General cleaning of an apartment after renovation or redevelopment is a necessary event, without which the new interior will not meet expectations and delight you with comfort. Even when the main construction debris has been removed, a lot of effort and time will have to be spent on putting things in perfect order.
Of course, you can always contact a cleaning company whose employees are ready to quickly and efficiently carry out a comprehensive cleaning of the premises, but such services will not be cheap, and repairs will already hit the budget. It is quite possible to put your apartment in order on your own if you listen to the advice of professionals and plan all stages correctly.
Cleaning after renovation is often offered by construction companies, but the quality of such work is much lower than that of cleaning organizations
To prevent general cleaning after renovation from turning into a nightmare, it’s a good idea to divide it into several stages.
Main stages of general cleaning
General cleaning of apartments after renovation, construction, or finishing work is always carried out in stages, this is the only way to bring the room to perfect cleanliness in the shortest possible time. Comprehensive cleaning consists of the following stages:
Construction waste removal. Surface cleaning.
Cleaning surfaces is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Cleaning windows, glass surfaces. Preparation of furniture and other furnishings. Completion.
All stages of cleaning after renovation have a number of features that involve the use of special products, tools, etc.
To make the task of cleaning up after renovation easier, ask your friends or family for help.
Advice! It is advisable to carry out cleaning after renovation with a team of assistants, which will greatly simplify and speed up the entire process.
The most important attributes for successful cleaning
- Convenient cleaning tools. An important factor in order to be able to clean with undisguised and genuine pleasure.
- Serviceable equipment. Well-functioning equipment can significantly facilitate the housewife’s work, thereby significantly improving her mood.
- Assistants. They can be not only family members, but even friends and acquaintances. By acting together, you can clean up much faster, especially if you define the range of responsibilities for each assistant.
- Great mood. If the mood during the cleaning process is good, then the process itself will go quite quickly, and the impressions after it will be the most positive.
Tools and cleaning products
Before each cleaning, you need to stock up on tools and detergents.
Before you start cleaning after renovation, you should take care of everything you will need for this event. First of all, you need to prepare:
Garbage bags - they should be large and dense.
Garbage bags should not only be spacious, but also strong
Solvents - white spirit, acetone, etc., to easily remove dirt from various surfaces. A powerful vacuum cleaner - an industrial model is best suited. The filters of household vacuum cleaners quickly become clogged, and dust can get into the engine. You can always rent a construction vacuum cleaner. A set of cleaning products - for floors, plumbing, glass, and the treatment of wooden and plastic surfaces. Professional cleaning products do an excellent job of removing stains. Their price is slightly higher than usual, but the result is worth it. Rags, sponges - microfiber products are best suited, as they absorb well and do not leave streaks. Rags should be prepared in large quantities and in different sizes, since they will be used for the floor, furniture, window sills, and mirrors.
Rags and sponges should be in large quantities and of different types
Floor cleaning kit - mop, bucket, dustpan with brush or broom.
Cleaning should be carried out using rubber gloves; if possible, it is worth purchasing special clothing and protective equipment for the face (goggles, respirator).
When cleaning, do not forget to use personal protective equipment.
Advice! A stepladder will greatly facilitate cleaning; it is more practical and safer when working at heights than chairs or stools.
Creative and fun approach
- Thinking of cleaning only as cleaning is a sure way to make it very tedious. To make cleaning an exciting and enjoyable process, you can try to look around with the eyes of a person who has come to this house or apartment for the first time. It will definitely be interesting.
- You should not look at cleaning as a tedious routine - it is best to perceive it as a kind of psychological relief. Of course, at first you don’t feel like cleaning at all and it’s quite difficult to change your perception, but then the wonderful reward will be order in the room and peace in your soul.
- Instead of rags, you can buy comfortable hard and soft brushes that can be put on children’s hands and feet - in a matter of minutes they can easily polish the floor and rid the home of dust.
- While cleaning with the whole family, you can have a lot of fun by organizing all sorts of competitions, for example, “For the most brilliant window,” “For the funniest floor polisher,” “For the fastest cleaning.”
