The bank holiday deep clean guide

A bank holiday is the perfect time for a deep clean because it gives you the uninterrupted block of time the job really needs. The trick is to work to a plan: go top to bottom, one room at a time, and focus on the build-up a normal weekly clean never reaches, the oven, behind appliances, limescale, skirting boards and light fittings. With a clear order you can refresh a whole home in a single day.

Before you start

Set yourself up so you are not stopping every five minutes. Gather your products and cloths, put a wash on, open the windows, and clear clutter first, you cannot clean surfaces that are covered in stuff. A quick declutter also makes the whole job faster, as our guide to decluttering before a clean explains.

Work top to bottom

Always clean from high to low so dust and crumbs fall onto surfaces you have not done yet. Cobwebs and light fittings first, then shelves and surfaces, then finally floors. The same applies room by room, finish one space completely before moving on, so you are not walking dirt back through clean rooms.

Kitchen: the big one

• Clean inside the oven, microwave and fridge, the jobs a weekly clean skips.
• Pull out appliances where safe and clean behind and underneath.
• Descale the kettle and tackle limescale on taps and around the sink.
• Wipe cupboard fronts, then finish with the floor.

Bathroom: descale and sanitise

Tackle limescale on taps, shower screens and tiles, clean and disinfect the toilet inside and out, and clear the extractor fan of dust. Finish with the floor and a fresh set of towels. For glass, see removing hard water stains from glass.

Living areas and bedrooms

Dust everything including skirting boards, door frames and light fittings, vacuum sofas and under cushions, and wash or air bedding. Move furniture to vacuum underneath. These are exactly the spots a quick clean misses, so a long weekend is the time to get to them. Our guide to deep clean vs regular clean sets out the full difference.

What to leave to the professionals

Some jobs are too big, awkward or risky for a DIY bank holiday blitz:

• Carpets and upholstery: professional cleaning lifts ingrained dirt a vacuum cannot.
• Exterior work: windows, gutters and driveways are safer and faster done professionally, see window cleaning and gutter cleaning.
• A full whole-home deep clean: if you would rather enjoy the long weekend, we can do it for you.

Let us do the deep clean instead

If the idea of spending a bank holiday cleaning fills you with dread, our domestic deep cleaning service does it for you across Derby and Derbyshire. Book the long weekend off properly and come home to a spotless house.