How a Deep Spring Cleaning Could Improve Your Health

It’s springtime! We throw open all the windows and doors, the sun is warm, the air is fresh and it feels wonderful, especially after being confined indoors during some of the coldest winter days on record.

We can now appreciate the freshness of the new year and we want to freshen up the inside of our homes as well. And the ritual of spring cleaning begins. On a regular basis inside our homes we’ve been doing the weekly cleaning. Now it’s time for the spring cleaning. Be mindful that this year it may be time for you to do the deep spring cleaning.

Despite all the efforts of spring cleaning the house you would be surprised by how much stuff has accumulated behind the scenes- skin flakes, pet dander, hair, crumbs, clothing fibers, food spills, insect or rodent droppings, and so much more. There are a lot of allergens that accumulate behind the scenes that allergy sufferers can have trouble with. Our homes are a breeding ground for bacteria, mold, dust mites.

We all can benefit from a deep spring cleaning, but for allergy sufferers, the stakes are even higher.

So, what is deep spring cleaning? This “deep cleaning” is about going further and deeper than you’ve ever gone before. Some of us may have pulled out the refrigerator, but when is the last time you have pulled out the dishwashers, the stove, taken down the blinds, pulled out drawers? Expect to find dust that has been there since the house was under construction.

Make this year the year to conduct your deep cleaning!

• A great place to start is the kitchen. Pull out all of the appliances. Out of sight should not be out of mind when it comes to cleaning. Since most of our appliances have been designed to easily pull out and put back, we should exercise this ability. Resolve to pull everything out of the cabinets and drawers and clean your grandmother’s dishes that you only pull out for the holidays. Pull out the drawers and wipe the tops of your cabinets.
• Dust LOVES to hide on the tops of surfaces. Be sure to clean the tops of your fan blades, the tops of your window sills and picture frames.
• Clean underneath rugs and mats. When is the last time you rolled up that area rug and cleaned the floor underneath? Dust and dirt accumulates in these areas and it’s a good idea to periodically clean underneath the rug and the rug itself.
• Wipe inside the accessible parts of your HVAC system. Reach just inside your return air box, ducts, the blower compartment of your furnace or air handler, change your filters. Before tacking this task, be sure to unplug or flip the circuits in your fuse box just to be safe.
• Tend to the inside of any other air moving devices– bath exhaust fans, kitchen exhaust fans, pedestal fans, box fans, ceiling fans and the like.
• Instead of cleaning TO the storage areas of your home, give them a little TLC as well. Clean your closets, storage cabinets, underneath and behind the beds and couches.
• Highly textured surfaces can be dust magnets. The more detailed the texture, the dustier it can be. Take down and clean blinds, drapes, curtains, and other fabric wall hangings. Textured paneling and textured ceilings can gather dust in the cracks and crevices. Wipe them down with a wet cloth to take care of the dust accumulation.

Regular spring cleanings are a lot of work so it goes without saying that these deep cleanings are even more so, but the benefits of getting down and dirty are plentiful. You really get a different perspective of your house. You can interpret the story of your house by these accumulations. It gives you insight into your behaviors, healthiness and the relationship between the built environment and your health. Not only might you feel better once you are able to do these deep cleanings, but you just might BE better!