Moving house is pretty stressful, even at the best of times. Amidst all the chaos, it’s all too easy to overlook things. In an ideal world, for example, you’d get everything loaded onto the removal van and sent off to your new address, leaving you enough time to give your now-empty old home a proper clean. But too often, you run out of time, or just the energy, to get that final deep clean done. That means whoever moves in has to tackle it themselves. If that’s the position you find yourself in, here’s what you can do to get your new home looking back to its best as quickly as possible.
Tackle the fridge using this clever cleaning hack
Cleaning the fridge is something you really need to get done as soon as you move in. After all, you’re going to need somewhere to store all your perishable groceries when you do your first supermarket ‘big shop.’ Here’s a good way to go about it that won’t take more than 20 minutes – seriously.
Start with the shelves. Take them out and clean each one, one at a time, in hot, soapy water, before setting aside on the drying rack. While the shelves are drying, make a start on the inside of the fridge. Mix up a quick solution of equal parts water and salt. Once the salt’s dissolved, soak a clean cloth in the solution then use it to give the inside of the fridge a really good wipe around. You’ll be amazed how quickly it cuts through any residue – though, for really stubborn grime, you might have to let it soak for a few minutes.
If you want an even more effective way to get your fridge clean and sanitized, we’d recommend the H2O e3 Cleaning System. This simple-looking spray bottle turns ordinary table salt and tap water into a powerful home sanitizer in just 10 minutes. Use it to cut through kitchen grease and grime, but also to kill the kind of germs, bacteria and mold that lurk in your fridge. It’s so economical to use – much cheaper than buying expensive supermarket chemical cleaners – yet you’d be amazed what a great job it does.
Give the kitchen a thorough going-over
Once you’ve put your fridge back together, it’s a good idea to give the rest of the kitchen the once-over. Your best bet is to go from top to bottom. In other words, start with the high-up spots like around the light-fittings (which can get surprisingly greasy) and the corners of the ceiling (which tend to breed cobwebs). Sometimes your kitchen cabinets reach all the way to the ceiling, but if they don’t it’s a good idea to clean the cabinet tops, too.
Next, work your way down to the mid-level surfaces and appliances. Start with the countertops, then tackle the hob, microwave, dishwasher, and sink. After that, it’ll be time to get down on your hand and knees and give the insides of the ground-level cupboards a wipe, as well as the doors and handles.
It sounds like an awful lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it to make your new home feel brand new. One way to make your life easier is to whip out your H2O e3 Cleaning System. It works by electrolyzing tap water and table salt with low-voltage electricity. Without getting too technical, the process basically creates sodium hydroxide (a powerful degreaser) and hypochlorous acid (a sanitizer). Together they cut through all kinds of kitchen grime, kills germs, and leave the place smelling fresh. Plus, while they might sound scary, both are safe to use around your children and pets.
Bring your new bathroom back to its sparkling best
There’s more to cleaning the bathroom than just making it look and smell nice – you want it hygienically clean, too. All surfaces, and particularly around the toilet, shower, and bath will want a good disinfecting. So, while a simple sponge and some soapy water will get things off to a good start, at some point you’ll need to bring in reinforcements to really get the job done.
Our recommendation for a beautifully clean bathroom is the H2O HD Advanced Steam Cleaner. What’s brilliant about it is that it combines the power of a steam mop and the convenience of a handheld steamer. So, you can start by giving your bathroom floor a good clean and wipe down, then switch to more targeted cleaning, directing the super-hot steam at any particularly manky areas of the bathroom, such as the plugholes, toilet bowl, and showerhead. It comes with a selection of tools, including a number of nozzles which are particularly effective at cleaning bathroom grouting.
Don’t forget the flooring
It’s always a good idea to start tackling your flooring with a vacuum cleaner. That’ll do a perfectly decent job of getting rid of any top-level dust. Just remember that there’s only so much your vacuum cleaner can do in terms of actually cleaning the carpets. For example, while your vacuum will suck away a lot of the dust, it won’t be nearly as effective at getting rid of dust mites and the really embedded dust. Put simply, if you want to give your floors a really good clean, you’ll need to inject some moisture – and for that, we’d recommend the H2O steam cleaning range.
The H2O HD Advanced Steam Cleaner comes with a specific carpet glider, making it easy for you to clean and deodorize both carpets and rugs, before effortlessly switching to hard floor cleaning. If you’re used to cleaning your kitchen and bathroom floors with just a mop and bucket, you’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to use an H20 steam mop. Not only does it clean your floor without the use of abrasive detergents and chemicals, but it also kills the kind of germs and bacteria that your mop and bucket leave behind. Plus, because it’s designed to be lightweight, it doesn’t give you quite as much of a workout as you get dragging a mop and a bucket of water up and down the stairs!
Your H2O Steam Cleaner isn’t just for floors either. It’s so versatile you can use it to clean, sanitize and deodorize everything from work surfaces and windows, to curtains and clothing.
Get your oven looking brand new again
Let’s be honest, cleaning the oven is something no one chooses to do for fun. But though it’s a dirty job, someone has got to do it. The way a lot of people try to tackle it is by turning to highly abrasive chemicals, which literally melt the burnt-on bits so they can be wiped away. Not only is this not very good for your oven it’s pretty time-consuming too, as you have to leave the chemicals in place for several hours. Fortunately, there’s a better way… with steam.
Take the H2O Steam FX Pro. It’s about the same size as a kettle and, just like a kettle, it heats normal tap water up to just over 100℃ and turns it into a powerful jet of steam. Simply fit one of the nozzles included in the box and you have a powerful spot cleaner to hand. This is ideal for melting through the baked-on grease and spillages inside your oven – just without the need for harsh cleaning chemicals. So, you can get your oven looking back to its best in a fraction of the time. Good for your oven and even better for you!
We’ve got loads more useful steam cleaning tips for you here. Why not explore the complete H2O steam cleaning range while you’re at it, too?
