DIY Cleaning Project For a Sparkly Clean Home

A house would look spic and span if it is well maintained. In most households, we hire domestic help for cleaning the house every day. However, it is best if you do it yourself. It is enjoyable as well as most satisfying jobs ever. You get a sense of responsibility and you are not dependant on anyone.

If you have decided to DIY, then, it is advisable to allocate at least one weekend in a month for cleaning the house. Here is a quick guide on to help you

DIY Cleaning Project For a Sparkly Clean Home

This is the cleaning routine for a 1500 sq ft. house. (Time required - 3 hours)

1. Start with clutter clearance - This would include getting rid of old newspapers and magazines and putting things back in its place. This would at least take 30 minutes if you do not spend time every day in doing this.
2. Dusting and cleaning cobwebs - Start with dusting the fans and windows. Then start cleaning the cobwebs. Make sure you wear your mask while cleaning the dust. Don’t forget to dust the tube lights and TV units as well.
3. Changing the bed and pillow covers - The best thing to do after dusting is cleaning the mattress. This helps in getting rid of dust from settling to the bed sheets or mattress. 
4. Kitchen cabinets - Even in a case of the best modular kitchen. It needs to be cleaned every month. Wipe the doors of the kitchen cabinets and also clear the clutter inside the cabinets.
5. Refrigerator - This is the time-consuming task. You have to check all the things that you have stored inside. If you have the habit of storing leftovers, then, it is time to get rid of the leftovers from the previous week! Clean the shelves with a damp cloth and also the doors.
6. Washing & drying - It is better to wash the bed covers and pillow covers. If your have time, it is best to wash the curtains too. If you think, washing curtains are time-consuming, then postpone it to the week next.
7. Sweeping and mopping - The next best thing to do is sweeping and mopping the house. If you have a domestic help to do this. Then do the dusting and clutter clearance prior before your maid comes home.
8. Cleaning the electronics - Apart from the refrigerator, it is very important to clean the TV screen, microwave and telephones. Cleaning the chimney grills and AC filters also are important which could save you from shelling out hundreds of rupees to the professional cleaners.

Cleaning Resource That Would Be Useful

Check out the infographic below. It is a useful guide that would surely help you!

Source: TheStickVacuums

How to clean your kitchen chimney

Electric Kitchen chimney plays an important role in the modern kitchens of India. The contemporary kitchen would not require a chimney. We did not depend on the sophisticated maintenance of appliances that we use in Kitchen. This is not the case of modern lifestyle. Things that seemed like luxury have become a necessity.

For instance, we never used to bother about buying an Air conditioner or a chimney or a hob. These three requires a fair amount of money spent on maintenance.  If you spend 30 minutes of your time during a weekend, then you could get your chimney sparkly clean with these simple steps

When to clean what?

This infographic gives a clear understanding of when to clean what in your home

How often do we need maintenance?

Kitchen chimney needs maintenance at least once in every two weeks. We do not need to depend on professionals for cleaning the chimney grills completely. If you do not clean the chimney once in every two weeks, then you have to depend on professional cleaners. In such a case, it is important to get the cleaning done at least once in every two months. We have to spend a considerable amount of time to get it cleaned. To my knowledge, in Chennai, it costs around Rs.400 for cleaning the chimney alone.

Cleaning a Kitchen Chimney - DIY

Time Required – 30 min

Materials

Old newspapers 3 to 4 sheets

Cotton cloth 2 nos.

Washing soda 4 tbsp

Dish-cleaning liquid 3-4 drops

Soft Scrubber

A pair of cleaning gloves

A pair of safety goggles

Caution

• Make sure that there are no children around while you clean your chimney.
• While pouring the hot water on the chimney grills, there would be a foul smell. So it is best to leave the doors and windows open.
• Make sure you wear your safety goggles while pouring hot water on the chimney grills.

1.       Remove the grills from the chimney
2.       Spread a newspaper on a surface and place the chimney grills on it.
3.       Boil 5 to 6 liters of water. The water has to boil very well.
4.       While the water is being boiled, get the kitchen sink ready.
5.       Place the stopper in the kitchen sink. The hot water which you are going to pour should not get drained out of the outlet.
6.       Now place one of the grills on the sink, if you have a big sink, then you could place both the grills. If not, you may have to clean one by one.
7.       Pour the boiling water on the grill and add washing soda. Leave it for 3-4 minutes. This would loosen the oil deposits on the grill
8.       Wear a pair of cleaning gloves. When the water is still warm, use a scrubber and cleaning liquid and work through the grill. Clean both the sides.
9.       As soon as it is scrubbed, place it on the newspaper and wipe it with a cotton cloth. Repeat the same procedure for the other grill as well.
10.   Now use the dish cleaning liquid and soft scrubber to scrub the oil deposits on the chimney. Wipe it with damp cloth
11.   Fix the grills back to the chimney and turn it on for a few minutes. This would dry any excess water.

If you are going to be alone in this cleaning process, then I bet you would faint after reading this list. But, if you have people to actively help you with this, then the whole process becomes much easier. You can allocate the tasks to people according to their expertise.

For instance, the dusting part could be done by male members of the family. While you could allocate the window cleaning to kids. Even the senior citizens could be actively involved in this. It depends on how you do.