How to Deep Clean a House Room by Room: A Pro Checklist

To deep clean a house room by room, work top to bottom and dry before wet in every room: ceiling fans, vents and light fixtures first, then blinds, windows, doors and baseboards, and the floors last. A deep clean covers everything a regular cleaning does, plus the surfaces routine visits skip. The exception is the inside of the oven, fridge and cabinets: on our checklist, those are extras.

What does a deep cleaning include?

A deep cleaning is a one-time visit that runs the whole standard house cleaning list and then adds the detail work: baseboards, blinds, inside windows, steamed tub and tile, fresh bed linen and the laundry-room shelves. Here’s the professional deep cleaning checklist our team works from, copied word for word.

Entire home

• Clean baseboards and inside windows with a wet cloth (steamer in the five-bedroom size)
• Dust all ceiling fans, vents and blinds
• Clean mirrors, all glass shelves and surfaces
• Collect and dispose of all trash to your trash bin
• High-dust the whole home
• Vacuum the entire floor and carpets with two vacuum cleaners
• Use a wet and dry mop to clean and shine floors
• Vacuum all furniture (chairs, sofas)
• Dust and wipe doors, door frames and door knobs

Bedrooms

• Clean all surfaces from dust
• Change bed linen to fresh ones

Bathrooms

• Clean the bathtub, sinks and tiles with a steamer
• Polish all glass surfaces, shower doors and taps
• Disinfect surfaces with antibacterial spray
• Wipe laundry room surfaces and shelves with a wet cloth

Kitchen

• Clean all removable stains on surfaces with a wet cloth or steamer (backsplash, stove, cabinets)
• Clean the microwave inside and out
• Clean the outside, top, front and sides of the dishwasher and refrigerator (special product for stainless steel)

Add-ons (choose them when you book)

• Full sink of dishes
• Additional cost for pet, 1 dog or cat
• Inside fridge or freezer cleaning
• Inside oven cleaning
• Inside kitchen cabinets cleaning
• Inside double oven cleaning

Two details are easy to miss. The add-ons really are separate: if the inside of the oven isn’t added when you book, it isn’t part of the visit. And homes with five and six bedrooms get the steamer on more surfaces, with steam instead of a wet cloth on the baseboards, windows and kitchen stains.

Deep cleaning vs regular cleaning: what’s in each

The difference between a deep cleaning and a regular house cleaning is the list, not the effort: a regular visit leaves out windows, blinds and baseboards on purpose, and a deep clean puts them back. Our two checklists, side by side:

Item	Regular (standard) house cleaning	Deep cleaning
Ceiling fans and vents	Dusted	Dusted
Blinds	Not included	Dusted
Baseboards	Not included	Wet cloth (steamer at five and six bedrooms)
Inside windows	Not included	Wet cloth (steamer at five and six bedrooms)
Mirrors, glass shelves, high dusting	Included	Included
Doors, door frames, door knobs	Dusted and wiped	Dusted and wiped
Chairs and sofas	Vacuumed	Vacuumed
Bed linen	Not changed	Changed to fresh
Bathtub, sinks and tile	Cleaned, glass and taps polished, antibacterial spray	Same, plus tub, sinks and tile done with a steamer
Laundry-room surfaces and shelves	Not included	Wiped with a wet cloth
Kitchen stains on backsplash, stove, cabinets	Stove top polished, cabinet outsides wiped	Same, plus every removable stain a cloth or steamer can lift
Microwave	Inside and out	Inside and out
Fridge and dishwasher	Outside, top, front and sides	Outside, top, front and sides
Inside fridge, oven, double oven, cabinets	Add-on	Add-on
Full sink of dishes, one dog or cat	Add-on	Add-on
Floors	Two vacuums, then wet and dry mop	Two vacuums, then wet and dry mop
Sizes you can book online	1 bedroom up to 4 bedrooms	1 bed and 1 bath up to 6 bedrooms and 6 baths

Moving, and the home is empty? Then neither column fits. Our move-in and move-out cleaning list goes inside every cabinet and drawer, the fridge and the oven as standard, because there’s nothing in them.

Ground rules before you start

Doing it yourself? These five rules matter more than which room you start in.

