Many people ask, “how often should I have my house cleaned?” And the idea of doing a deep clean is enough to send them hiding under the covers in fear, but that might be only because they think that it’s a daily, arduous affair. Don’t get us wrong, constancy and thoroughness are very necessary to keep a clean, healthy home, but every space is different, and so are their needs.

Also, it would be pretty impractical to tackle all your cleaning duties around the house in a single day. The best way to go about it is to make a house cleaning schedule for daily, weekly, monthly and yearly use, and that’s why we have made this very simple guide that will show you which parts of the house need a deeper scrub depending on how frequently you use them.

Daily

A daily upkeep of your house should focus on avoiding clutter before it happens and preventing bacterial growth by removing stains, spills and any other accidental occurrences. This will be especially needed if you have pets or small kids going about the house, or if you get heavy guest traffic in your house.

Other general maintenance chores should be to wash the dishes, swipe and mop your tile and hardwood floors, making the beds, and just “resetting” anything that sees daily use around the house.

The idea of daily cleanings should focus on preventing future messes and solving immediate

Weekly

Is it any surprise that bathrooms and kitchens are the first targets of deep cleaning for many people? As a general rule, kitchen appliances (such as coffee makers and microwaves), countertops, and bathroom surfaces should all be wiped clean and disinfected at least once a week because of all the use they get, but that shouldn’t stop you from giving them a good once-over every other day if you think it’s necessary.

Likewise, it’s a good time to sanitize or replace the sponges in the kitchen and to take out any expired foods out from the fridge. In the bathroom, disinfect all body scrubs, and the toilet, in particular, should be cleaned deeply inside and around with a strong sanitizer.

Elsewhere around the house, vacuum your carpet floors, dust all rugs, and change the bedding of every bed. This is also a good opportunity to swipe and mop other rooms around the house which don’t see much traffic during the week. If you don’t include deep cleanings, a weekly visit from maids or cleaning teams is very common for single, couple or family residences, and can include only the rooms that you choose not to clean thoroughly on that period.

Monthly or bi-monthly

The vents around the house should be vacuumed as far back as you can go every month or so. The same goes for dusting light fixtures and other hard-to-reach areas of the home to prevent dust buildup that can cause allergies.

Having a maid or a cleaning team visit your house monthly or bi-monthly is standard practice among many small-to-mid-sized family households, because of the comfortable ratio of time to areas cleaned, including all of the above. Of course, daily upkeep is greatly encouraged, but most of the rest can be comfortably left to the professionals.

Six months to a year

Most of the things that you should take care of with such a wide margin of time include replacing things such as shower heads, or harder activities like cleaning out the gutters. It’s also the perfect time, however, to deep clean a variety of areas around the house, which requires a more thorough, hands-on attitude and stronger cleaning products, things which can traditionally be left out to professionals.

These deeper cleans should include steam cleaning your mattress and carpets, washing all comforters and pillows, eliminating stains from faucets all around the house, power-washing the deck and the furniture on it. Your focus on the bathroom, especially, should include more chemicals than you might be used to handle, but which are necessary to disinfect shower walls and linings, and to clean the drains to prevent clogging.

Like we said, not every house sees the same action, but this guide should be easy to apply in any space you need to clean. However, if you’re too busy or would prefer not to deal with the dirty part of the business, then you want to call a professional to help you with that.