stocktaking and check the expiry dates of your foods. All the powdery groceries, like sugar, salt, spices, tea and coffe are worth placing in hermetic containers, that can protect them from humidity and loss of their fresh aroma. At the same time, this will keep them out of reach of in-house insects that might be hiding in the darkest corners of your storeroom. All the dishes, pots and other kitchen items, standing uncovered on shelves and tops, are being covered by greasy dust after a while. During your in-depth cleaning it seems necessary to wash them properly. This can be very time consuming, but is essential if you want your kitchen to shine. An important part of its inventory, that constantly becomes dirty, is the gas stove. Also, the hood and the oven will demand some work and a substantial amount of time to get cleaned. Old, burnt oil can be removed by a sponge soaked in hot water and a cleaning product. In extremely tough cases it is worth using a steam cleaner, as they’re incredibly efficient in removing grease. Ceramic tiles should be cleaned with a special cleaning cream, while the tap is best to be treated with a more liquidy product, or cleaning gel. A traditional, but nonetheless effective product is vinegar. A solution of vinegar and water works great on limescale (also from the kettle) and bad smells (like those from the fridge). Glass or crystal containers will get an extra shine if you rinse them with cold water and vinegar after washing. Vinegar can be quite useful while cleaning the bathroom too, as it removes not only limescale, but also layers of old soap that stay on most of the surfaces. It is worth using a bit stronger, antibacterial products on the toilet. Dirty joints between the tiles can be cleaned with a solution of bleach and soda powder, using an old toothbrush. This takes much time and you definitely need to be patient, but the effect can be quite outstanding.

Kitchen and bathroom are not the only places demanding a decent amount of work. Cleaning the rooms can also be quite exhausting. As for the spring cleaning, it is worth ordering a carpet washing service, unless your hoover has an option of carpet washing. You’re also going to need the vacuum cleaner for books’ tops, which is probably the most efficient method you can use on them. All the delicate porcelain figures should be cleaned equally delicately, for example with a feather brush. After removing the dust from every possible spot in your household, including leather furniture, you can move on to the windows and glass. Start with washing the curtains and wiping the rails with a damp cloth. After that, spray the rails with a polish. By doing this, you allow the curtain clips and hooks to move smoothly once you hang the curtains back on. Don’t forget to clean the frames and windowsills, using a dry cloth first, wiping them with a damp one afterwards. Glass is also the case where using vinegar can make your life a lot easier. Remember to always wipe your windows with a paper towel or a dry microfibre cloth until dry. A quite surprising cleaning product that can be used on wooden floors is black tea (cool it down first though). On the other hand, what works best on stone floors is a solution of soda with water.

Spring cleaning is not an easy task and is probably not for everyone (in which case we suggest using our special Spring Cleaning Service). Thus, if you decide to take the challenge, it’s a good idea to ask somebody else for help. Split the duties between everyone sharing the household. Remember that the point is to greet the coming Spring with a nicely clean house, not to faint out of exhaust or suffer from pain in your back for the next two weeks!