What winter leaves behind for a spring clean
Months of closed windows and drying washing inside leave their mark. Condensation runs down the glass and sits in the tracks, black spots creep along the sills and the bathroom ceiling, and the wall behind the wardrobe on the cold side of the house can grow its own patch.
Then there's the dust: on top of the heat pump, behind the heater, along the curtain rails. Spring is when it finally gets seen, because the light is better and the windows are open.
Spring cleaning checklist, room by room
- Window sills, frames and tracks, where the winter condensation sat.
- Bathroom ceiling and the extractor fan cover, for mould spots and fluff.
- Inside wardrobes and cupboards on outside walls, which tend to get damp.
- Skirting boards, door frames and light switches through the house.
- Rangehood filters after a winter of soups and roasts.
- Cobwebs in the corners and the tops of doors, then the floors last.
Spring cleaning mould: small spots, big patches
A spring clean deals with the small spots. Consumer NZ warns against dry-brushing mould, because it can send spores into the air, so it's wiped, not brushed. For a big patch, or mould left by a flood, Health New Zealand says to get advice from a mould removal specialist.
Renting? Tenancy Services asks tenants to air the home, wipe condensation and remove mould as soon as it appears. A spring clean is a tidy way to catch up on that, and it's your choice whether you do it or get someone in.
Split the spring cleaning jobs
Worth doing yourself
- Taking curtains down to wash, if the care label allows it.
- Sorting the wardrobe and the linen cupboard before anyone cleans them.
- Pressing the test button on each smoke alarm. In a rental, Tenancy Services says tenants mustn't remove or disconnect one, and must replace dead batteries in the older kind.
- Airing the house on the first warm, dry days.
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- Sills and tracks right through the house in one go.
- The bathroom ceiling, which needs a steady ladder.
- Rangehood filters and the grease on the cupboard tops near the stove.
- Skirting boards and door frames, which are hard work on your knees.
If it were our spring clean, we'd start with the damp
Start with the damp spots, because they're the ones that come back. Book the spring clean for a dry week so the house can be aired as it goes, mention any mould in the note, and once it's done, leave the extractor fans running after showers so the damp has less to work with next winter.