1. Go top to bottom. Dust falls. Do the ceiling fan after the coffee table and you’ll wipe the table twice.
2. Dry before wet. Dust, then vacuum, then wipe, then mop. Damp dust turns into paste on a baseboard or a mopped floor.
3. Clean first, disinfect second. The CDC says to clean a surface with soap and water first, because dirt can keep a disinfectant from reaching germs.
4. One product at a time, and follow the label. Never mix bleach with ammonia or with acids. Washington State’s Department of Health says bleach and ammonia make toxic chloramine gases, bleach and acids give off chlorine gas, and it counts vinegar and some glass cleaners among the acids.
5. Open a window or run a fan while you use any cleaner indoors, as the CDC recommends, and wear gloves.

How to deep clean a house room by room

The whole-house order comes first, then a list for each room.

1. Declutter and strip the beds. Put things away, clear the surfaces, and start the first load of bedding.
2. Start anything that needs to sit. If your bathroom cleaner’s label gives a dwell time, spray the tub and shower now and let it work.
3. Do the high dry work in every room: cobwebs in the corners, ceiling fan blades (the tops), vents, light fixtures, the tops of door frames and picture frames.
4. Then the middle: blinds, window sills and tracks, shelves, furniture, switch plates, doors and knobs.
5. Then the low edges: baseboards and under the furniture.
6. Then the wet rooms: bathrooms and the kitchen.
7. Vacuum everything, upholstery first, then rugs and floors.
8. Mop the hard floors last, starting in the room farthest from the door and working your way out.

Entrance and hallways

Outdoor dirt comes in here and gets walked through the rest of the house, so give it more than a quick sweep.

• Front door, both sides, plus the handle, the kick plate and any door glass
• Light fixture and the corners above the door
• Coat closet: top shelf down, then the floor
• Stair railings and balusters, by hand
• Hallway walls where hands touch, door frames and baseboards
• The doormat: shake it outside or wash it if the label allows
• While you’re up on the step stool, test the smoke alarm. The U.S. Fire Administration says to test alarms monthly and replace 9-volt and hardwired units every 10 years.

Living room

A deep cleaning checklist for living rooms is mostly about the things you look past every day.

• Ceiling fan blades, tops first, and light fixtures and lampshades
• Blinds, slat by slat, with a damp cloth (a dry duster just moves the dust onto the sill)
• Window sills, tracks and the inside of the glass
• Shelves, the tops of books and frames, and the TV stand. Use a dry microfiber on screens and check the manual before any spray.
• Sofa and chairs: cushions off, vacuum the crevices and the deck underneath. Read the care tag before any wet cleaning.
• Switch plates and outlet covers, with a barely damp cloth, never a spray
• Under and behind the furniture, then the baseboards
• Rugs and floors, last

Bedrooms

A deep cleaning checklist for bedrooms starts with the bed, because the bedding takes longest.

• Strip the bed and wash the sheets and pillowcases. If someone in the house has dust-mite allergies, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology says to wash bedding weekly in hot water (130°F) and dry it in a hot dryer.
• Vacuum the mattress, seams included
• Ceiling fan, light fixture, top of the headboard
• Closet: top shelf, the rod, the shelves, then the closet floor
• Nightstands and dresser tops, mirrors
• Blinds, sills and the inside of the windows
• Under the bed (this is where the dust bunnies live), then the baseboards and the floor
• Make the bed with fresh linen last, after the floor is done

Bathrooms

Bathrooms get the wet work, so do them after the house’s dry dusting is finished.

• Exhaust fan cover and the light fixture, dry, first
• Mirror and any glass shelves
• Shower and tub: walls, glass, door track, grout and the drain cover. If the cleaner sat for its label time, scrub and rinse it now.
• Faucets and taps, polished dry so they don’t spot
• Vanity, inside and out, and the sink
• Toilet: tank, handle, seat hinges, the bowl, then the base and the floor behind it
• Trash can, inside and out
• The floor, last

Mildew on grout or caulk? The EPA says to scrub mold off hard surfaces with detergent and water and dry them completely. Fix the water problem too, or it will likely come back, and anything larger than about 10 square feet falls under the EPA’s fuller remediation guidance.

Kitchen

The kitchen has the longest list in the house, so it gets its own kitchen deep cleaning checklist. Short version, top to bottom:

• Range hood and filters
• Cabinet tops and fronts, where grease settles
• Oven (follow the label, and check whether it’s a self-cleaning oven first)
• Stove top and backsplash
• Microwave, inside and out
• Fridge, inside and out
• Dishwasher filter and door edge
• Sink, faucet and the cabinet under it
• Counters, then the floor

Laundry room

Easy to skip, but there’s a fire-safety reason not to. The U.S. Fire Administration lists “failure to clean” (31%) as the leading factor in home clothes dryer fires in 2018 through 2020.

