Spring Cleaning in Spring, TX: A Checklist Timed Around Pollen Season

Most spring cleaning advice is written for places where winter keeps a house shut for five months. That is not Spring, TX. Windows here are open in February, and by March the oaks and pines have left a yellow-green film on every porch, windowsill and car in the neighborhood.

So the useful question is when to do it. Clean the windowsills and the patio too early and the pollen undoes the work within a week. This guide from U Have It Maid splits spring cleaning into two parts: what to do while the pollen is falling, and what to save for after.

Time It Around the Pollen

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says trees across the country produce the most pollen from February through April, and that in the South the season can start as early as December or January. You do not have to guess where things stand. The Houston Health Department posts a pollen and mold count each weekday. When tree pollen has dropped for a week or two, that is the time for the big cleaning.

While it is still falling

The goal during the season is to keep pollen from building up indoors. The AAFA’s advice is simple:

• Keep the windows closed.
• Take shoes off at the door.
• Shower before bed, so pollen stays off the bedding.
• Clean bedding, floors and fabric furniture once a week.

Add one habit of your own: shake out or wash the door mats every week, since they catch a good share of what comes in on shoes.

The Spring Cleaning Checklist

Work from the top of each room down, and leave the outdoor areas for the very end.

Ceilings, fans and vents

Dust ceiling fans, air vents and light fixtures first. Fans in this part of Texas run from May to October, and whatever is sitting on the blades gets spread around the room the first time you turn them on.

Windows, blinds and sills

Wipe the blinds slat by slat, then the sills, then wash the inside of the glass. Window tracks collect a lot of pollen. Vacuum them with a brush attachment before you wipe them, or you will be pushing wet pollen into the corners.

Doors, baseboards and cabinet fronts

These get skipped in a weekly cleaning. Wipe each door and its frame, the baseboards in every room, and the kitchen and bathroom cabinet fronts. Finish with the light switches and door handles.

Kitchen

Empty the refrigerator, wash the shelves and drawers, and throw out what has expired. Clean the inside of the oven. Wipe the pantry shelves while you check dates there too.

Bathrooms

Beyond the usual scrubbing, spring is the time for shower glass, grout and the exhaust fan cover. If the white film on your shower door will not budge, read our guide to hard water stains before you scrub any harder. If you use bleach on grout, the CDC’s rule is firm: never mix it with other cleaners, and run the fan while you work.

Bedrooms

Wash everything on the bed, including the mattress pad, the comforter and the pillows that can go in a machine. Vacuum under the bed and behind the nightstands.

Soft surfaces and floors

Vacuum the sofa and chairs, under the cushions included. Wash throws and any curtains that can be washed. Then move what you can and vacuum and mop underneath it.

Air filter

ENERGY STAR advises that you inspect, clean or change the filter once a month. Put a new one in after pollen season, before the air conditioning starts running all day.

Porch and patio, last

Sweep the front porch and the patio, wipe down the outdoor furniture and wash the door mats. Do this only after the count has dropped. It is the one part of spring cleaning that pollen can undo overnight.

One Thing to Leave Off the List

Decluttering. Emptying closets and sorting the garage are worthwhile, but they are a different project, and combining them with cleaning is how spring cleaning ends up taking three weekends. Clean first. Organize another time.

If You Would Rather Hire It Out

What most people mean by spring cleaning is what we call a deep cleaning. It includes everything in a standard visit plus the detail work: blinds dusted by hand, doors and door frames, cabinet doors and baseboards wiped down, knickknacks cleaned one at a time, and light switches and door handles disinfected. Our guide to standard vs. deep cleaning lists the differences.

A few things are worth knowing before you book:

• Add-ons. Cleaning inside the refrigerator, inside the oven and the interior windows are extras, and so is sweeping the patio or the garage. Ask for them with your quote.
• Time. A deep cleaning usually takes four to eight hours with a team, and it is billed by the hour. Picking up before the team arrives keeps that time on cleaning.
• Limits. Our cleaners work from a 2-step ladder, so fans and windows in a two-story living room may be out of reach. Window tracks and sliding door tracks are not included. Blinds that have gone years without dusting may not come completely clean.
• Twice a year. We recommend a deep cleaning at least twice a year. Spring and fall are the natural pair, and our fall deep cleaning guide covers the second one.

Every recurring cleaning plan starts with a deep cleaning, so a spring cleaning can double as your first visit if you have been thinking about regular service.

When You Don’t Need to Book Anything

• You are already on a weekly or biweekly schedule. Ask us to add the refrigerator, the oven or the interior windows to one of your regular visits.
• You have a one-story house and a free weekend. The checklist above is a weekend of work for two people.
• The pollen is still falling. Wait. A cleaning in the middle of oak season will not last.

Spring Cleaning in Spring, TX

U Have It Maid is a family-owned company that has been cleaning homes in Spring and across North Houston since 2000. To get on the calendar for a spring deep cleaning, request a free quote or call us at (713) 480-1571. See all of our house cleaning services in Spring, TX.