Tips for keeping new build house absolutely pristine

[spottycoat276]

Hello,

DH and I are about to purchase a new build house.

Before this the properties we’ve lived in together have been a rented house (pre-children) which was nice but a bit shabby, and then we bought a doer-upper flat which we rapidly realised was an absolute money pit for repairs, and given our life stage (small children) we didn’t have enough time or money to really get to grips with modernising it.

In both these properties I’d say we kept them clean to a decent enough standard, but never got invested in keeping them really lovely as we knew they weren’t going to be our long-term home.

When we move into the new build, I feel this is an opportunity for a fresh start and I’m looking for tips for how to keep it really clean and in good condition.

Ideas I’ve had so far:

• Spray shower glass after every single use to prevent build up of limescale (and product recommendation for this would be helpful!)
• Bleach toilets daily
• Consider investing in a robot vacuum to keep on top of things

Please send me your best tips for making a new home really nice (disclaimer: we have a baby and a toddler so any advice for keeping things manageable with young children also appreciated!)

I'm a grown adult who grew up with a mother than wanted a pristine home.

Don't do that to your children. You can redecorate when they are older.

you need a squeegee for the shower and shower sprays do bigger all, something like viakal is better.

Wiping down all your woodwork weekly and ensuring your bathrooms are well ventilated is a must. I clean my house thoroughly from top to bottom every week. If you want it to stay pristine then that’s what it takes. Also, having a place for everything and putting things away.

I’m Australian so I’m spoilt with verandahs but somewhere to dry things outside. I have a horror of damp things so my mop lives outside, my bath towels go outside to dry, my washing machine door and drawer are always open a crack.

Air beds every day by pulling back the covers. Prop pillows up on end to allow air into them, too. I put mine outside any time it’s a dry breeze.

It’s easy to forget that bath mats need airing just as much as towels do.

I scrub my bath using clothes detergent in a bucket with a few inches of water. A big sponge, swish around lavishly, swish around again and the grime just slides off. It works on walls, too. And it’s cheap.

Just remember, methylated spirits and cheap vinegar are mould killers. I keep a spray bottle on the towel rack of each and spray regularly in winter. Bleach bleaches it (whitens it) but doesn’t kill it.

Not exactly related but I use a dehumidifier to help dry washing (we don't have a tumble drier)

Also, don't feel you have to keep every one of DS/DD's scribbles/"works of art"!

And totally agree with the shoes off at the door policy. I wish I'd enacted this policy.

They are correct, but "Bring them up as Gamers, not Creative types" to avoid mess is one of the bleakest things I've heard. People do that- keeping a tidy house by keeping toddlers on tablets. It's why many primary school kids have terrible motor skills and no clue how to use scissors.

Before you move do a massive declutter. Don't take anything to the new house that isn't useful or beautiful, nothing 'just in case', storage often isn't brilliant in new builds so you'll only have to find room for it all.
That said, I've stuff in my cellar and attic that moved to this house with us and I've no idea what exactly is in those boxes! Don't be me.

I felt the same when we had an extension built. The only thing I'd add is watch out for spaces behind furniture and in between soda cushions... All kinds of grim...

I know it’s an old thread, but if you can afford it get a water softener - means you never have limescale build up in your shower, toilet or appliances

I love this advice!

If you have young children, lots of young children's stuff in the living room happens. Your house is theirs too, don't get too stressed about it. The early years soon pass, and if you teach them to put things away, you should be ok.

How to keep it pristine?

Don't move in. 😉😂

I get this. We lived in rented flats for a few years before buying our white box new build. We’re six years in now and it still looks excellent. The hob, in particular, looks basically brand new as we clean it every night.

We also have two kids (5 and 2) and our rules are:

No shoes inside
PlayDoh has to happen in the kitchen at the tuff tray
Food and drink only at the dining table
Tidy toys away when done playing
Put your own clothes in the wash basket (even 2 does this)

We also don’t have a lot of stuff which makes storage and cleaning easier. I sell the kids old clothes on Vinted as soon as they grow out of them and toys they are too old for are passed on to make room for new ones.

I agree on hard floors downstairs. We have carpet (living dining room) and it’s a pain having to sweep/hoover all the crumbs the kids drop after their meals 🫠

I saw something on a cleaning thread on Instagram lately that said if you see a job that needs doing and it takes less than 2 minutes, do it then and don’t leave it to later. I’ve been trying to implement it and it is making a difference to our chaotic household! So if I’m in the utility room and see a few bits that need to go in the bin I just do it then and don’t leave it until later when I had planned to do a more intense clean of the utility room.

It sounds simple, but it’s amazing how much of a difference just doing those little jobs makes, it all adds up!

If only that was true! We have one and still get scale.

Is your DH as invested in this cleaning regime? I bet he isn’t. Another depressing ‘cleaning toilets is women’s work’ thread. Be careful what you are role modelling to your children.

Please don't use bleach, ever. It's so damaging to the environment.

Having lived in several new builds I think you need to be prepared for the snagging list that comes with them once you move in. You're not going to have a pristine home at first as there will be a number of things for the builders to put right. I'd hate for this to come as a suprise and spoil things.

Don’t live in it!!

@Greyover , lots of things are damaging to the environment. I try not to use them too much but I have to do things like washing up, wash clothes, wash floors, clean the bathroom and wash my hair. If I can, and if I find it effective, I use an environmentally-friendly product.
A little bleach goes a very long way, and the thing to remember is that it is a bleach not a cleaning product.

The biggest game changer for us was keeping a small cleaning caddy on each floor with everything you need right there - spray, microfibre, toilet brush. When the supplies are in the room you actually wipe things down on the spot rather than thinking "I'll do it later." With young children that later never comes!

Also think about storage before you move in and label where everything lives from day one. Kids adapt surprisingly quickly when there's a clear system from the start.

Skip the daily chemical sprays and just squeegee the shower glass after use, put high-pile mats at all doors to catch toddler dirt, and get that robot vacuum to run daily while you are out.
Focusing on quick daily prevention systems rather than heavy scrubbing is the standard MCH approach to keeping a new build fresh without burning out.

Don't use Glaco on your showerscreen! It's designed to be used on the outside of cars, not in a confined space like a bathroom where you will inevitably inhale the fumes. It can cause serious eye damage, drowsiness and dizziness. In addition, it's a "forever chemical", which are now known to present in almost river in the UK and are virtually impossible to remove. Forever chemical have been implicated in various endocrine disorders, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and certain cancers

Absolutely this!

My niece stayed with us for a couple of weeks recently, she has two small children who were with her and at home she works.

She's a "clean as you go" kind of woman. I tend to leave jobs until I've got time which of course never comes and they become "big tasks" which i hate. She does a bit of everything as she goes, so if she's waiting for something whilst cooking she cleans a fridge shelf, rather than waiting to clean the whole fridge. The house was cleaner when she left than when she arrived (it wasn't skanky before!) and her home is clean but welcoming as cleaning isn't a big deal.

I'm trying to do this too, having cloths and cleaning kits in various rooms (bathrooms etc) really helps.