Spring is around the corner, which means it’s time to get a head start on your spring house cleaning!
Does anyone else get genuinely excited about a dedicated cleaning day when spring comes around? Don’t get me wrong, the ongoing chore of cleaning isn’t something I get jazzed about, but allocating a weekend to make your house sparkle is a different type of satisfaction.
As a team of clean home enthusiasts, we’ve compiled a list of 18 spring cleaning tips and tricks that are amazingly effective, without requiring significant time or the use of harsh chemicals. These spring cleaning hacks can be accomplished with a few everyday ingredients to help keep your home and the environment free of undesirable chemicals.
1. Start With Clean Sponges
Before starting any of your spring house cleaning, you want to make sure items such as sponges or scrub brushes are fresh so you aren’t spreading more germs while cleaning. Disinfect your sponge by running it through a cycle in the dishwasher on the top rack or soak it in full-strength vinegar for 5 minutes.
Rinse the sponge thoroughly and let dry. Keep in mind, sponges should be cleaned frequently and replaced every two weeks.
2. Deep-Clean Your Microwave
Here’s one of our favorite spring cleaning hacks: easily clean up a dirty microwave by filling a glass bowl halfway with water and squeezing in a lemon. Microwave for 4-5 minutes and let it sit with the door shut to utilize steam to remove old residue. Safely remove the bowl with an oven mitt and quickly wipe down the interior.
3. Wash Your Pillows + Down Comforters
When was the last time you cleaned your pillow or down comforter? First things first, every pillow or down comforter is different. Make sure to check the care and cleaning instructions for your specific bedding.
In general, you can usually wash feather, down, cotton, and fiberfill pillows or comforters on a delicate cycle with a small amount of your favorite non-toxic laundry detergent. To dry, place in the dryer with dryer balls or clean tennis balls to help prevent clumping.
If your pillow or comforter can not be machine washed, you can vacuum and spot clean with gentle soap.
4. Spruce up Your Mattress and Couch
While we are talking about bedding, don’t forget to clean your mattress. To clean, start by grabbing a vacuum with an upholstery attachment and vacuum the entire surface of your mattress to remove dust.
Next, sprinkle your mattress or couch with baking soda and let it sit for 3 hours then vacuum again. (Pro tip: you can do the same thing with sneakers to freshen up your feet!)
5. Wipe Down Light Switches
Every time you walk in and out of a room, you switch on the light. But have you ever cleaned your light switches? Especially during flu season, a quick wipe-down of all your home light switches and covers is one of the best spring cleaning tips.
Grab a microfiber cloth paired with your cleaner of choice and wipe down the area weekly or daily if anyone is sick in your home. If you want to clean the small crevices, use a Q-tip.
6. Upgrade Your Bath Mat
Mold is a fungus that thrives in damp environments in the home, especially in areas such as bathtubs, shower curtains, and bath mats. No one likes stepping onto a soggy bath mat or walking into a bathroom that reeks of mildew. Preventing mold in damp areas with limited airflow is extremely difficult even with continual upkeep and spring house cleaning.
One of our favorite tips for spring cleaning for keeping bath mats clean is ditching the fabric bath mat and upgrading to the Dorai Bath Stone. Unlike traditional bath mats that absorb moisture and generate bacteria, the Bath Stone mat is designed to instantly remove water, actually helping prevent mold.
7. Clean Your Walls & Baseboards
Your walls gather fingerprints, dust, scrapes, and grime buildup from candles/fires all winter. Doing a full house wipe-down of walls and baseboards is one of the most essential tips for spring cleaning.
First, remove dust with a long-handed dry floor map with a clean microfiber cloth. The microfiber cloth can also be used on baseboards. Follow this with a bucket of lukewarm water + a small amount of your favorite natural dish soap and a sponge. Wring out the sponge and wipe down needed areas making sure they don’t get overly wet.
8. De-gunk the Garbage Disposal
Within the daily chores of doing dishes and wiping down counters, we often forget to clean the kitchen garbage disposal. To clean, sprinkle ½ cup baking soda into the garbage disposal + 1 cup of white vinegar and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Run hot water to rinse while the disposal is running. Additionally, you can finish this easy spring cleaning tip up by placing a few lemon rinds into the disposal and running for 15-30 seconds allowing the disposal to take on a fresh scent.
9. Get Rid of Expired Makeup and Skincare
Do you keep track of the expiration date on your makeup and skincare? Some items have an expiration date but many just have a timeframe in which the product is still good after opening. Check all your skincare and makeup items and ditch those that have passed their expiration date during your spring house cleaning.
When possible, instead of throwing away expired products in their entirety, first empty the product container of the expired product and then clean. You can now save these containers to use as vessels to hold your skincare or lotion when traveling. For future purchases, you can use a thin-tip sharpie to write the date you open your products on the bottom of the container so you can keep track.
10. Don’t Forget About the Appliances
It’s easy to forget about cleaning large appliances in our homes. Running the clean cycle on the oven is fairly simple and easy to remember thanks to build-up and gunk from cooking, but cleaning the dishwasher or washing machine often goes overlooked.
