01 Dec Post-renovation Cleaning Hints & Tips

The completion of renovations on your home is an exciting moment. All that planning and hard work has finally paid off, and you’re able to take a step back and enjoy the culmination of weeks and weeks of preparation and effort coming together. 

Even though when you go through a renovation with Titan360, you’ll enjoy a high level of workmanship, customer service and clean up after the job is done, it’s likely you will want to do some post-renovation cleaning around your home to make your new kitchen/bathroom/bedroom, etc look shipshape and sparkling new. 

One of the most significant side effects of a renovation is dust, and it has an awful habit of getting just about everywhere. Hence, it’s vital to go over the following steps after your renovation has been completed. 

Items you will need for a post-renovation cleanup:

• Dust masks
• Good quality vacuum
• Brooms and dustpans
• Mop and mop bucket
• Rags and cloths for wiping and cleaning (Chux and terry towelling cloths work well)
• Garbage bags
• Rubber gloves
• Ladder, step ladder or footstool
• Carpet cleaning product (if you have carpets)

Areas of your home to clean after renovations

As we’ve mentioned dirt and dust have a way of making into every nook and cranny of your home, so below are some of the more common areas you will want to look over and clean thoroughly once your renovations have been completed. 

Start with lights and fans
The first place you will want to start cleaning is your lighting fixtures and fans. Dust, dirt and airborne particles will gather on the tops of your light futures and fan blades, so it’s always wise to dust these before you start on your floors, walls and other areas. This way, dust and dirt won’t fall on your lovely clean floors!

Carpets
If you’ve got carpets in your home, it’s likely dust, dirt, sawdust and other fine particulates will make their way into the fibres of your carpet. There are some excellent vacuums on the market these days (particulary the Dyson ranges) but if you don’t have one of these or access to a decent vacuum cleaner, it’s a good idea to hire a commercial cleaner to give your carpets a deep clean. 

Curtains
If you’ve got curtains anywhere near the rooms that you’ve had renovated, it’s always a good idea to give these a wash. Double-check the labels or check with the manufacturer to make sure they can go in your washing machine. 

Closets, cabinets and drawers
Even though you’ve probably been pedantic about keeping these closed throughout the renovation process, the dust has a sneaky way of getting itself into areas it has no place being. Short of taping your drawers shut for the duration of the renovation, you will likely need to wipe or vacuum drawers, cabinets and closets when all the renovation is completed. 

Walls
Don’t worry; we get it. You’re thinking to yourself how can dust stick to a vertical surface? Trust us, it can and does so wiping down your walls – paying particular attention to baseboards, is always preferable after a renovation. Using warm water and a little dishwashing liquid works well. 

Room specific advice for post-renovation cleaning

Often when you only have one room renovated in your home, you will need to complete cleaning specific to that room and its additions. Below are some areas to look at cleaning, depending on what space you have renovated. 

Cleaning a kitchen after a renovation
Congratulations. You’ve got yourself a brand spanking new kitchen with all the latest and greatest mod cons. After the dust has settled (pun intended) and the work has been done, it’s time to clean. 

A few things you will want to do is wipe down and under all appliances, wipe down and inside all your cabinets, wash and clean all plates, cups, dishes, etc. if they have a layer of fine dust over them. 

You will also want to clean windows (including tracks and screens), dust the tops of your shelves (paying particular attention to those out-of-the-way areas as they’re typically the dustiest!). Don’t forget to move the fridge and vacuum and mop the floors once you’ve finished cleaning the areas listed above. 

Cleaning bathrooms after renovations
Even though bathrooms are usually one of the smaller rooms in your home, this doesn’t mean less cleaning. When cleaning a bathroom, you will want to start with your light fixtures and exhaust fans, move onto the tops of your shower walls, doors, wipe down walls, clean all your mirrors, clean shower tracks, scrub tiles and clean grout along with wiping down toilets, sinks and shower trays. 

Cleaning up a lounge room after a renovation
Before you move all the furniture back and set up the flatscreen, there are a few things you will want to take care of first. Wipe down all the walls and baseboards, clean the tops of fans and light fixtures, clean inside and outside any glass cabinets or TV cabinets, vacuum and mop floors (or deep clean if you have carpets).

Call on friends and family

If you’ve had several rooms renovated, there’s likely a fair amount of cleanup that will need to take place. This is where friends and family can help. For the price of a few snags on the BBQ and some cold ones, you can enlist a small army of helpers to power through the cleanup after a renovation.