As spring emerges with its warm weather and cool breezes, the flowers bloom and the trees begin to leave. Many people find they have renewed energy, higher spirits and ... dust. It's time to start the adequately named ritual known as spring cleaning, that once-a-year massive assault on all things dirty, dusty and cluttered.
"I think people are shut up all winter long and they get restless to do things. It's sort of a cabin fever," said Brad Shreve, president of Mitchell Cleaning. Shreve said his carpet-cleaning business receives a surge in demand once spring comes along. Donna Smith, owner of Action Cleaning, agrees.
"(People clean) to freshen up things and make their house smell good," she said. "The furnace is running all winter, and it makes the air stale."
Smith said that those who call her business for a one-time cleaning in the spring want detail cleaning services, not just a dust and mop job.
"People want their windows washed inside and out, woodwork washed, furniture moved and cleaned underneath. (They want to) clean out all the cobwebs and window seals, and sometimes they want their closets cleaned out," she said. "Walls need to be brushed down and doors (cleaned)," she added.
Shreve advises people to clean out their vents, furnace and carpets at least once a year as well.
Becca Allison, freshman, does her cleaning whenever the mood strikes her.
"It's not just the spring," she said. "It can be whenever. I clean out the closet (and) my drawers. I dust and vacuum and get rid of a lot of stuff."
While cleaning virtually everything in one's home may seem harmless, Kent Bullis, director of the Student Health Center, said that people need to be careful because certain chemicals can be dangerous.
"There's no question that it is very important for people not to mix cleaning agents," he said.
Because spring cleaning can often involve a number of different chemicals, people should be keenly aware of what they are using and where.
Acid or alkali products, also known as ammonia products, should never be mixed with disinfectants and deodorizers containing hypochlorite salts, according to www.njc.org. Not only does this mean that products shouldn't be mixed together in a bucket, but it also means that they shouldn't be used on the same area.
Bullis has two sets of rules when it comes to cleaning chemicals.
"One: Just don't mix stuff. Two: Have some ventilation going. Open up some windows. If you start to feel weird, don't keep waiting for it to get better. Go get some fresh air," he said. The key is to follow directions, he said, especially when it comes to pesticides.
"Some people may think that if one (pesticide) bomb is good enough, then two or three is better," he said. "Its very important to use pesticides as they are labeled."
Spreading out the work rather than doing all the projects in one lump of time can minimize the risk of mixing chemicals. Smith said doing a little bit of cleaning at certain times is actually more beneficial.
"It's best to do it every week, but some people aren't able to do that," she said. "It's good to (spring clean) if you're not going to be consistent."
Either way, Smith said cleaning is cleaning, and there is nothing bad about that.
"To me, things look better and look good. Anything that's clean is beautiful," she said.
Web Extra:
A top-to-bottom cleaning overhaul can be a monstrous task, but www.allabouthome.com has put together a list of suggestions to make the task more manageable. Here are just a few:
- Look at each room and identify specific tasks.
- Make a list of cleaning priorities.
- Put together a checklist. When a job is done, check it off.
- Delegate the work, and get everyone who lives with you involved.
- Take all your cleaning tools with you into each room to avoid unnecessary trips back and forth.
- Take all of your cleaning tools with you into each room to avoid unnecessary trips back and forth.
- Always start at the top of the room and work down. For example, when you dust, start at the top of the room with the cobwebs and work down.
- Eliminate clutter.
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