6 New Construction Cleaning Tips for your Toronto Home

An in-home construction project can be something you look forward to and dream about for a while. But the cleanup afterward can be a nightmare. Even the most professional jobs often leave your floors covered in dust and debris, your living space a mess, and your loved ones at potential risk from lingering air pollutants.

Brilho Luxury Cleaning & Services’s house cleaning professionals in Toronto understand the hassle of post-construction cleanup. With our six new construction cleaning tips, you’ll be well on your way to getting your home safe and tidy again.

1. Ventilate the Workspace

The first thing on your post-construction cleaning checklist should be to ventilate the workspace. Dust, unpleasant odours, and harmful fumes contaminate the air. Creating proper airflow helps eliminate them.

An easy way to improve ventilation is by opening all the windows. You can even open some of the doors to carry out the bad air from inside and bring in fresh, clean outdoor air.

Before you enter any construction work zone, make sure you take precautions and use the right personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE includes a dust mask, eye protection, and closed-toed shoes.

2. Take Care of the Big Stuff

Before focusing on a deep clean, it’s important to take care of the big stuff. Deal with any leftover debris and things contributing to overall clutter. This includes:

Putting away tools and equipment that are no longer needed (hammers, paint cans, protective coverings, etc.)
Disposing of building debris (nails, drywall chunks, tile shards, etc.)
Wiping down surfaces (windows, glass doors, furniture, etc.)
Getting out stains (paint splotches, caulking spots, etc.)

Taking care of the big stuff handles most of the messiness and clears a path for more in-depth cleaning. However, this process can send a lot of dust into the air and around the room.

As you tackle this cleaning phase, make sure you wear your dust mask so that you don’t breathe in any dangerous particles. You’ll also want a pair of cut-resistant gloves when handling nails, screws, glass shards, and other sharp objects without risking injury.

3. Sweep

When it comes to sweeping, a haphazard approach doesn’t do any good. You’ll want an intentional, thorough method for this step to be effective.

Use a soft-bristled broom and start with the ceiling and walls. Yes, you heard right! Sweeping the ceiling and walls loosens any dust and debris, collecting it on the floor. After that, sweep the floor by starting at the baseboards and working toward the center of the room.

4. Dust

Although sweeping gets rid of most visible dust and dirt, don’t assume the job is done. Sweeping kicks up dust particles and releases them into the air, dispersing them onto other surfaces. You’ll want to spend time dusting to deal with any lingering dust that can go unnoticed.

When it comes to cleaning products, don’t rely on old rags for proper dusting. The best tool to use is a microfibre cloth. Old rags often smear fine dust, but microfibre cloths are designed to cling to dust and remove it effectively.

Dust can settle anywhere and on many different surfaces. As you approach dusting, here are some general areas to focus on:

Tabletops
Shelves
Cupboards
Window ledges
Window blinds
Door frames

One of the best new construction cleaning tips is to use a damp microfibre cloth to help the dust stick to it even more. Once the surface is dry, clear away any remaining dust using a vacuum with a brush attachment. Then do a final pass and spot clean with a damp cloth.

This gives your home a professional appearance and eliminates dust particles on furniture or floors from entering the air in the future.

5. Vacuum

Once you’ve thoroughly dusted, it’s time to vacuum. Vacuum everything: bare floors, carpets, mats, chairs, sofas. These can collect and hold a lot of dust without you knowing.

Don’t be in a rush to complete this step. Run the vacuum slowly and make sure you cover every part of the surface you’re cleaning.

To avoid ruining your regular household vacuum cleaner, buy or rent one used by a professional cleaning company. You can find a wet/dry vacuum at your local hardware store—it’ll make cleaning easy and do the best job of picking up loose dirt, especially fine dust on carpeted flooring. A vacuum with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter removes the most dust during your post-construction cleaning service.

6. Don’t Forget the Air Vents

One final tip: check the air vents. Many people forget to do this and therefore leave it out of their cleanup process. Air vents collect a lot of dust both during construction and cleaning, so make sure you keep this on your to-do list.

If you don’t clean the air vents following a major construction project, they can quickly accumulate dust and dirt particles. This circulates unhealthy air throughout your home. It might not be a big deal at first, but it can lead to breathing issues and lung damage over time.

The best way to remove dust from your air vents is with a vacuum cleaner. Run it inside the vent and along the external grill. You can also use a microfibre cloth to pick up any fine or caked-on dust.

To Wrap Things Up

Cleanup is an important aspect of any construction project that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you plan to do it yourself, make sure you follow these new construction cleaning tips from Brilho Luxury Cleaning & Services. We know the particular challenges involved and have experience handling them, so you can enjoy a safe, tidy home with its new look.

Brilho Luxury Cleaning & Services is your trusted professional cleaning service. From post-construction cleaning to in-home cleanup, cleaning a condo balcony, and much more, our Toronto professionals have you covered.