Essential Tips For Keeping a Clean Apartment

Keeping your apartment spotless and organized is essential for a comfortable living environment. For residents of Zurich, where local standards and specific challenges may influence cleaning routines, having a comprehensive apartment cleaning checklist can make all the difference. This guide provides an in-depth outline of tasks and considerations for maintaining a clean apartment in Zurich, addressing daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal cleaning and maintenance routines to ensure you enjoy a clean apartment all year long.   

Daily Cleaning Routines

A neat and clean apartment or any other living space requires baby steps for daily cleaning routine. For instance, 

Keeping Surfaces Tidy

Keeping surfaces clean is the first rule of a clean apartment. Make sure you wipe countertops, tabletops, and other such frequently touched surfaces daily. While you’re at it, keep clearing clutter from these areas and organizing them as much as possible to ensure your living space remains mess-free every day.

Managing Kitchen Mess

Having a spotless kitchen is the easiest way to maintain a tidy apartment. Incorporate these following tasks in your daily kitchen maintenance.

• Wipe spills immediately.

• Wipe your counters.

• Quickly swab down your appliances.

These simple kitchen cleaning habits will prevent your cooking space from getting messy, keeping it spotless.

Bathroom Maintenance

Maintaining a fresh bathroom is easy if you daily give it a few minutes of care. Following daily bathroom cleaning tasks, such as cleaning your vanity mirror, counter and toilet, will keep your bathroom fresh and stench-free. 

 Weekly Cleaning Tasks

Just like your daily cleaning routine, a little weekly effort will go a long way in giving you an allergy and filth-free clean apartment. Your weekly apartment cleaning entails;

Dusting and Vacuuming

Dirt, dust and allergens can build up in a jiffy in areas like walls, shelves, light fixtures and other high touch-up spaces. 

• Dust all these dirt-prone areas with a microfiber fabric to prevent the spreading of dust particles. 

• Begin dusting from the top and dust your way down to avoid re-accumulation of dust on lower surfaces. 

• Once done with dusting, start vacuuming floors, especially carpeted ones, to eliminate allergens. 

• For hard floors, sweep the area or use a dry mop to eliminate debris and dirt. 

Laundry and Linens

Weekly cleaning routine is incomplete without laundry and fresh linens. Launder your entire week’s clothes to prevent a mountain building of dirty clothes and clutter. While washing clothes, you must not forget to change and wash your linens, such as bedsheets, towels, etc. 

Deep Cleaning High-Traffic Areas

High-traffic areas require your extra attention and effort. You’ll be amazed to see how much a weekly cleaning routine of frequently used areas makes your abode inviting and tidy.

• Start with deep cleaning of your living room. It entails wiping the floor and vacuuming of furniture and areas under it. Clean under the cushions as well to tackle hidden dirt and specks. 

Your apartment will look fresh and comfortable for the rest of the week if you prioritize these most-used areas in your weekly apartment cleaning routine. 

Room-by-Room Breakdown

You will be able to effectively and quickly clean your apartment if you follow the room-by-room cleaning approach on a weekly basis. 

Kitchen

Wipe down your appliances first when you begin weekly cleaning of your kitchen. Follow it by scrubbing and disinfecting countertops, sinks and cabinets. Next, thoroughly mop the floor to maintain a germ-free cooking space. 

Bedroom

Bedroom is everyone's haven, so it cannot look anything less than pristine. Spread fresh linens on the bed and dump the dirty ones in the laundry for cleaning. Gather and put back scattered stuff on the floor to their designated slots. Then comes the dusting of furniture, ceiling fans, door and window trims with a microfiber duster. Lastly, vacuum the floor. 

Bathroom:

Your bathroom may look messy after an entire week of use and neglect. So, swallow the hard pill and get down to its thorough cleaning. Scrub every surface from tiles and toilets to sinks and mirrors to shower stalls and bathtubs with a disinfectant. Afterwards, dry your basin, countertop and vanity mirror with a microfiber cloth to avoid streaks formation. 

Monthly Cleaning Projects

Next step is curating a plan for monthly cleaning projects, tackling more deep and exhaustive cleaning of often-forgotten crucial areas. These include;

•  Cleaning Appliances and Fixtures

Earlier, it was just a quick wiping down of appliances. In case of monthly deep cleaning, thoroughly clean all your frequently-used appliances, such as the refrigerator, oven, microwave and stove. 

