Spring cleaning checklist for a Philadelphia home

A spring cleaning checklist covers the jobs that wait all year: high corners and light fixtures, walls and switches, windows, sills and screens, radiators, baseboards, under and behind the furniture, inside the kitchen appliances and cabinets, and the floors last. Clear out first, go room by room from top to bottom, and start with the kitchen and bathrooms.

In a Philadelphia house, spring cleaning also means undoing winter: the dust baked onto the radiators, the salt film by the front door, and the grime on windows that stayed shut since November.

When should you spring clean?

Once the heat is off for the season and you can open the windows, which in Philly is usually somewhere from late March to May. Radiators need to be cold to clean properly, and open windows help everything dry.

The city's annual Philly Spring Cleanup is for blocks, lots and parks. This list is for inside the house.

How long does spring cleaning take?

For a two- or three-bedroom rowhome, plan on two or three full weekends doing it yourself, or one room a night over a couple of weeks. Don't try to do the whole house in one Saturday. You'll do the first two rooms well and rush the rest.

A simple schedule:

• Weekend 1: clear out, then the kitchen and bathrooms.
• Weekend 2: bedrooms and the living room.
• Weekend 3: windows, screens, the entry, the basement and anything that slipped.

What do you need?

• A vacuum with the crevice tool, upholstery tool and dusting brush
• An extendable duster
• A long, thin radiator brush
• A stack of microfiber cloths
• A bucket, dish soap and warm water
• Glass cleaner, or water with a splash of white vinegar
• Baking soda
• A cleaner made for your floor type
• An old toothbrush
• Trash bags and three boxes: keep, donate, toss

Step 1: Clear out before you clean

Go room by room with the three boxes. Old mail, expired medicine, clothes nobody wore all winter, the drawer of mystery cables. You can't clean around clutter, and every item you get rid of is one less thing to dust.

Get the donate box out of the house the same week, or it becomes clutter again.

Kitchen

• Wipe the tops of the cabinets and the fridge, where grease and dust combine into a sticky film.
• Wash the cabinet fronts and handles.
• Empty and wipe the inside of cabinets and drawers, one at a time.
• Empty and wash the fridge, and vacuum the coils. See how to clean a refrigerator.
• Clean the oven, racks and door glass.
• Degrease the stovetop, the range hood and its filter.
• Clean the microwave, the toaster crumbs and the small appliances.
• Scrub the sink and clean the disposal or drain.
• Wipe the backsplash and the walls behind the stove.
• Mop, including under the edges of the appliances you can reach.

Bathrooms

• Scrub the tub, shower walls and grout.
• Wash or replace the shower curtain liner.
• Descale the showerhead and faucets with vinegar.
• Clean the toilet inside and out, base and behind included.
• Empty and wipe the medicine cabinet and under the sink. Toss what's expired.
• Wipe the exhaust fan cover. A dusty fan barely moves air.
• Clean the mirror, light fixture and switch plates.
• Wash the bath mats and mop the floor.

Bedrooms

• Wash everything on the bed, including the pillows and the mattress pad if the labels allow.
• Vacuum the mattress and flip or rotate it if the maker says to.
• Vacuum under the bed.
• Swap winter bedding and clothes for spring ones, and wash the winter set before it's stored.
• Dust the tops of the dresser, the headboard, the door frames and the light fixture.
• Wipe the closet shelves and vacuum the closet floor.

Living room and the rest of the house

• Dust the high corners, the tops of door and window frames, and the light fixtures.
• Spot-clean walls and wipe every switch plate and door handle.
• Take the cushions off and vacuum the couch inside and out.
• Clean the radiators (below).
• Vacuum and hand-wipe the baseboards.
• Move the lighter furniture and vacuum behind and under it.
• Vacuum the rugs slowly in two directions.
• Mop the hard floors last. For the full method, see how to deep clean a living room.

How do you clean radiators after the winter?

A cast-iron radiator collects dust between its sections all winter, and the heat bakes it on. Once it's cold for the season, lay a towel underneath, work a long radiator brush down between the sections, and vacuum up what falls. Wipe the top and sides with a damp cloth. If you have radiator covers, lift them off and vacuum inside.

Windows, screens and the entry

• Wash the inside of the windows, then the outside where you can safely reach.
• Vacuum the window tracks and wipe the sills.
• Take the screens out, rinse them with a hose or in the tub, let them dry and put them back.
• Dust or wash the blinds and wash the curtains.
• If you put window units in for summer, clean or replace the filter before the first hot day.
• At the front door: wash the doormats, wipe the door and its glass, and clean off the white salt film on the floor with warm water and a little white vinegar.

What about the basement?

Sweep or vacuum the floor, knock down cobwebs from the joists, wipe the washer and dryer tops, and clean the lint trap housing. A rowhome basement can get damp in spring, so if it smells musty, look for the source before summer, when it gets worse.

Should you book a spring deep clean?

If you only do one thing from this list yourself, do the clear-out, because nobody else can decide what you keep. Then book Deep Cleaning online with background-checked, insured cleaning professionals, and put your priorities in your booking notes. For an ongoing schedule, see Recurring House Cleaning.

FAQ

What should be on a spring cleaning checklist? The jobs that wait all year: high corners and light fixtures, walls and switches, windows, sills and screens, radiators, baseboards, under and behind furniture, inside the kitchen appliances and cabinets, and the floors last. Go room by room, top to bottom.

How long does spring cleaning take? For a two- or three-bedroom rowhome, plan on two or three full weekends if you're doing it yourself, or one room a night over a couple of weeks. Clearing out first saves time on every room after.

What order should you spring clean in? Clear out first, then clean room by room, top to bottom in each room, floors last. Start with the rooms you use most, the kitchen and bathrooms, so if you run out of steam the important ones are done.

When should you spring clean in Philadelphia? Once the heat is off for the season and you can open the windows, usually somewhere from late March to May. That's when the radiators are cool enough to clean and the winter salt and grit can finally go.

Book your spring clean

Our service area: every Philadelphia neighborhood, plus the Pennsylvania suburbs within about 30 miles of Center City, in Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Chester counties. Book online at phillyscleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (215) 798-7576, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day.