The global Coronavirus pandemic has made us all more aware than ever of the importance of good hygiene. Viruses such as COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for many hours, so even if you haven’t seen someone touching a door handle, computer keyboard or mug, there may be virus particles present.

Why You Should Deep Clean During Lockdown

It’s likely you’re looking forward to having your mates round for a cup of tea and a catch-up when the lockdown is lifted. However, it is estimated that 1 in 4 people infected with COVID-19 are “asymptomatic carriers”, meaning they do not develop signs or symptoms of Coronavirus, but they can still carry and pass on the virus. This is the main reason why the virus has spread so quickly: when we don’t feel unwell, we don’t think twice about touching our faces or shaking hands. Without taking proper precautions, the coronavirus will continue to spread, putting our communities at risk. 

It is vital that we begin setting habits for good house hygiene before we let others into our home, with daily cleaning of common areas. This all starts with a deep clean. With the whole family at home all day for six weeks, your house will have gathered more grime and dust than usual.

We’ve created a Lockdown Deep Clean Checklist to help you eliminate dirt and germs and start fresh for your Daily Cleaning Routine.

Lockdown Deep Clean Checklist

The first step of a deep clean is to make a checklist of tasks. You can use this list as a template to save time.

For Every Room:

There are also extra jobs which are specific to certain rooms. These guides will help you deep clean your kitchen and bathroom in the most efficient way.

Deep Clean the Kitchen

  1. Declutter cupboards and wipe their interiors and shelves with warm soapy water or a disinfectant spray.
  2. Tackle the oven.
    1.  Remove shelves and place them in a sink full of hot soapy water. Remove any bits of excess food from the oven. 
    2. Apply oven cleaner to the interior by spraying or sponging into the corners and wiping across surfaces. Leave to soften burnt on food. 
    3. Take a scourer to the oven racks. Any stains or burnt on pieces should have softened in the water and come off easily. Rinse with warm water and stand in your draining rack to dry. .
    4. Once the oven cleaner has loosened the dirt and grease, use a damp sponge to wipe the whole inside of the oven. Repeat until it is clean. Avoid any electrical or heating elements and rinse the sponge regularly. 
    5. Don’t forget the glass door – you can clean this to sparkling with glass spray
  3. Repeat the above steps for your hob.
  4. Clean microwave inside and out.
  5. Remove food and shelves from the fridge and wipe the whole interior down with warm soapy water. Wipe each shelf before replacing. Wipe the creases inside the fridge and freezer door seals and handles.
  6. Clean the sink, draining board and cutlery drainer with bleach spray.
  7. Wipe tiles, windowsills and surfaces with antibacterial spray. Don’t forget to wipe items that are touched regularly, such as the kettle, toaster and chair-backs.
  8. Wipe down cupboard doors, drawer fronts, handles, oven and washing machine front and dials with antibacterial spray.
  9. Empty the bin, sanitise and replace the bag.
  10. Sweep the floor thoroughly and mop with disinfectant.

Deep Clean the Bathroom

  1. Remove towels, toothbrushes or anything else you don’t want to get splashed.
  2. Dust from top to bottom.
  3. Wearing rubber gloves, spray bath, shower and sink with a bleach cleaner and leave it to work.
  4. Put bleach under the toilet rim.
  5. Spray toilet seat top and bottom, flush handle, bin and cabinet drawers with antibacterial spray.
  6. Wipe cabinet drawers.
  7. Wipe tiles and bath, taps and shower head.
  8. Scrub grouting & seals with a toothbrush where they are looking grimy.
  9. Wipe toilet from outside in, starting with flush and top of seat and ending with the bowl.
  10. Use toilet paper and rubber gloves to scrub any stains on the toilet bowl.
  11. Wipe sink, taps, plug and tiles.
  12. Pour 1 capful  thick bleach or drain cleaner into sink and bath/shower drains. Follow the instructions on drain cleaner.
  13. Spray mirrors and glass with a glass cleaner and polish with a dry cloth or tea towel that doesn’t leave fibres behind.
  14. Empty the bin, sanitise and replace the bag.
  15. Sweep the floor thoroughly and mop with disinfectant.
  16. Replace anything you removed in step 1.

Designing a Daily Cleaning Regime 

As you go through your deep clean, make a note of areas and objects which are handled by many people throughout the day, such as light switches, door and drawer handles, computers. These are the items you want to keep clean and hygienic every day to reduce the spread of viruses and bacteria in your home.

A daily cleaning routine doesn’t need to be time consuming. There are already many cleaning jobs we do daily, such as washing up, wiping the table or sweeping the floor. Keeping your home virus-free can be as easy as setting aside ten minutes to walk around with a bottle of spray and a few cloths. You should change the cloth each time you move onto a new room, so that you aren’t simply reinfecting areas.

In every room you should sanitise light switches, door handles and any taps daily, particularly if you are having guests around. 

There are also some items which everyone handles but hardly anyone ever cleans, making them hotbeds for germs. Think about where these hotspots are in your house and make sure you clean them at least every three days.

You might include:

Most of these can be cleaned with an antibacterial wipe. For electronics, dampen a cloth with small amounts of an alcohol-based cleaner or use a disinfectant wipe to remove germs from buttons, screens and microphones.

Tips for Regular Cleaning during Lockdown

Taking the time each day to clean the most used parts of your home is one way you can keep your family and any visitors safe from viruses, even after the lockdown is lifted. But once you are back at work this routine may seem difficult to keep up. You can embed this cleaning habit by choosing a time of day for cleaning that works for you. This might be when you get home from work, after the school run, or first thing in the morning. Clean every room thoroughly once a week, and continue washing your hands regularly to keep viruses outside your home.