Whether you’re spring or autumn cleaning, or your house has reached the “I just can’t take it any more” level (we’ve all been there), here’s how to give your house a full deep clean. It’s easier than you might think. Start with six basic cleaning steps, then tackle a few room-specific chores, and you’ll have a house that passes any white-glove inspection in almost no time.

6 Steps for Every Room

1. De-clutter Just a Bit. Find a new place for – or better yet, get rid of – anything that does not belong in the room but is visible. (Save the stuff behind closed doors for another day. You don’t want to get overwhelmed.) Clearing the clutter makes deep cleaning easier, plus seeing those tidy surfaces will give you the oomph to keep going.

2. Start High, Go Low. Tackle the big, hard-to-reach surfaces in this order: ceiling, ceiling trim, ceiling light fixtures (including bulbs), walls, the rest of the trim, and baseboards. The best tool is a clean microfiber mop or duster with a telescoping handle. (They’re so thin you can get behind the sofa without moving it.) Above eye level, a spritz of water is all you need on the mop. You can buy distilled water for these cleaning tasks as distilled water will not leave behind any residue. Below, where there is actual dirt plus dust, use warm water mixed with a drop of dish soap. (In bathrooms, add a splash of white vinegar to stop mould.) Where a mop is unwieldy, use a microfiber cloth. Rinse often and wring thoroughly.

3. Yep, You Do Windows. It’s not that bad, and the payoff is huge. First, vacuum the sills and tracks. Then spritz the window with cleaner from top to bottom. Let the cleaner do its thing for a minute, then squeegee it off. If you wipe in one direction on inside windows and another on outside ones, it will be easier to see and fix streaks.

4. Spruce Up Those Window Treatments. Save yourself the trouble of taking down blinds or shades. All you really need to do is vacuum them using the brush attachment. And instead of laundering and ironing curtains, just fluff them in the dryer for a few minutes (while you wipe off the rod and rings). Then hang them right back up.

5. Ditch the Dust. Wipe all remaining hard surfaces (wood furniture, shelves, built-ins, etc.) using a petroleum distillate-free, beeswax-based wood cleaner. If you feel the need for speed, put a clean cotton tube sock on your dominant hand and move objects with the other. Finally, take a lint roller to the lampshades.

6. Refresh Those Floors. Folks, to do this right, you’ve gotta move the furniture, even the biggies like beds and sofas. To make that easier now and in the future, put furniture gliders under the big pieces. Then break out your Dyson vacuum’s crevice tool to get at the dirt in corners and along baseboards. Can’t find it in the mess? Why not look into investing in Dyson spares and give your vacuum some much-needed love and upgrade?

If you have a hard floor, clean it with a microfiber mop and the prescribed cleanser. If you have carpet, now is a good time to rent a professional-grade cleaner. (And if you have pets and/or kids, think about investing in your own.)

“I feel as though many people don’t appreciate just how much of a deep-clean Spring cleaning is supposed to be. This is an opportunity to spruce up all the nooks and crannies that are ignored throughout the year. A chance to really scrub the skirting boards and dust the top of that shelf you can’t even see. That being said, high-touch surfaces should remain a priority, especially during a pandemic. A cleaning novice may feel content with a spot of vacuuming, dusting and a quick wipe of the counters, but this leaves out some essential areas that are likely to be touched by multiple germ-ridden hands throughout the day. Light switches; door, cupboard and drawer handles; remote controls, keyboards and other shared devices; taps and flush handles; the kettle, microwave and fridge; even the steering wheel and seat belts in the car! To some, this is just your average weekly clean, but many others will have neglected these high-touch surfaces for far too long. Wet wipe sachets and multipacks are ideal for the regular, quick clean that these surfaces require.” ~ Jeremy Freedman, Guardpack

Room-by-Room To-Do’s

Bedroom

Launder the Bedding. Wash the bed skirt, duvet cover, shams, and pillows (even down-filled). Give them an extra spin cycle to make drying faster. Dry down pillows on low with clean tennis balls to prevent clumping; dry synthetics outdoors. For comforters, hit the laundromat and use one of the extra-large front-loaders.