- Cleaning will be much more enjoyable if you approach its attributes creatively - for example, decorate mops with homemade “housewives” that can be sewn or knitted quite quickly, or give each family member their own apron, having previously painted it with fabric paints.
- Cleaning while listening to music can work wonders. While listening to music, it is much easier to wash the floors and wipe off dust, time passes much faster, and fatigue is practically not felt. It is worth involving children in such cleaning.
- You can also come up with certain rewards for yourself and family members for putting things in order, although order and cleanliness are already an excellent reward in themselves.
- An impeccable appearance also helps a lot to stay in a good mood. If you dress neatly, comb your hair neatly and do light makeup before cleaning, your mood will significantly improve and your homework will get done.
Construction waste removal
Cleaning up construction waste is the first stage of general cleaning after renovation
Before cleaning after renovation, you should clear the room of all debris accumulated during construction work and get rid of dust.
For bricks, concrete and tiles it is better to use special bags
Bulk waste is removed first:
It is optimal to store the remaining scraps of wallpaper, drywall, fiberboard or linoleum in piles closer to the exit or outside the apartment to save space. Parts made of wood, plastic, metal (pieces of skirting boards, profiles, laminate, etc.), tile remains, foam scraps should be collected in bags.
During cleaning, it is better to store construction waste closer to the exit or outside the apartment to save space
First of all, it is necessary to get rid of hazardous waste: chemicals, glass wool, etc. It is recommended to dispose of them immediately after completion of repair work. If this is not possible for any reason, then such garbage should be carefully packed in garbage bags and finally taken out with the rest of the waste.
Advice! Construction waste must be disposed of in specially designated areas. Disposal not according to the rules is fraught with fines.
Disposal of construction waste not according to the rules is fraught with fines
The room should be thoroughly swept, vacuumed, and then wiped of dust from all surfaces.
Cleaning the floor during general cleaning of the apartment after renovation should be carried out most thoroughly. The surface should be cleaned of construction dust, washed with water, dried, and vacuumed.
The prepared floor should be washed clean using detergents suitable for the specific type of coating. In particular, linoleum and laminate flooring should be wiped with a sponge dipped in a mild soap solution. More aggressive chemical compounds are suitable for porcelain stoneware and tiles, and special care products containing oil or wax are suitable for parquet or boards.
Cleaning tiles is usually done with a stiff sponge or harsh chemicals.
When cleaning parquet floors, you must avoid exposing the wood to an aggressive environment.
Washing linoleum is carried out with a soft sponge dipped in soapy water.
If there are traces of dried varnish or paint on the floor covering, they can be removed with a special remover or denatured alcohol. Minor stains can be easily removed with regular alcohol.
Cleaning walls and ceilings
Cleaning tiles with a sponge
The easiest way to remove dust from walls and ceilings is with a vacuum cleaner with a telescopic tube.
The telescopic tube of the vacuum cleaner will help you reach hard-to-reach places
Plastered or painted walls can be wiped with a damp cloth and mild detergents that will not damage the coating.
If there are traces of tape, glue, or fresh paint on the surfaces, the easiest way to remove them is with a swab soaked in white spirit. Dried polyurethane foam is removed using steel wool or a hard abrasive sponge. To remove traces of rust, a solution of copper sulfate is used.
Surfaces in bathrooms should be treated with chlorine-containing products, then rinsed and wiped dry. The same applies to all plumbing fixtures.
