How to quickly and inexpensively clean a rented apartment

Prepare

First, we stock up on protective equipment. For hands, you will need thick rubber gloves – one pair for each room – and a greasy cream. First, we smear our hands properly, wait for the cream to be absorbed, and only then put on gloves. If you are going to use heavy artillery such as chlorine-based products, a medical mask and safety goggles will come in handy. From experience I can say that household chemicals erode the mucous membranes of the eyes and nose no less successfully than the skin on the hands. And stock up on a couple of spray bottles. Some cleaning products are cheaper and easier to make on your own than buying an entire arsenal.

Findings

The hardest part about laundering kitchen cabinets is cleaning everything around the knobs and the knobs themselves. Therefore, it is easier to unscrew them immediately and throw them into a citric acid solution: we take 4 tablespoons of “lemon” per liter of water. However, warm water with soap also works. Leave the handles in the water while you wash the kitchen fronts, then rinse under the tap, wipe dry and screw back. By the way, a citric acid solution will also perfectly clean kitchen taps and a metal sink.

Kitchen furniture and walls

It is best to vacuum the walls and ceilings throughout the apartment. Then we prepare a solution: we mix vinegar and water in a one-to-one ratio, add a few drops of lemon essential oil. This liquid washes almost all surfaces, disinfects and removes odors. But on the switches and sockets you will have to walk extra: they are well and quickly washed off with a melamine sponge. Then sprinkle with the solution again and wipe dry.

Cushioned furniture

Chairs, sofas, a corner in the kitchen – it is better to “dress up” all this in fabric covers. If this is not possible, then iron the soft surfaces through a cloth moistened with water and vinegar. Wash everything that can be removed and put into the washing machine. Curtains, tulle – all this, too, ruthlessly send to the wash.

Stove and oven

The slab is best washed with the same melamine sponge. The oven can be cleaned by wrapping baking trays and glasses in foil and soaking them in water with dishwashing liquid or washing powder (read more here).

For very severe cases, grease removers based on potassium dioxide and non-ionic surfactants are suitable. By the way, these same products perfectly clean tiles in the bathroom, in the kitchen, ovens, countertops, cabinet doors, window sills, sinks: you just need to spray it, hold it a little, and then rinse it thoroughly. You should not abuse them, but during a big cleaning, the grease remover will save you a lot of time and effort. And it is inexpensive, about 200 rubles.

Sanitary engineering

Here it is still better to resort to store products. You can make your own cleaning concentrate by mixing a glass of vinegar with half a glass of baking soda. But it’s safer and faster to fill the toilet with regular cleaning gel.

Another unusual way to deal with dirt and odor in the toilet and bathroom: generously fill the plumbing and tiles with shaving foam, for example, when leaving for work. In the evening, all that remains is to wipe the surfaces – and there will be no stains, no streaks, no excess odors.

Faucets and chrome parts

In addition to citric acid, you can use a weak vinegar solution or dilute ammonia in water. The smell will be the same, but it will quickly disappear along with unpleasant odors, bloom and stains. Another life hack: if you use fabric face masks, do not throw them away. They also perfectly remove limescale from chrome-plated surfaces and do not leave streaks.

Windows and mirrors

It is best to clean windows with plain soapy water using a glass scraper. No streaks, no dirt will remain. And with mirrors, liquid for cleaning monitors does an excellent job. It needs 2-3 drops, so don’t be afraid to go broke. But one movement of the microfiber cloth will be enough to make the mirror shine.

Carpet

If there is a coating on the floor, it is also a good idea to disinfect it. But first, clean it: for this we sprinkle the carpet with coarse salt or soda, and after half an hour we sweep it away with a damp brush or broom. For wet cleaning, you can treat the carpet with a soda solution prepared at the rate of half a glass of soda per liter of water. We spray the carpet so that it becomes slightly damp, but not wet, after half an hour we sweep it with a brush or broom. And when the coating is completely dry, go for another vacuum cleaner.

If the carpet looks really bad, we make such a solution: mix a quarter of a glass of vinegar with a spoonful of soda, a spoonful of washing powder and dissolve in one and a half liters of hot water. The resulting liquid will not only get rid of stains, but also disinfect and remove an unpleasant odor – invaluable if an ill-bred cat lived here before you.

Gender

Add a couple tablespoons of regular salt to the water for cleaning the floor. The salt will wash away all the dirt, get rid of both bacteria and negative energy. It is not for nothing that mystical properties are attributed to her. The effectiveness of the saline solution will be enhanced by essential oils – fir, lemon, any other citrus.

Unpleasant odor

Soda does a good job with dubious aromas left over from previous tenants. We have already removed some of the odors by wiping the surfaces with a vinegar solution. And we will cope with the rest by placing open jars or saucers with baking soda in the corners of the apartment. In addition to soda, the smell is well absorbed by a damp cloth. Put a cloth on the battery and soon there will be no trace of odors.

By the way

Another life hack is obvious, but often overlooked. Always take all rags, a bowl of water and cleaning products with you when you go to clean a particular room. Otherwise, you will run to the bathroom to take a little more powder, rinse the rag, etc. And you will not notice how this running around will tire you more than the cleaning itself.

And experienced moving people are advised to get a germicidal lamp and treat especially personal surfaces with it. It disinfects everything, just like in an operating room.