1 week to make house significantly cleaner - help!

[Curlewwoohoo]

I had my oven professionally cleaned today and I was honestly embarrassed! I didn't realise how bad it was. It took 2.5hrs and the guy was really going for it! This made me look around and I suddenly see how grimey everything is. I've just been skimming along the surface doing superficial jobs. Now I'm worrying the house is actually grim, and my dad is coming to stay on Sunday - I've not seen him for a few years. His wife did once famously buy me some CIF cream bleach when she was here...I don't want a repeat! So I've got a week. H is away. Kids are mainly in clubs. I'm working from home so can do things in my breaks and more in the evening. Tell me all your tricks. Things I might not think of. Particularly things I can put in the dishwasher or washing machine!

This evening I've moved some furniture to better locations, cleaned the skirting behind it, cleaned a coffee table, then back in the kitchen I cleaned stone there oven, the outside of the kettle and the breadmaker, scrubbed the splashback, washed the utensil holder, put all the utensils in the dishwasher, picked up all the plants and washed the windowsill.

Clean the windows inside & out (or pay someone to!) it makes a huge difference!

Get the windows cleaned by someone else
get a flash duster and dust everything like your life depends on it
with a magic eraser clean all scuff marks off the walls and doors
xlean light switches and skirting boards with baby wipes

Use a lint roller over all sofas and chairs, lift out cushions and hoover under

Things that get forgotten - washing machine detergent drawer, cooker hood, blinds, lampshades. But in terms of making an impact I would go for:

• clutter on surfaces
• bathrooms - scrub with cream cleanser and rinse well
• kitchen surfaces and cupboard fronts
• floors, especially hard floors
• windows, glass doors, lampshades
• light switches, door handles.

If time, fridge and freezer.

I wonder if you are overworrying though - ovens are notoriously tricky.

One room at a time. Spend the entire day deep cleanning

General hoovering and kitchen counter wipe downs will need to be done daily regardless.

Start with the bedrooms.

Do the bathroom and kitchen deep cleans on the day before and day he is due to arrive.

Done forget hallway, landing and stairs. Clean all skirting boards when doing these days.

You can do it!

Focus your attention in high traffic / priority order first.

Kitchen, guest / family bathroom / loo’s and guest bedroom.

strip all sofa cushions and get them washed asap

ignore your bedroom and the kids for now other than surface clean.

start in one corner and work your way around each room - anything that doesn’t have a place either needs one or needs rehoming.

book a window cleaner for the windows

write a list of jobs per room and stick to it, it’s not the time to sort out, you can do that after your guests have gone.

buy new guest towels if yours are old / stained - gives you time to wash and dry them before they arrive.

If you have cutlery dividers n your drawers, put them through the dishwasher.
beeswax furniture polish - even if you only do a side table then everyone assumes you have done much more.
Clean the light switches.

Will plastic cutlery divider be ok in there?

Also eyeing up metal drainer on side of sink, it's defo seen better days.

Kitchen cupboards, inside and outside and inside of the doors. Top of kitchen cupboards, can get super dirty and make your house smelly and attract flies.

declutter and dust ever surface, put away costs and shoes in bedrooms.

interior doors, wash down with soapy water.

finger plates on light switches.

remove sofa cushions and hoover.

wash all soft furnishings, cushion covers, throws, blankets, rugs and mats.

use shaving foam on the floor and around the pedestal of the toilet.

lift your toilet seats, go at them with pink stuff paste and some magic erasers (but cheap ones off Amazon).

dust all walls and ceiling.

open every window for at least a few hours, clean the track where you open them.

Light switches done ✔️

Never heard of these magic erasers!

Viakal on sinks, shower screen and around taps.

Wipe out fridge.

Start every room from high up (cupboards, lights etc) and work your way down. Think layers of the rainforest, stuff from high drops down so don’t work up.

They are melamine and clean really well. But they will take paint off!

also banisters and in between and newel posts and banister rods. Hoover and then soapy wash down. Banister might need some elbow grease spray to break down oils.

I would do the washing machine dispenser, mine was disgusting and full of black mould.

I gave it a good clean and let it air dry and the machine had a decent airing xx

List:
Mop hard floors
Clean glass in downstairs doors (they're not awful)
Wash dog bed (I usually hoover it)
Wash cushion covers
Fabreze large rugs
Wash small rugs
Finish wiping the kitchen cupboard fronts
Dust dust dust
Clean bathroom cupboard front - this is a bastard of a job, it's almost like a wooden blind? I don't know what to call it. So each slat needs soaping down individually. And being a wet type room grim sticks.
Clean inside of a couple of the windows
Clean mirrors
Look up how to clean the metal washing up rack
Clean sink with bicarb

Hot soapy cloth on door frames, doors and light switches.

I second viakal on taps and plugs! Bleach and scrubbing brush on grouting. I love a good deep clean! Put some music on 😃

Don't forget your front door, path/driveway, clear any coats, shoes and piles of post from the hall area. Keep windows open as much as possible to get fresh air through. Can you borrow a Vax carpet cleaner from a friend or hire a rug doctor type machine?

Don't forget things like your toothbrush holder :)

Stuff that. If my dad was alive, as much as i.loved him, he would have to take me as I.am. a cursory flick of the duster would be the extent of my cleaning 😂

TBF he won't judge @BCBird he's very chill. But now I've noticed these things I can't unsee!

Louvre doors are irritating. Dust first with a dust trapping or damp duster and then wash down with a cloth and bowl of hot water and fairy or multi purpose cleaner.

use your hairdryer to blow down your radiators, they can get full of dust!

If you can’t remember when you last deep cleaned, it probably does need doing but I’m not saying you are grimy!

you’ve mentioned a dog, if they don’t have one they will notice the smell so washing the dog bed and other bits will help as will cleaning dogs eating and drinking bowls and washing as many soft furnishings as you can.

do a room a day and be really thorough

good luck - you will feel amazing when it’s done

If you wash your dogs bed and any other dogs things in the washing machine, make sure to run a cleaning cycle after.

I also use the fabulosa sink and drain foamer stuff, but sticking some bleach down and leaving it for a while and then flushing it through will help.

take your kitchen bin outside and get the hose in it and then hot water and zoflora. I think we get immune to bin smells.

I use a fold away drainer so once the pots have been dried i just pop it under the sink cupboard, keeps surface looking tidy