Renovation Clean-up With Melissa Maker
Renovations are exciting, time consuming and exhausting and when it’s all done the last thing you want to think about is cleaning. However, you can’t fully enjoy your new space until it is clean and tidy. Melissa Maker, host and creator of the popular YouTube channel, Clean My Space, is here to tell you her tips on how to keep clean during a renovation.
Renovations are fun at first (yay, new countertops!) and overwhelming to some degree after the initial excitement wears off (oh gosh, six weeks of this?). Plus, renos are messy and require a lot of maintenance and post-reno clean up.
There are ways to mitigate the mess, though, and that requires a bit of planning ahead. We’ve assisted clients with hundreds of post-reno clean ups, and here’s what we’ve learned over the years when it comes to keeping things clean during and after a reno:
- Have a new furnace filter on standby. Once the reno is done, you’re going to change your furnace filter.
- Keep your windows open as often as possible. The air circulating through will help with the dust as well as any smells from off-gassing paint or materials. Plus, who wants to smell reno dust all the time? If your contractor (or you) prefers to work with them closed, open them as soon as the work day is done.
- Move as much stuff out of the way as possible to clear up your reno space. That way you’re not dealing with clutter while you are maneuvering heavy sharp tools and materials everywhere. Also, you can keep dust away from these items – well, you can try to. If you can’t move items, use a large tarp to protect them.
- Remember that reno dust (from sanding, sawing, etc.) is absolutely tiny and floats. This means it’s going to end up pretty much everywhere, whether you want it to or not. You’re going to have to accept a certain level of dust until this whole deal is done.
- Clean as you go. Have a shop vac or broom handy and sweep or vacuum daily. Yes, it’s extra work but it is absolutely critical to keep dust to a minimum. You’ll traipse it around the house otherwise and, if it’s floating around, it will likely get into your HVAC system and get distributed around the house (more dust!). If you have a contractor, you should ensure this daily clean up is included as part of your agreement.
- Consider a shop vac. If you are going to have a lot of drywall dust – the fine particles can clog a regular vacuum filter and, well, kind of ruin it. So, a little dust is OK but a lot of it calls for a proper shop vac.
- Cordon off non-reno spaces. Use large plastic sheets and painter’s tape to do this. Creating a barrier like this goes the distance when it comes to preventing dust from travelling.
- Protect your floor. The drop of a tool, the casters rolling on a machine, or splatter of a wet paint brush (which happens during renos!) can mean gouges, scratches and splatters happen to flooring. Protect floors by lining them with large sheets of kraft paper.
- Duct cleaning. If your reno was enormous, consider calling in a duct cleaner. You can clean as much as you like, but ducts will house the dust sediment and that will get re-circulated throughout the house through your HVAC system.
- Your vacuum should have a HEPA filter. on it to get as many fine particles as it can. Shop vacs don’t come with these, at least not that I’ve seen, but your regular vacuum will.
- Call in the cleaners! If you decide that the clean up is too much (and trust me, it’s a lot of work!), call in professional cleaners to tackle the clean up job. You want to arrange for service to happen after paint has dried and before furniture gets moved back in.
Yes, renos do require a lot of cleaning and upkeep, and with this much effort, your newly renovated space will look and feel useable, clean and gorgeous in no time!
Melissa will be speaking on the main stage at the Toronto Fall Home Show Sept. 24 at 6pm. She’s also hosting a meet up at the show. There is limited space so be sure to sign up today! Click the image below to sign up! 
If you are Toronto-based and are interested in having a post-renovation clean up, contact Clean My Space at 416-619-4940, or visit CleanMySpace.ca to learn more.
