Cleaning House: Secrets of a Really Deep Spring Cleaning

Deep clean your house and you’ll brighten rooms and help maintain your home’s value.


De-bug the light fixtures
See that bug burial ground within your overhead fixtures? Turn off the lights and carefully remove fixture covers, dump out flies and wash with hot soapy water. While you’re up there, dust bulbs. Dry everything thoroughly before replacing the cover.

Vacuum heat vents and registers
Dirt and dust build up in heat vents and along register blades. Vents also are great receptacles for coins and missing buttons. Unscrew vent covers from walls or pluck them from floors, remove foreign objects, and vacuum inside the vent. Clean grates with a damp cloth and screw back tightly.

Polish hardware
To deep clean brass door hinges, handles, and cabinet knobs, thoroughly wipe with a damp microfiber cloth, then polish with Wright’s or Weiman brass cleaner ($4). Dish soap shines up glass or stainless steel knobs. Use a Q-tip to detail the ornamental filigree on knobs and handles.

Replace grungy switch plates
Any amateur can wipe a few fingerprints off cover plates that hide light switches, electric outlets, phone jacks, and cable outlets. But only deep cleaners happily remove plates to vacuum and swipe the gunk behind. (OK, we’re a little OCD when it comes to dirt!) Make sure cover plates are straight when you replace them. And pitch plates that are beyond the help of even deep cleaning. New ones cost less than $2 each.

Neaten weather stripping
Peeling, drooping weather stripping on doors and windows makes rooms look old. If the strip still has some life, nail or glue it back. If it’s hopeless, cut out and replace sections, or just pull the whole thing off and start new. A 10-ft. roll of foam weather stripping costs $8; 16-ft. vinyl costs about $15.

Replace stove drip pans
Some drip pans are beyond the scrub brush. Replacing them costs about $3 each and instantly freshens your stove.

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Green Window Cleaning Makes Glass Pane-Fully Clear

Window cleaning with non-toxic ingredients and reusable cloths protects your health, preserves resources, gains a streak-free view, and stretches your budget.

Mix a green window cleaning solution
Commercials cleaners leave behind a waxy residue on windows that can result in streaks. A homemade window cleaning solution made with vinegar and water helps cut through grime, minimizes streaking and water spots, and prevents windows from fogging.

The first time you clean your windows with a homemade vinegar solution, include a few drops of dish detergent to eliminate the waxy buildup. Combine these ingredients in a spray bottle for streak-free windows:

¼-cup white vinegar
¼- to ½-tsp. eco-friendly dish detergent
2 cups water

After an inaugural washing, keep your windows spotless with a window cleaning solution made from 2 teaspoons white vinegar mixed in 1 quart warm water. (Too much vinegar can etch window glass, which results in clouding.)

You can whip up gallons of window cleaning solution for a few dollars: A 32-ounce bottle of white vinegar costs about $2. A 16-ounce bottle of eco-friendly dish soap costs about $3.50. By comparison, a 16-ounce bottle of commercial window cleaner costs about $3.

Polish to a sustainable shine
Use microfiber cloths, rather than paper towels or newspapers, for window cleaning. Paper towels are manufactured from trees and end up in the landfill. Newspapers can blacken your hands and fall apart. Microfiber cloths are affordable, lint-free, and can be washed and reused again and again.

A six-pack of reusable microfiber cleaning cloths can be purchased at national discount stores for less than $10. By comparison, an eight-pack of bargain-priced paper towels costs about $9.

Window cleaning tips
Window cleaning on a sunny day can dry the solution too quickly and create streaks, so select a cloudy day to work.
Begin window cleaning by spritzing the glass with your homemade vinegar solution. Wipe away grime with a damp microfiber cloth. Rinse this cloth often in clean water.
Follow with a dry microfiber cloth to polish the glass to a shine.