Spring Cleaning: Everything You Need for a Fresh Home This Spring

Spring cleaning is about more than tackling what’s piled up over winter. It’s the most thorough clean of the year – a deep clean that gives your entire home a fresh start. In practice, that means decluttering, going through room by room, and taking care of the surfaces and spaces that tend to be forgotten throughout the year.

At Effektstäd, we see the same thing every spring from customers who contact us: what feels overwhelming to start with becomes manageable once you know the right order. And research shows that an organised home noticeably lowers stress levels – it’s not just a feeling.

Plan Your Spring Cleaning Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Start by breaking the project down. Don’t try to tackle the entire home in one day – that’s a common mistake that often means the cleaning never gets past good intentions. Spread the work over several days, one room at a time, and block out specific times in your calendar.

The most important thing is to declutter before you start cleaning. Wiping down shelves full of things you no longer want is just double the work. Always begin by going through unused items and clothes – it reduces the surface area that needs cleaning and gives you clearer results, faster.

Here’s how to set up your plan:

• Clear out unused items and clothes before you start cleaning
• List all rooms and assign one day per room, or half a day for smaller rooms
• Start with the kitchen – it takes the most time and makes the biggest difference
• Finish with windows and textiles once the rest of the home is done

Want professional help with your deep clean? Contact us at Effektstäd – we’re based in Malmö and the surrounding area and we’ll take care of it for you.

Complete Spring Cleaning Checklist – Room by Room

Always work from top to bottom – dust falls downward and you avoid having to clean the same surface twice.

Kitchen

• Clean the oven interior using, for example, a bicarbonate paste
• Degrease the cooker hood and wash or replace the filter
• Empty, clean and defrost the fridge and freezer
• Wipe down the inside and outside of cabinets
• Clean the drain in the kitchen sink
• Wipe down the wall tiles behind the stove
• Clean the microwave interior

Bathroom

• Descale taps, shower head and mixer taps
• Clean tiles and floor tiles
• Clear the floor drain and check the water trap
• Scrub the grout
• Wipe the mirror and inside the bathroom cabinet
• Clean the toilet thoroughly, including under the rim

Bedroom

• Wash or air out duvets, pillows and mattress protectors
• Vacuum the mattress with a HEPA filter
• Switch to lighter seasonal textiles
• Wipe down window sills and door frames
• Go through wardrobes and drawers

Living Room

• Vacuum and wipe furniture, including undersides and backs
• Clean bookshelves and decorative items
• Wipe down the TV and electronics
• Dust ceiling lights and lampshades

Windows

• Wash frames and window casings
• Polish the glass with a vinegar solution and microfibre cloth
• Wash blinds or curtains

Common Areas and Other Surfaces

• Wipe down doors, door handles and light switches
• Dust ceiling trim and skirting boards
• Clean the hallway and entrance thoroughly
• Check storage rooms and the cellar

Need help with parts of the list? Home cleaning in Malmö is one of Effektstäd’s core services – get in touch if you’d like help with the full clean or specific tasks.

The Kitchen: The Thorough Overhaul

The kitchen is the heaviest room to deep clean. Getting the order right halves the work: set the oven and hood going with cleaning products while you do other tasks, and finish with surfaces and cabinets once the stronger products have had time to work.

The Oven

Mix bicarbonate of soda and water into a thick paste and spread it over the oven interior. Avoid the heating elements. Leave it for at least 20 minutes – longer for heavy baked-on grease. Then scrape off the loosened grime and wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Handy tip: Add a splash of lemon juice to the paste. It helps dissolve the grease and leaves a fresh scent when the oven is heated up again.

The Cooker Hood

Remove the filter and place it in a deep tray. Pour over hot water mixed with washing-up liquid and leave it to soak for 15–20 minutes. Scrub with a brush and rinse thoroughly. If the filter is metal, it can usually go in the dishwasher.

Wipe the inside of the hood casing with a cloth dampened in vinegar. The right dosage of cleaning product matters more than the amount – too much leaves a sticky surface that attracts new grease faster.

The Fridge and Freezer

Empty the fridge completely and throw out expired food. Wipe down all shelves and drawers with a solution of water and a little vinegar. It removes bacteria and neutralises bad odours without leaving chemical residues on the surfaces.

Handy tip: Place a small bowl of oats at the back of the fridge and replace it once a month. The oats absorb odours naturally and cost-effectively.

The Bathroom: Descaling and Drains

Limescale and hair in drains are the most common reasons the bathroom never feels truly clean, no matter how much you wipe.

Descaling

The shower head is often the worst affected and the easiest to fix. Fill a plastic bag with vinegar and tape it around the shower head so it hangs submerged in the liquid. Leave it for 30 minutes and then rinse with water.

Taps and mixer taps: dampen a cloth with pure vinegar and wrap it around the scaled-up areas. Leave for 10–15 minutes and wipe off with a microfibre cloth.

Tiles benefit from the same method. Spray the surface with diluted vinegar (100 ml per litre of water), leave for a couple of minutes and wipe with a microfibre cloth in circular motions.

