Press Release

Throw open the windows and get to work -- It's time for Spring cleaning!

News 3 went to the experts at Home Clean Heroes of Virginia Beach, who say it doesn't matter where you start, but make sure you have a plan.

"If you're going to start upstairs, pick a room where you're going to start and go from top to bottom, left to right. If you're going to start downstairs, same thing, pick a room," said Kathy Turley, Marketing Director for Home Clean Heroes. "What you want to avoid doing is crossing back and forth, backtracking your steps. That makes the cleaning task at hand so much longer in general."

Springtime is also the time to make sure you're hitting to hard-to-reach spots you normally ignore. Home Clean Heroes advises:

• Remote control - dip a cotton cloth into rubbing alcohol and wipe down the entire surface of the controller every other week. Follow up with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab to carefully clean around the buttons. If there's grime inside the buttons, use a toothpick to remove it. Dry the remote with a lint-free cloth.

• Door mats: Freshen up those doormats! Hose off and air dry the ones that sit outside and give your inside door mats a good vacuum treatment. Hero tip: To trap more dust, use two mats – one outside the door and one just on the inside. Doing this every couple of months can improve tracked items into your house!
• Microwave - Clean your microwave by filling a microwave-safe bowl with ½ cup water first. Squeeze the juice from one lemon into the water, and then drop the lemon halves into the bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for three minutes (or until water comes to a boil). Don’t open the microwave door and let the bowl sit for another five minutes. Then, open the door, remove the bowl and wipe the microwave clean – don’t forget the door!
• Dog (Pet Beds) - Dog bed becoming a little smelly? Sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the bed. Let it stand for about 15 minutes and then vacuum. Do this once a month or when your dog is bathed to keep things smelling fresh!
• Ceiling fans - If you can't reach the fan, you can wrap a dryer sheet around a clean paint roller to reach the hard to reach item!
• Faucets - Bring a shine to your faucets by rubbing half of a lemon on those tough water marks.

But don't let this be the only time your home gets some true TLC. The best way to fight dust and dirt is to deep clean every few months, Turley says.

"We believe a regular clean is the best way to combat it. Generally you want to do a deep clean a few times a year. Spring cleaning tends to be when people do it. People also tend to do it again in the Fall. We recommend probably about three to four times a year for a good deep clean," she told News 3.

Bottom line -- it's a lot of work and if you don't want to do Spring cleaning yourself, there are plenty of services that can help, but if you're the one with the gloves, make sure you have a plan.