• Start with emptying the fridge by throwing away rotten and expired food. Afterward, thoroughly clean your fridge, oven, coffee maker and microwave from inside out to erase grease marks, spills, crumbs and muck. Clean cooking top and stove to eliminate grime and germs. Don’t forget to wipe down sticky fingerprints from handles, faucets and stove knobs. 

• Your washing machine and dishwasher also require deep cleaning once a month to stay functional. 

• When done with appliances, turn to cleaning light fixtures, ceiling fans and other hard-to-access areas that attract dust like moths to a flame.

•   Washing Windows and Mirrors

Washing of windows and mirrors is the last step in your monthly apartment deep cleaning. Clean and streak-free windows and mirrors are essential for enhancing the inviting appearance and ambiance of your residence. 

• Make your windows and mirrors streak-free and shiny by cleaning them with your good old friend vinegar and water mixture or a commercial window cleaner and a microfiber cloth. 

• I would suggest you avoid paper towels for wiping them to avoid the formation of ugly streaks. 

• Instead, dry the glass surfaces with a fresh microfiber fabric to get a streak-free shiny surface. The streak-free glass structures will enhance your apartment's appearance and ambiance.

 Seasonal Cleaning and Maintenance

Change in season means a change in apartment cleaning routine as well. Regular cleaning covers main cleaning tasks but in seasonal cleaning, you deep clean to address the long neglected areas.

• Spring seems a good time for decluttering, organizing drawers and closets and disinfecting surfaces. As transitioning from winter to spring results in excess of pollen and allergens, so you should do deep cleaning of carpets and upholstery along with window treatments to get rid of winter dust and dirt. 

• During summers, focus on your air conditioning units, outdoors and window screens. Summer season has special cleaning needs because the humidity can result in mold and mildew. Do targeted cleaning to remove these unwanted growths from damp areas. 

• Fall seems like a perfect time of the year to service your heating systems, clean drain pipes, and manage outdoor furniture. 

• In winter, have your air ducts and heating vents cleaned. Also, deep clean floor mats and carpets for a warm and cozy environment. 

Adjusting your cleaning routine according to the season will ensure you enjoy a clean and fresh home throughout the year.

Additional Tips for Effective Cleaning

Utilization of smart strategies is the easiest way to acquire a clean and organized abode. Trust me, these tips for effective cleaning will help you a lot in maintaining a spotless home. 

• Regularly declutter your stuff and discard the things you don’t need to prevent piling of unwanted stuff accumulating necessary space in your home.   

• If you use storage solutions, such as bins, shelves and under-bed drawers and organizers for organizing things, it will keep your home neat and tidy with everything in easy access, even if it’s a small apartment or condo.

• Management of your time is crucial, so break your chores into tiny manageable bits either with a timer or weekly schedule. It will let you keep everything organized efficiently without feeling swamped with burden. 

Conclusion: Maintaining a Clean Living Space

The secret to a healthy, inviting and comfortable living space lies in a clean apartment. By following a regular cleaning routine along with room-by-room deep cleaning on a weekly basis and seasonal deep cleaning consistently, you can rid yourself of dirt, allergens and bacteria to maintain a sparkling clean apartment all year long. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best cleaning services for apartments in Zurich?

There are many cleaning services in Zurich, but FlexiClean and Special Clean are considered among the best cleaning services for apartments in Zurich.

What should be included in a comprehensive apartment cleaning checklist for Zurich residents?

A comprehensive apartment cleaning checklist for Zurich residents must include: Kitchen checklist, bathroom checklist, bedroom checklist, living room checklist, weekly tasks checklist, monthly cleaning projects checklist and seasonal cleaning and maintenance checklist. 

How often should I perform deep cleaning tasks in my Zurich apartment?

It is ideal to perform deep cleaning tasks in your Zurich apartment at least once in 3 to 6 months, subject to your usage and personal liking. 

How much does it cost to have an apartment cleaned in Zurich?

Precise cost of professional apartment cleaning in Zurich varies as per your apartment’s size and magnitude of cleanliness. However, they can generally begin from CHF 500 in Switzerland.