Deep cleaning is all about the details. When you take the time to clean the things in your home that are a little harder to get to, you’ll notice how it makes your place feel more tidy and welcoming. To get started, create your cleaning schedule, pick a room, and make a quick run to the store. Then, get ready to tackle all of the details that are covered in our deep cleaning tips.

How often should you deep clean?

There are a few different ways you can begin to integrate deep cleaning into your home upkeep routine. If you’ve done any spring cleaning in the past, that’s great! Spring is the perfect time to declutter, gtaclean, and organize, but you should also deep clean more frequently than one season a year. One schedule you can choose to follow is seasonal, or about one weekend deep clean every 3 months. Another option is to break down your deep cleaning checklist into smaller monthly or weekly tasks, tackling one room per month, or 1-2 tasks per week, so that you chip away on an ongoing basis.

The more people who share a living space, the more often it should be deep cleaned. If you live with roommates, divide up the cleaning tasks—both deep cleaning and more ongoing upkeep—equally among everyone. Consider assigning an area of the home (except for the bedrooms, of course) to a different person.

What you’ll need

You don’t need fancy specialty cleaners to deep clean your house. Common products like white vinegar, baking soda, dish soap, a scrub brush, and microfiber cleaning cloths are effective and easy to find. Here’s a starter list to help you stock your cleaning cabinet or caddy:

• Rubber gloves
• All purpose cleaner (or homemade)
• Glass cleaner
• Baking soda
• White vinegar
• Dish soap
• Sponge
• Scrub brush
• Detail brush or old toothbrush
• Squeegee
• Plastic bucket
• Spray bottle
• Microfiber cloths
• Cleaning cloths (like dish towels or rags), or paper towels
• Vacuum with attachments
• Mop or steamer
• Broom or vacuum with a hard flooring setting

Two simple homemade cleaning products

Baking soda paste and one to one vinegar spray are both used throughout our deep cleaning tips. To make the one to one baking soda paste, start with a cup of baking soda and add splashes of water until it forms a paste similar to the consistency of wet sand. 

• “One to one” means equal parts. When you’re making the vinegar spray, start with one cup vinegar and one cup water then increase in equal parts as needed for the size of the cleaning task. Always label your spray bottle with the solution that it contains.

Tip: If you are sensitive to the scent of vinegar, you can add a few drops of any essential oil (like citrus or lavender) to temper the aroma. A squeeze of lemon is a simple fix if you can’t find essential oils.

Tip: Look for the gallon jug of white vinegar and the large bag of baking soda. Buying multiples of the regular sized boxes is perfectly fine but it is more cost effective if you can find the large bag at your local store.

Room-by-room guide to deep cleaning

Bathroom

Bathtub, fixtures, and grout

• If soap and water haven’t been doing the trick for getting your bathtub and fixtures sparkling clean and free of soap scum, make a paste of baking soda and water and scrub with a brush. Use a detail brush, or an old toothbrush, to clean in and around your fixtures—finishing with the microfiber cloth will help them shine. 
• Clean your shower head by soaking it overnight in vinegar and water. You can do this by either removing it, or filling a bag with cleaning solution and fastening it around the shower head.
• The same technique can also be used to clean grout. If baking soda alone isn’t getting your grout clean, spray with a one to one white vinegar and water mixture. The baking soda will begin to bubble as it reacts with the vinegar and that reaction will help lift the stains. Scrub again and rinse with warm water once clean.

Shower curtains

• If your shower curtain is fabric, wash and dry according to the directions. 
• If your shower curtain liner is past the point of cleaning, toss and replace as needed.