A check of the calendar offers us all a nagging reminder.
The season of cleaning is here.
Spring Cleaning: Mr. Clean, Lysol, Windex and Swiffer Dust Cleaners make it look so effortless, super quick and easy on television. There are no disclaimers in fine print in the ads.
Real life, as we know, is another story. Perpetually tired and overworked soccer moms and sports girl dads face another hurdle just getting started with deep home spring cleaning: Finding the time.
But the potential heavy cost of putting off necessary spring home cleaning, maintenance and repair projects aren’t worth putting them off for another year.
Hippo reports 78% of U.S. homeowners have regrets about their home purchase primarily due to the stress of unexpected home repair costs.
“While spring is still a great time to refresh the home, doing more than just a basic deep clean can prevent the headache of home repairs,” Hippo notes.
A Six Thousand Dollar Spring Cleaning Nap
Here’s the $6,000 reason why not to sleep on a in-depth spring home maintenance project this season: Hippo reports 59% of U.S. homeowners had something unexpected go wrong in their homes over the past year and spent on average six grand on home repairs and maintenance.
Hippo reports only a small majority – 51% – of homeowners will participate in spring cleaning this year.
The moral of this heavy bill, friends: Skip critical home maintenance this spring at your own mighty financial risk.
Step 1: Know Where to Start
The No. 1 mistake home spring cleaners make, Taste of Home’s Katie Bandurski writes, is “not having a plan.”
“Blinding leaping into your spring cleaning duties can lead to missed cleaning opportunities,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Hunter Boyce writes.
A deep, comprehensive spring home cleaning goes far beyond washing the windows and dusting the walls. A full spring home cleaning and health check includes a roof inspection, foundation checks of walls and windows, cleaning and clearing of gutters, drains and downspouts, and a functionality audit of your HVAC unit.
Step 2: Know What Not to Do
Like any big project, one small misstep or oversight can derail your whole plan.
Here are some of the most common spring cleaning mistakes we make, according to Women & Home.
- Failing to Declutter First
- Trying to Clean Everything in One Go
- Not Vacuuming Before Dusting
- Using Wrong Cleaning Products
- Missing Overlooked Areas
- Using Toxic Cleaning Chemicals
- Not Rinsing Products Off Properly
- Using Too Much Water
- Neglecting Proper Ventilation (which contributes to air pollution)
Step 3: Don’t Rush Your Work
Like the Iowa State Capital wasn’t built in a day, neither will your home be fully spring cleaned and inspected in a day. This is an in-depth marathon project, not a sprint.
“Deep cleaning is a serious business, so never assume you will be able to clean your entire home in one day,” Boyce writes. “Dedicating an entire (single) day to cleaning often leads to fatigue, which leads to cut corners and other mistakes during the cleaning process.”
Take your time to ensure you’re covering all your bases and giving your home the deep attention-to-clean-and-repair detail it needs.
“You only do this once a year after all,” Martha Stewart’s Lauren Wellbank writes. “To make your annual deep clean more successful, avoid the spring cleaning mistakes that most of us are making.”
Because using an all-purpose cleaner alone can’t begin to resolve all of your home’s many spring cleaning and maintenance needs.
