Christchurch winters are hard on houses. Windows stay shut, the heat pump runs for months, moisture collects in the coldest corners and dust circulates through the same rooms without ever leaving.
By early spring most homes here have condensation marks on the window reveals, dust through the vents and a general heaviness that no amount of surface wiping fixes.
A proper spring clean clears it in one pass. The trick is doing it in the right order so you are not cleaning the same surface twice.
Dust falls. If you vacuum first and dust afterwards, you vacuum again. Start with ceilings, cornices and light fittings, work down to surfaces, and do the floors last.
Within the house, start in the room furthest from the door and work towards it, so you are never walking clean feet back over finished floors.
This is where a Christchurch winter shows most. Surface mould on the ceiling above the shower, black spotting in window reveals and dust caked into the tracks.
The kitchen is the biggest single job in a spring clean because it is the one room where grease and dust combine into a film that ordinary wiping smears rather than removes.
After a winter of hot showers and closed windows, bathroom grout and silicone need real attention rather than a spray.
This is the step most people skip and the one that changes the air in the house. Heat pump filters run all winter and collect a thick mat of dust.
Pull the filters, wash them, let them dry fully and put them back. Wipe the unit itself and the vent grilles. If you have a ventilation system, check whether the filter is due.
Curtains hold months of moisture and dust and are frequently the source of a musty smell that nobody can locate. Wash or air them.
Vacuum upholstery including under the cushions, flip and rotate mattresses, then finish with floors: vacuum everything including carpet edges, and wash hard floors last.
On the first properly still spring day, open the house right through for a few hours. After a Christchurch winter that single act does more for how a home feels than almost anything else on this list.
Kiri's Spring Cleaning . Contact . Christchurch . Cleaning advice