How to Clean a Living Room

Last week, cleaners on TIDY cleaned thousands of living rooms.  We asked them for their top cleaning tips for the living or family room, and we got some interesting results!  Read on to find some tactics that your friends and family may not know about. As usual, pick the right approach for you and your home.

LIVING ROOM CLEANING CHECKLIST

For a Quick Daily Cleaning:

If you have a family, you already know there's a constant stream of crumbs and fingerprints.  By taking a few minutes each day to maintain a clean living room, it won't get out of hand. If you live alone, you still have to keep the tendency to “put that away later” under control. Here's a quick living room cleaning checklist:

• Since the sofa is usually the living room's focus, fluff the pillows daily.
• Fold any throws or afghans.
• With a small, hand-held vacuum, pick up crumbs that are immediately visible on tables, rugs, or sofa cushions. If you see dust bunnies, get them too.
• Spot-clean surfaces where you can see fingerprints by using a microfiber cloth.
• Straighten books and magazines on the coffee table and put your remote controls in their designated location. If you haven't designated a location, do so.
• Put away clutter items like toys or video games.

For a More Thorough Cleaning:

When you are doing a more detailed cleaning, here are some of the most common to dos.  Most people do these every 1-4 weeks, depending on their lifestyle.

• Dust and wash mirrors
• Vacuum upholstery and lamp shades
• Wash throws
• Dust and polish furniture
• Vacuum carpet

TIPS FROM THE PROFESSIONALS ON HOW TO CLEAN A LIVING ROOM:

• Think of your messy living room as a grid. Clean each spot on the grid, and make sure you know what goes where.
• Clean from top to bottom.
• Dust first so you don't shake dust onto a clean carpet. The last thing you do is vacuum, and you should always vacuum yourself out of the room.
• Washable cloth diapers are a great cleaning tool.  Otherwise, invest in microfiber cloths to make cleaning easier.
• Keep outside dirt from coming into your house by designating house-only shoes.
• Keep the room clean by doing one thing each time you enter the room. When you walk by a throw blanket, fold it. Straighten those coffee table books when you sit down on the sofa.

CLEANING CEILING FANS AND AIR CONDITIONER VENTS

Ceiling fans collect dust that clings to greasy grime, and if you have pets, you've probably noticed pet hair on the edges of the blades. I can't tell you how it gets up there, but here are some tips to clean to fan blades:

• You'll need either an extendable duster or a step stool so you can safely reach the blades.
• If the fan blades are clearly holding on to dust and hair, you might want to spread a sheet to catch the debris.
• If your vacuum has an extending wand with a soft dusting brush this could be an option as well.
• No matter which cleaning device you use, make sure you clean both sides of the blades

If you have a window air conditioner in the living room, it probably comes with a washable filter. If so, remove it and rinse under a stream of warm water. Let the filter air dry, and before reinstalling, spraying it with an odor eliminator will help eliminate any stale order.

HOW TO CLEAN LIGHT FIXTURES

Light fixtures ten to collect dust and cobwebs. To be able to see them as you clean, turn on the lights. Use an extending duster to get around the lamp, bulb, and chain/mount. By carefully working the duster through the fixture, you'll catch any cobwebs hanging on the inside.

What tips do you have on how to clean a living room?

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