How to clean the apartment after repair: useful tips

After the repair is completed, not many owners of the renovated home arrange a holiday, and this is not surprising. Debris, dirty flooring and windows spoil the whole impression. No matter how carefully you carry out repairs, you will not be able to avoid traces of paint, building glue and cement. The new apartment is covered in dust, which falls even in hard to reach places. Mistresses clutching their heads, not knowing what to do. We have developed step-by-step instructions for you, which will help to carry out cleaning in a short time.

Step number 1. Take care of materials and tools

Before you go for spring cleaning, you need to take care of the improvised tools that you need.

1. Buy garbage bags made of dense polyethylene, as a rule, their volume is 100-200 liters. If desired, you can replace the plastic bags with rag bags, they are more durable and reusable.
2. Depending on how dirty the apartment is, pick up appropriate clothing. Be sure to take care of hand protection by purchasing rubberized gloves. If there are paint residues on the floor and walls, you will need a respirator, construction or turning glasses, a bathrobe. Cover your head with a scarf or a scarf, change into clothes that you don’t mind stain.
3. Prepare a lot of rags that absorb water well in advance. A rag will do, if you wish, you can cut an old duvet cover or sheet. Microfiber rags are considered the best option. Napkins for windows and wooden interior items are also useful.
4. An irreplaceable assistant in the cleaning process will be a washing vacuum cleaner. If there is none, take a regular one, wrap the appliance brush with gauze soaked in a solution of table vinegar (1 liter of water accounts for 0.5 liter of product). Take care of the mop that will allow you to wash the floors in hard to reach places.
5. Get in a hardware store industrial solvent, White Spirit, kerosene, a cleaner for floors, windows, wooden surfaces. If the flooring is in the form of a laminate or linoleum, buy the drug with the appropriate mark, it will not leave stains. Also, the composition for removing building glue and cement will not be superfluous.

Step number 2. Collect construction waste

1. This stage is best left to the male half of the family, since the procedure is quite complicated and physically difficult. Prepare plastic bags, put on gloves and old clothes.
2. Start collecting large construction debris, which is usually scattered throughout the apartment. This includes paint cans, the remains of broken plasterboard, unsuitable parts of a laminate or parquet, trimmed wallpaper.
3. Also, pieces of concrete blocks that remained after the redevelopment can be attributed to construction waste. Place them in a fabric bag, add fragments of tiles, used film to protect the floor and windows, and the remains of wood.
4. Do not leave debris in the street tank. If you decide to neglect the rules of decency, sign what lies in a particular bag. It is better to immediately hire a car and take the waste to a landfill.
5. It is recommended to pack the remnants of broken glass into old newspapers and tape them with tape. If you have the strength and time, grind them with a hammer, after placing the material in a nylon bag.

Step number 3. Remove dust and stains from building materials.

1. The most common types of pollution are spots from paint, glue, plaster, cement and other materials on hard surfaces.Also, many housewives are exhausted, wanting to clean the house from dust.
2. To remove dust, it is advisable to blow out all the cracks, and then collect the residues with a professional washing vacuum cleaner. The device can be rented by a cleaning company. If this option is not available, collect the leftovers with a broom, walk along the cover with a normal vacuum cleaner. Wrap the brush gently with wet gauze folded in several layers.
3. If you pick up leftover dust with a broom, do not wave it strongly. Be sure to protect the airways as a thick cloud forms in the room. Vacuuming affects not only the flooring, but also all hard surfaces. These include walls, windows, window sills, doors, ceilings. Of course, you cannot handle one approach. The first stage is draft, the second is final.
4. After treating hard surfaces with a washing vacuum cleaner, arm yourself with a bucket and a mop. Be sure to use a detergent that is specifically designed for your flooring. It will not leave stains and will help to permanently get rid of dust residues. In the case of washing walls, use ordinary vinegar.
5. After removing the dust, it is necessary to clean the floor and plumbing from building mixtures that stained the coating during the repair process. You can use an industrial solvent for these purposes, it effectively removes traces of any materials.
6. There are also folk recipes. For example, if you find traces of paint on the floor or walls, soak a rag in kerosene and rub the surface thoroughly. The composition will soften the stain after 5 minutes, you may need to repeat the procedure.
7. The glue on linoleum or laminate is easily removed with a white spirit degreaser. It is enough to moisten the old rags in it, put a rag on the glue trace and leave for 10 minutes. After a period of time the mixture softens, you can easily clean it with a clean cloth.
8. In no case do not try to clean the ceramic granite flooring with alkaline and chlorine-based preparations. Acids break down the top layer, as a result of which the floor loses its luster. Do not try to wash the parquet or laminate with abrasive compounds, they scratch the wood and wash the varnish.

Step number 4. Clean tile

1. Almost no repair is complete without laying the tiles on the walls or floor. Usually, the joints are repaired with a special grout - a mixture based on cement mortar. It is difficult to remove from the surface, but the procedure cannot be called impossible.
2. Professionals advise to remove the grout immediately, but if you missed this step, try to scrape off the dried composition. Arm yourself with a sharpened blade, keep it parallel to the tile. Carefully remove the cement layer by layer, try not to damage the tiles.
3. If there is a need to clean the tile from the frozen lime, moisten a cloth in table vinegar and gently wipe each element of the tile. Make sure that the solution does not penetrate the seams. Similarly, you can use vegetable or olive oil diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1. At the end of all manipulations, tiles should be washed with a soapy composition.
4. If you removed the grout in advance, you can skip the previous steps, but the tile still needs to be cleaned of dust. To do this, purchase a special composition for washing tiles in the construction store. Use it according to the instructions. At the end of all manipulations, wipe the tile dry with a microfiber cloth.
5. Ammonia is considered an analogue of professional cleaning products, it is enough to moisten a sponge in it, and then wipe the tile. Before use, it is recommended to conduct a test to assess the reaction of the material to the drug. Some people prefer to remove the grout with fine abrasive paper, but the procedure must be done carefully.

Step number 5. Wash windows and doors

1. Wash the window and door frames with plain water mixed with table vinegar (2 liters of water contains 0.5 liters of the composition). After that, clean the entire door using detergents. Then wipe dry so that there are no stains.
2. Remove the plastic film from the windows, wash them on both sides. Residual glue can be removed with a thin blade, vegetable oil, white spirit or industrial solvent. When the rough work is done, wash the windows and all glass elements with a special tool.
3. After washing the doors and windows, you must once again wipe the entire apartment from dust. At this stage, it is enough to moisten the soft tissue in water and walk on all surfaces. Pay particular attention to décor elements that have a complex shape. Wash fixtures and chandeliers, cabinet handles and other furniture, if available. Open the windows so that the room is ventilated from dust and the accumulated smell of cleaning products.

It is easy to clean the apartment after repair, if you follow the step by step instructions. Take care of the tools, remove construction debris, clean the tiles. Remove dust and traces of finishing materials, wash doors and windows.

Video: washing the apartment after repair