The aftermath of home renovation can often be hard to handle for many homeowners. Whether you are completely those DIY jobs that you have put off or tackling a complete renovation, knowing how to restore your home back to a liveable condition after home improvements can be a real challenge.

Take on your clean-up challenge with confidence with these 7 steps to domestic bliss and enjoy your new and improved home in all its glory……after the much awaited home renovation project that just got finished!

1. Gather large debris

Skip hire is an essential part of the clean-up challenge, and provides a quick and easy way to dispose of the larger pieces of debris left over from DIY projects and home remodelling. In a number of areas however you must apply for a permit to park a skip outside of your property. Many skip hire specialists assist with permits and advise on the permit restrictions for your particular area so you can hire a skip without restricting public walkways or offending the neighbours!

2. Deal with hazardous waste appropriately

Hazardous waste, such as lightbulbs, asbestos, oil, paint and solvents, is common after home renovation, however, unlike other waste materials this simply cannot be thrown into a skip or bin. There are strict guidelines regarding the disposal of hazardous waste due to the environmental impact these certain materials have in our landfill sites. Appliances such as TVs, fridges and freezers must also be disposed of correctly at specialist sites.

3. Give your walls a wipe

Now that the larger debris is out of the way, work must begin to clean up your home’s interior. Following decorating walls can become thick in dust and debris, an issue that can present a number of risks to the health of all who live in the property. If inhaled this dust can cause breathing difficulties, irritate nasal passages and aggravate existing medical problems such as asthma and allergies.

If your walls are freshly painted, wipe these down with a dry, clean cloth to remove excess dust. For walls that have been painted with silk or water resistant paint, use a damp cloth to remove dust. Don’t forget the mouldings and ceilings too, use a broom covered in a dry cloth to rid hard to reach places of dust. For wall coverings, especially textured wallpaper, vacuum gently using a brush attachment.

4. Focus on your flooring

As your walls and ceilings are cleaned up it is your flooring that will catch the remnants of dust and debris so vacuum carpets thoroughly. Other floor coverings such as wood, tiles and lino need attention too, brush these then finish with a damp mop.

5. Remove and clean light fixtures

Light fixtures love to attract dust during home improvement and removing, cleaning and replacing these fittings is an essential part of the big clean-up. Even if you have fitted new light fixtures as part of your home renovation, dust will quickly settle on these. Firstly switch off the power to prevent electric shock, and remove the fixtures for cleaning. Don’t forget to wipe down fan blades and vents thoroughly before reinstalling the fixture.

6. Protect your furniture at all costs

Furniture that cannot be removed during renovation must be fully protected with dust sheets or plastic coverings. Use masking tape to fix the sheet tightly to your furnishings. Following home improvements you may find that furniture kept unwraps still needs a helping hand so vacuum with an upholstery attachment and wipe down accordingly.

7. Repeat the whole process

Whilst you may think a one-off, thorough deep clean will do just the trick, dust will settle throughout your home in the coming days. It may be necessary for you to repeat the clean-up process again to remove every last bit of dust from your property.

This post was written by Brittany Thorley from Cheshire Demolition, the UK’s leading skip hire and salvage specialists.