How To Deep Clean Your New Home in Ocean Shores

Moving into Ocean Shores is a dream come true. Coastal living is as good as it sounds.

However, many people are surprised by the high maintenance workload that comes with living near the ocean.

Plus, there’s a good chance your new home has been sitting vacant for a bit, and it could use a thorough cleaning before you move in. Most homes sold in Shores sit on the market between 80 to 94 days before selling, according to realtor.com.

Even with quick turnaround your new home could probably use some deep cleaning due to the fact it sits near the coast. Ocean Shores’ weather is relentless with strong winds blowing sand.

Deep cleaning this kind of home is a big chore, and can take a toll on you if you don’t plan and execute in a thoughtful way.

To help you out, I wrote this general guide that helps you plan and execute a deep cleaning for your new home in as little time with as little pain possible.

Here are the highlights for saving time and headaches while deep cleaning a vacant house:

1. Start at the highest horizontal surface (the ceiling) and work left to right, top to bottom.

2. Don’t get surfaces wet until you’ve captured all the dry soil and dust possible.

3. Plan your wet cleaning process for continuity, starting by letting heavy duty cleaning products work on tougher appliances and bathroom fixtures while continuing the lighter cleaning.

4. Save the floor for last.

5. Check your work before you move on to the next step so you don’t have to work twice and waste time covering the same ground multiple times.

Now, the long version:

When it comes to deep cleaning, a lot of people start with the dirtiest stuff first.

This make sense, as it satisfies our desire to be done NOW. It feels like you’re making faster progress, but in reality it’s not the most efficient way.

To deep clean your house easier, let's reframe your ideas about your home and interior spaces.

Right now, you probably see a living room, a kitchen, your bedrooms…and you want them clean and fresh before you unload the moving van.

Instead of seeing rooms, it’s best to visualize your home as a series of horizontal and vertical surfaces, top to bottom, in that order.

That way, it’s easy to understand that every horizontal (flat) surface is a dust trap that needs to be cleaned top to bottom, left to right.

Horizontal surfaces catch hair, dead skin, insect parts, dander, pollen and anything else floating around. That’s what “dust” is. It’s not dirt…it’s deceased biology mixed with microscopic rocks.

We must empty the dust traps from the top downward to not work twice.

Ex: If you clean some nasty countertops, and then dust the ceiling fan, you have to clean the countertops again. Clean top to bottom, left to right (or right to left if you’re a maverick).

Also, make sure everything is dry as possible at this stage. Some people want to spray some cleaner and go at dusty surfaces thinking it will be faster. It’s not. It makes you smear soil instead of collecting it.

It’s much easier and efficient to collect dry soil first, then attack remaining messes and stains with moisture, chemicals, and scrubbing.

It’s smart to use a dust mask, especially because it’s not you and your pets making this dust. It’s the previous owner(s).

Start at the highest ceiling corner with a ladder or pole extension. Dust your way methodically through each corner of the room and across the ceiling, not moving from that room until after light fixtures, fans, and all upper horizontal surfaces are dusted.

It’s ok if filth rains down at this point, because it will be cleaned up in subsequent steps.

Once the upper-level dusting is complete, address the dry soil resting on the standing-height and low-laying horizontal surfaces like cabinets and appliance tops, window sills, etc.

When your surfaces are dusted top to bottom, then vacuum it up from the lowest horizontal surface: the floor.

Some sneaky places that are easy to miss in the first step are ceiling fans, cupboard and drawer interiors, bathroom fans, and air vent covers. They can require ladders and tools to get to, but are important to address as a first step in an effort to make your home as clean as possible before moving in.

Next:

Select the dirtiest room, usually the kitchen or a bathroom. These are usually the best rooms to start with water and chemicals because they have ovens, microwaves, fridges, toilets, tubs, sinks and showers that need more exposure time for cleaning chemicals to penetrate stubborn grime.

I usually pick the kitchen because it has the oven, fridge and microwave. All 3 usually need extra time and attention because of the accessory parts and tough messes.

Wherever you start, the goal is to tackle light duty tasks nearby while your chemicals work on the heavy duty tasks.

Example in the kitchen:

Preheat and Spray the oven with your oven cleaner of choice, then spend the downtime wiping down the cabinet interiors (that have been dusted in the first step) and countertops while the chemicals work.

Or, you can take the shelves out of the fridge and the spinning plate from the microwave and get after it. Don’t worry about the sink yet; you’ll be using it to rinse appliance parts and cleaning tools.

The sink will be very last part of the kitchen and bathroom, after you finish scrubbing with the appliances.

Whichever path you choose, pick a process that allows you to keep moving. It sounds overkill to some, but planning the job saves tons of time and effort in this long slog of a chore.

Bathroom, same idea:

Start at the toilet and tub. Apply your heavy-duty bathroom cleaner of choice, and while it’s working, start cleaning the mirror with your glass cleaner, then the vanity and sink with whatever it calls for depending on the material. Then, scrub the heavies AFTER the chemical has penetrated the toughest stains present.

Go room by room, starting with heavy duty chemical application when required, followed by light-duty tasks in the same room, followed by heavy duty scrubbing and rinsing to finish the room out.

Next:

When all the rooms are finished, it’s time for the floors.

Start on your floors only when every horizontal and vertical surface above it is cleaned. That includes baseboards and appliances too! It's a wasted effort to clean the floor if any surface above it is dirty.

Before I start on floors, I always audit the cleaning.

A quick check allows me to see if I missed anything before I start with the final step. Once I’m sure all horizontal and vertical surfaces are checked and clear, it’s time to clean the floors.

Hard floors need a thorough dust mop followed by a wet mop. Carpets need thorough vacuuming followed by hot water extraction.

It might take a couple of passes to get your floors clean at first, especially if they’ve been neglected. It depends on how soiled they were to begin with.

When you’re cleaning hard floors like LVT, tile and hardwood, take a couple of passes with a dry mop or a dust broom. If you start with wet mopping, you smear the dirt around and make mud. It’s much eaiser and more thorough to pick up when it’s dry.

When you have the dry soil taken care of, it’s time for chemicals and scrubbing.

Use the appropriate cleaner for your flooring surface. LVT is going to need a very different kind of cleaner compared to hardwood. The wrong chemical can seriously damage some floors, and at the very least will leave an unsightly film that collects dirt.

After this, you can move into your new home knowing you’ve done everything possible to get get it clean.

Deep cleaning your new home takes hard work and a lot of time, and not everyone is up for it. If you want your new home deep cleaned, but you don’t want to suffer through the process, give SafeTech a call.

We can deep clean your house, even the carpets. Get your home in great shape before move-in. Call or text to schedule a free estimate!