Dang Good Laundry Room Cleaning

The Laundry Room gets used a lot but often it is one of the last rooms we think about cleaning or organizing. Over time the laundry can become cluttered. If it is attached to the garage, it often becomes a dumping ground for anything and everything. 

The laundry room often doubles as a long-term storage space and it’s sometimes where you’ll find the litter box too when cats share the home. Instead of dreading the trip to fight through the piles of boxes to get to the washer and dryer, today is the day you take charge! Let’s clean and organize the laundry room.

Prep for a Laundry Room Cleaning. 

What you need:

• Microfiber dusting cloths
• Warm water and cleaning solution (homemade or commercial)
• Swiffer Duster (with Long handle)
• Broom
• Mop
• Vacuum
• Paper Towel
• Clean White Cloths

Start a Laundry Room Cleaning. 

As with every room, cleaning is most efficient when you start by emptying everything out, then cleaning from top to bottom.

If as mentioned above, it is unavoidable for the laundry room to double as the storage room, take the time to organize the storage items into hard shell plastic totes. These can be found affordably at stores like Canadian Tire. The advantage to these totes is that they stack well, and if there is a washer leak or flooded basement, they will help protect your belongings. Don’t just transfer everything into these totes. Go through the storage and toss broken Christmas ornaments and other non-useable items. 

Take photos of your kid’s artwork and schoolwork (if you’ve been hanging onto those) and make a digital album. Donate clothing that is in good shape. If it’s something special like your grandma’s sweater or a wedding dress, consider having a seamstress convert the item to something useable, like a throw pillow, or place it in a display case.

Have cats? If your cats don’t mind covered or mechanical litter boxes that automatically sweep the litter, consider these options. Both help keep the smells down however, they are not replacements for frequent litter box cleanings. Unfortunately, some cats are temperamental, so these items are best to introduce when they are kittens.

You can also get a litter locker similar to a diaper genie but designated only for cat litter. It locks in the waste and smell, and you can transfer the bag to the outdoor garbage weekly. Get a litter scatter mat beneath the litter box to keep litter from tracking across the room. Get a wipeable mat under the food and water dish. Unless, of course, your cat is a tidy eater! If so, please share your secrets on how you made that happen.

Now that you have decluttered the laundry room and the storage items are organized (and the cats are investigating their new digs), it’s time to clean.

Deep Laundry Room Cleaning. 

• Dust and wipe clean from the top down—items such as light fixtures, surfaces, walls, shelves and baseboards.

• Clean the main apparatus

• • Washing Machine – Wipe the washing machine down. Make sure to clean around the interior of the lid, including all the switches and the knobs. Wipe down the inside of the machine. Wipe (but do not dislodge) the seals. Clean the inner workings of the washing machine and remove mould or scum buildup by adding a couple of cups of white vinegar and doing an empty load. Done regularly, this will get rid of stale smells.

• • Tumble Dryer – Clothes Dryer – Use wipes to clean the dryer drum, then dry with some paper towel or a cloth. Next, soak the lint trap, rinse and dry it. You ARE cleaning the lint trap between drying cycles, right? If you don’t, you are creating a fire hazard. It’s also a great idea to book a dryer vent cleaning. It’s an easy add-on service to your furnace and duct cleaning, and quite frankly, it can save your life.

• Descale your Iron – If your iron is spitting minerals bits onto your clothing or is not gliding smoothly, it is time to descale your iron.

• Clean your ironing board – Remove the protective cover from your ironing board. Put the ironing board cover in the wash bin.

• Clean the Floor. Use the vacuum’s small hose to get between and under the appliances. Or use a long-handled duster. Then vacuum or sweep and mop the floor.

• Wash the garbage can and sink. – If your laundry room has a sink and garbage bin, give both a good wash. A little vinegar in hot water goes a long way in freshening up both items.

• Wash the doors. Don’t overlook the exits! Sometimes there are as many as three: from the garage plus to the hall and the pantry. Wipe them down, including the top where dust settles.

• Get Motivated. Check out this video on the Ultimate Laundry Room Deep Clean by Kelly Marie

Time to Organize the Laundry Room. 

Instead of just stacking things back in the laundry room, sort through the piles, you have emptied out of the laundry room. What needs to stay, what needs to go? Then, put them back in a purposeful way. Have a place for everything.

If needed, invest in stackable boxes, shelves and hooks. If you have items that need to be stretched or drip-dried, purchase a drying rack.

Put in an ironing board hanger which can be stored against walls and doors.

Dedicate a space for your laundry supplies and check your stock of them, so you never run out.

Get different coloured hampers to quickly sort the dark, light, and delicate laundry.

Consider a drop-down shelf for a folding station or simply a place to fold clothes as they come out of the dryer. Use can use the top surfaces of your appliances if you have the right kind, but have a place to put those folded clothes and or some hooks for hangers. Just don’t leave them in the laundry room. It is not a second wardrobe! If you fold or hang them while they are warm, you will eliminate ninety percent of the ironing needed.

To get more inspired see the Laundry Declutter and Organize Video by Cleaning the Chaos. 

Tackle the Laundry Load. 

Hang up a stain removal guide for a quick reference when dealing with gum, wine or grass stains.

Now that you have a clean and organized space, the last step is to keep up with laundry; this is a dreaded chore for many people. Like any other household task, however, the best way to get it done is just to do it. Make it part of your regular cleaning routine, or ensure you do a couple of loads on certain days (hello adulting!). Or have a set schedule for doing the laundry. That way, you dedicate time to it and done regularly, the laundry is manageable.

Keep your bedroom and closet tidy, too, so you aren’t encouraged just to dump your clean clothes on the floor. Clean and organized spaces tend to stay that way, so do the work now to make the rest of your life easier.

Laundry Room Cleaning Snippets. 

• Did you know that April 15th is National Laundry Day? Check out this video on some Laundry Secrets from the Laundry Guy.
• Take a look at 6 Clothes Dryer Hacks that may Surprise You! 
• Here at Dang Good Carpet and Furnace Cleaning, our priority is helping you live your cleanest and most organized life. Check out our Dang Good Cleaning Blog for more Cleaning Hacks.
• If you live in or around Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere or Okotoks, contact us today for a deep clean of your carpets, furnace and ducts, windows, upholstery, etc. Our professional, friendly service gets the job done affordably and quickly.

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