How to "Detail Clean" Your House

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By PearlsWisdom
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Article Rating: (56 Ratings)

"Detail Clean" Your House

Sometimes speed-cleaning your house is good enough, but there are other times when you should pay extra attention to the details, like when you're expecting a visit from your mother-in-law, showing your house to potential buyers, or any time you want to impress. That’s when it’s time to "detail clean" your house. Here’s a low-down on the areas that are easily skipped during speed-cleaning but that make the difference between clean and sparkling.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Extra time and attention to detail, combined with your regular cleaning supplies. Suggestions:
Vacuum cleaner with attachments
Rubber gloves
Bucket and mop
Rags
All-purpose cleaner such as Mr. Clean or Spic 'n Span
Windex
Furniture polish

Step 1

Clean your floors all the way to the walls. Get the vacuum cleaner attachments and get every crumb that regular vacuuming misses. Vacuum all the way under heaters, woodwork, behind doors, under cabinets, in closets, and under furniture. For uncarpeted floors, wipe edges and corners by hand. A really clean floor makes your whole room look cleaner.
Step 2

Scrub trash cans and the walls behind them. In the kitchen, food tossed in the trash may leave splatter marks on the walls or cabinets around them, especially if you have young kids - well, make that kids of any age. If you have pets, check the floor and walls near their food dishes for stray splatters.
Step 3

Wipe kitchen cabinet doors, paying particular attention to the area near the handles. Check lower cabinets for splatter marks from mopping.
Step 4

Dust well, including ceiling fan blades, the backs of electronics (which tend to attract lots of dust), and all furniture surfaces. You want to see shine, not dust.
Step 5

Make sure your front door is sparkling clean, then check the walls near all of your doors and door frames. Sometimes people unknowingly touch a wall when they walk through a door, leaving an accumulation of dirt that you don’t notice until you look for it.
Step 6

Clean your windows, including the windowsills. If you have a cat that sits at a window, look at the wall below the window. It’s common to find smudgy pawprints near the windowsill.
Step 7

Wipe your bathroom fixtures from top to bottom. Scrub away any mildew near the base of the toilet and sink. Get a fresh shower curtain liner.

Comments

formythreeboyz said

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on 12/6/2009 Very well written advice on how to detail clean your house. Would you like to come over and do it for me? LOL Thanks. 5* and a recommend

debstips said

on 10/18/2009 Very nice article on detail cleaning.I do cleaning for a living and my specialty is detail cleaning.5* and recommendation.

PearlsWisdom said

on 10/18/2009 Yes, it's always good to clean from top to bottom!

riefderrico said

on 10/18/2009 Great article! Another tip - When detail cleaning your home it is always a good idea to start at the top and work your way down. (Ceiling fans, light fixtures first then coffee tables then vaccum etc...) This way your not messing up what you have already done. Simple but you'd be supprised how many do it the opposite direction ;)