Ahhh! Sparkling floors, gleaming windows, and zero dust bunnies. A thorough cleaning can make your abode feel brand new. But that immaculate house comes with a price — sore biceps. Here's how to deep clean your house without skimping, or pulling a muscle.
Best of all, these brilliant hacks — for nine pain-in-the-butt tasks — will deliver the same pristine results with half the time and energy.
#1 Break Out the Drill on Your Bathtub
Cleaning a grungy tub can be back-breaking work. But here's a genius idea that'll save you time and sweat: Use your drill. Simply attach a scrubby (or a foam ball polishing attachment if you happen to have one) and use it to do the deep cleaning for you. Look in the automotive section for the attachment, which is made specially for tackling grime without scratching surfaces.
Related: Clean Your Bathroom for Just Pennies
#2 Soak Stove Burners in Ammonia
Your stove burners take the bulk of the greasy, gunky mess during cooking, so do them a favor and give them a deep cleaning. Don't worry: No scrubbing involved. To clear the crud, combine your stove burners and one-quarter cup ammonia in a plastic bag and let them sit overnight. They should come clean with a light sponge the next day.
#3 Run Floor Vents Through the Dishwasher
When debating how to deep clean your house, you can't go much deeper than tackling your floor and ceiling vents. Scour as you might, removing all the accumulated dirt and dust from vents can be a spring cleaner's nightmare. If your vents are made of aluminum or steel, there's a shortcut to spic-and-span: Just run them through the dishwasher on a water-only cycle.
#4 Iron Out Bad Carpet Stains
Don't spend an hour scrubbing out that nasty, set-in carpet splotch. Iron it out instead. Spritz a solution of one part vinegar and three parts water on the stain, and lay a clean cotton cloth on top. Turn your iron to its highest steam setting and run it over the stain for about 10 seconds to transfer the stain to the cloth and off your carpet.
#5 Tie a Bag of Vinegar Around Your Showerhead
Mineral build-up on your showerhead can cause low water pressure and wonky water streams. But deep cleaning them is easy without removing them. Using a rubber band, attach a bag of vinegar to your showerhead, making sure all the holes are submerged in the vinegar, and soak it overnight. Voilà. Good as new.
#6 Make Your Leaf Blower Multi-Task
Forget the broom and rags when you're cleaning out the garage. Whip out your leaf blower and let it blow all the dust, debris, and dead bugs (yuck!) away from the floor and shelving. Just be sure to put away lightweight things that could accidentally get blown out with the trash.
#7 Get Rid of Crayon Marks with Goo Gone
Removing evidence of your toddler's overactive imagination from your gorgeous white walls can be a struggle, but a little bit of Goo Gone (traditionally used to clean sticker residue) will remove the crayon and your headache. Spray it on the drawing, wait a moment, and wipe it off cleanly — without exhausting your arms.
#8 Boil Your Range Filter
There's no need to scrub the grease and grime off your range filters. Use a bit of baking soda and your largest pot instead. Set the water to boil, slowly add one-half cup of baking soda, and submerge your filters for about five minutes. (Make sure to dump the water somewhere safe. Grease in the drain is even worse than grimy filters.)
#9 Sprinkle Your Mattress With Baking Soda
Your mattress needs a spring cleaning refresh, too, but you sure can't toss it in the washing machine. Cleaning gurus recommend dragging your mattress outside, beating it, and letting the sunshine help freshen it, then dragging it back in. How to deep clean your house shouldn't result in a herniated disk.
This is much easier: Use a kitchen strainer to sprinkle baking soda over the surface and let the mattress sit for an hour or longer. Longer is better. Then use your vacuum's upholstery attachment to suck up the odor-absorbing soda.
Related: The Most Common Mistake People Make When They Spring Clean