To clean the dishwasher: First, clean the dishwasher filter and drain. Next, fill a bowl with 1 cup of white vinegar and place it on the bottom rack of the dishwasher. Run on a hot cycle.
To clean the washing machine: Run the washing machine on a hot cycle with 2 cups of white vinegar instead of detergent. Next, use a sponge + a mixture of vinegar and water to scrub the basin.
An easy spring cleaning tip is to focus on those small details! Run a final hot cycle without any vinegar or detergent.
11. Remove Build-Up from the Bathroom Sink
Due to moisture from hot showers, it’s not surprising that the bathroom is a hotbed for germs. The bathroom sink is one area that is usually neglected in the weekly bathroom cleaning routine.
Sure, you wipe down the counters, but what about the pool of water under your soap dispenser or the moisture around your toothbrush holder? Outside of the weekly disinfectant cleaning, we love the addition of the Dorai Sink Caddy to keep our bathroom sink free of unnecessary build-up and keep our toothbrush elevated from the counter.
12. Sanitize Electronics
Computer keyboards and phones are often used by multiple members of the household and are rarely cleaned. We’re all guilty of eating at our desks or browsing while enjoying a bite, a recipe for getting sick during flu season!
One of our favorite spring cleaning hacks has been the addition of the Homesoap which cleans electronics like phones, laptops, and remotes by using UV-C Light. When you’re done working for the day, put your high-touch items in the Homesoap and it cleans in 10 minutes!
If you’re not ready to make the jump to a Homesoap, use your go-to disinfecting cleaner daily while enjoying a 10-minute screen break (the amount of time it takes for most disinfectants to kill up to 99% of viruses and bacteria). You can also clean your phone cases by putting them on the top shelf in the dishwasher.
13. Remove Mineral Deposits and Stains
Boil vinegar in your electric kettle to remove mineral deposits / hard watermarks. Remove mineral stains from the tray under the fridge water dispenser by soaking paper towels in white vinegar and draping them over the water tray. Wait 3-5 hours and they will wipe right off.
For stubborn mineral build-up on kitchen faucets, a similar vinegar soak works wonders. Detach the heads and submerge them in a bag filled with white vinegar overnight. This simple spring cleaning hack effortlessly dissolves build-up, restoring flow and shine.
14. Dishwash Your Light Fixtures
Try this spring cleaning hack for your light fixtures. Put the glass covers of your light fixtures on the top shelf of your dishwasher and run it for a light cycle with heated dry to prevent watermarks.
While they're being washed, use the time to dust around the light fittings and replace any burnt-out bulbs. It's a quick way to make sure your lights are not just clean, but also beaming bright.
And for those fancy light fixtures that can't brave the dishwasher, a quick wipe-down with a damp microfiber cloth works wonders. Little tweaks like this make spring house cleaning a breeze and your home super bright.
15. Have a Squeegee Handy in the Shower
Squeegee your shower door after every shower. It's a simple fix that keeps away those pesky hard water stains and soap scum, which means less time scrubbing later and fewer harsh chemicals.
Plus, it keeps your shower looking spotless and your doors crystal clear. A few swipes here and there, and your bathroom will feel fresh and inviting in no time.
16. Start Your Spring House Cleaning With the Floor
Prevent cleaning overwhelm by starting with the floor. Get everything off of the floor and onto a couch/bed or into a bin. Vacuum or sweep, then get to organizing and prioritizing cleaning tasks once you already have momentum and a quick win. When mopping, carry around an old plastic card or plastic dish scraper to quickly cut through dried spills.
It's amazing how cleaning up your floor first can make everything else feel more manageable. You'll feel accomplished right off the bat, and that clean floor will inspire you to tackle the rest of your spring house cleaning with ease.
17. Revitalize Wooden Cutting Boards with Lemon and Salt
Give your wooden cutting boards some love with this neat spring cleaning hack that's all-natural and super effective. Just sprinkle some coarse salt over them and then give them a good scrub with a lemon half.
The salt gently scrubs away grime, while the lemon freshens and sanitizes. Rinse off, and your board will look and smell as good as new. It's one of our favorite go-to spring cleaning tips and tricks, especially if you’re looking for a quick, non-toxic solution.
18. DIY Window Cleaner for a Streak-Free Shine
Just mix equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Toss in a few drops of your favorite essential oil – we love using lemon or lavender – for that fresh, clean scent.
Give your windows a good spray and then wipe them down with a microfiber cloth or squeegee. This is one of those spring cleaning tips that not only gets great results but also feels good to try.
Spring House Cleaning Made Simple
We hope you get as excited about trying these 18 spring cleaning tips and tricks as we did when we first learned about them! Choose 1-2 items you’d like to clean every weekend this month and tackle it step by step.
After diving into these easy spring cleaning tips, why not make your life even smoother with some help from Dorai? One of our favorite things about our instant-drying home products (like the Dorai Dish Pad) is that they don't require much routine cleaning. The occasional spray of Force of Nature and a quick sanding (in a well-ventilated area) and you're good to go! Happy Spring Cleaning!