Fall House Cleaning Tips


Up to now, once-a-year cleaning chores had been carried out in the spring. Through the years, I have gradually shifted many of these to the fall. It simply makes more sense.


For those who have family or friends over for Thanksgiving or winter holidays, fall is the ideal time to perform these things.

It's going to ensure you have a cleaner home and don't wind up putting things off until the last minute. It makes all the holiday seasons a lot less nerve-racking!

The Three Big Fall Jobs

Clean The Carpets

According to carpet industry experts, you should have the carpets professionally cleaned every 6-18 months depending on the traffic in your home.
If you do it once a year, fall is the ideal time. Your carpets are going to be beautiful for holiday family get togethers and parties.

The majority of carpet cleaning businesses offer a special deal in which they will come back and deal with any stain within so many months of cleaning.

If you clean in the fall and one of the kids splatters cranberry sauce on the carpet at Thanksgiving, you are covered.

You should also allow them to professionally vacuum the carpet prior to cleaning. They are able to eliminate much more dirt than your vacuum can.

Clean The Attic

As soon as the weather cools down, it's actually the best time to get up in the attic and get rid of the dust and mildew!

All you need to do is take a vacuum up to the attic, begin with the ceilings, and work your way down.

If you have never been in the attic or simply don't want to do this project yourself (some attics involve some unsafe maneuvering), it is possible to hire someone to do it for you. 

The advantage is you will increase the quality of air inside the entire house. In addition, you will also have a thoroughly clean place for storage.

Make sure to use a dust mask and protective eyeglasses, especially if you have never cleaned your attic. You will produce a lot of particle clouds floating around up there!

Look for damp places caused by roof leaks.

Clean The Chandeliers And Light Fixtures

The beginning of fall is the best time to clean up chandeliers, light globes, and light diffusers. Maybe you are going to have people over for the holidays, and let's face it - that is the one time you see exactly how filthy your lights are!

The easiest method to clean a chandelier is to leave it where it is. Taking apart the chandelier creates a much bigger job, and you may not know how to put it all back together again!

Get yourself a step stool or a ladder and clean using a damp cloth. An additional method is by using two cotton gloves - one sprayed with window cleaner and one dry.

After that you should tackle the light globes on ceiling fans along with other fixtures. You should do a room at a time. Detach the globes carefully and allow them to soak while you're cleaning the room.

Rinse and wipe them clean and replace them after. It isn't hard, but most of us have a lot of light fixtures.

You are going to notice a change in lighting immediately. Don't forget the porch lights!

Additional Fall Cleaning Jobs

Draperies

Read the labeling on your drapes. If they're machine washable, wash them on gentle cycle with Woolite or any other gentle detergent and let them hang dry.

If they are dry clean only, don't take any chances, bring them in to be cleaned.

Oven and Range

You most likely do this when needed, however this is an excellent time for you to do a thorough oven cleaning, particularly if you cook and bake a lot through the holidays.

Use a spray cleaner and let it sit overnight. Wipe clean in the morning. Starting with a clean oven will make it much easier to wipe the oven clean the day after Thanksgiving.

Remember to take off the range and oven knobs and dials and let them soak in soapy dishwater.

Refrigerator and Freezer

This is the time to do a thorough job where you take everything out and clean the shelves and drawers.

It won't take long enough to worry about any food spoiling if you just get in there and do it!

Use an antibacterial household cleaner and wipe down the shelves. Take the drawers out and wash them in the kitchen sink.

When you're done with these two tasks, take everything out of the freezer and put to one side of the sink. Use the same antibacterial cleaner to wipe down all surfaces.

If you have ice cube trays, wash them in the top shelf of the dishwasher or let them soak in the sink.

Polish Silver

Many people just use their good silver around the holiday seasons, so this will be the ideal time to polish and shine silver serving pieces and tarnished silver flatware.

Furniture and Rugs

Move large furnishings and mop or vacuum underneath them. This particular task only has to be done once a year, so don't break your back doing this more frequently.

Turn over area rugs and vacuum the backside. This will help get any dirt and grime that is hiding at the base of the rug fibers.

Never beat an area rug to clean it. This can break down the rug backing and fibers.

Gutters

Of course, fall is the time of year your gutters get packed with leaves. Clean them with a special hose attachment that has a hooked end to get down into the gutters.

Better yet, look into attaching "hoods" or "helmets" to the gutters so you won't have to worry as much about leaves in the future!

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