Chris Hemingway Blog

We know how it is; we all enter the lighter, brighter months of the year with the intention to overhaul our homes and undertake a thorough spring clean. But then spring quickly vanishes and before we know it summer's started.

Don't panic, though, it's never too late for a belated spring clean - and round about now is a great time to get time for your clients to get the cleaning products out, in anticipation of selling their property or in preparation for any house guests they'll be welcoming over the warmer months. And with that in mind, here's our top tips for ensuring your home is sparkly clean:

1. Start outside, seeing as this is where you're more likely to be spending your free time in the summer. Scrub the deck and driveway, clean the barbecue and, wipe down any patio furniture. This will also help keep pollen at a minimum to reduce the risk of allergens. Now's also a good time to disinfect and hose down rubbish bins, adding clean, fresh bin bags as you go.

2. Got fingerprints on your walls or wallpaper Here's a few tricks which will help you remove them with ease. Start by pushing your furniture to the centre of the room, laying out sheets to catch any drips of soap. Mix a wall cleaning solution in a bucket; usually it's one gallon of warm water to one good squeeze of detergent. Now begin by rubbing gently on the walls with a dampened cloth, patting dry as you go.

3. If you own a fabric sofa, remove its covers and hand wash them, or pop them in the machine if they will stand being washed in this way. Leather sofas, such as a traditional chesterfield sofa, can be wiped down with a cloth dampened with a little water, and must also be dusted regularly. You can also wash out your washing machine and dishwasher following handy online tutorials.

4. The kitchen sink holds more bacteria than your toilet seat, would you believe It's important to sanitise it often, but try to do a really thorough job with each and every season to keep on top of dirt and bacteria. Online advice suggests cleaning out your sink first with soap and water, before spraying on a mist of vinegar. A mist of hydrogen peroxide is advised on some home cleaning sites, but always read up on reading products like this first, and use with caution.

5. Make doors shine, such as your shower doors, by adding lemon oil to them as often as twice a month. This will help keep the doors streak-free and sparkly clean at all times.

6. Do not underestimate the cleaning power of natural products, such as essential oils. Salt crystals, for example, can be used to clean solid silver cutlery, and baking soda has a wealth of different uses around the home, too.

7. Vinegar is a useful household product, too. Add it onto paper towels until they're saturated, and use it hot to remove lime scale from the base of bathroom taps.