It’s almost that time again. Time to make sure your home is free of dust, mold, mildew and all varieties of dirt. An annual spring cleaning is also the perfect time to see what parts of your house are in disrepair, and perhaps in need of professional attention.
Below is a quick checklist you can use to walk through your house (or apartment) and make sure things are in good shape for the coming year. Don’t forget to keep a notepad handy in case you come across things like cracked walls or floors, problems with your roof, leaky pipes or faulty wiring. Handyman services get lots of calls in late March and early April from homeowners who find broken pipes and bad wiring while doing their routine cleaning chores.
Your spring cleaning checklist (add other items unique to your home):
- First thing’s first. Do a walk-through of all the areas you intend to clean, noting places that might need special attention because they are extremely dirty or contain something that needs to be fixed (a cracked bathtub, a frayed wire, etc.). Make detailed notes as you survey the structure.
- Divide your cleaning chores into three categories, loosely referred to as floors and furniture (which of course includes carpets), bathrooms and kitchen, and “general cleaning,” a sort of catchall category that can include walls, windows (inside and out), beds, and air ducts (usually best to have a pro do the ducts, but it doesn’t hurt to shine a flashlight and inspect them yourself each year).
- Remember to be safe. It helps to have at least one (the more the merrier!) helper to hold ladders, assist with moving furniture out of the way for vacuuming, and to keep an eye on any hazards that might come up. Cleaning can be a strenuous affair, and you’ll be safer if you have a good helper.
- Keep in mind that besides cleaning, you are actually performing an inspection of your home and all its components. As you clean each area, be on the lookout for things like water leaks from pipes or appliances, wiring that obviously needs to be replaced, worn tiles or carpets that could be a safety issue, any abnormalities in ceilings, apparent problems with major appliances, and cracks or lines in the home’s foundation.
If we’re smart, we all try to visit the doctor at least once per year for a physical. Think of spring cleaning this way, and you’ll be doing your house a favor. Take thorough notes and be ready to refer any big or dangerous, jobs to a professional. There’s no sense in letting a leaky pipe, for example, become a bigger, more expensive problem. Catch those little things while they’re still minor repair jobs and you’ll be ahead of the game for 2015. Happy cleaning (and inspecting)!