Owning a home can be a pretty fun thing to experience.
You have the liberty to remodel or renovate your property whichever way you want to. It can be for the purpose of improving the aesthetic value of your home, for practical reasons, or you have intentions of eventually selling the house in the near future. Regardless of whatever reason you may have for the major changes the house will undertake, you have undoubtedly thought of the mess and the chaos that will ensue once construction begins.
Here are several ways you can try to keep your home as clean as possible when it is up for a makeover:
- Have a sit down with the contractor. Unless you are a carpenter yourself and you have the tools to renovate your home, the person you should be looking out for and contacting is a contractor. Once you have decided on one, have a proper chat with them about all things concerning the renovation, including cleanliness. Be straightforward about how, as much as possible, there is less debris and dirt to worry about on a daily basis. Ask about their cleaning practices after work every day, if they have one. Because this is a construction project, there will always be a mess to handle. However, you can minimise it by talking to the contractor.
- Make the decision to stay in your home or move out while the construction is ongoing. This is a decision you will have to discuss with family members as it will cause a bit of a change in your daily routine. While it is tempting to stay (you want to be present every step of the way), it is actually advisable to set up a home somewhere else, at least for the time being. It will cost you more in the long run if you stay. With you at home, workers will have to worry about containing the construction site as much as possible, especially if it’s in the middle area of the house. Doing so causes time, time you would rather they spend on actual work. By staying away from the site, the workers get to focus on the task at hand better.
- Protect the surrounding area and the items around by completely covering any openings leading to the construction site with a tarpaulin. You may opt to have a separate entrance and exit. There are plastic “walls” that you can have installed for the meantime with zippers that allow the workers to enter and leave the site.
- Take out all the items from the room, including furniture. Place them temporarily in another part of your home.
- Sometimes you may have a large furniture that you simply can’t take out of the room. Protect it by using plastic to cover it entirely. This prevents dust and dirt from getting into the furniture.
- If the renovation is in the inner area of the house, or the second floor or basement, place a “tarpaulin path” for workers to use whenever they go to and fro from the site. Doing so protects the floor from dirt and also from possible damage and paint spills.
- Renovations are usually done in the summer season, when the sun is out and there is less likelihood of rain. Take advantage of the good weather and open the windows whenever possible to allow air in. You want to give dust and debris as little chance as possible to settle inside your home. A home that is properly ventilated has less dust to deal with.
- Use an air purifier, if you have one, especially when you are aware that there will be sanding involved in the construction site. Breathing in dangerous air particles can easily be avoided by doing this.
- Don’t let your wardrobe be a casualty by taping any gaps and cracks in the cabinet.
- If you have expensive wooden furniture, vacuuming the dust and dirt first before wiping is the best method to clean it. Constantly wiping the surface area of wooden fixtures can easily dull its shine.
- Even before construction begins, make sure to set aside some time to keep valuable items such as expensive ceramics, clocks, and such. You want to make sure that no damage will be done to the said items.
The best and perhaps the hassle-free way of keeping a clean home during a makeover is to book a cleaner to come every week for general cleaning. A weekly clean lessens the build-up of dust and dirt in the house.
After the construction is done, the cleaners can come over for one last do-over, this time covering the construction site and helping you deal with the items that need to return to the newly renovated area.
Renovations and remodelling take some time.
There will be times when you want it to be over sooner. Rest assured that whatever it is you will have done, the wait and all the cleaning will be worth it. Sometimes homeowners upgrade their houses with the intention of selling. If this is what you are planning to do, booking home cleaners to come at a weekly basis is your best bet. Once the renovation is done, you are ready to present the house to the market and to potential buyers.
A clean and tidy home speaks well to clients and you want to be able to close that deal as soon as possible