Drains and Water Traps

Clear the floor drain of hair and debris by hand – it’s the quickest and most effective method. Then rinse with hot water.

To dissolve grease and grime further down the drain: pour 3 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda followed by 100 ml of vinegar directly into the drain. Leave for 20–30 minutes and then flush with hot water.

Check that the water trap under the sink isn’t blocked. If the drainage is slow, the bicarbonate method is often enough. If the problem persists, the water trap may need to be unscrewed and cleaned manually.

Bedroom, Textiles and the Seasonal Switch

Mattresses, pillows and duvets should be aired or washed at least once per season. Wash the winter duvet and store it somewhere dry and dark. Replace it with a lighter option suited for warmer nights.

Store winter textiles in sealed containers or vacuum bags. It saves space and protects against moisture and dust until next season.

Spring Cleaning and Pollen Allergy: Practical Steps

Pollen sticks easily to textiles, bedding and soft surfaces – that makes the bedroom an especially important room during pollen season.

• Change bedding more often during pollen season, at least once a week
• Don’t hang laundry outside on days with a high pollen count
• Vacuum the mattress thoroughly with a HEPA filter
• Air the bedroom with the window closed during the morning hours, when the pollen count is typically at its highest
• Wash curtains and other soft textiles that have been hanging up during pollen season at 60°C

Window Cleaning: How to Avoid Streaks

The cause of streaks is almost always the wrong technique or the wrong order. Always start with the frames and casings. Wipe them with a damp cloth and let them dry before tackling the glass. Dust falling onto an already cleaned pane instantly creates new marks.

Mix your cleaning solution: 100 ml of vinegar per litre of water. Use a microfibre cloth – never kitchen roll. Never clean in direct sunlight. The heat dries the solution too quickly and almost always causes streaks, no matter how careful you are.

Got high or hard-to-reach windows? Effektstäd offers window cleaning as an add-on with deep cleans – get in touch if you’d like to save a couple of hours and be sure of the result.

Eco-Friendly Household Tips That Actually Work

Three ingredients cover the majority of a home’s cleaning needs: vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and lemon. They’re tried and tested, cost-effective and gentle on both the environment and the surfaces you clean.

One important thing to keep in mind: research at Lund University Faculty of Engineering shows that spray bottles generate up to 60 times more airborne particles than foam and damp cloths. Dr. Christina Isaxon, aerosol researcher at LTH: spray bottles generate up to 60 times more inhalable particles than foam and damp cloths. The practical advice: dampen the microfibre cloth directly instead of spraying the surface.

Specific uses per ingredient:

• Vinegar: Descaling taps, shower heads and tiles. Window cleaning (100 ml per litre of water). Neutralising bad odours in the fridge and drains.
• Bicarbonate of soda: Natural odour absorber in the fridge and bin. Scouring paste for the oven and sink (mixed with water). Drain clearing in combination with vinegar – it bubbles when the reaction occurs and dissolves grease effectively.
• Lemon: Removes discolouration from chopping boards and stainless steel sinks. Leaves a fresh scent after cleaning and boosts the effect of the bicarbonate paste in the oven.

Take Care of Your Cleaning Equipment

Dirty cleaning tools don’t clean properly. Vacuum filters that haven’t been changed in a year, mop heads that have never been washed, and dusters that spread dust rather than pick it up are more common than you’d think.

Go through your equipment as part of the spring clean:

1. The vacuum filter: Check, clean or replace. A clogged filter reduces suction power and sends particles back into the air. Replace at least once a year – more often with pets.
2. The mop head: Wash at 30°C without fabric softener. Softener clogs the microfibre pores and halves the effectiveness.
3. Microfibre cloths: Wash at 60°C for a thorough clean. Never tumble dry on high heat – it damages the fibres and reduces their ability to lift dirt.
4. The duster: Shake it out outdoors after each use. A full duster spreads more dust than it picks up.

Professional Help and Tax Deductions

The RUT deduction means you deduct 50 per cent of the labour cost for household services, directly on your tax return. The deduction is handled by the cleaning company and subtracted directly from the invoice.

With over 40 years of experience and hundreds of completed deep cleans in Malmö and the surrounding area, we at Effektstäd know what needs doing – and in what order. We work without binding contracts for private customers and use eco-friendly products on every job.

We help you with everything from home cleaning and deep cleaning to move-out cleaning in Malmö. We’re also available in Lund, Vellinge, Lomma and Trelleborg.

Key Takeaways

• Clear out unused items and clothes before you start cleaning – it reduces the workload and gives a clearer result
• Always work from top to bottom, room by room, and start with the kitchen
• Vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and lemon cover most cleaning needs in the home without unnecessary chemicals or high costs
• Your cleaning equipment needs looking after just as regularly as your home – a dirty tool doesn’t clean properly
• The RUT deduction makes professional help accessible for most households, and the entire deep clean can be handled by an experienced cleaning company

Want to skip doing it all yourself? Get in touch – we’ll take care of it for you.