Plumbing fixtures should be treated with chlorine-containing products
To reduce dust, a wet cloth is not enough
The fight against dust is pointless and merciless, you say. After all, as soon as you seemingly completely remove all the dust from the house, after just a couple of hours your finger again leaves a mark on the surfaces. So maybe it’s not worth trying to get rid of these habitual household troubles? But scientists think differently. There really is dust everywhere. The house is strewn with flakes of our skin and hair, pet fur, particles of decaying furniture materials and tiny grains of sand. There's a lot you can't see if you look at ordinary house dust under a microscope. By the way, the usual guests there are dust mites, viruses and bacteria (not always useful). And most of the dust is at a distance of about a meter from the floor. Therefore, our children breathe it most actively. This means we need to fight dust. One of the modern methods is to treat surfaces with compounds with an antistatic effect. After all, coatings in the house accumulate a charge of static electricity and therefore literally attract dust. And even with a wet rag it is difficult to wipe it off without leaving a residue. By spraying the product on interior items, you can easily remove all dust and prevent its early appearance.
What will help? Furniture polish HG
Furniture preparation
To wipe furniture surfaces, use either a slightly damp cloth or special products.
When the renovation is completed and the main stages of cleaning have been completed, you can bring furniture into the room. If it is new, it is enough to remove the protective films, vacuum the soft parts, and thoroughly wipe all smooth surfaces from dust.
After repairs, thoroughly vacuum the surfaces of upholstered furniture.
If the furniture remains the same, then it should be thoroughly cleaned, stains removed, the upholstery refreshed, and smooth elements polished. To do this, you should use products for cleaning textiles, leather, wood, as well as a washing and regular vacuum cleaner, non-abrasive sponges and microfiber cloths. If necessary, upholstered furniture should be dry cleaned, and wooden furniture should be treated with special impregnations.
Special products should be used for leather products
The same should be done with carpets and curtains. All textiles must be washed or dry cleaned.
If there are traces of grease or other organic contaminants on the furniture, an alkaline-containing product, as well as acetic or citric acid, will help remove them.
Steam cleaning the surface of a sofa
Don’t forget about cabinets and built-in appliances. All items must be cleaned inside and out, surfaces must be thoroughly degreased, free of dust, and then wet cleaned using detergents.
The concentrate will save money
If there are children or pets in the family, you have to clean the house often. And if you approach the matter thoroughly, then a considerable amount of the family budget is spent on cleaning and washing compounds. How can you save money and at the same time not refuse the help of household chemicals, which make the life of a housewife so much easier? The solution is to use concentrated products. If the usual diluted composition is enough for you for a couple of months of regular use, then the concentrate (especially from a high-quality company) will last much longer. Often such funds last for a year, or even a year and a half! After all, to prepare a cleaning solution you only need a capful of product, and you can wash almost the entire house with it. There is another advantage of this form of the product. In cases where it is necessary to wash away a stain or stubborn dirt, a concentrated undiluted composition is applied to the surface. If you just need to wash the coating, use a diluted product. By the way, we pay attention to the protective properties of the product. For example, if the product leaves a protective layer on the surface, then next time it will be much easier to get rid of dirt. You don’t have to forcefully clean the stains, but just lightly wipe the coating. There are significant savings! At the same time, sparkling cleanliness will continue to reign in the house!
What will help? Home care products from the Dutch company HG
General cleaning of the apartment after renovation: washing windows and glass surfaces
Window washing is one of the last stages of general cleaning after renovation.
How to clean window frames directly depends on the material from which they are made:
The PVC profile is very easy to clean, and any detergents are suitable for this, including those containing ammonia and acids. It is enough to wipe the surface with a regular sponge soaked in a suitable composition, and then remove traces with a clean rag.
Wooden frames are a little more difficult to clean; dishwashing liquid diluted with water will help. To remove heavy stains, it is recommended to leave the solution on the surface for 15-20 minutes, then rinse off, repeating if necessary.
Advice! All stickers should be removed from window profiles. To do this, you can use a spatula and remove traces of glue with alcohol.
To prevent streaks from leaving on the windows, you should use microfiber cloths.
Use alcohol-based cleaners to clean glass surfaces.
Window glass can be cleaned using standard cleaning products. The most effective are alcohol-containing formulations that do not leave streaks.
Advice! To clean windows from the outside, especially on the upper floors, it is best to seek help from specialists.
To clean windows from the outside, it is better to contact specialists.
Similarly, doors and mirrors should be cleaned of dust and dirt.
