Spring cleaning general tasks

General Spring Cleaning Tasks

These are a list of some of the things that need to be done around the house, and spring is a great time to do them. So often we don’t remember to do them, so let this be your wake-up call!

Tests & replacements

Test smoke alarm

Test carbon monoxide alarm

Check flashlight batteries

Check fire extinguishers

Change air filters

Check all window screens for tears and repair or replace as required

Check every light switch plate, socket cover and door knob in the house

Other considerations

Consider stripping, buffing or waxing floors (depending on the type of floor you have)

Consider having your outside windows professional cleaned

Consider having your ducts cleaned, should be done once every 5 years

Consider cleaning your BBQ and patio furniture to prepare for the upcoming warmer weather


Products
Non-scratch scour pad (this is very important). You don’t want to scratch your plastic or stainless steel parts, despite how tempting it may be to scrub off that soot.

BBQ brush – wire brush (gold) for cast iron and stainless steel (silver) brush for stainless steel for ceramic coated or enameled. Using the wrong type of brush can scratch your grill and that will cause rusting and leeching.

Canola oil and paper towel – use this to prep the grill before cooking, it prevents sticking.

Rubber gloves just in case you want to protect your hands from the grease, grime and dirt you are about to encounter. It’s a good idea.

Dish liquid is best to be used any time a cleaning recipe calls for ‘soapy water’, it’s a pH neutral cleaner that cuts grease like a dream.

GrILLr is an awesome BBQ cleaning tool, it’s safe for grills (including porcelain) meaning it won’t scratch them yet it effectively removes carbonized grease and old food bits.

Baking Soda is perfect to use for soaking greasy BBQ accessories post-cookout in the kitchen sink

Bucket is nice to have for a more thorough cleaning job

Non-toxic degreaser for the grill and interior is a good choice to remvoe stubborn, greasy build-up and of course is safe to use on the grill (read: close to your food) and outdoors

Stainless steel cleaner that is fine to use on the exterior, I prefer non-aerosol cans.

Rags as opposed to good cloths to handle the dirty stuff, but good cloths are fine to handle for polishing up
Remember, unless otherwise stated, always clean your BBQ when it is cool! Start with the exterior and then move to the interior. Work in a top-to-bottom pattern so that all the soot falls to the bottom and so that you don’t have to re-clean an area!