Deep Cleaning Post-Renovation: How to Bring Peace Back to Your Home

By: John Garcia | Date Posted: May 15, 2023

, Home renovations can be a huge headache. While everyone looks forward to the finished product, whether that’s a brand-new kitchen and bathroom, a basement rental unit, or an addition that makes new room for a growing family, it’s no secret that renovations can be a major disruption to your home and family life. You’re constantly dealing with the chaos of contractors, tools, sawdust, dirt, noise, and half-constructed rooms and hallways.

Deep Cleaning Post-Renovation

When the renovations are finally complete, there’s just one more job you need to complete before you can breathe a huge sigh of relief: clean up.

Even contractors who clean up after themselves can leave a lot of grit and grime in their wake. The good news is that you’re close to bringing peace and order back to your home. You’re almost across the finish line. It might just take a bit of elbow grease to get there.

  1. Getting Rid of the Junk in the Backyard

After a big home renovation project, most homeowners are going to look at the drywall dust and paint all throughout their home and naturally want to start there. It’s interior living space, and while it should certainly be a priority, don’t let it become an excuse to ignore the backyard.

That’s because junk like construction debris and your newly-replaced appliances can quickly become home to rodents. Mice and rats love backyard clutter, and it can give them all the cover they need to start making their way toward the warmth, comfort, and tempting smell of food coming from inside your house.

Get junk pick up from a professional company in a timely manner to avoid problems with rodents and other issues. Junk removal companies can take everything from old furniture to appliances to construction debris.

There are plenty of other reasons to hire junk pick up in a timely manner. They include:

  • Reducing the risk of injury to your family and guests in your backyard.
  • Improving relationships with your neighbors who may not be happy about the mess.
  • Eliminating a potential fire hazard in your yard.
  1. Start with a Dry Clean

While you’re looking for a junk removal company to get rid of the mess outside, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and bring order back to the interior of your home.

Renovations can leave all kinds of residue behind, including drywall dust, cement particles, sawdust, etc. Drywall is a relatively safe material, but extended exposure to these materials can be hazardous. You may want to consider wearing a dust mask while you clean, but you can also improve the air quality in your home by opening up the windows and using an air filter.

Start from the top and make your way down to the floor, beginning with shelves, walls, and countertops. Don’t forget to get the tops of mouldings, doorframes, and window sills, where dust often accumulates unnoticed. Unless you had new fixtures installed, take down your light fixtures and give them a good dusting. Make sure you clean ceiling fan blades, or you can be in for an unpleasant surprise the next time you turn them on. You can get dust off the walls by tying a cloth or a rag around your broom and brushing the dust down onto the floor, where you can vacuum it.

It can be tougher to clean up damp or wet particles. Starting with a dry clean lets you hoover up particles and dust quickly before refining your deep clean.

#2 Start with a Dry Clean

  1. Use a HEPA Filter Vacuum

HEPA filters are mechanical air filters that are designed to remove particulate matter from the air efficiently. HEPA filters remove 99.97% of particles, including dust, mould, bacteria, and other materials. AlsoHEPA filters collect contaminants as small as 0.3 microns, and they’re one of the best tools you have at your disposal for cleaning up the air quality in your home.

Using a HEPA filter in your vacuum as you clean will help you capture more dust and contaminants. Vacuums suck up particles and trap them in the collection chamber or bag, but then the air recirculates back out into the room.

Without a filtration system, a vacuum would blow dust and particles back into the room, and it would be harder to clean in general. A HEPA filter will help you trap more contaminants and leave the air in your home cleaner and fresher.

  1. Do a Damp Clean

The next step in your deep clean is to wipe down dirty surfaces and your floor. One of the best and safest cleaning agents at your disposal is a mixture of water and vinegar. This will clean and disinfect hard surfaces and floors of all materials without damaging them or leaving a film, which can happen if you use a soap-based detergent.

Regarding surfaces, microfiber clothes are the best options for getting in there and cleaning things. Microfiber is soft and non-abrasive while also being more efficient at cleaning surfaces than a regular cloth. They pick up fine particles, hair, dust, and water more efficiently.

A damp clean will get the last of the dirt left by contractors and give you the feeling of a pristine home.

  1. Consider Calling the Professionals for Big Jobs

Can’t take time off work to clean up the mess left after renovations? After extensive renovations, it may be too overwhelming to take care of on your own. In these cases, getting professional cleaners may be worth spending extra.

This is especially true if you were already living in your home before major renovations. Even furniture that’s been protected by plastic during renovations will need to be thoroughly cleaned to get rid of all the dust. Professionals can take care of your home in a hurry.

  1. Prepping Your Home for the Next Renovation

Had enough of the endless cleanup now that the contractors have left? Next time, there are some steps you can take to minimize the damage they’ll do and save you some time with the cleanup once they’re gone. This includes covering furniture and floors with plastic to capture most of the grit and grime created by renovations. You can also hang plastic skirts around doorways to capture dust.

Once you’ve finished cleaning up after your renovations, it won’t take long before you start feeling at home again. Now that the chaos is over, it’s time to reclaim your space!

Thank you for reading!

John
 

John is the founder and chief editor of Homienjoy. With over 15 years of experience in the home improvement industry, John is passionate about helping homeowners confidently tackle their projects. Holding a civil engineering degree and working as a contractor, project manager, and consultant, John brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the Homienjoy community.

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