Did you know that the month of February is named after the spring clean? the latin word ‘februare’ can be translated as ‘purification’. we’ve put together the 7 most important steps for a successful spring clean.
The spring clean does not involve just cleaning, but also tidying up and sorting things out:
The spring clean is also the ideal opportunity to get rid of old clothing, books or other things that you don’t need any more, or to put them in storage.
Step 1: Allow enough time – also factoring in breaks
The spring clean takes time. It’s always better to have a little too much time for the tasks than to allow too little. Depending on the size of your apartment, you should comfortably allow more than one day.
Step 2: Washing windows and curtains
Spring is a good time to wash the curtains and drapes and to dust curtain rods. The windows should be cleaned too. The cleaner for the panes must be dissolved in water. After cleaner has been applied to the pane from top to bottom, the squeegee comes into use. Excess soapy water is removed from the pane with the slide. The squeegee is ideally drawn in one movement across the pane. After every wipe you should quickly clean the rubber edge with a cloth. When finished, it is a good idea to remove any remaining moisture from the edges of the pane with a microfibre cloth or chamois leather.
Tip: Cleaning windows with two buckets makes sense, especially if you have several to clean:
You can fill one bucket with water plus all-purpose cleaner for the window frames, and put water and window cleaner in the second bucket (for example “mika“) for the panes.
Step 3: Dusting and cleaning cupboards
Book shelves are first dusted with a feather duster. Then the shelves are wiped from top to bottom, since the dirt can fall from the top onto the lower shelves. Tidying and cleaning out cupboards and drawers is also part of the spring clean. PC monitors or TV sets should be cleaned with a special cleaner. For the sake of completeness, house plants should also be given a generous showering to clean the dust from their leaves.
Step 4: Vacuuming and mopping the floors
Rugs are subsequently vacuumed and smooth floors mopped. In general, dirty floors should be damp rather than wet washed. Too much water could damage the flooring, laminate or parquet could swell up or warp. For tiles, too much moisture is not a problem, but it does make mopping more difficult as the flooring also has to be wiped dry again.
Step 5: Cleaning the kitchen
In the kitchen, start by cleaning the cupboards from the inside, then all the tiles and work surfaces. It is important that you use the right cleaning product: If a surface is only slightly dirty, an all-purpose cleaner is sufficient, but for grease stains, alkaline kitchen cleaners are more suitable.
Step 6: Cleaning the bathroom
On top of the usual cleaning of ceramics and fittings, for the spring clean, the tiles and joints should be wiped clear of bathroom cleaner.
Step 7: Cleaning the hallways etc.
Additionally, during the spring clean you should sweep away cobwebs from the hallway floors, clean the lamps, dust the coat rack, deep clean the floor and damp wipe the front door including the frame.
Tip: Air warm winter bedclothes, or wash if possible, then store them in the cornelia crystal box. Also put winter jackets in the washing machine or take them to the dry cleaners’, storing them away afterwards. Clean winter shoes too and put them away.