5 DIY spring cleaning while social distancing tasks to keep you and your home healthy

Carpet and rug cleaning 🧹

Every year, millions of people get sick from the allergens, pests, and dirt present in the fibers of the rugs and carpets in their homes. Especially during these uncertain times, it is important to clean rugs and carpets to ensure your family’s home environment remains as safe as possible. This is also is a good way to increase the lifespan of your carpet and rugs while maintaining a healthy indoor living environment. While regular vacuuming can take care of loose dirt, pet hair, and other debris, deep cleaning is essential to prevent the growth and spreading of viruses, fungi, mold, and bacteria. Though there are various cleaning companies that could come out to your home in normal times, it is essential to practice social distancing, and cleaning your rugs and carpets yourself with an in-home rotary shampoo cleaner easily and cheaply obtainable on Amazon.com is probably the safest option.  

Air Filters 🦠

The U.S. Department of Energy recommends regular maintenance of your heating and cooling systems to increase efficiency and improve performance. Replacing your air filters is a vital part of that maintenance process and the process of breathing cleaner, safer air. Regularly replacing air filters screen out germs, pollutants, particles, and dust to ensure the quality of the air in your home is good. This best practice impacts your family’s health and can be especially important for older people, children, and those with respiratory issues during these uncertain times. By replacing your filters regularly, you can enjoy improved indoor air quality for every member of your household and reduce the likelihood of airborne COVID-19 indoors.

Cleaning your blinds/window coverings 🧼

To Clean Dusty Blinds:

Trying to clean dusty blinds with soap and water can leave dirty streaks, and is a drippy mess. It’s easier to wipe them with a duster or microfiber cloth. 

• Leave your blinds in place to dust them. Just open the blinds and clean them from the top to the bottom with a duster. Use a vacuum cleaner to get up any dust that drifts onto the floor. Shake the duster outdoors in between cleanings if you’re doing more than one set of blinds.
• To use a microfiber cloth, close the blinds and wipe off the dust, again working from the top to the bottom. The cloth will catch most of the dust. When it gets dirty, take it outside and shake it vigorously, or switch to a clean cloth. 

To Clean Really Dirty Blinds:

Grease, dust, pet hair and particles floating around in the air can combine to make blinds grimy, especially when blinds are used in kitchens. To clean them, start by dusting them with a microfiber cloth. Do not use water on wood blinds.

• If the blinds are plastic or metal, and you want to leave them in place to clean them, make a 50/50 solution of warm water and white vinegar in a bowl or bucket. Mix in a little mild dishwashing soap. Dip a sponge in the solution and wipe down each slat. Finish by wiping each slat again with a sponge dampened in fresh, clean water. Let the blinds air-dry or wipe them dry them with a cloth.

To Clean wood blinds:

If the heavily soiled blinds are made of wood, dust them with a microfiber cloth or the brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner. Then clean them with furniture polish or wood cleaner applied to a soft cloth. After you’ve cleaned one side of the blinds, tilt them and clean the other side.

Dryer Lint Trap 🧺

If you’ve recently noticed that your clothes are taking longer to dry than they used to, most likely you’ll only need to look no further than your dryer vent for the cause of the problem. A vent that’s clogged with lint will cause the drying process to be longer, but it can also trigger a much more serious problem, a dryer fire! In fact, clogged dryer vents are one of the top causes of dryer fires. Additionally, although this is a much less dramatic concern, an inefficient dryer can also cost you both time and money by significantly increasing your monthly utility bill. During these uncertain times, hiring a professional to take care of the vent for you isn’t really an option, but thankfully this is a job that you can do alone.

Just follow these 4 easy steps!

1. Unplug the dryer.
2. Detach the dryer vent hose from the wall.
3. Remove and vacuum the hose.
4. Reattach the hose and clean the exterior vent.

Materials and Tools Required:
Vacuum cleaner
Screwdriver
Work gloves

Dusting Surfaces and Electronics 🧽

Most people think of dust as a mild irritant that’s to be addressed once a year during spring cleaning (if at all.) Yes, dust is an irritating occurrence that every homeowner dreads, but this annoyance left untreated ends up costing residents lots of money in medical bills and damaged electronics. Using dusters or clean cloths with mild cleansers for surfaces is the best way to address dust on hard or soft surfaces, respectively. Adding an air purifier will also protect your home and electronics by keeping dust, pet hair, and other debris out of your digital devices, appliances, and off surfaces. 

Fun Fact:

People who dust regularly have reported fewer problems with their allergies and sinuses.