• Clean the lint filter, and vacuum the slot it sits in
• Vacuum behind and beside the dryer, and look at the vent hose for kinks or crushing
• Washer: the door seal, the detergent drawer and the drum
• Wipe the tops and fronts of both machines
• Shelves, cabinets and the utility sink
• The floor, including the strip between the machines

Floors, last

Vacuum every room, edges, closets and under the beds included. Then mop the hard floors from the far end of the house toward the door, and let them dry before anyone walks on them.

When to stop and call a pro

Some of this is a weekend project. Some of it isn’t.

• Several rooms are behind at once. Blinds, baseboards and inside windows all need work, and the tub tile too? That’s what deep cleaning is built for.
• Only one or two things slipped. Dust the blinds yourself and book standard house cleaning instead. You don’t need a deep clean for one baseboard.
• The home is empty and you’re moving. Book the move-out list, which covers the inside of the cabinets, the fridge and the oven as standard.
• Mold covers a large area, keeps coming back, or is inside the drywall. That’s a moisture problem, not a cleaning one. Start with the EPA’s mold guide linked below, and bring in a mold professional.
• The dryer takes longer to dry than it used to, or the vent duct runs through the wall or the roof. Have the duct checked by someone who does dryer vents. A cleaning visit doesn’t go there.

Booking a deep clean with us

Pick Deep Cleaning and the size that matches your home, from one bedroom and one bath up to six of each. Add any extras (the inside of the fridge, oven or cabinets, a full sink of dishes, a pet) before you choose a time, because anything not added stays off the visit. Use the notes box for details and upload photos of the tile or stains you care about most. You see the total before you confirm, and no payment is taken when you book.

Afterward, regular visits keep things there. How often depends on your house, and our guide on how often to have your house cleaned walks through it.

Frequently asked questions

What does a deep cleaning include?

A deep cleaning includes everything in a standard house cleaning plus baseboards, blinds, inside windows, a steamer on the bathtub, sinks and tile, fresh bed linen, the laundry-room shelves and removable kitchen stains. On our checklist, the inside of the fridge, oven and kitchen cabinets are add-ons you choose when you book, not part of the base visit.

What is the difference between deep cleaning and regular cleaning?

Regular cleaning maintains a home that’s kept up: dusting, glass, bathrooms, the outside of the kitchen, vacuuming and mopping. Deep cleaning adds the surfaces regular visits leave out on purpose, mainly blinds, baseboards and inside windows, plus steamed tub and tile. Book a deep clean once to catch up, then go back to regular visits.

What order should you deep clean a house in?

Work top to bottom and dry before wet. Declutter and strip beds first, then dust high surfaces in every room, then blinds, furniture and baseboards. Clean bathrooms and the kitchen after the dry dusting is done, vacuum next, and mop the hard floors last, starting with the room farthest from the door.

Does a deep clean include the inside of the oven and fridge?

Not on our deep cleaning checklist, and don’t assume it’s on anyone else’s. The inside of the fridge or freezer, the oven, a double oven and the kitchen cabinets are separate add-ons you choose when you book. A move-out clean is different: in an empty home, those insides are part of the standard list.

How often should you deep clean your house?

There’s no fixed number. Deep clean once before you start a regular schedule if the home is behind, then again whenever the blinds, baseboards and inside windows have collected dust, since regular visits don’t reach them. How fast that happens depends on the house: who lives there, pets, and how much dust comes in.

How we made this guide

• The “What does a deep cleaning include?” list is the checklist our team works from on deep cleaning visits, copied word for word. The comparison table is built from that list and the one for standard house cleaning; the move-out details come from our move-in and move-out cleaning list.
• Cleaning before disinfecting, not mixing products, ventilation and following the label: CDC, When and How to Clean and Disinfect Your Home.
• Bleach with ammonia or acids: Washington State Department of Health, dangers of mixing bleach with cleaners.
• Mold on hard surfaces and the 10 square feet threshold: EPA, A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home.
• Dryer fires (failure to clean, 31%, 2018 to 2020): U.S. Fire Administration, Prevent home fires (the figure is on its electrical safety page, from the National Fire Incident Reporting System). Smoke alarm testing: U.S. Fire Administration, smoke alarms.
• Washing bedding for dust-mite allergies: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, managing indoor allergens.