Deep Cleaning Your Lexington Home

We all know those cleaning tasks we avoid until it’s absolutely necessary – when the oven makes smoke signals, or the inside of the microwave looks like your kids finger painting project. While it may be greasy, the payoff is huge. So, stop putting those deep cleaning tasks aside! Molly Maids offers this advice below.

What Do I Need to Deep Clean My Home?

• Disposable rags, scrub pads or towels that you don’t mind throwing away
• Two buckets: one for the dirty/greasy water and another for fresh clean water
• Your favorite degreaser, dish soap and disinfectant spray
• A pair of rubber gloves
• An abrasive scrub pad
• A spray bottle with 1:1 vinegar and water
• A scrub brush or an old toothbrush

Deep Cleaning the Entire Home

Dust and vacuum: Hard-to-reach ledges, windows, light fixtures and above cabinets. Basically, all the places that are too hard to reach during your normal cleaning routine. Break out the stepladder! Just be careful.

Faucets: De-scale faucets / showerheads throughout the home with vinegar. Clean out aerators.

Vent Covers: Remove HVAC vent covers and wash them in the sink with warm soapy water.

Windows: Vacuum windowsills and window tracks. Remove cobwebs and bugs from window screens

Ceiling Fans: Wipe down ceiling fan blades.

Carpet: Spot clean stains on carpet and upholstery.

Doors: Wipe down doors and doorframes for fingerprints and smudges.

Garbage Cans: Wipe out and sanitize garbage cans, recycling bins and wastebaskets.

Blinds: Give your blinds a deep clean by spraying them with vinegar and scrubbing them down.

Couch & Chairs: Remove all cushions and vacuum the creases where pet hair and popcorn love to call home. Also, move the couch to clean underneath it and behind it if it sits against a wall.

Cabinets/Drawers: Empty cabinets and drawers one at a time and give them a vacuum and wipe with a clean wet rag or your favorite cleaning spray. Wipe down all cabinet faces as well.

How to Deep Clean the Kitchen

Oven: Before you crank up the heat on your “self-cleaning” oven, let’s get out all the stuff that can be a fire hazard. Learn the best way to clean an oven from the Molly Maid blog. Now that all the baked-on food is gone, you can clean the wire racks.

Stovetop: Remove the pot grates from the stovetop and soak in hot soapy water. If you have an electric oven, you can remove/unplug the coils to make cleaning easier. Some oven/cooktops have a slide-out tray beneath the burners to catch food – don’t forget this! Scrub down all surfaces and control knobs with a soapy sponge and then a clean wet rag. Don’t forget the hood fan and the hood fan filter.

Microwave: Before you grease that elbow, loosen the food splatters with lemon and vinegar. If your microwave is tucked into an enclave in the cabinets, or on the countertop, don’t forget to remove it to clean underneath/around it. Use glass cleaner for the microwave face and keypad.

Toaster: Remove the fire hazard (also known as breadcrumbs) in the bottom of your toaster.

Refrigerator/Freezer: Read more about how to clean a refrigerator / freezer. Don’t forget the rubber gasket around the door seals; clean these with warm soapy water and then disinfect. Use this time to throw away expired items.

Sink: This seems like a no-brainer, but after all that cleaning, your kitchen sink is going to be filthy. Wipe it out with hot soapy water, paying attention to the crevices in the backsplash, and around the faucet. A disinfectant spray with bleach can help with stubborn stains.

Dishwasher: Use baking soda and vinegar to clean your dishwasher to remove soap residue and build up that accumulates over time. Just run it empty with a cup of vinegar and ½ cup baking soda.

Deep Cleaning the Bathroom

Grout: White grout can really brighten the appearance of a bathroom. There are many special grout cleaners to make this deep cleaning job easier.

Shower Curtain: Wash your linen shower curtain if it’s washing machine safe. For the plastic curtain behind the linen one, you can either clean it or replace it. They’re cheap and usually cleaning can be difficult.

Toilet:  Wipe all surfaces. Pay attention to the base and behind it as well.

For more information please visit: https://www.mollymaid.com/cleaning-tips/schedules-charts-and-checklists/deep-cleaning-home-checklist/

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