A new space presents so many possibilities. Bare walls, an uncluttered space, and a fresh canvas upon which to make your new home or office your very own. Giving your new space a thorough cleaning before you move in your belongings will get you off to a great start. New construction can leave dust and debris in unexpected places – while buying an established home or office will mean that dirt, dust, and grime are lurking. 

Not to mention, deep cleaning is so important for the air quality of your space – especially in an office or home where we spend the majority of our time each day! You may not realize it, but the average indoor air quality in a home is actually more toxic than the outside air, which has been directly linked to a number of adverse health effects. Deep cleaning can provide an immediate reduction of pollution in your home or office and can also dramatically improve the indoor air quality of your space. As mentioned above, you should always plan on deep cleaning when moving into a new home or office, but it’s also important to practice an annual routine deep cleaning. In addition, proper deep cleaning is useful when you or a family member is recovering from an illness. Vital Oxide is the perfect tool to use for this project due to its versatility. It can be used to remove dirt, dust, grease and grime, and also eliminate allergens, germs, viruses, and bacteria – all without synthetic dyes, fragrances, or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). 

Even when a space looks “clean”, there are often residues on the walls, nooks and crannies, and even on the ceiling. This deep cleaning method addresses both surface cleaning and air quality cleaning, to remove not only visible dirt and grime, but also allergens and lingering odors as well. 

Vital Oxide has a unique ability to significantly reduce allergen levels in most common household triggers, including common allergens like dust mite allergens, pet dander, molds, and mildew. It also eliminates a long list of odors (including lingering smells left over from smoke, food, urine and fecal matter, and more), by neutralizing them through oxidation rather than simply covering them up with fragrance. 

Materials Needed for Deep Cleaning

• Vital Oxide
• HEPA Vacuum 
• 2 Buckets
• 2-3 Clean Microfiber Cloths
• Microfiber Mop
• Microfiber Towel
• Step Stool or Step Ladder (it should allow you to reach the ceiling)

Why is it important to use a HEPA-type vacuum cleaner? 

In short, the dust in your home serves as a chemical reservoir. A HEPA vacuum will help to trap dust and allergens, and the system is designed to completely seal in the dust in allergens so that they don’t escape back into the air. This is important for the deep cleaning, as you want the air to be cleaner when you finish vacuuming, not more contaminated! 

Why microfiber cloths instead of cotton cloths or sponges? 

Microfiber cloths retain more liquid than cotton or paper towels and are manufactured with such fine fibers that they tend to cling onto dirt, dust, and grease particles. Sponges aren’t ideal, since they tend to move particles around and they also harbor bacteria and mold. In fact, a 2011 study of household items found that 86% of sponges had mold and yeast, 77% contained Coliform bacteria, and 18% were filled with staph bacteria. 

Four Steps to Deep Clean 

In this deep cleaning tutorial, we’ll explain in detail how to thoroughly clean a room from top to bottom. Keep in mind that this deep cleaning process will take about 2-3 hours for one person to complete one furnished, average-sized room, while an unfurnished space will take about an hour.

 There are four basic steps we’ll cover in this tutorial: 

• Step 1: Tidying up & organizing 
• Step 2: HEPA vacuuming
• Step 3: Washing all surfaces using Vital Oxide 
• Step 4: Drying surfaces 

How do you decide which room to start deep cleaning first? 

If you plan to deep clean your entire home or office, consider starting in the room furthest from the front door and making your way forward. 

Without further ado, let’s get cleaning! 

Step 1: Tidy Up Your Space & Organize 

Make Marie Kondo proud by removing all clutter from the room. Leave only what belongs. Clutter can include things like piles of paper, old mail, cardboard boxes, magazines, knick knacks, and misplaced items like clothes, toys, and shoes. Put away, throw away, or donate anything that doesn’t belong in that room. Piles of clutter are absolute dust magnets! Removing these items will help speed up the deep cleaning process, and also make it most effective. Once you’ve removed the clutter, organize the items that are left in the room. 

Step 2: HEPA Vacuum All Surfaces in the Room

Now that you have the room decluttered and organized, it’s time to gather your vacuum and step stool. One basic principle to remember here: Clean high before you clean low. After all, dust doesn’t just collect on shelves and floors. Ceilings, overhead lighting fixtures, and ceiling fans are just as prone to getting grimy, but they (A) don’t get cleaned as often, and (B) tend to sprinkle dirt and dust onto the space below them when they finally do get cleaned. Since cleaning these high up features will inevitably lead to the area below getting dirty too, always start with the ceiling in each room and then work your way down the walls and to the furniture and finally to the floors. Be sure to vacuum all surfaces (ceilings, walls, trim, fans, furnishings, items, and anything else in the room), and make at least two passes over each surface.

Note: It’s recommended that you wear a protective mask during this step, things are going to get a little dusty! 

Step 3: Wipe Down with Vital Oxide 

Vital Oxide comes full-strength, ready-to-use (RTU) right out of the bottle, but can be diluted for certain uses. For deep cleaning and sanitization, you can dilute 1 part Vital Oxide to 9 parts water. You can see the full dilution guide here. For actions like disinfecting, odor eliminating, and mold removal, Vital Oxide must always be used full-strength. 

Now, on to step 3 of the deep cleaning method. 

First, prepare your two buckets for wiping everything clean. The first bucket will be the 9:1 diluted Vital Oxide. The second bucket will be your rinse bucket – simply fill it with clean water. You’ll want to change the water in the rinse bucket as soon as you notice it getting really cloudy. 

When you’re ready, dip your mop in the Vital Oxide bucket and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. Then, thoroughly wipe all hard surfaces, starting with the ceiling then working your way down to the walls, then the floors. The surface should look slightly damp after wiping, but not soaking wet. Make at least two passes over each surface. As you need more Vital Oxide solution, first rinse your mop in the clean water bucket, wring it out, then dip it again in the Vital Oxide solution. Don’t forget to empty out your rinse bucket and fill it with clean water when you notice it getting cloudy. 

After you’ve washed the ceilings, walls, and floors, use your microfiber cloths to wipe down trim, corners, shelves, furniture, lighting fixtures, and other items in the room. You may be tempted - but do not skip over any surfaces or items during this step! It’ll be worth it in the end, we promise! 

NOTE: When you are deep cleaning rooms like the bathroom and kitchen, where you’ll want to deep clean and disinfect, first start by washing the surfaces with the diluted Vital Oxide (you may want to use paper towels for cleaning surfaces like the toilet and kitchen sink), then spray Vital Oxide undiluted straight from the bottle and let air dry. Learn more about disinfecting with Vital Oxide here. 

Step 4: Drying Surfaces with a Towel (or Ventilating with Fans and Air-drying)

Congratulations! You’re nearly finished and can soon relax in your sparkling clean space. The last step is simple: take a towel and dry off any items or surfaces that you don’t want to let air dry – such as lamps, picture frames, and floors. 

That’s it – you’ve officially deep cleaned your space! How does it feel?