15 Fall Cleaning Tips

"Spring cleaning" has a certain ring to it. But why limit your cleaning schedule just because of a catch phrase? Regular maintenance is the key to a more attractive and valuable house.

The Networx editorial staff (that's me) would like to institute a new catch phrase in cleaning: Fall Cleaning. Here are some cleaning chores that will prepare your house for winter and make your spring cleaning ritual a lot easier:

1. Clean your refrigerator coils: Vacuum these out to save money on energy during the energy-intensive winter season.

2. Wash your rugs: Most probably, your children tracked in some dirt this summer. Now is the time to get your carpets cleaned and to throw your area rugs in the washing machine.

3. Unpack your winter clothes and pack up your summer clothes: This is a good time to clean out your closet and get rid of whatever doesn't fit or is out of style.

4. Clean your baseboards, especially if you have baseboard heaters.

5. Clean your furnace filter or replace it.

6. Clean your ducts and vents.

7. Replace your window screens with storm windows: Clean your screens with a brush and soapy water - you will be shocked by how much dirt and dust runs off of them.

8. Clean your gutter.

9. Get your chimney professionally cleaned.

10. Do any repairs that might be stinky - once it's freezing cold, you won't be able to air your house out.

11. Clean out your pantry: Pantry moths tend to lay eggs and nest in the spring and then hatch in the summer. You can avoid this by preparing now. Clean and bleach the walls of your closet, and be sure that all of your grains and flour are stored in tightly-sealing glass jars.

12. Make a place in your garage or front foyer for sand, salt, and shovels. Stock up on sand and salt.

13. Clean your garage: Once it's super cold you won't want to do it. Keeping your car in the garage during winter will save you time in the morning - if your garage is full, clean it now.

14. Ditto for the attic: Most attics are brutal to clean during the hot summer months or freezing winter months. Now is your window of opportunity to clean your attic.

15. Check that your pipes are insulated. Better to put the effort in now than to have them freeze in a couple months.

Photo credit: Sancocleaningsupplies.com.

Posted by: Chaya Goodman