In the process of doing a deep clean, your living room is not as challenging as cleaning your bathroom or kitchen. However, there is a lot to do, which makes it a challenge in knowing where to begin. You may not even be aware of just how dirty the living room is until you start cleaning it.
This is the one area of your home that experiences a lot of traffic, including the presence of pets, all sorts of bugs that you didn't know exist, and Grandma’s knitting needle that may have made its way into the couch.
At this point, you realize you need a living room checklist to guide you through deep-cleaning various surfaces and to rid this area of dirt, dust, and clutter.
Cleaning Tools to Deep Clean Your Living Room
We can learn from seasoned housewives and follow their recommendations concerning the best way to get a handle on any deep-cleaning requirements.
Tools you need would include:
- Microfiber cloths
- Long-handled duster
- Clean Broom
- Good quality mop for tiled flooring
- Good vacuum to clean upholstery
- Furniture polish
- Empty boxes to take care of clutter
Deep Cleaning Steps
Any cleaning job, whether it be in the kitchen, bedroom, or living room, requires a bit of preparation beforehand.
It might be an idea to put on your favorite music, using your iPod and a good quality headset before commencing your deep cleaning duties. Besides, you will be busy for a while. Make the most of your alone time.
Prep work involves:
- Gathering all cleaning gear, such as rugs, cleaners, feather duster, and your best canister vacuum .
- Take all your throw pillows, afghans, and start laundering these. Be sure to check any washing instructions.
- Take down window coverings and curtains and launder accordingly. If you have blinds, then you may want to give them a good vacuum.
Let the Cleaning Games Begin
Get those empty boxes ready to pick up goods that should go elsewhere. Place these in a designated box and set it aside.
Gather any items you do not wish to hold onto and place these in a box that is marked “donate.” Set them aside accordingly.
Pick up any trash underneath your chairs and couches, such as old newspapers, sweet papers, and old magazines, and discard these into a trash bag. Go through any drawers in your TV cabinet and get rid of unnecessary clutter. The key is to guard against being sentimental. Move quickly through your decision process.
Clean From the Top Down
Before you begin, remove your precious artwork.
Start by dusting your ceiling fan if your living room has one. Make use of your long-handled duster. That broom of yours will come in handy to clear any cobwebs in the corner areas.
Tackle the dusting duties a certain way by starting with the ceiling, then the ceiling fans, corner, walls, window frames, and sills, end up with the baseboards.
While you are busy with dust, it is suggested you perform all dusting and vacuuming duties.
Do your best not to overlook anything. Start with the door and work your way around the living room area by removing every item and dusting everywhere. This would include, the sides, front, and back of any tables.
Lampshades need to be removed and dusted. Get rid of the buildup of dust on your light bulbs and run a cleaning cloth over the bare bulb once it cooled. While you are busy with your lighting, check the condition of the batteries in your carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, and have these replaced if necessary.
Lift any electronics to dust underneath them. Give the cords a gentle wipe using a microfiber cloth.
Vacuuming and Polishing
The canister vacuum will come in very handy to vacuum window sills, get rid of dust particles on your couch and chairs, remove dust from all decorative areas, vacuum doors, and in the case of air registers, to vacuum these clean.
This is where the upholstery attachments of the canister vacuum will be useful for doing a proper deep-cleaning job of your sofa and chairs. Do not neglect, cleaning the sides and back as well.
Remember to vacuum the inside drawers of your TV cabinet and give them a good wipe, inside and out.
Use your microfiber cloth to dust the artwork, Polish the glass frames, and place your artwork in its rightful place. The same would apply to any mirrors you have on the walls.
Move your rugs outside to give them a good vacuum. Ensure you turn it over to get rid of ground-in dirt.
Wash all flooring, tiled and wood, using your best mop to take care of the cleaning job.
Polish all furniture using top quality furniture spray.
Some of you may find you’re zonked by the time you finished mopping and polishing. Why not take a well-deserved tea or coffee break and dunk a cookie or two, before carrying on?
Time for Water Works
One way or another, we cannot get away from the fact that water will be involved in getting things clean.
Here is how you take care of dirt and grime:
- If need be, strap a quality cleaning cloth to your broom to give the ceiling a good wipe down.
- Wash the dirt and grime in between your windows and frames. If you feel infused with extra energy, you might want to clean the screens.
- Make use of your preferred method to give the inside of your windows a good wash.
- Wipe down all your light switches.
- Wipe away any fingerprints and smudges from doorknobs and doors.
- Wash the walls down and check for dings, smudges, or nicks, and make a plan to have these repaired.
- In the case of leather furniture, carefully wipe it down and oil according to the directions given.
- The microfiber cloth is excellent for cleaning your TV screens and computer monitors.
Now is a good time to clean your remote. Remove the batteries, then clean it by using a cloth that you dipped in alcohol. You can do the same for your telephone if you have a landline.
There you have it, Now you can reliably get rid of all dust bunnies and keep everyone from sneezing.