Keeping dust build-up to a minimum, especially if you suffer from allergies, can improve your overall quality of life. Decluttering rooms, regularly changing air filters, improving pet care routines, and swapping pillows are all easy ways to control the dust in your home.

Regular cleaning covers the basics, including vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, etc. These efforts ensure your home looks great and smells fresh, but over time, your home will get progressively dirty because regular cleaning efforts do not touch on many other areas where dust, dirt, and grime accumulate.

A deep clean removes your home’s deep-seated dirt and grime. It covers the areas that aren’t typically included in regular cleaning.

The Benefits of Deep Cleaning

There are various cleaning activities that you justifiably don’t need to tackle every week (e.g., you don’t need to clean baseboards and ceiling fans as often as you need to mop the kitchen floor). Nevertheless, your home can look and feel dirty when you ignore these and other chores for some time.

Here are three tangible benefits of a regular deep clean:

1. Eliminates Many Viruses and Bacteria

Dirty homes harbor all sorts of dangerous bacteria and viruses. The more dirt that makes its way into your home, the more likely you are to introduce unwanted viruses and bacteria. Quick surface wipe downs keep some of the lesser bugs at bay. However, only a deep cleaning can eradicate the bigger germs that lurk beneath.  

2. Improves Indoor Air Quality 

Poor indoor air quality is associated with illness and infections. Deep cleaning carpets, furniture, and surfaces guarantee a decrease in allergens, such as dust mites.

3. Reduces Stress 

It may not be apparent, but a clean home aids in stress reduction. Even if only every six months, deep cleaning helps purify your home and invites a more peaceful and healthy living space. By eliminating dust, trash, clutter, and dander, you can enjoy a healthier home. 

What Does a Deep Cleaning Include? 

A deep cleaning will remove the stubborn dirt and grime in your home. It covers the areas that you don’t typically incorporate in regular cleaning, including: 

• Shower stalls, bathtubs, and bathroom fixtures
• Thoroughly dusting lampshades
• Cleaning light switches and power outlets
• Vacuuming window treatments
• Cleaning ceiling fans and air vents
• Thoroughly cleaning appliances (inside and outside)
• Wiping handprints and dirt off walls and doors
• Wiping down door handles

How to Deep Clean Your Home

Protect yourself from dust by dusting frequently and wearing a mask while cleaning. As you make your way through your house, begin with these deep cleaning tips to streamline the process:

1. Declutter Before Deep Cleaning

Find a new place for (or even better, remove) any visible clutter that does not belong in the room. Clearing out clutter makes deep cleaning more manageable and seeing those tidy areas can help boost your motivation to keep going.

2. Go from High to Low

Clean large, difficult to reach areas, starting from the top and working your way to the floor: 

• Ceiling
• Ceiling trim
• Ceiling light fixtures and bulbs 
• Walls
• Remaining trim
• Baseboards

Surfaces near the floor tend to build up dirt and dust, so mix a small amount of dish soap in warm water. In bathrooms, add a dash of white vinegar to the mixture to eliminate mold and mildew. 

For areas where using a mop is problematic, use a microfiber cloth, rinsing often, and wringing thoroughly. Tools that are typically thin enough to get behind the sofa without moving it are best for these surfaces (e.g., a clean microfiber mop or a duster with a contracting handle).

3. Deep Clean Windows

First, vacuum the sills and tracks. Next, spray the window with a glass cleaner from top to bottom. Let the cleaner sit for a minute, then squeegee it off. Wiping inside and outside windows in different directions makes it easier to see and fix streaks.

4. Spruce Up Window Treatments

Vacuum blinds and shades using a brush attachment. Instead of laundering and ironing curtains, fluff them in the dryer for a few minutes while wiping off the rod and rings. Then hang just them back up.

5. Remove Dust from Surfaces

Wipe remaining hard surfaces (wood furniture, shelving, etc.) using furniture cleaner, polish, and a soft cloth. Finally, use a lint roller on the lampshades.

6. Deep Clean Floors

To do this right, you’ll have to move the furniture, especially substantial pieces like beds and sofas. To move heavy pieces easier, place furniture sliders under the legs of big pieces. Then use your vacuum’s crevice tool to get the dirt in corners and along the baseboards. If you have a hard surface floor, clean it with a microfiber mop and the appropriate cleaner.

Final Thoughts from USHEALTH Group

Even though you regularly clean your home, it can still collect harmful quantities of dust and other allergens. Bacteria and other organisms that begin growing on surfaces can make your home smell musty or, in general, dirty and leave behind visible filth. Through deep cleaning, you can thoroughly clean all of the surfaces not touched during a typical cleaning session. Your reward will be a pristine home where you love spending time. 

Learn more about how viruses spread to understand how you can keep a healthy home.

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