If you’ve discovered a strange species of mould growing in your bathroom or you’re worried about the formidable army of dustballs gathering under your bed, it might be time to consider a good clean-up.

The best way to do this really depends on your home, budget and state of emergency. You might want don some gloves and go the DIY approach. It’s free, it’s great exercise, but it will swallow up most of your Saturday. The alternative is hiring a professional cleaner.  It will give you your weekend back, but it can be costly. 

When making a call on these two options, try to keep in mind the following:

Time

Let’s face it; sometimes the job is just too big. At other times, all you need is a generous splash of elbow grease. 

So do a cleaning stocktake and assess the damage. You might want to jot down notes as you go… kitchen (seriously greasy stove top), bedroom (passable),  toilet (do not enter!) Weigh up the time it will take for you to do the job against the cost of a cleaner. If it’s a massive undertaking, including washing down walls, cleaning windows and cleaning stoves – as well as the usual dust, vacuum, mop – it might be worth outsourcing. Call a couple of companies to get an idea of the hourly rate, and weigh up your options. You can find local cleaning companies here.

Difficulty

If time is not a major concern, you might want to consider the degree of difficulty. Remember, constant scrubbing can only go so far. Are you really able to take on that strange pink stain on the bathroom tiles? There’s always bonus marks for a valiant effort but the problem may just be too big.

So, before you decide, experiment. Start on a small corner and see how much you can get done with the cleaning materials you have. If it’s easier than you thought, you might not need a cleaner after all. 

Products

A thorough clean-up requires more than just a squeegee. Depending on your home (and the situation), you’ll probably also need:

• a mop, 
• a vacuum, 
• anti-bacterial floor cleaner, 
• heavy duty mould removal, 
• a bucket, 
• microfibre cloths,
• gloves and garbage bags. 

If you’re not keen on introducing heavy chemicals into your home, read our article on using natural cleaning products instead.

Can you make do with the supplies you’ve already got? Can you borrow bits and pieces from friends and family? If you need to stock up on supplies, it might be worth putting that money towards a cleaner.

Convenience

The final factor is convenience. If finding a great cleaner is taking too long (have you tried using Yellow Pages?) you might decide that it’s quicker to roll up your sleeves scrub your bathtub yourself.

Another factor? How urgent is the task? Are the in-laws coming to stay? Do you have to clean up after a big party?

So now you know what you need to do. You can find a cleaner here, or you peel on the rubber gloves and get crackin’.