Column: What you never learned: How to clean virtually anything
Break out the rubber gloves and bleach; it’s spring.
The excitement of the end of the semester can be instantly deflated by the 14-page checklist your manager gives you of things you must clean before you can move out.
Most college students get nauseous looking into the toilet that hasn’t been cleaned since Christmas or trying to determine what exactly “grout” is made of.
The task of cleaning an apartment that hasn’t been tidied up recently, or ever, can be a daunting class; but not one that can’t be made easier by remembering a few simple tips:
Understand that it’s going to take a while. Plan at least six to eight hours to do nothing but clean, cancel all other plans. This will encourage you to do a better job because you’re not trying to rush out the door to get somewhere else on time.
Get the adequate supplies. Some apartments and dorms will provide this for you, if they don’t, purchase the right products.
No, an all-purpose cleaner doesn’t actually mean you can use one spray bottle to clean every surface in your home.
Make sure you get an oven cleaner, a bathroom cleaner, Soft Scrub as well as both sponges and steel wool.
Make sure to clean your supplies before you start. Chances are, if the rest of your house is covered in dust, your mop and brooms are too, and there’s nothing worse than trying to clean a floor with a dirty mop.
Don’t try to start cleaning until all of your belongings are removed. If you have to, put everything in the hall. When you are ready to start, begin at the top and work your way down.
Start upstairs in one room and clean the walls first, then work your way down to the floors.
Working as a group is a sure-fire way to make sure everything gets done quickly. Find a time all the roommates can meet at the house and just start in one room and work through the list together, this way you can split the total deposit between everyone.
If that’s not possible and you must split up the tasks make sure that if you’re one of the first ones to leave, you don’t pick for example, the floors; you may sweep, mop and vacuum those floors to a sparkling shine, but if your roommate comes along after you and dusts, all of your hard work has gone to waste. Take into account when everyone is leaving when you assign cleaning duties.
The oven is arguably the hardest area in any home to clean.
Most ovens have a self-cleaning setting. If you’re oven doesn’t have this, simply turn the oven to bake at the highest temperature possible and leave it on for about an hour. Make sure any odd objects, such as old roommates shoes or left over pizza’s are out of the oven before you turn it on. This will burn anything left in the oven, making it easier to clean.
After the oven is cool, remove the racks and cover all surfaces with oven cleaner; use the whole can if you need to, it will be easier to clean, and you probably won’t use the cleaner again until next semester anyway.
Shut the oven door and leave the room while the fumes disperse, let the cleaner sit for a few minutes and then go back to wipe out the oven.
Most of the black stuff that has been covering your oven all semester should come off pretty easy, it not, the only thing you can do is grab the steel wool and add in extra elbow grease.
Most often the end of the semester cleaning creates an incentive to clean the apartment on a regular basis next year to avoid finding pizza growing limbs under the couch or eight-legged friends under the sink. But if not, you only have to clean it once, right?
Emma Tippetts is a junior majoring in law and constitutional studies and print journalism and she is available for hire to clean your apartment, at a very high price. Email questions or comments to etippetts@cc.usu.edu