7 Areas to Clean After the Moving Truck Leaves
Have you just sold your home or are renting a new one? While it’s exciting to start packing and begin a new chapter of your life in an entirely different place, moving (even with the help of a moving company) entails preparation, stress, and daunting tasks. One of these tasks is cleaning the entire house, back to front, before the move to your new home.
If you’re too busy to clean the entire area yourself, consider hiring professional cleaners to do the job. That coupled with using a furniture moving company for the removal and transport of your belongings, will save you time and stress. But if your budget is tight, plan ahead to give yourself more time to do it yourself, or share the load with family and friends. Either way, here are a few tips on what areas you should focus on once the moving truck has left, that should facilitate a smoother and faster home handover.
1. Take off all the wall stickers.
If you’re someone who tapes posters and other stickers on the wall, the first thing to clean up is these. The best way to get rid of stickers and the residue is to utilise a hairdryer. Heat up the residue and carefully scrape it off with a knife or scraper. In order to prevent the paint from chipping, don’t prolong the application of heat on the painted surface.
2. Don’t forget to clean up the window frames.
Dirt and dust usually build up in window frames which can damage them in the long run. To clean them up, dilute washing-up liquid with lukewarm water and wipe the window frames. Also, don’t forget to regularly change the water while cleaning so you don’t leave traces of dirt. If the paint in the frame is damaged, you can easily buy a matching colour in the hardware and do the touch-ups yourself.
3. Vacuuming the carpet won’t suffice when you’re moving. It needs scrubbing.
Vacuuming the carpets may not suffice in order to get it very clean but it is a good start. Thereafter you may need to hire a carpet cleaning machine or get a team in to do it for you. If you decide to do this yourself, make sure to use cleaning agents specifically made for carpets.
If you decide to hire carpet cleaning professionals, the easiest way to do this is to contact your chosen moving company. Aside from helping you load your furniture to the moving truck, they are also affiliated with home cleaning companies, which makes it easier for you to hire one. If your moving company can't assist and you have to find one yourself, search the following phrases on Google; “moving company near me”, “moving companies South Africa”, “Regional moving company”, or “moving companies in Johannesburg”, for example.
4. Spruce up wooden surfaces.
All the doors, window sills, window frames, or even a wall that is made of wood can be washed with mild, warm soapy water (regardless if they’re painted or stained). It is recommended to start cleaning the top of the door and windows and work your way to the bottom to sweep the dirt to the ground. Be aware of leaving soapy streaks and do not overuse water as this may be harmful to the wood. Use a polish if necessary to give the surfaces an extra gleam.
5. Don’t leave without disinfecting the wardrobes.
There is nothing worse, when you move into a new home, then having to put your clothes into a dirty cupboard. Make sure then, that when you’re done packing all your clothes for transport with your moving company, that you clean your cupboards thoroughly. Start with removing the drawers and any contact paper, if you have this in the drawers. Now wash the entire wardrobe with a water and cleaning agent mixture. If you used to tape stickers inside your cupboard, remove them and make sure all the residue is off. Don't close the doors for a few hours to ensure that the inside of the cupboard is thoroughly dry. After the cupboard, it’s time to shift your focus to the drawers. Clean any handles and the front of the drawers thoroughly and only reinsert them into the cupboard when they are thoroughly dry.
6. Don’t forget the window blinds.
Window blinds and shutters are absolute dust collectors and many homeowners forget to clean them. When you do so, do not use acidic, alkaline, and other strong cleaning agents. Instead, start off with dusting them using something like a microfibre blind cleaner. For wooden blinds, finish off with a polish if necessary.
7. The ceilings and walls should be sanitised too.
Cleaning ceilings is often forgotten when you move home, but they are definitely often in dire need of a good clean. Use a long duster to dust the ceiling first to get any residue dust and perhaps even cobwebs off. Thereafter using a sugar soap would be recommended as this cleans walls very well, and will therefore be equally good for ceilings.
Leave a good impression.
Most homeowners think that because their home is regularly cleaned, that moving out shouldn't include a massive cleaning operation. However, most weekly cleaning is fairly superficial. Very seldom does one move absolutely everything in order to clean. Removing all your furniture and other belongings will expose the hidden dust and dirt build-up. Hopefully our tips will make it easy for you to remember all the spaces that will require attention.
Enjoy your new space.
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