Freshen the Mattress. While your bed is disassembled, sprinkle baking soda on the mattress, let it sit for an hour, and then vacuum it up using the hose attachment. Flip or rotate the mattress per the manufacturer’s advice and repeat.

Bonus Points: Pull out the clothes you didn’t wear this past season and bag them for consigning or donating. Then treat your wardrobe to matching hangers. If your closet looks nice, you’ll try harder to keep it under control.

Kitchen

Polish the Cabinets. Wipe the exposed tops first, then cut newspaper to fit them. The paper collects the dust, so next time all you’ll have to do is replace the paper. Genius. Next, wipe the front and back of the doors with wood cleaner (for painted or laminate surfaces, use warm water with a squirt of dish soap). Try the tube sock trick here. Put one on each hand, spritz with cleaner, and make like Mr Miyagi: wax on, wax off.

Deep Clean In and Around Appliances. Wait until the fridge is nearly empty, then wipe it down, inside and out. Do the same for the stove and dishwasher. If possible, pull them out from the wall to get at the surrounding walls and the floor.

Tidy the Countertops, move everything off the counters, clean them and the backsplash thoroughly with Hippo Anti Bacterial Wipes and then return only what you use daily. Find hidden spots for everything else.

Bonus Points: Take everything off your pantry shelves and wipe them down. A roasting pan is the perfect crumb catcher. Still, going strong? Rent an air compressor and blow the dust bunnies off your refrigerator coils to boost its efficiency.

Bathroom

Wash the Shower Curtain. It can probably go in the gentle cycle on a cold but check the tag. Set dryer on low and remove and rehang curtain before it’s completely dry. Either wash the liner on cold and hang it to dry or spring for a new one.

Make Shower Doors Sparkle. To get rid of water spots and soap scum, heat distilled white vinegar and wipe it on the doors, reapplying to keep them wet for 30 minutes. Then scrub with baking soda sprinkled on a non-scratch pad. Want to keep the shower cleaner longer? Add a squeegee and switch to glycerin soap. (Animal fat and talc in regular soap leave that icky residue.)

If your bathtub seal needs an upgrade, go for something like SEALit Sanitary Silicone by Hippo Products – it’s a superior, mould resistant, acetoxy curing silicone sealant.

Bonus Points: Bring order to the chaos under the sink. Pull everything out, toss what doesn’t belong there, wipe down what does, and reload it by category.

Living Room

Freshen the Furniture. Remove cushions and vacuum every upholstered surface, including the backs, with the brush attachment.

Don’t Forget the Frames. Take all framed artwork and photos down and dust them front and back using a damp microfiber cloth. Attention: Don’t spray anything directly on the glass. It could seep into the corners of the frame and potentially ruin the picture and mat.

If you’re thinking of freshening up your living room walls, paint the walls in a colour that makes you happy – don’t forget to use an easy tear tape for masking areas before applying paint like the General Purpose Masking Tape by Hippo Products.

Dust Under the Electronics. Nobody’s asking you to unhook and move everything. That would be nuts. Just get one of those ultra-skinny dusting wands (E-cloth cleaning and dusting wand, $20.58; amazon.com) and run it under the components.

Bonus Points: Launder all the throws and throw pillow covers. Also, take a good look at the DVDs, CDs, video games, and other media tucked behind closed doors. Is there anything you can get rid of, maybe even sell for a little cash?

Stock Up

We asked four of our favourite cleaning pros, what’s in your caddy?

• Baking soda in a shaker
• Clean paintbrushes (for dusting delicate items)
• Dish soap (liquid or powdered)
• Distilled white vinegar
• Gloves
• Lint roller (for lampshades and upholstery)
• Microfiber cloths (both multipurpose and glass-only)
• Microfiber mop with covers for different types of floors
• Mr Clean Magic Eraser sponges
• DIY Multipurpose cleaner
• Incredibly absorbent, all-purpose, dry paper cloths by Hippo Products
• Nylon non-scratch scrub pad
• Rubbing alcohol
• Stiff-bristled, toothbrush-size brush (for shower door tracks, drains, etc.)
• Streak-free window and glass cleaner
• Telescoping pole with cobweb, ceiling fan, microfiber, and squeegee attachments
• Wood cleaner/conditioner