Cleaning Check

Use Appropriate Cleaners for each assignment.

Using only one product like Clorox wipes or a multipurpose cleaner for all the assignments does not work. At a minimum, you will need: a mop (NOT a swiffer) and broom, a duster, shower cleaner (AJAX, soft scrub, or a mold/mildew cleaner), clean rags, pine-sol, windex, toilet cleaner, toilet brush, shower scrub brush, and paper towels.

You may have to clean it more than once.

If you do not clean often then you may need to spend a lot of time cleaning for clean checks, sometimes going over the same area twice.  We will check every job listed, so make sure each item is clean!

Tips to Pass Each Area for Cleaning Checks

Shower

Make sure that you have shower cleaner as well as 1-2 brushes (Using Clorox wipes will not pass). We have found that a wide brush to clean larger area as well as a small brush for the corners works well. Don’t miss the ledge outside the shower door!

Toilet

Get toilet bowl cleaner and a brush. Make sure you clean the seat, the lid and the base of the toilet as well as the bowl.

Mirror/Sink/Countertop

Use Windex and paper towels for the mirror. The sink includes the faucet. Make sure you clean around the faucet, get any hard water spots left behind. Brushes are often needed to clean the sink and around the drain.

Walls

This is mentioned in the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Here are a few areas that we notice often need to be wiped down: around the toilet, above the shower, near the stove, by the pantry, by the trash (wherever it is kept in your unit). Make sure you look over your areas and wipe down any areas that have gotten dirty.

Kitchen Floor

The tile in the apartments has grooves and swifter mops do NOT clean well!  You will need to use either a regular mop or a sponge mop. Sometimes areas need to be spot cleaned again after you have mopped. Use floor cleaner but not too much; if you overdo the cleaner you can have a sticky floor from soap residue (which attracts more dirt after you have mopped). Try to lessen traffic right after you have mopped to allow dry time or have roommates walk on a towel to not dirty the floor while it is still wet.

Oven

Most ovens have a self clean option. First, lock the oven and then turn it to self clean on the dial and press start. It will take 4 ½ hours to clean and you will need to allow it to cool before you can wipe out the burned crumbs. Do not forget to wipe it out after it has cooled. There may still be areas on the door that need scrubbing even after the self clean has run the cycle.

Fridge/Freezer

Make sure that the freezer doesn’t get missed. Remove all the food wipe it out and replace food.  This is also a great time to check for expired food! Wipe down the outside where there is food/finger prints.

Baseboards

Make sure you wipe down all the baseboards in your bedroom and bathroom; often it is small areas that get missed. Same in the living room and the kitchen area (don’t forget the hallways and behind the table)!

Vacuum

Make sure that you do vacuum. You should vacuum more often than cleaning checks. If you do not vacuum often you will need to vacuum more than once. Not vacuuming often can damage carpets from wear of dirt in the carpet fibers.  To borrow a vacuum from the office bring your ID.

Blinds

If your blinds are not dusted frequently or if you often have your window open you may need to go through them more than once to get all the dirt/dust off. Wet wipes work well but you may need to use a lot to avoid smearing the dirt while cleaning. We suggest wiping them with a dry rag or duster to get the main dust then going through each blind individually to get any remaining dirt/dust with a rag or wipe.