In recent weeks, the UK has enjoyed sunshine and warmer weather as we welcomed the official first day of spring on the 20th March. However, reports of wintry weather, including snow and sleet, being on the way came true on the final day of the month in several parts of the UK.
Whilst some people may be disappointed to see the sun disappear for a while, the colder weather - which could encourage us to spend more time indoors - presents an opportunity for people to carry out a ‘Spring Clean’. It may appear initially to be a daunting task, however a thorough clean can be the perfect way to welcome the changing season and freshen up your property.
In order to carry out an effective deep clean, it is important for people to remember the areas that are often neglected, such as high frequency touchpoints, or high level and hard to reach areas. As experts in specialist hygiene, in this blog we share some of our top cleaning tips for five key areas in the home, to help anyone looking to undertake an effective ‘Spring Clean’.
High frequency touchpoints can be vectors for the transmission of microbes as they will often be touched by many different people on a regular basis, so neglecting them may increase the chance of spreading viruses and illnesses.
When carrying out a deep clean in your property, you should begin by thinking about how each room is used and be sure to clean all high frequency touchpoints, wiping them down with an antimicrobial cleaning product.
For most rooms, high frequency touchpoints will include objects such as light switches and door handles. In the kitchen, areas of focus should also include appliance handles including fridge doors, microwave doors and buttons, kettle handles and cupboard doors.
When tackling rooms such as a lounge or children's play room, you should think about addressing TV, DVD, Sky and games console remote controls as they are often used by multiple people. In a home study, areas such as the arms of office chairs, computer keyboards and mice should also be tackled.
It is important not to forget areas that are hard to reach or at a high level such as curtain poles, or the tops of cupboards, door frames and fridges. To enable a proper deep clean of a room, you should also move furniture like sofas, chairs and cabinets away from walls so that you can easily vacuum and clean both underneath, and around them.
If you have one or multiple pets, then you need to pay particular attention to the area where they sleep or frequent. If your pet uses a cage, you should make sure to wipe down and vacuum underneath it regularly to avoid a build-up of dirt and bacteria. You should also wash pet bedding, towels and blankets with an antibacterial washing detergent on a regular basis to ensure they remain hygienically clean.
As the main passageways in your home or business, it is important that hallways and porches are cleaned effectively, by hoovering, sweeping and disinfecting the floor area with the relevant cleaning product for the surface. Areas just inside doors or entranceways should receive particular attention, as these are places where dirt may be transported in from the outside via visitors or residents’ shoes. Coupled with this, you should be attentive to common touchpoints in the vicinity, such as door handles and bannisters, again wiping them down with an antimicrobial cleaning product.
Crumbs, dirt and dust can build-up in hidden places such as under sofa cushions or in the cracks and crevices of bed frames and under mattresses. You should use a handheld vacuum cleaner or nozzle attachment to hoover these areas, and then wipe over the headboard with antibacterial spray. You should also ensure that you regularly wash your bed linen as it can accumulate a variety of things you cannot actually see, like dead skin cells, dust mites and germs.
Over the last two years, we have typically spent more time in our homes than usual, due to lockdowns and the fact many people worked from home, something that has been suggested in some capacity may be set to stay for the foreseeable future. With more time potentially being spent at home, it is important that we are cleaning our properties thoroughly and correctly to help ensure that they are hygienic environments.
While the above are DIY tips that anyone could look to implement at home, for commercial businesses looking to protect customers, staff, visitors and those within their duty of care, Rentokil Specialist Hygiene offers a wide range of specialist disinfection services, specialist cleaning services, commercial kitchen services, washroom cleaning services and hygiene products. Our locally based teams are available 24/7 nationwide to respond to your enquiry. If you need help to maintain a high level of hygiene, contact our experts.
