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Cleaning your house for Christmas can often feel overwhelming, but with the right tools and techniques, these jobs can be much easier and even satisfying, building anticipation for the holiday season. Here are five tasks to tackle that will make a big impact and are high in feel-good factor.
As the main stage for outdoor entertaining, your timber decking deserves to be treated to a thorough pressure clean. First, sweep or blow away any surface dirt and debris. Next, put on your safety equipment, including enclosed shoes, safety glasses and ear muffs. For impressive results, pair your pressure cleaner with a foam nozzle to apply a cleaning agent – the foamy coating helps lift grime and allows you to see if you missed any areas. Give the detergent time to work, then pressure wash the boards using a surface cleaner attachment, which enables you to clean larger areas faster. If using a standard spray lance, hold it about 10-30cm above where you’re spraying, use a low PSI setting, clean in the direction of the grain and systematically work outwards from the house.
If you’ve ever wondered how to get pet fur out of carpets, rugs or fabric couches, the trick is to use a squeegee - it's quick and incredibly effective. Simply use the squeegee like a mini rake, scraping towards you, to lift and clump embedded hair. Once you’ve scraped it into a pile, vacuum it up. Easy!
Is your paint looking scuffed, chipped or grubby? Nothing makes a room feel renewed like a paint touch up. To nail a professional finish, the keys are preparation, equipment and technique. Start by giving the walls a gentle scrub with sugar soap and a microfibre cloth, or cleaning wipes to speed up the process. Use quality painter’s tape around surfaces like door and window frames and skirting boards – a larger width tape will allow more leeway for drips and errors. Choosing the right brush and roller will also make the job easier. An angled cutting in and framing brush is ideal for corners. For internal walls and ceilings, a 10-15mm nap is the most popular, teamed with a roller width of 230-270mm, to cover large areas quickly. For a seamless, streak-free finish, keep a wet edge by cutting in an area and immediately following with a good coat of paint rolled end to end, then lay off the paint with the roller to ensure uniform application from top to bottom. Remove the painter’s tape once the final coat is dry.
Get your barbecue ready to fire up with a thorough scrub inside and out. Remove barbecue plates and grills and soak them in a large bucket of hot, soapy water before giving them a good scrub with a barbecue cleaning brush. Rinse the plates and allow to dry. To shine up stainless steel surfaces, use a microfibre cloth with a little water and dishwashing detergent and gently clean in the same direction of the grain. For a quick refresh between cooks, use barbecue wipes on cast iron grills and hotplates, followed by a spritz of canola oil to prevent rusting.
Arm yourself with the right tools to remove dust with a top-down approach. For blinds and shutters, use a dusting glove or an old sock. Gently dip it in a solution of equal parts vinegar and water, then use it on your hand to wipe blades clean and capture dust. A clever hack to clean dust-laden ceiling fans, without creating more mess, is to encase the blades with an old pillowcase and draw it along the length of blade to loosen and collect the build-up. For delicate light fittings, use an ostrich feather duster, which has natural electrostatic properties that attract and trap dust. To get into tight spots like window and door tracks, use a track brush, or old toothbrush, to loosen dust and follow with a vacuum.
Check out our Countdown to Christmas: prepare your home for festive fun.
Asbestos, lead-based paints and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber are health hazards you need to look out for when renovating older homes. These substances can easily be disturbed when renovating and exposure to them can cause a range of life-threatening diseases and conditions including cancer. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer or visit our Health & Safety page.
When following our advice in our D.I.Y. videos, make sure you use all equipment, including PPE, safely by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Check that the equipment is suitable for the task and that PPE fits properly. If you are unsure, hire an expert to do the job or talk to a Bunnings Team Member.
