help me clean this house!

[wrongthinker]

I need help! How do I clean:

A mouldy shower
A mouldy washing machine
A loo that may never have been cleaned before
An oven that also may never have been cleaned - including filters that look like a fire hazard
Cupboards and surfaces (some of these will need painting)

Any advice on products/techniques I should be using? I have two weeks, starting from tomorrow, to get this done! Thanks for any advice you can give.

A mouldy shower
A mouldy washing machine

HG Mould Remover is very good.

An oven that also may never have been cleaned - including filters that look like a fire hazard

See if there's an Ovenu in your area and pay them to do it.

Oh that's a great idea! I'll check that out.

Is the HG mould remover sold in the supermarket?

Amazon prime is very good for ordering specialist cleaning products.

For the loo, harpic 100% limescale remover toilet cleaner is good. Don't leave it sitting for too long.

You might want to replace the toilet seat if the old one is a bit grotty. We've just done that and it makes a massive difference.
https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/high-gloss-white-mdf-soft-close-bottom-fixing-toilet-seat?utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ordersuccess

Okay sounds good! I'll make a list of stuff to get from amazon then.

Loo. Gloves on, remove all water with a sponge, soak overnight with something acidic like cheap lemonade or vinegar. Stuff cloths soaked in same up and under the run and leave overnight.

For the kitchen units I would uww green scrubber and washing up liquid

The rim!

I use the pink stuff pot and wire wool in my oven once it is just warm.

Don't forget your marigolds if using strong cleaning stuff, they will ruin your nails.

Look up Nancy birtwhistle on Instagram.

She has cleaning solutions for everything without using harsh chemicals.

HG mould remover, limescale remover and shower cleaner saved my shower. Also second Ovenu or similar.

Oh I'm going to be wearing full-on hazmat, don't worry!

I would squirt everything with elbow grease (or one of them new washing up liquid sprays), leave for 5 and then scrub. This will get the top grease layer off.

I’d then do mould removal with a specialist cleane or bleach spray (beware bleach can over time effect the grout on tiles) or CIF. This depends upon how ground in it is. The silicone edging will probably be unrecoverable if it’s penetrated with black mould. So I’d plan to re do it.

the toilet id put domestos tablets in and leave overnight. I’d then disassemble the seat and scrub the whole lot with disinfectant or a bleach, uisng an old toothbrush. If you have a handheld steam cleaner or it’s near a shower head - i’d also harness the power of water or steam.

The cupboard doors, I’d elbow grease or washing up liquid first. Then I’d follow with a nice smelling disinfectant like zoflora. Don’t forget to take the handles off to scrub on and around them for the deepest clean.

Block your time off, and work logically. E.g a domestic tablet can be working overnight - or whilst your doing another job. The oven will be a dirty job, so do it before you do the kitchen cupboards etc ! HTH.

This is really good advice @Sleepeazie thank you!

You have a lot to do so I second the suggestion of paying a professional to clean the oven, if you can afford it.
They make it like new.

Yes I am all for someone else cleaning the oven! I did call someone yesterday but he's off on holiday this week and won't have any slots til May. So I may just do what I can and then book him in May to do it properly!

Hello lovely people who helped me figure out this cleaning lark! I made a start on the oven today and even though I couldn't get it to look anything like new, it definitely looks better than it did! Grim job, though.

Also, for some reason the people who installed the oven (an 8 ring gas range) nailed a large square of glass to the wall behind it. I've cleaned the glass as best I can, but tbh it's never going to look clean because there's dirt behind it. So I'm wondering about maybe painting over it with kitchen paint? Or alternatively I have some lovely stick on vinyl tyles that might look good.

Any thoughts on this or other ideas?

Hey! if you’re painting smooth surfaces (laminate, ceramic, glass) you may want to look into investing in a good primer before you apply your paint.

I’ve painted an ikea laminated wardrobe and ceramic tiles using Benjamin Moore Insl-X Stix Acrylic Bond Primer Sealer. It’s been a few months and the paint hasn’t come off (I haven’t scrubbed my kitchen tiles however, but wash off with washing up liquid). So for painting challenging surfaces I’d look for a primer with acrylic urethane in it I think that’s the trick.

Use a solution of sugar soap and hot water on any walls and paintwork.

Oven pride is good - slosh it about and leave overnight!

Stick on wall decals sound like a good idea. 👍

Thanks all! I've actually nearly finished the kitchen. Bits of it were GRIM. Just got the paintwork to touch up tomorrow and then I'll move on to the bathroom. Which will probably be even less fun 😂

wow OP you’re fast. Keep plugging! Best of luck with it all

Thank you! I just need to power through!

Harpic 100% limescale toilet remover
cif cream cleaner is brilliant for almost everything. Much cheaper than the spray cleaners too
stock up on white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. Multitude of uses