Moving into a house that needs a major clean...

SpendlessKaren

My friend has moved into a house which hasn't been kept up to a very good standard cleaning wise.

The previous occupier lived there for 7 years and by the looks of it never cleaned walls, skirting boards regularly.

So, do you have any tips on how to get the house up to standard or would redecoration be the only way forward ? she is on a tight budget so not really able to decorate everywhere.

Thanks

cornishchick

Cleaning party? Invite good friends over, have beer wine and nibbles ready, only tell them it's a bring a bucket of cleaning stuff party.
Sugar soap cleans grease well and is very cheap. Bicarbonate of soda, vinegar , . Fling open the windows crank up some music and start scrubbing.
I'd start with the bathroom, main bed room and then kitchen. At least if that's all done you have the basics.
Hope that helps .

GreyQueen

SpendlessKaren wrote: »

My friend has moved into a house which hasn't been kept up to a very good standard cleaning wise.

The previous occupier lived there for 7 years and by the looks of it never cleaned walls, skirting boards regularly.

So, do you have any tips on how to get the house up to standard or would redecoration be the only way forward ? she is on a tight budget so not really able to decorate everywhere.

Thanks

I feel for your friend, having spent a lot of time scrubby grimy homes when I moved in and leaving spotless ones when I moved out.

It isn't a case that she can get out of cleaning. If you redecorate over dirt, you get a lousy finish which looks bad and doesn't last. Before repainting, she will need to clean thoroughly and, once some of the stuff is clean, it may not need redecoration immediately.

Sugar soap isn't too expensive (buy it in powder form) and is what pro decorators use to prep walls. Wash ceiling, walls, woodwork, and see what's left to do after.

Sugar soap, some cheap sponges, rags, hot water and a elbow grease will do the job. Best to wear rubber gloves or her hands will take a punishment from the grease-stripping properties of the sugar soap. You can also get some good results with soda crystals and hot water, too. HTH.

Lilyplonk

SpendlessKaren wrote: »

My friend has moved into a house which hasn't been kept up to a very good standard cleaning wise.

The previous occupier lived there for 7 years and by the looks of it never cleaned walls, skirting boards regularly .................

Oh dear - do you mean that your friend has already moved into this property? It's a much easier task if you can tackle it BEFORE moving in - believe me, I've been allocated TWO dirty houses in the past :eek:.

Love the idea of a 'cleaning party' - though it may involve providing refreshments for the '[STRIKE]victims[/STRIKE] / [STRIKE]supportive friends[/STRIKE] / guests' ........................ unless she has loads of very good friends who are willing to provide some kind of food item along with cleaning products.

If the kitchen isn't very hygienic at the moment, I doubt very much if anybody will feel like eating food that's been prepared in there .


Once your friend's new home is clean and moving in has settled, maybe she can then throw a 'strippers party' to really stretch friendships and get some decorating done. H-u-g-e tins of White Gloss, even bigger tins of Magnolia Emulsion and a few rolls of paper for covering one wall per room OR some smaller tins of 'feature colours' ...................... then trawl the Charity Shops for cushion covers / curtains / throws / table lamps etc.

IF she has to resort to actually buying from proper shops, Wilko's / Asda / Ikea usually have cheap 'n' cheerful home furnishings etc.

SpendlessKaren

Thank you for the replies. Yes she is in, case of having to be really due to circumstances.

I will suggest a cleaning party and get aome sugar soap to take. Is it available from supermarkets ?

Bublin1

I would suggest Stardrops, hot water, scrubbing sponges, rags and bleach.

Even between the 2 of you, you could easily get through 3 rooms in one day.

Savannah02K

God-daughter was in similar position several years ago. Rather than buy her housewarming gifts, a plan of action was drawn up and everyone bought into it.

Her mom and I pitched in and set aside one Saturday for the BIG CLEAN as it became known. We started at 8.00 am and took an area each, her mom did bathroom, I was on bedrooms and god-daughter was on living room, dining room and hallway. Curtains were taken down and put on washing line to air off.

We cleaned walls and ceilings (Stardrops in water, used roller paint brushes for maximum coverage at minimum stretch LOL), Jif on skirting boards and doors. window ledges, cleaned the windows inside and did vacuum clean too. God-daughter had also hired carpet shampoo machine (Rug Doctor type) and as one room was declared 'done!' the carpet got shampoo'd last.

At 9.30 some friends arrived with bacon butties and drinks, at 11.00 Mr Sparkly turned up to clean the oven (paid for by friends who couldn't help on the day), he was closely followed by window cleaners (paid for by other friends) who did outside windows and cleaned gutters, then more friends turned up with lunch, more friends with cakes and drinks on afternoon.

All the while this was going on, other pals came in to clear the jungle of a garden (and other friends paid for a skip).

Since then she's decorated one room at a time as finances have allowed. The house now looks fab and it's lovely to think we had a hand in that. Cost us nothing but time or for those friends who couldn't make it on the day, no more than they would have paid for a housewarming gift.

OurLass

Wow your god daughter must be a lovely person to have so many wonderful friends.:)

Lilyplonk

Savannah02K wrote: »

God-daughter was in similar position several years ago. Rather than buy her housewarming gifts, a plan of action was drawn up and everyone bought into it............................

What a fabulous group of supportive family/friends your god-daughter has got!

Must have been like a marathon session of '60minute makeover' - and certainly sounds like you all had a right ball.

Will definitely go down as a family 'talking point' for many years to come!

:T:A:T:A:T:A:T

Mark_Salcido

Nice... Great.... I really like this.

DigForVictory

+1 for sugar soap (& elbow grease) - I used to clean ex-student houses & often managed to save the landlord (& former tenants) the price of a full redecoration.

A "scrubbers bash", bring your own bucket marigolds & mug, followed by pizza (delivered) & beers (still sealed in bottle) worked well when we moved.

Bicarb of soda, white vinegar, stardrops (if you can find it), temporary Over-bright light bulbs (so you can see exactly where the probelms are) & a charity shop load of rags are all handy too.

If you've a pal with a carpet washing vax, (who can still find all the bits), you can save on hiring a carpet cleaner - up to a point. Very much depends on Just How Bad the carpets are to start with.

Under the grime may be a perfectly acceptable wall colour. When you swap lightbulbs back down to the intended wattage, it may seem even better (or not).